Price has been called the “elephant in the room” when it comes to clean beauty, which can often carry a higher price tag than its dirty counterparts. Of course, ethically-sourced ingredients and sustainable packaging can cost a lot more than cheap chemicals and preservatives, but it is possible to commit to a clean beauty routine without breaking the bank!

Read on for some of our top tips if you’re looking to embrace a cleaner beauty routine, on a budget…

Start concentrating

To make your own clean beauty journey more affordable, consider reaching for products that are more concentrated in formula, like bar soap in the shower and shampoo and conditioner bars from New Zealand’s own Ethique. A single Ethique shampoo bar is the equivalent to three bottles of traditional shampoo, which as well as being a great money saver, is well-suited for travel as it takes up a quarter of the room in your luggage as your average shampoo bottle!

Dust & Glow’s waterless body wash powder concentrate is another natural wonder that is small on size but packs a major punch. A 100 percent plant-based powder concentrate that is activated by the water in your shower, it lasts for up to an amazing 60 washes.

Look for multitaskers

Also great for travel and on the go, multitasking products allow you to spend a little more, confident in the fact that you’ll most definitely be getting your money’s worth.

Aleph Hybrid Eye Pigment in Atmos is a true hybrid product that offers consistency between a powder, a creme, and an eye pencil. All you need for bright eyes, you can use it to line, smudge or blend, and it can be applied using clean fingers, Aleph’s Eye Blender Brush, or their Lip Brush. It’s also waterproof and once in place, just won’t budge.

Aleph Serum/Primer is another marvellous multitasker, the highly concentrated formula delivering its potent active ingredients to deeper levels of the skin than a cream or a lotion. It is packed with a high concentration of deeply nourishing moisturising ingredients like macadamia and oil-free jojoba, so you can skip moisturiser altogether before makeup application.

Break up with wipes

It can be all too easy to reach for the nearest disposable wipe when it’s late at night and the last thing you want to do is wash your face, but the cost soon mounts up and many wipes on the market are made of synthetic fibres, pile up quickly in the bathroom rubbish bin, and don’t degrade when they reach the landfill. One disposable wipe can take up to a hundred years to decompose – scary stuff. 

Microfibre cloths are the perfect eco- and budget-friendly option for removing your makeup, and many do double duty as gentle exfoliators. A true beauty steal, the super affordable Take It Off makeup removal towels are made from the finest threads of polyester, where each thread is one hundred times thinner than a human hair. When woven together, they create a surface area significantly larger than that of traditional fibres, allowing them to attach themselves to the most microscopic specks of dirt and oils, and absorb them gently from your skin. Tailor Skincare’s Towels are another great choice, and suitable for even the most sensitive skin.

DIY your scrub

We don’t always recommend making your own skincare products as they can quickly go rancid, but body scrubs are a different proposition entirely. You can shell out more than the cost of your weekly groceries for some luxe brand scrubs, or just a few dollars making one at home with just a few ingredients. They take only a few short minutes to make, but the results are as luxurious (and fragrant) as any you would find in a specialty beauty store.

Quick & Easy Coffee Body Scrub Recipe

This homemade antioxidant coffee body scrub exfoliates the skin, helps reduce the appearance of cellulite, and moisturises with coconut oil. It’s also the perfect body scrub for gifting to the coffee lover in your life!

To make:

In a bowl, mix together 1/2 cup fresh ground coffee and 1/2 cup brown sugar.

Add in a 1/2 cup coconut oil (melted or soft), a few drops of vanilla extract, and a little ground cinnamon. Ground cinnamon is added for its warming effects on the skin – and it smells incredible.

Gently rub the mixture all over your body, leaving it on for several minutes. Rinse thoroughly.