5 Biodegradable Beauty Wipes That Are Better for the Environment

Kids these days, with their $15 retinol and beauty wipes, don't know how good they have it. Back in the day, when you wanted to remove your makeup you had to use (gasp!) face wash, but now you can wipe the day away with just one swipe of material. Convenient? Absolutely. Environmentally friendly? Well, it's complicated.

"While all wipes are disposable, that only means you can throw them away," said Eric Fallon, cofounder and CEO of the skincare brand Rebels Refinery. "However, if wipes aren't biodegradable, they won't break down in a landfill, and that contributes to environmental pollution." In fact, some synthetic makeup wipes can take years to break down — at the expense of ecosystems and oceans, both of which are plagued by plastic waste.

That ethical dilemma's enough to keep you up at night — and you just used a makeup wipe so you could go to bed in the first place. Luckily, there are plenty of biodegradable makeup wipes out there. Keep reading to see our favorites, and whatever you do, don't ever flush any of these options down the toilet. "That damages our sewer system, even if it says that you can flush it on the packaging," Fallon said.