We know what BYO means but how about BYOW—bring your own water? Sis, how do you feel about washing your face or hair with less water though? If you are okay with it, you just might be a beauty superhero, saving the world one waterless engagement at a time. A trend for 2022 is projected to be waterless beauty products.
For those who are unnerved at the very sound of waterless and assume that it denotes being unclean, let the record show that you may already be engaging in waterless beauty if you have ever used a facial sheet mask, shampoo bar, conditioner bar, or if even if you co-washed your hair. Waterless beauty, which denotes the use of less water, is predicted to be integrated into more of the beauty sphere this year. A WGSN trend forecast suggests that waterless washing will increase as “Product innovations will help reduce water usage and offer hygiene solutions to the one in 10 people worldwide unable to access clean water. An evolution of waterless beauty and BYOW (bring your own water) products, waterless washing products need no water and are part of the new hygiene approach.”
Waterless beauty products do not exclude the use of water, instead they decrease the presence of water in a product or the packaging. While many of our common beauty products list water as the first ingredient (in many cases the first ingredient listed is the most prominent, i.e., water is the most prominent in many shampoos, facial products, etc.).
You may be asking yourself, why does this matter to me though? Historically, Black people throughout the globe have recognized and maintained a relationship between oneself and the earth albeit agricultural or spiritual, and in today’s society, adding beauty to that environmental relationship may be a life changing decision. Throughout the world many people are impacted by water stress and water scarcity, which is illuminated in the United Nations has prediction that “almost half the world’s population will be living in areas of high water stress by 2030, including between 75 million and 250 million people in Africa”. While 2030 is eight years away, we may be able to get ahead of this projection if we take action now.
Many of us use water-based beauty products without a second thought, as we fall for the appeal of a product based on the benefits listed on the front of a container or those heralded in advertisements, however, taking a second to read the ingredients listed on the back of a product can literally make a world of a difference. By engaging waterless products and practices one can honor an ancestral relationship to the earth, preserve the environment for ourselves and our children, and be beautiful. Remember less is just that, a smaller amount, not zero —you will still be able to lather, feel, clean, and reap the benefits of a selected product. Here is a list of a few Black owned or developed waterless beauty products.
