Why You Should Say Goodbye to Drugstore Cotton Pads – whiterabbit-beauty

Why You Should Say Goodbye to Drugstore Cotton Pads


Pop quiz!

Aldicarb, parathion, alphacypermethrin: do those three things sound like a) trendy new skincare ingredients or b) chemicals you’d like to keep as far away from your skin as possible?


If you went with b, you’re correct. Unfortunately, all three pesticides may be making their way onto your face morning and night, anyway. Their vehicle? The humble drugstore cotton pad. 

 

Global cotton production and your skincare routine

Cotton is among the world’s most widely-grown non-food crops. Pesticides are amply used in all conventional cotton farming, which comprises the vast majority of this multi-billion-dollar plant’s production. Some, like the insecticides deltamethrin and endosulfan, have been officially declared hazardous by the World Health Organization (but they’re still being sprayed, anyway). Cotton rounds may be small, but used day and night every day of the year, their impact is mighty—both in terms of the environment and your own face. Choosing a pesticide-free cotton pad like White Rabbit’s Naked Cotton [Ed note: do we want to reference our products directly in these pieces? I wasn’t sure] is one way to keep this stuff off your face and take a small personal step toward supporting safer agriculture for both farmers and the environment. 

 

What about reusable cotton pads?

Marketed as more eco-friendly cotton pads, you can chuck the reusable version into the wash after every swipe. Hello, skincare acolytes doing laundry at the laundromat around the corner—we see you, and we understand the reusable option just isn’t going to work for your life. The good news here is that while our natural cotton pads won’t survive a trip through the washing machine, they’re specifically designed and woven to be safely, quickly biodegradable. And hey, not having to wash them means less water usage and no need for bleach.

 

Lint, lint, lint everywhere

You don’t want insecticide residue on your face, and neither do you want lint. Unfortunately, what makes squeezing a fistful of fluffy drugstore cotton pads so oddly satisfying is also what makes them a sub-par choice for your skin. Ah, sweetly soft downy lint, you’re lovely on the hand, not so lovely casting dust across our pores. Our lint-free cotton pads leave nothing behind, just like they’re supposed to.

 

Pure, ruthless efficiency

Toner is expensive. Serum is expensive. Pure hydrosols are expensive. We know. We commiserate! And that’s why the last place we want our—or your—fancy skincare routine to end up is absorbed into a thick, fluffy drugstore cotton pad (or worse, toilet paper). Our Naked Cotton is made to make sure your products end up on your skin, not in our weave.

 

Natural cotton pads should actually be made out of cotton

It says so right in the name, doesn’t it? Neither rayon nor viscose are particularly gentle on your skin, yet drugstore cotton rounds are often made with a blend of the good stuff plus these highly processed textiles. We stan a natural cotton pad truly straight from nature.

 

We maintain that the best cotton pads for your skincare routine are the ones designed with both your face and the environment in mind. No product waste, no chemicals, no lint, and no sneaky synthetics—simple reigns supreme.