Reading: Give Your Face the White Glove Treatment

Celebrate Valentine’s Day by making your makeup removal routine green. Well, red or pink in this case. These cute little “mittys” are from Take My Face Off, an Altadena, CA-based company determined to rid facial cleansing of washcloths, facial cleansing disposables, and cotton pads. Put the Mittys on like little finger-puppets, dab on your favorite makeup remover, cleanser, or oil — wipe, and voila! Your skin will be gently and thoroughly cleansed. 

The Take My Face Off collection of makeup removal mittens is the result of a quest by founder Amanda McIntosh to replace the “gross” washcloths she’d been using to clean her face. She had gotten into the revolving washcloth routine — you’re supposed to use a new, clean washcloth daily — but realized she didn’t like how they performed (they were harsh on her skin) and was fed up with all the laundry they created. She wanted to develop a substitute product that was also eco-friendly. McIntosh, once a professional classical musician who later joined her mother’s consultancy as a customer service advisor, spent roughly a year finding the right fabric, landing on a delicate polyester plush from Korea. While polyester is a synthetic, the fact that these mittys can be regularly washed and are long-lasting makes them a green alternative to cotton or other natural fiber cloth. Cotton has a terrible carbon footprint due to the amount of pesticides and quantity of water needed for cultivation, among other factors. And while many people know that makeup removing wipes are awful for the environment, they don’t realize that natural cotton pads are not biodegradable due to the bleach and other factors used in their production.  

Image courtesy of Take My Face Off

Take My Face Off Mittys come in three different sizes — The Mitty Mini that fits on your fingers, the medium Makeup Mitty that’s about the size of your hand, and the Mitty Max extra large for full face or body washing. They are sold individually for $10, $14, and $24, respectively. The Valentine’s Day Set of three Mini Mittys, including the lip shape from makeup and lip artist Vlada Haggerty (pictured at top), sells for $36. Shipping on the Valentine’s Day set is free through February 21st.