To be honest, not a whole lot other than personal preference. We choose to use high performance luxury cosmetic PET glitter because it is more stable and provides better performance and than the plant based new-kid-on-the-block when tested in different conditions over long periods of time.

Currently there are only a handful of plant-based colors available and as more options become available, we will make them available to our customers. Many brands are, in our opinion, straight up lying in order to sell products. Many foreign glitter manufacturers are also lying to sell fake “bio-degradable” glitters to unsuspecting young start-ups.

True bio-glitter is based from plant cellulose derived from eucalyptus trees. There is only one manufacturer that has certification that they use eucalyptus that is responsibly sourced and that is the only plant-based manufacturer we work with.



IN CONCLUSION

I’ll admit I can get a bit triggered by being asked if our glitter is “bio-degradable” simply because most of the time the people asking have seen a 30 second facebook ad and have already decided they know everything about the subject and that we are ocean-killing villians! As a conscientious brand, it is important to address this topic directly to get ahead of the issue and educate consumers. We hope this blog promotes thoughtful conversation based on facts vs emotions.

Are we advocating to cover your bodies in glitter and go tubing down the LA river? Of course not. All glitter, eco or not, should be removed responsibly as possible, and TBH who would really want to deal the plumbing bill after a Kesha concert !?

Our favorite ways to remove glitter from your body are sticky lint rollers or for larger areas, exfoliating mitts like this one from Amazon, to lightly brush the dried glitter off your body. You’ll get 99% of it off, and be guilt free in the shower!

Listen, I could have made a shit load of cash peddling bio-degradable nonsense on our site ages ago but there's a reason I chose not to. Lemonhead.LA makes the highest quality luxury glitter products in the world. If something doesn't meet my standard or if it feels fake or insincere, I'm not going to take advantage of people. Are we perfect in every way? Hell no. But we do what we can to make sure we are true to our customers and most importantly to ourselves.

Because I can't resist spilling some tea, I'd like to leave you with a truth bomb of palpable hypocrisy. Every major retailer requires every one of their brands to put every single unit in it's own ziplock plastic bag. 500 unit order? 500 plastic bags that get thrown away in the trash when they arrive at their final destination. 10,000 unit order? That's 10,000 plastic bags that are being thrown away with every order (you think they recycle in the back of their stores? aww). That's the reality of major retail sales. We could make our glitter out of Tinkerbell's breast milk and serve it in a sustainable mushroom cap and it would still have to ship to stores in a plastic bag.

Long story short, there’s so much more in life to worry about than a little glitter. Be a good person, try to leave a lighter environmental footprint for future generations and buy things that make you happy.

XOXO

Megan - Founder & CEO, LHLA

Note: Lemonhead.LA offers plant based glitters as a customizable option. At the time of publishing this blog, there has never been an official scientific test on cosmetic or plant-based glitter in the oceans.

Additional Sources:

https://www.ewg.org/skindeep/ingredient/704991/POLYETHYLENE_TEREPHTHALATE/#.W4WTMJNKiCQ

