Microbead-Free: Why Our Lip Scrub Uses Sugar, Not Plastic

For years, the "exfoliating beads" in a lot of scrubs were tiny bits of plastic, engineered to wash straight down the drain and out to sea.

What a microbead actually is

Microbeads are small, solid plastic particles — generally under 5mm — added to rinse-off cosmetics like face washes, toothpastes and body scrubs as a cheap, uniform abrasive. They don't dissolve. They don't biodegrade. They go down the shower drain, pass straight through most wastewater treatment systems, and end up in rivers and oceans, where they're small enough for fish and other marine life to mistake for food.

Why they're banned

In the US, the Microbead-Free Waters Act of 2015 was signed into law in December 2015, prohibiting the manufacture of rinse-off cosmetics containing plastic microbeads from July 2017 and their sale from July 2018. The UK followed with its own ban on rinse-off cosmetics containing plastic microbeads — manufacturing stopped from January 2018, sales from June 2018. Both laws exist for the same reason: plastic microbeads don't break down, and once they're in waterways, they're effectively impossible to remove.

Why coconut sugar does the same job without the problem

The Cocolicious Luscious Lip Scrub was never built on microbeads — it's a fine coconut-sugar (sucrose) scrub in a tub. Sugar dissolves as you buff, so there's nothing solid and synthetic left to rinse down the drain in the first place. It's a plastic-free, biodegradable way to exfoliate, and it comes with a side benefit: because the granules soften and melt as you work them in, they're gentler on the thin skin of your lips than a scrub that stays abrasive from first buff to last. Jojoba oil and avocado oil are blended through the sugar to soften and nourish while you exfoliate, so lips are buffed smooth, not stripped. It's vegan, cruelty-free and naturally derived.

Shop the Cocolicious Luscious Lip Scrub

Gentle exfoliation, without the microplastics

Lips don't have the oil glands the rest of your face does, so they're more prone to dryness and flaking, and more sensitive to anything too harsh. A scrub that dissolves as it works, rather than staying gritty until you rinse it off, buffs away flaky skin and preps lips for balm without over-scrubbing. Buff a pea-size amount onto damp lips with a fingertip or lip brush, two to three times a week, then follow with a lip balm or mask.

FAQ

Are plastic microbeads still used in cosmetics?
Manufacturing and sale of rinse-off cosmetics containing plastic microbeads is banned in the US and UK, though rules vary by country, so it's worth checking labels if you're shopping in markets without a ban.

Is coconut sugar biodegradable?
Yes — it's a natural sucrose that dissolves in water, unlike plastic microbeads, which don't break down.

Does a sugar scrub exfoliate as well as a bead scrub?
Yes. Coconut sugar granules provide effective physical exfoliation to buff away flaky, dry skin, and they do it while dissolving, which is part of why they're gentler on lips.

Sources

Real ingredients. Real results.