You may have heard, as it’s been a big topic of conversation in the beauty world, that there was recently a ban placed on plastic microbeads, removing them from all products sold in the United States. This was implemented in the “Microbead-Free Waters Act of 2015,” and vies for “prohibition against sale or distribution of rinse-off cosmetics containing plastic microbeads,” according to congress.gov.

This means that some of the most popular face washes used, including products under Neutrogena, Aveeno, Clean & Clear and more, will no longer be able to continue with their formulas that include plastic microbeads.

To some who love a good exfoliant, this may sound disastrous, but when they look further into these products, they will realize that they may not need these little plastic poisons.

“More than eight trillion microbeads enter Earth’s waterways daily in the U.S,” according to the journal “Environmental Science & Technology.” Although these beads are small, roughly 1 millimeter, they are still dangerous to wildlife in oceans and other bodies of water. Organisms can easily mistake these plastic beads for fish eggs and ingest them purposefully. They are also ingested accidentally just as much, if not more, than they are purposefully. Our waters are littered with these chemicals and non-recyclable pieces of plastic, and they are continuing to cause problems in the environment.

The ban on plastic microbeads is OK because Earth is full of natural exfoliants.

One company that has taken a stand against microbeads, and did so even before the national ban, is the increasingly popular Lush. Lush is a company that fully advocates for natural and harm-free products, and it offers a wide range of products that contain natural exfoliants.

It uses products such as salt, sugar, ground almonds and beans, rice bran, charcoal, corn meal and sand. All of these products are completely natural.

By obliging by this ban, beauty users across the country will not only learn what great natural products can be used to give them better results than synthetic beads but will also save our aquatic wildlife and keep the oceans free of plastic contamination.