Microbeads in Exfoliants: Why They're Banned and What Replaced Them
Plastic microbeads in face washes and scrubs were banned in the US in 2015 for polluting waterways. Learn what replaced them.
Microbeads are tiny spheres of solid plastic (usually polyethylene) once common in rinse-off exfoliating scrubs and face washes for their gentle, uniform abrasive texture. They're small enough to pass straight through water treatment plants, entering rivers, lakes, and oceans, where they're mistaken for food by fish and other wildlife and persist for decades. The US banned microbeads in rinse-off cosmetics under the Microbead-Free Waters Act of 2015, with the UK, Canada, and other countries following with similar bans. Most current US products already use natural alternatives — the main remaining risk is older stock or products imported from countries without a ban.
What Microbeads Are and Why They Were Used
Microbeads are manufactured plastic particles, typically under 5 millimeters and often much smaller, made from polyethylene or polypropylene. Cosmetic chemists liked them because they're perfectly uniform in size and shape — unlike natural exfoliants (ground shells, seeds, or sugar), which vary in sharpness and can feel harsh or scratchy, microbeads give a consistently gentle scrub.
That same property — small, uniform, solid, and inert — is exactly what makes them a durable environmental pollutant once they go down the drain.
The Environmental Case That Led to a Ban
Municipal wastewater treatment isn't designed to filter particles this small; a significant share of microbeads that go down the drain pass straight through and into waterways.
Fish, shellfish, and other aquatic organisms mistake microbeads for food or plankton. Studies documented microbeads accumulating in the digestive tracts of fish sampled from the Great Lakes and other waterways, a key piece of evidence cited in the push for a US ban.
The Microbead-Free Waters Act of 2015 banned the manufacture of rinse-off cosmetics containing plastic microbeads starting in 2017, with a sales phase-out completing by mid-2018. The UK banned microbeads in rinse-off products in 2018; Canada, New Zealand, and several other countries have similar bans.
Unlike organic exfoliants, plastic microbeads don't biodegrade on any meaningful timescale — once in the environment, they persist essentially indefinitely, breaking down only into smaller microplastic fragments.
How to Check What's in Your Scrub
Check the ingredient list for polyethylene or polypropylene as a listed ingredient in a rinse-off scrub — that's the giveaway for plastic microbeads rather than a natural exfoliant.
Natural alternatives are now standard. Ground walnut shells, apricot kernel powder, jojoba wax beads (biodegradable), sugar, and salt have all replaced plastic microbeads in reformulated products since the ban.
Be more cautious with imported or very old products. A scrub purchased years ago, or imported from a country without a microbead ban, is more likely to still contain them than anything currently sold by a major US brand.
Better Alternatives
A long-standing exfoliating scrub reformulated to use crushed walnut shell powder instead of plastic microbeads.
A rinse-off facial scrub using natural exfoliating particles rather than plastic microbeads.
Sources
- US Microbead-Free Waters Act of 2015 (full text) — https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/1321
- EPA — Microplastics and microbeads — https://www.epa.gov/trash-free-waters/microplastics
- NOAA — Microplastics in the marine environment — https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/microplastics.html
Explore Connections
Dive deeper into related hazards, similar chemical profiles, or safe material equivalents.