As the climate crisis continues, droughts, ingredient shortages, and other impacts are affecting the way we shop for makeup, skin care, and assorted beauty industry items. The problem is, too, that the beauty industry itself has been contributing to some of the stressors on our environment.
As with the push to make the fashion industry more sustainable amid climate change, some beauty brands are making moves to prioritize sustainability. There have also been international efforts, such as the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), to curb the negative environmental impacts of various industries, including the beauty space. The cosmetics field is so full of innovation, experts say, there’s no need to rely on some vulnerable ingredients and processes that were once commonplace.
So, instead of doomscrolling, we decided to talk to some of those experts about how climate change has been impacting beauty products and how the industry will innovate in the future. Here’s what you need to know.
Beauty ingredients being impacted by climate
Certain ingredients are already in low supply. For example, unusually long droughts and deforestation in countries across the “shea belt,” a range of land where shea trees grow between West and East Africa, have created a shea nut shortage.
In the US and Canada, hot, drought-ridden summers led to a 2025 pumpkin shortage, which became a new obstacle for brands like Lush, which adopted regenerative farming practices to keep its popular seasonal Mr. Pumpkin Face Mask in production, according to Business of Fashion. Regenerative agriculture seeks to minimize soil disturbances, increase biodiversity of crops, and ultimately build resilience against climate change.
Squalene, a well-known cosmetics ingredient with antioxidant properties that is used in moisturizers and other hydrating skin-care products, has been impacted by recent environmental protections. Though many brands now use plant-based squalane (yes, the plant-based version is spelled with a second A), a derivative that has similar moisturizing properties, the former was historically extracted from the liver oil of deep-water sharks, particularly gulper sharks, which are being driven to extinction.
In November 2025, CITES passed trade protections for a number of species, including gulper sharks, granting them stronger guards against international trade. Even olives aren’t safe: Their moisturizing properties are often used in beauty as a source of plant-based squalanes, but supplies are a concern as the Mediterranean grows drier.
Efforts to reduce harm to the environment
In 2024, the European Union announced a new set of restrictions under its REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorization, and Restriction of Chemicals) regulation, which need to be implemented by either 2026 or 2027 in relevant cosmetics products. Restrictions will limit the use of three types of cyclic silicones, like cyclotetrasiloxane. Turns out, these human-made silicones could damage the environment.
The cyclic silicones addressed by REACH are responsible for the spreadable, ultra-smooth consistency of base-makeup products. “If I give you something that I make for you—let’s say, a foundation with cyclic silicones, and then I give you a foundation where I have not used cyclic silicones, you’ll easily be able to tell the difference,” Krupa Koestline, a cosmetic chemist and founder of the award-winning, biotech-driven formulation and research facility KKT Labs, tells Teen Vogue. “You know that lightweight consistency that sticks around, the powdery feel? Those are very, very hard to match.”
Certain cyclic silicones are very long-wearing, Koestline notes. They’re likely to end up in the food chain through waste in manufacturing processes and by washing off products, which sends product residue down the drain and into watersheds.
“The concern about cyclic silicones is that they last for a long time in the environment, and they don’t degrade easily,” says Eva R. Parker, MD, a dermatologist and faculty member at Vanderbilt University who specializes in the relationship between climate change and health. “They may bioaccumulate, meaning small creatures absorb or consume them, and then larger creatures consume that and get a higher concentration.”
If beauty brands are based in the EU, or based elsewhere but sell products there, dozens of them will likely be pushed to reformulate or discontinue products to meet the new guidelines. In the meantime, Dr. Parker and Koestline say, other ingredients will likely be called into question for their environmental impact. They both mention that the beauty industry is already sharpening its focus on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), the “forever chemicals” found in almost everything. Some cosmetics products may purposely include PFAS for water resistance, while in others, these chemicals may have been picked up unintentionally in the manufacturing process.
In other words, as the environment changes, so do our tried-and-true products.
How the beauty industry is innovating for sustainability
Although there’s no one-to-one replacement, Koestline says, most modern makeup formulators have already deemed cyclic silicones outdated. “If you go to any lab now and you develop products, they will not use cyclic silicones anyway,” she explains. “I would say that most brands—most new brands—have already not used cyclic silicones.”
Says Dr. Parker, “There’s so much innovation now that I don't think we’re necessarily going to miss the silicone.” She points to the omission of another once-popular skin-care ingredient: “A lot of products had little microbeads in them that were made of plastic… Those have been banned [in some countries] globally because those teeny beads were going straight down the drain and ending up in our waterways.” Instead, chemical exfoliants have become more popular.
But there is still work to be done. “It's very hard to remove [PFAS] as an inadvertent contaminant in cosmetics products, but there are a number of companies looking at the technology of how to remove PFAS from the environment,” Dr. Parker explains. “I’m wondering if those technologies are going to be used to remove PFAS as a contaminant from skin care in addition to outright bans on purposefully using PFAS chemicals and forever chemicals in skin-care products.”
How to shop beauty sustainably
When fan-favorite makeup formulas change, social media enters a tailspin. But a shift in texture or coverage won’t render your routine ineffective. If anything, replacing an ingredient like cyclic silicones can breathe new life into your usual makeup looks.
Ulta and Sephora both offer a silicone-free filter in their online shops, where you can browse products across price points without wondering if they’ll be impacted by regulations or other global factors. To learn about the latest-and-greatest formulas, check out Sephora’s Next Big Thing storefront, which highlights cutting-edge brands across makeup, skin care, fragrance, and hair. You might even prefer a product’s reformulation over the original. Meanwhile, cosmetic chemists like Koestline are still breaking new ground in product formulation—and they’re keeping environmental and human health top of mind.
“There are ingredient substitutions all the time, and you don't necessarily know that an ingredient has changed in the product because it still looks, feels, and works the same,” Dr. Parker says. “Give the product a chance to change its formulation and try it.”
