Clean Beauty Products How to Make Environmentally-Friendly Body Glitter By Ilana Strauss Ilana Strauss Yale University University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Ilana Strauss is a journalist who began writing for the Treehugger family in 2015. Her work has been featured in The Atlantic, The Cut, New York Magazine, and other publications. Learn about our editorial process Updated April 8, 2021 Share Twitter Pinterest Email ©. Ilana Strauss / Treehugger Clean Beauty Products Tips & Techniques Plastic glitter is bad for the planet, but you can make it better. Glitter is awesome. It's one of those things that looks too surreal to be part of this world, and I understand why people love putting it on themselves. Unfortunately, it's also a bunch of tiny pieces of plastic that get into the environment and wreak all kinds of havoc. So I set out to make a version that's safe for the planet. Without further ado ... Collect Ilana Strauss / Treehugger You need epsom salt, food coloring and aloe vera gel. You might have these around the house anyway. Dye Ilana Strauss / Treehugger Put the epsom salt in a bowl and mix it with a drop or two of the dye. Keep adding dye until you get the color you want. Leave Ilana Strauss / Treehugger Dye needs a while to dry. Some people will tell you to bake the dye onto the salt for a few minutes, but when I tried that, all the sparkle disappeared. So I made a new batch and just left it out overnight to dry. Mix Ilana Strauss / Treehugger If you also want a rainbowy mix, this is the fun part: mix your different glitter colors together. Apply Ilana Strauss / Treehugger Put some aloe on your face, body, or wherever you want glitter. Then sprinkle your glitter over it. Myles Heff / Treehugger And there you go! Not gonna lie, it's not nearly as sparkly as plastic glitter, but it gets the job done. You can also buy biodegradable glitter from stores if you're not so into the DIY thing.