Introduction
Personal care packaging is really important especially for suppliers of personal care products.
Today we are going to tell you why and how to create attractive designs with a bunch of examples on the market.
And sure, we’ll also talk about the market and trends of the industry. If you’re inside the personal care packing industry you definitely don’t want to miss it.
Why packaging is important for personal care products?
To better understand the importance of personal care packaging, we need to know the importance of personal hygiene.
It’s important for both physical and mental health.
Good personal hygiene habits help to lower the risk for diseases, as your body is exposed to bacteria 24&7. If it’s not cleansed through time these bacteria can multiply increasing the risk of infections and other health problems.
Mentally, personal hygiene is important for self-esteem.
Being clean and well-groomed can make you feel more comfortable and confident on your own skin. While being dirty is not only a risk for your health, but it also creates feelings of discomfort and anxiety.
That’s why we always need to maintain a good personal hygiene routine.
What does a good personal hygiene routine look like?
We are mostly aware one must have a daily personal hygiene routine. And it’s important to the start, during, or the end of a day.
Here are some important factors for personal hygiene.
Handwashing
Our hands are the most susceptible part of our body to be around bacteria.
This reason is simple, we use our hands constantly in our daily life.
That includes holding your phone, pen, opening a door, or going to the bathroom. Thus, washing our hands frequently with water and soap remains one of the keys. For example, wash our hands in the following situations:
- Before eating or cooking food.
- Before holding a baby.
- After visiting the toilet
- After coughing or sneezing
- And the cases after touching the animals
Dental Care
Caring for your teeth can not only benefit your appearance but also avoid things such as gum disease.
Also, it helps with problems like bad breath, tooth decay, and many other infections.
So, always remember to
- Wash your teeth a minimum of twice a day, mostly after eating and before going to sleep.
- Floss the teeth daily to clean the spots that a regular toothbrush cannot reach.
- Store your toothbrush in a clean and dry place.
- Change your toothbrush regularly to avoid bacteria accumulation.
Bathing
Taking a bath daily is important as well, you can do it better by
- Bathing daily with soap and warm water prevents the body to have an odor or for bacteria to stick around.
- Always remember to dry yourself after showering to avoid infections as Athlete’s foot.
- Shampoo and condition your hair at least once a week to keep your scalp clean and prevent head lice.
Laundry
Germs and dirt can cling to your clothes too.
So, it’s also important to wash your clothes regularly to remove any germs or impurities.
Also, if you’re ever exposed to a patient, the bacteria can also stick in your clothes go home with you. In this case, adding antiseptic liquid or disinfectant will make your clothes clean and fresh before you wear them.
Personal hygiene may look hard to do. But once you’ve got those habits, you’ll find it as easy as eating and drinking.
Personal care packaging is everywhere in our daily life.
As you can tell, high-quality personal hygiene involves a series of personal care products and items. So, think about the following scenario. If the personal care products come with ugly packaging or give you a dirty feeling, will you buy them?
We are sure you will know the answer especially when you’re inside the personal care industry.
Thus, personal care packaging remains critically important because it leaves your customers the first impression.
There are times you might leave the product on the shelf because of the personal care packaging. While you must have the experience that you decided to buy the cream because it stood out among the many. And the reason is easy, the price and functions remained the same. However, the attractive personal care packaging just caught your eyes. If all these things come with bare/no personal care packaging. Too hard to imagine, right?
Now that we’ve learned the importance of personal care packaging for personal care products, let’s look at the market.
The global personal care packaging market
Personal care packing is one of the essential features of the personal care industry.
It not only creates a physical visual appeal but also contributes to increased the value of the products. Moreover, many companies constantly invest in improving the personal care packing ideas for their products. For example, haircare, skincare, deodorants, and many others.
Currently, the market for personal care packing has a value of 24.49 Billion USD.
And the market expects to reach 31.9 billion USD by 2025.
Plastics remain the key material for the personal care packaging industry
So, personal care packaging remains a significant part of the packaging market, since the industry is in rapid and continuous growth. The personal care packaging solutions may involve the most varied packaging requirements compared to all other sectors though.
Take the materials as an example. Metals, glass, paper, and plastic, all these items make containers with different shapes and sizes determined by the product.
Among the many, plastics remain one of the primary materials used for the personal care packaging industry. This is a result of their nature.
Plastics can form containers, flexible pouches, caps, closures, and nozzles.
In the meantime, plastic tubes are the most used form for personal care packaging in the personal care industry. It can store liquid-solid and semi-solid materials and dispense products.
Also, tubes provide better protection for the product, when compared to other forms of containers.
The personal care packaging market in regional sectors
Asia has a rise in disposable income, along with the growing popularity of personal care packaging products.
A result of the growth of skincare products in particular.
Natural to organic ingredients would be the primary factors driving this growth. Through time, there are many socio-demographic changes in these regions. This includes the following countries like Korea, China, Japan, and India.
The growth of personal care product demand then results in the surging demand for the personal care packaging market.
On the other hand, oral care is also gaining benefits as consumers comprehend the importance of preventing oral health problems.
At the same time, most toothpaste brands in the US gained popularity.
In Italy, about 76.3% of consumers suffering from diabetes talked about their experience. That is, they brush their teeth after each meal as they are more likely to suffer from periodontal disease. The disease results from infection to the gum and bone that hold the teeth in place.
Recently, the spread of COVID-19 has greatly impacted the market by disrupting the supply chain. Many massive factories close down because of the pandemic situation.
Subsequently, companies providing personal care products are facing difficulty to find personal care packaging solutions for their products.
In many countries, suppliers of personal care products are difficult to function. So, the governments put the personal care industry under the essential category, so that they can function during the epidemic burst.
The market for personal care packaging in Australia
The industry structure in Australia is changing. Concerns for a healthier lifestyle have become a popular trend.
As a result, the demand for personal care packaging is greater than ever.
And the awareness of environmental protection has raised among the customers in recent years.
Thus, many manufactures start to develop and expand new personal care packaging solutions to change their materials. From non-eco-friendly to sustainable materials such as glass, recycled cardboard.
And that involves the compostable personal care packaging as well. Organic materials like peanuts, sugarcane, starch can fulfill the expectation of the customers.
Find more about the current Australian packaging market.
The big players on the global personal care packaging market today
Amcor Plc
The Australian Amcor Group is a multinational packaging leader in the world.
The Group develops and produces a variety of flexible and rigid packaging solutions. And their specialties include closures and cartons.
The packaging product by the Amcor Group is common to find in many industries, including:
- food & beverage
- pharmaceutical
- medical device
- home
- personal care
- and more
In the year 2018, Amcor has pledged to develop all its packaging products to be recyclable or reusable by 2025.
Also, it has joined the US Plastic Pact, a collaboration led by the Recycling Partnership, World Wildlife Fund (WWF), and Ellen MacArthur Foundation.
More recently, Amcor and the US Plastic Pact have been working together to create a path forward to a circular economy for plastic in the US by 2025.
So far, the US Pact convenes over 60 brands NGOs, retailers, and government agencies to work out innovative solutions for packaging products and business models.
The Amcor Group strives to be a role in responsible packaging solutions and minimizing waste in the environment.
The headquarter of Amcor is in Australia. With around 48,000 staff, Amcor has generated $13 billion in sales with operations spanning across more than 40 countries.
And it is making progress towards its commitment by the increased use of recycled materials. That will drive greater recycling of packaging around the world.
AptarGroup Inc.
Based in the US, AptarGroup, Inc., is a global manufacturer of consumer packaging and drug delivery devices.
Today, Aptar has manufacturing operations throughout 18 countries.
Other than manufacturing, it is also a global leader in the design of active packaging solutions. They are making meaningful packaging solutions in the looks, health, homes, and lives of millions of people around the world.
The innovative solutions by Aptar’s are common to find in a variety of end markets as followed:
The headquarters of the Group lies in Crystal Lake Illinois. And it has 14,000 employees in 17 countries currently.
The history of Aptar began in 1946 as Werner Die & Stamping in Cary and formed the Group in 1992.
Many companies in the biotech and pharmaceutical industries adopt Aptar’s devices for different medicines.
In July 2019, the FDA approved Aptar Pharma’s Unidose Powder System as the first intranasally-delivered, needle-free rescue treatment for severe hypoglycemia.
During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the Group invested to accelerate its molding equipment and assembly machines for pumps.
As always, Aptar creates innovative packaging technologies to build brand value for customers through design, science, and insights.
Today, the stock of Aptar lists on the New York Stock Exchange. And it was named to Barron’s list of 2019’s Top 100 Most Sustainable US companies.
Gerresheimer AG
Gerresheimer AG manufactures packaging products for medicine and drug delivery devices.
As you might tell from the name, the headquarters of the company is in Germany.
With the former name Gerresheimer Glass AG, glass and plastics packaging solutions remain their specialties today. And the packaging products by Gerresheimer AG serve widely in the personal care, cosmetics, and pharmaceutical industries.
Currently, the company has operations in Europe, Asia, and the Americas for its production. That includes 6 production facilities in China, 7 in India, and 5 in South America.
Today, you can easily find Gerresheimer’s footprints in the fast-growing emerging markets.
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the global pharmaceutical business has developed well. And this also boosted the business of Gerresheimer.
Moreover, the company will continue to increase its investment in quality and capacity as they did in 2019 and 2020.
Accordingly, Gerresheimer has generated a revenue of 363 million Euros in the second quarter of 2020. That marks 4.6% organic growth in the core business compared to the same period of 2019.
Albéa SA
Albéa SA is the leading supplier in plastic and laminate tubes, mascaras, lipsticks, and samplers. And it offers the largest range of packaging solutions for personal care and beauty industries in the world.
You can find their footprints in compacts, lip gloss, fragrance & lotion caps, promotional items, and accessories as an expert.
Over 50 years, the innovative packaging design and world-class manufacturing by the company have acquired customers’ hearts throughout the world.
At the moment, the company has 12,000 people serving various brands in 60 countries across the world. You can find their 32 facilities in Europe, the Americas, and Asia.
By the year 2019, Albéa’s global sales have reached a total of 1.2 billion USD.
Silgan Holding Inc
Silgan Holding Inc is a leading manufacturer of metal containers in Europe and North America.
The company’s products lines include:
- plastic containers
- steel and aluminum containers
- plastic and metal closures
- dispensing systems
And you can find the footprints of Silgan Holding’s products in the following industries:
- personal care
- beauty
- food for human and pets
- beverage
- health care
- pharmaceutical
- household
- garden
- and more
Besides, in the market of North America, the company is now the largest manufacturer of plastic and metal food containers. And the market share of their products takes over half of the market in the year 2019.
The products of Silgan Holding have served various branded clients. Listerine, Campbell’s Soup, Del Monte Fruits and Vegetables, and Friskies Pet Food are all their clients.
The company’s goal is to increase shareholder value, reduce operating costs and build competitive sustainable solutions.
Moreover, Silgan Holding is an expert in acquiring and integrating. Since the establishment in 1987, Silgan has acquired 36 businesses.
As a result, they have created a net sale of $2.47 billion in 2019.
The personal care packaging trends
Haircare is likely to grab a significant share over the other personal care products
Haircare retail is a highly known and competitive sector.
As seen, haircare companies mostly rely on packaging distinction to forge a company and customer connection.
Impressive packaging ideas will make your brand stand out among your competitors in the personal care packaging market.
That’s why more and more hair care brands invest more money in packaging solutions for their products.
Some adopt matte and gloss printing techniques by increasing sensory elements into their packaging to attract consumers.
Many recognized Japanese personal care brands are trying to propel their presence in Europe.
Guhl, for example, the Tokyo-based haircare brand by Kao’s, start to tap into eco-friendly products and sustainable packaging solutions.
Typically, their personal care packaging comprising 50% recycled Polyethylene terephthalate (rPET) has managed to establish their presence in Europe. Countries like Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and the Netherland are in great demand of that.
Furthermore, the condition bottles used by Kao’s are fully recyclable thanks to the full use of polypropylene (PP).
Jar packaging is hitting the game
Jar packaging is common to see for hair care products.
And there are a variety of jars on the market today, such as single wall and double wall, acrylic, and metal shelled. They can create an elegant appearance for hair care products since these jars can easily hold and sustain large volumes. That way, products like gels, creams, waxes, and pastes can all enjoy the benefits.
As a result, the trend also spreads to other personal care packaging today.
Moreover, these low-profile jars of plastic and glass come in travel-size packaging. And they are suitable for creams, lotions, and gels aiming at the high-end market.
For instance, Herbal Essences partnered with TerraCycle to develop a recyclable shampoo bottle composed of 25% recycled beach plastic in 2019. They are going to adopt this bottle for conditioner products as well.
Moreover, L’Oréal and ProAmpac developed a unique and sustainable packaging by adding a “Packing & Environment” policy since 2007. They achieved the goal by reducing packaging and volume weight with recycled materials or materials manufactured using renewable energy.
Besides, PB Creative, the award-winning brand design agency worked with Toni & Guy. They developed a new set of packaging designs to appeal to more “mature” consumers. And they relate closely to the market target of the brand.
PS: Toni & Guy is an international American chain of hairdressing salons.
North America would probably be the biggest shareholder
The circumstance in the US
The US is a major leader in personal care products.
A study made by the Brazilian Association of personal Hygiene shows that the US had the most valuable market in the globe in 2018. And that generated a profit of 89.5 billion USD.
Now, the personal care market obtains a growing demand, as a result of premiumization in line with the global trend.
That also leads to innovative and premium packaging.
In the recent past, Estee lauder is working with another leading cosmetic line Bobbi brown. They launched an Art Stick Liquid Lip in a new color cosmetic container that facilitates the way that liquid lipstick is applied.
Currently, the US is also increasing the use of e-commerce channels for personal care products.
Natural beauty products, in particular, are experiencing more demand, as a result.
The US Government has proposed a new policy to regulate products. Personal care products need approval to be labeled as natural and sustainable before being placed on the market.
The circumstance in Canada
As for the personal care industry in Canada, the government has been playing a significant role in development.
As well as the US, Canada focuses on personal care innovation in the industry.
Studies show that the packing industry estimates to rise from 50,497 million units in 2018 to 52,911.4 million in 2023. Along with the promotion of academics about personal care products, which also contributes to the growth in the industry.
This is going to help the Canadian personal care industry to revive. The personal care industry in Canada is fragmented, but several SMEs might thrive thanks to the policy.
Moreover, this will also boost the growth of the personal care packaging industry during the forecast period.
E-commerce leads the new marketplace
As mentioned above, e-commerce is very much driving the future of personal retail. That means personal care packaging solutions must adjust to better meet the new requirements.
both for appearance and resistance to damage during transportation.
The personal care market was once an industry only limited to physical stores. But these years, technological advancements had improved massively.
In fact, a big concern for many personal care players is protecting their signature style and branding.
Packaging appearance, just like fashion, suffers from ‘dupe culture’ and PrimePac will advise you on the best ways to develop your pretty packaging designs while protecting them from your competitors.
Feel free to tell us your needs and get a quote for the packaging solutions.
Besides, the personal care industry is moving towards e-commerce simply because consumers are striving to have digital experiences.
Also, many other platforms can provide top tips for packaging beauty goods for e-commerce.
And PrimePac is an example in Australia. With rich experience in the packaging industry, we can help you promote your brand and products into popular e-commerce marketplaces.
The pain points:
User experience has become more and more the key role to success.
But sometimes, micro-aggressions are preventing a product from being 100% pleasurable for a consumer.
For a while, the products in the personal care industry came with simple and often monotonous designs.
However, personal care retail sites with an optimal visual will definitely attract more customers. So, a change in the packaging industry is essential to meet the various requirements of a customer today.
Therefore, we always delve into the packaging designs. It is because we do know it can result in a greater user experience with total satisfaction.
Our goal is to make personal care packaging individual, inclusive, and accessible to every customer.
Concerns about sustainability
How is it going to impact the sustainability of our planet? This has been one of the major dilemmas.
And it remains a leading issue for consumers and brands inside this industry.
Plastics are currently the main talking point due to the series of current issues as you can tell. Ocean plastics, for example, have been a pain point for Aussies.
However, “not all plastics are equal”. In other words, plastics can also be sustainable if we use them in the right way.
And there are benefits in recyclable/recycled plastic, bioplastics, and compostable plastics.
Many studies and reports showed us how to make plastic packaging sustainable.
Also, experts have pointed out the possibility that “A product lifecycle won’t cost the earth”. We just need to understand and practice the topic “how to upcycle in packaging”.
Furthermore, Eastman’s Renske Gores talked about chemical recycling. She explained how to recycle chemicals. And the chemical recycling trend would represent the future of recycled materials. Hence, benefits plastic packaging in the personal care industry.
PS: Renske Gores is a veteran specialized in personal care packaging. Her current role is as an experienced participant in sustainable projects in bio-sourcing.
Nice look
Apart from being sustainable, products with a beautiful look in the packaging will inspire potential customers. As we discussed earlier, the quality of packaging for personal care products serves part of the whole user experience.
Thus, a packaging solution with beautiful looking would be a plus and make you stand out among your competitors.
Customization and individualization
We are now seeing a strong desire for individualization and customization by customers.
The desire to fulfill all customers’ desires in packaging for personal care products. From the shoe brands allowing you to upload your arts for your shoe designs to the billion-dollar market for cell phone covers.
In fact, there is a growing expectation from the customers.
As a customer yourself, you want your vendors to treat you as an individual rather than the general. That’s why individualization remains the shining star at the moment.
Of course, personal care packaging is not an exception.
How to start your packing design?
If you own a business of personal care products, the potential for some serious stuff is there.
Also, you want to bring your amazing ideas to your products to attract customers.
To achieve that goal, you will have to find a way to break through the clutter. As some designers say, make your packaging jump off the shelf at Walmart. And tell your customer “THIS is the thing only for you!”. The smart way to do that is through your packaging solution.
As we mentioned above, your packaging is the first thing to turn the passers-by into your customers.
Unless your packaging grabs their attention, or they’re likely to gather dust on the shelf rather than go home with customers.
But how do we create a kind of packaging to make your target customers crave for it and scream “THIS IS WHAT I WANT?!”
Here are a bunch of tips for your reference before hatching out your great ideas.
Important things prior to your design
Before we start designing our packaging solution, there are several points we have to consider:
Know your target customer
Developing a clear and understanding target can be the most important thing you need to do.
And that should come before choosing your packaging and even the products.
In other words, it remains critical to know who we’re designing for. And we need to find out the answers to the questions like these:
- Are our customer’s masculine sportsmen? Or those young gentlemen who like to drinks and sit before the TV dreaming of themselves to be supermen?
- Is that a lady picking for bargains among the shelves in the supermarket? Or a lady who cares more about the quality and will pay more for the product lifespan?
However, many new business owners share a common mistake. They might think a product can fit everyone’s taste.
But apparently, it doesn’t work that way.
Just like, you probably don’t want to wear the dress of your grandma to go on a date.
As we said, individualization and customization remain the key to success. Particularly, the case in personal care packaging requires more elements that involve the word “PERSONAL”.
Therefore, defining your target customer will definitely increase the sales of your product.
Find out the personality of your brand
Your brand’s personality remains as important as the identity of your target customer.
Are you working to be a KIA, Toyota, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, or Porsche?
The personality of your brand brings you, customers, with the same or similar preferences. People always prefer to stay closer to those who share similar characters. And you can well see that also in their shopping habits.
Again, your brand’s personality is your brand’s identity. So, figure it out and get the hearts of our target customers before the design work.
Think about how your ideal customers will buy your products
How your target customers buy your products is the key factor in how and where you’re going to sell.
For example, if your target customers prefer to buy online, then you might open an online store. While your sales lie in the offline stores, you will probably invest more to develop the offline channels then.
On the other hand, if you’re targeting bulk sales at a time, you might prefer wholesalers rather than retailers.
So, think it through earlier is better than later.
Gather your team and brainstorm the ideas
Great ideas are often a result of integration after a series of meetings and discussions.
So, a few brainstorming before start designing your packaging is a wise choice. Bring your creative team members and discuss the plan in detail.
Jump out of the box and be brave to use images and colors during the discussion. And these elements are also important keys to reflect your brand personality.
Last but not least, always remember to keep your team inspired during the process.
How to do this? Make use of the existing examples on the market today.
Get some inspiration from the trends
Remember the packaging trends we talked about earlier?
Since you’ve got the principles, we’re now going to talk about solid examples.
We need to keep in mind, the trends are like a mirror of the preferences and behaviors of customers. Thus, it’s important to keep the packaging design up-to-date.
Here are some personal care packaging instances that we are seeing everywhere today.
Unique customs fonts
Unique customs fonts modify the words on your packaging.
A well-designed distinct font will make your brands stand out from others.
Nowadays you can see many types of fonts designed for the packaging of different kinds of products. Nearly all brands have their own special fonts.
Font design has become a must for designing packaging. It tells customers who you are as a brand.
However, hand lettering is not used as much because it seems ordinary. You need to design a font with a clear style. For example, design a font that arouses a retro vibe or a font that shows a bold attitude. Make sure the font sticks in people’s minds.
Intricate line drawings
If you are a detail-oriented person, you will find intricate line drawings are also a personal care packaging trend.
It’s because intricate line drawings form lots of details.
Although they have no words, they show what’s the product behind the personal care packaging. You can know something about the product. Intricate line drawings are common in personal care packaging, usually in the form of a beautiful flower.
They may cover the whole product package or just cover part of the package. The perfect quality of line drawings is that you can change the lines as you like. For example, you can make your line drawings less feminine, or more elegant, or cleaner. It’s easy to find out the line drawings that most fit your products.
Bold, eye-catching patterns
Another trend is using patterns to catch customers’ eyes.
An eye-catching pattern at the right place gives your products a confident young look.
Subsequently, it will help your products easily stand out from other products in the market. A combination of stripes and wild color will never go out of style.
Or you can design an irregular pattern. A bold, eye-catching pattern will give your design a certain edge. It does more than give your products a young look. So, carefully design your patterns and make good use of them.
Using a cool black packaging with a twist
Choosing a classy monochrome design will ensure that your packaging will never go out of style.
Many famous personal care brands tend to use black and white packaging. White packaging used to be an overwhelming choice for personal care packaging. Black packaging for personal care products looks very luxurious, making an air of mystery and coolness.
It is going to dominate monochrome packing. So, adding some unique patterns and a little pop of color will be an interesting twist to this kind of black packaging.
Lush florals and warm earthy colors
If your products pursue a sustainable lifestyle, you can use rich, warm flowers and earthy colors in your packaging design.
This style of packaging will make your products look more sustainable and earthy. It can be feminine. Sometimes it can add a sexy vibe to your products. Lush flowers and earthy colors can give customers a feeling of warmness and comfort.
It’s a good idea to combine lush floral illustrations and simple typography. The result must be a classic style–approachable yet luxurious.
Modern and minimalist pastels
The combination of pastel and minimalism is a match made in heaven.
On one hand, pastels can soften or harsh a minimalist personal care packaging design. On the other hand, a clean minimalist design can give the pastel packaging a sense of modernity and maturity. When designing your personal care packaging, you can play with these two concepts. Use pastel and minimalism in your design and find out the best mix for your brand.
And meanwhile, keep the personal care packaging simple and stylish. Another option is picking one color with many pastel colors, to get a playful and dreamy personal care packaging look.
When it comes to personal care packaging, there is no bad choice. You need to encourage yourself to be different. Take advantage of the tips we mentioned just now. What you aim for is a unique personal care packaging design that expresses yourself and your ideas about the products.
It is your ideas that make your products unique and stand out from other brands.
Find more about packaging designs.
Eco-friendly ideas about personal care packaging
Recycle the packaging for personal care products
What kind of materials is recyclable when it comes to personal care packaging?
Shampoo and conditioner bottles
Bottles of shampoo, conditioners, and shower gel might vary depending on the brand.
But usually, these bottles are recyclable.
Before you bring them to a recycling center, make sure that you have washed and dried the bottles.
If you are not sure 100% whether the bottles are recyclable, you can read the label. If the label has a triangle with an arrow symbol, it means the bottle can be recycled.
Deodorant cans and aerosols containers
If deodorant cans, hairspray, or dry shampoo containers are made of steel or aluminum, mostly they can be recycled.
But before you bring these cans to recycling centers, you should make sure that all these cans are empty.
And you should take down all the detachable parts. Also, do not pierce, crush, or try to flatten these cans. It could be very dangerous as these cans contain gas. It is inflammable and may hurt you.
Hairdryers, straighteners, and electrical beauty tools.
Things like hairdryers, curling wands, and straighteners are usually non-recyclable or unsustainable.
But they are widely recycled in many places.
Bigger electronic items such as TVs and washing machines are mostly non-recyclable. It means that you cannot recycle any useful materials from the TV by yourself.
So why not donate them to local recycling centers? Recycling centers will gladly accept these items if they still work. And later they will be sold to people who need them.
Besides, if you want to make some money, you can sell these non-recyclable items online.
DON’T misunderstand, the below items are NOT recyclable
Nail varnish bottles
People have found hazardous toxins in the components of nail varnish. It means that you can’t recycle nail varnish bottles even if you clean them thoroughly.
So, avoid trying to recycle nail varnish bottles, as they will contaminate your other recyclables.
Make-up wipes
Make-up wipes are not a recyclable or eco-friendly option unless they are labelled as biodegradable.
Nivea’s biodegradable cleansing wipes can biodegrade in 28 days.
But most of the make-up wipes are still non-recyclable. Instead of using make-up wipes, you can choose some reusable make-up pads or biodegradable sheets.
For example, things like Jinmee Hydrapuff Skincare Sheets are an eco-friendly and price-friendly choice. Also, remember that items that have a “Biodegradable” tag cannot be thrown to the recycling bin.
Makeup brushes
Makeup brushes are made of superfine non-recyclable nylon, plastic, or animal-derived hairs.
In other words, there are not meant to be recyclable.
If makeup brushes are broken, you could only dispose of them in your normal bin. To avoid resentment, just take care of your make up brushes to prolong their life span.
Or you can find more sustainable brushes. There are some bamboo brushes in the market.
How to recycle the packaging for personal care products properly?
When it comes to getting rid of our unwanted clothes, you can choose to take them to a local clothes bank or charity shop.
Always ensure that the clothes are in good condition for the next person that will use them.
What’s more, don’t wash skincare or makeup products in the sink. It’s because some of the ingredients in these products can cause harm.
Over time, these ingredients can contaminate water supplies and then harm aquatic life.
Also, disposing of these products in a recycling bin is not a good solution if you care about the Earth. It can be as harmful as not recycling products at all.
Even though we try our best to recycle, unfortunately, we still throw our products in the wrong recycling bin. It may cause harm and the products need to be recycled again.
But still, there are some tips for recycling personal care products and packaging properly.
Return it
Some personal care brands like Lush, Origins, and MAC, have recycling programs depending on the region.
The programs encourage customers to return the packaging to the stores. Therefore, the stores can reuse the packaging instead of producing more containers.
Take MAC as an example. MAC has a program named “Back-to-MAC”. It allows customers to return six empty containers in exchange for a free lipstick!
Upcycle
There are many ways to reuse these containers.
You can recycle them or just return them to a store. Also, by cleaning them properly, you can use these containers to store other things.
Or just put them in your house as decorations.
Do not rinse the bottle out
Do not rinse the bottle out as the rinsed products will flow into surface water. And this is going to contaminate the water supplies, or even damage marine life.
Instead, you can wipe the bottle with a paper towel to reuse it.
Besides, make sure the bottles are completely dry before throwing them into the recycling bin.
Beware of hazardous waste
Many products, such as lipsticks and nail varnishes, contain a chemical called acrylate.
The acrylates are harmful. So, never throw them into a normal bin or recycling bin.
Therefore, when dealing with these hazardous wastes, you should go to the nearest hazardous waste center. And dispose of them properly there.
Choose wisely
It’s wise of you to check before buying products easy to recycle. For example, pump-action sprays are better than aerosols, so it’s better to choose the former.
However, some aerosols cans are recyclable if the material is steel or aluminum. To recycle them, take out their caps and make sure they are completely empty.
Besides, most products like makeup pallets have mirrors or magnets.
If you want to recycle these products, make sure you take out those mirrors and magnets. It’s because they are not recyclable.
And mascara tubes remain the same.
Some mascara wands are not recyclable. Thus, just take them off and you can recycle the rest.
Re-use your personal care packaging
Many brands have appealing and useful packaging for their products.
But when you finish using the products, you might always feel that the packaging is no longer adoptable. And then you might dispose of them in the bin.
However, there are many other uses for packaging.
Here we offer some ideas so that you can reuse your products and the packaging.
Tins
Tins that are used to hold lip balm or solid lipstick can be cleaned and used to store small items.
For example, use tins to store ponytails, bobby pins, vitamins, or coins.
Tins function as containers. They can help you organize your home items. It means that you can save money on buying containers.
Another way to reuse tins is to store homemade makeup in tins. Homemade makeup is popular now and there are many easy tutorials on YouTube to make lip balms and tinted lipsticks.
You can use essential oils to enhance the fragrance, which is also good for your health.
Also, you can use rose powder or add some coconut or shea butter to keep your lips moist at all times!
Lotions Jars
These jars can function as storage containers.
And you just need to clean them and clear out all the residue from the product. Make use of the soap and wash them well with water. And then you can try to store things with these jars, like cotton ball makeup brushes and pens.
Also, you can paint the jars or stick some scrapbook so that they can decorate your house.
Additionally, you can use these jars to hold new lotions.
Some brands allow customers to refill lotions again at a lower price. It means you don’t need to buy the same product again and save your money.
Compact Containers
The makeup industry is full of compact containers for many types of products, such as blush, foundation, concealer, and bronzer.
It is easy for you to recycle these compact containers when you run out of the product.
Just simply remove the metal tin by using a flat screwdriver.
Or use a knife if you don’t have the right tools. Anyway, make sure to be careful.
Afterward, clean the container and you can use it to store small items like earrings, coins, and paper clips. The advantage of a compact container is that it is easy to carry. You can put it in your wallet or bag.
Also, you could use this empty container to combine a paler foundation with a compact powder. You will get a shade that fits you right in different seasons.
Lip balm tubes
Old lipstick tubes seem like a small compartment.
You can DIY natural lip balms with the old tubes. Or melt other lip balms, mix them, afterward chill for a few minutes to create a new color.
It’s a fun activity and you will finally get a new lipstick!
A further step to upcycle
Create your unique charging dock with a lotion bottle
There are many creative and fun DIYs in the media where you can craft your empty bottles into something useful.
A charging dock, for example.
Instead of leaving your phone on the floor, you can have a place to hold your phone while it’s charging. You can make a fun crafting session with your kids or friends.
The good news is, an empty lotion bottle is enough for the raw material. A marker and a cutter can bring your art to the next level if you want your own style!
Use the plastic bottle caps to make a lamp
Apart from using bottles to DIY, we can also use plastic bottle caps.
The cute little plastic bottle caps can really craft some amazing items with your wonderful hands, such as a lamp.
Check out the picture below and you can definitely make your innovative bottle cap lamp, too!
Turn the shampoo bottles into airplane toys
Did you know we can craft many things with shampoo bottles? Your eyes don’t lie! Even airplanes!
And the good thing is that it takes only some easy work with scissors and glue. Then, you will have a toy to keep your children happy during bath times.
Look at the excellent artwork below. Your children are going to love it!
Recycle laundry detergent containers into toy cars
Perhaps every little kid has a dream of their unique car. Building one by himself/herself makes it even greater.
Apart from saving yourself some money in brand new toys, you can reuse your laundry detergent bottles by creating toy cars. A bottle with large size as the car body plus some extra caps for the wheels. And some basic tools to connect them together.
This is not only a fun way to spend time with your kids but also a way to develop their creativity.
Moreover, it is a good start to cultivate their awareness of our lovely environment.
Transform the reused plastic bottles to be piggy banks
Making piggy banks with plastic bottles is another way to reuse them.
And that comes very handy if you’re trying to save some coins but looking for a place. In this case, you can create a piggy bank from your plastic bottle.
An interesting way to teach your kids to do some financial management, isn’t it?
Additionally, you can paint the entire bottle making it a unique style. Imagine the surprising face when your little one opens it after a few months.
Meanwhile, a transparent look can make your saving progress visible.
If you’re also interested in cosmetic packaging, also read another article(link).
Conclusion
Today, we’ve talked about pretty much stuff about personal care packaging in this article. Before you get overwhelmed over the bundle, let’s take a quick recap and wrap it up a bit.
- Why personal care packaging is of importance?
- The current market of personal care packaging and forecast, both in the world and in Australia
- Personal care packaging trends
- Things to consider when designing personal care packaging
- Ideas about personal care packaging to make them more eco-friendly
If you like this article, don’t hesitate to share it with your friends and get them inspired as well. You might want to follow our latest post if you want more solid tips about the packaging industry.