New photo Beauty Banks takes skincare donations and redistributes out to those in need

How was your Christmas? Did you get everything you wanted? Or did you get a load of stuff that you unwrapped, smiled politely, gave effusive thanks for and put to one side, thinking that it’ll come in useful at a tombola or to re-gift next year? You’re not alone. According to research from Action for Children, a third of us will have received a Christmas present that we don’t want.

And little wonder really. At a time when the queen of the clear out Marie Kondo has her own show on Netflix, when the newest middle class trend is not acquiring stuff, but getting rid of it, it’s no surprise that despite the best intentions of kind relatives, Christmas has left us feeling stuffocated, and overwhelmed with things we don’t really want or need.

Well I come bearing glad tidings. Whatever it is, there’s no need to stick it in the present drawer and hope it proves useful at some point. Instead, there are a number of charities that are desperate for the stuff that you want to get rid of. 

Beauty Banks founders Sali Hughes (left) and Jo Jones (right) set up the non-profit organisation in February 2018 to help those who cannot afford essentials such as deodorant

Beauty Banks take various skincare donations from numerous brands, including Dove, Nivea, Simple, Tresemme and Johnsons

Yes, of course, there are probably local charities and charity shops that will be happy to take things off your hands, but there are also a number of charities dedicated to redistributing unwanted gifts.

Let’s start with smellies. After all, they’re usually a safe bet, hence the abundance of coffrets, palettes and beauty box sets that flood into the shops pre-Christmas. 

But what if you’re the recipient of some body lotion in a fragrance you haven’t worn for decades, a set of soaps that you just know aren’t right for your skin type, or even some makeup in shades that you know you’ll never wear? That’s where Beauty Banks comes in.

Established in February 2018, Beauty Banks is a non-profit organisation that works like food banks work, but rather than taking donations of food, takes donations of brand new, unused essential personal care and beauty items instead. They then re-package and distribute parcels to charity partners who ensure donations get to those who need them.

The Beauty Banks team will repackage and redistribute the donations and sent out to charities, homeless shelters, NHS trusts and other places

The concept was the brainchild of two women in the beauty industry, PR Jo Jones, and journalist Sali Hughes. 

The pair had become aware that teacher friends of theirs were buying toiletries for their pupils, who couldn’t afford basic essentials such as deodorant, or sanitary protection.

‘You hear these stories and you think “Surely that’s not happening in the UK?”’ says Jo. 

‘Women rationing their babies nappies, girls skipping school as they can’t afford sanitary towels. That shouldn’t be happening. But it is, because if people have so little money that they have to choose between buying food and buying soap, they buy food' she continued.

Jo admits that they had no idea of the scale of the project when they first came up with the idea.

Sali and Jo came up with the idea when they discovered their friends, who are teachers, buy deodorant and sanitary products for some students 

‘We didn’t know that we’d get thousands of packages every month,’ she says. 

‘We’ve had to learn and adapt. We’ve got friends and family helping out, driving boxes to where they’re needed, and helping to sort and package up products.’

You feel like you’re failing your children, failing yourself. You feel useless and worthless when you don’t smell fresh and look fresh. And when you can’t even afford basic hygiene, you wouldn’t dream of treating yourself with something extravagant. 

These products are then distributed via food banks, schools, community centres, NHS trusts, and homeless shelters.

Alice Baird works for a charity called Superkidz, who receive products from Beauty Banks.

‘We work with deprived communities and have a lot of families choosing between heating and eating,’ she says.

‘Those very basic needs have to be met — yes, they need toothpaste, shower gel, shampoo and conditioner but they just don’t have the money. Can you imagine being a child in school who hasn’t washed? Or wanting to go to a job interview, but not having clean hair? Beauty Banks allows them to exist in society without being ostracised for the way they look or smell.’

The duo have recruited the help of family and friends to help drive the deliveries and package the products too 

She’s in no doubt about the impact that the donations have on the lives of the people she works with.

Alice continued: ‘People don’t like to talk about needing hygiene products. 

‘But I know who I can give products to and how to do it in a way that won’t embarrass them. You see the relief on their faces when you tell them they can have what they need. 

'One woman I know burst into tears the first time I gave her some products. She’s the carer for ten of her grandchildren, five of them are girls and she can’t afford the sanitary products that they need. This sort of help is invaluable.’

Sali and Jo have been flooded with praise for their initiative as one woman 'burst into tears' when she received her first package from Beauty Banks

Dawn, 38, lives in Greenwich, south London, and for the last five months has been receiving products from Beauty Banks, via Superkidz. She explains what it’s like not to be able to afford basic toiletries.

Dawn said: ‘Some weeks I just wouldn’t have the money to buy things like soap. And that feels really degrading. You feel like you’re failing your children, failing yourself. You feel useless and worthless when you don’t smell fresh and look fresh. And when you can’t even afford basic hygiene, you wouldn’t dream of treating yourself with something extravagant. 

What to do with your unwanted Christmas presents 

Unwanted clothes

Alicas is a social venture that collects unworn clothes with the labels still on from individuals and retailers to create beautifully packaged boxes of outfits that are delivered to women who have escaped abusive relationships, with a handwritten note of support and solidarity.

The idea was conceived after the founder, Rachael Bews, herself escaped an abusive relationship and found that women who ran away with nothing but the clothes on their backs were often given bin bags of unwashed, out of date clothes. 

Although well-intentioned, Rachael says that this sort of thing ‘didn’t convey a message of their own worth.’ 

In her first job Rachael remembered meeting a woman called Ali who after leaving her abusive partner maintained that the two things that kept her going were a good coat and a good pair of shoes. 

She said: ‘They let her take her kids to school and feel like she belonged in the playground, they meant she could go for job interviews.' 

Donate to Alicas at Alicas, F10 Internal, Edinburgh Palette, 525 Ferry Road, Edinburgh, EH5 2FF, alicas.co.uk

Unwanted video games and consoles

OK, it’s unlikely that you — or your kids — are going to donate the latest hi-tech, exceedingly sought-after PlayStation 4 Pro to charity, but the likelihood is that anyone who gets a new console or game for Christmas will have an old console or game hanging around the house. 

Rather than leaving them to gather dust, Get Well Gamers will take them off your hands. 

They’re a charity that give them to hospitals across the United Kingdom, providing much-needed entertainment (and proven and effective pain management) for young people during long hospital stays. 

To donate, simply go to their website getwellgamers.org.uk, fill in your details and the information about what you have to donate, and they’ll try to find a volunteer nearby to do a pick-up.

Unwanted sports kit and equipment

Grown out of old kit, changed allegiance, or found a new whizzy exercise gadget that replaces last year’s? Sports Traider has a chain of charity sports shops that aim to ensure that all children and young people can take part in sports. 

The charity also accepts donations of unwanted sportswear and equipment, which can be given to disadvantaged children and young people to help them participate in their chosen sport. 

Go to the contact section of their website sportstraider.org.uk/contact-us to let them know you want to take part in their #kitamnesty, and they’ll take it from there. 

'Beauty Banks have helped out with the basics, which has meant I’ve been able to give my girls sanitary protection, and keep us all clean, but what’s really lovely is that every now and then you get something that’s a real treat — some makeup, or an expensive shower gel. That’s amazing, it really picks you up.’

Frances Beecher is CEO of Llamau, Wales’ leading homeless charity for young people and women. 

Llamau recently worked with Beauty Banks, and volunteer beauticians and hairdressers to give makeovers to 25 homeless people who had upcoming interviews for training or jobs.

‘It sounds frivolous, but the difference it made to people’s self-esteem and their ability to connect with prospective employers was phenomenal,’ she says. 

'Every single one of those 25 people is now in training, employment, or on an apprenticeship scheme.'

Frances realises it can be hard for people who take basic hygiene for granted to imagine what it’s like not to have access to this.

Frances added: ‘You know how grotty you feel when you wake up and haven’t washed your face or brushed your teeth? You don’t feel human. Imagine that ten times over, and how that would make you feel as a person. 

'Toiletries shouldn’t be luxuries. It should be a fundamental human right to have the sense of dignity that being clean gives you.’

Beauty Banks also distributes cosmetics and, as Frances points out ‘there’s not a woman in the land who doesn’t feel more able to face the world with some foundation or lipstick on. Why shouldn’t the most vulnerable in society have what we don’t even think twice about?’

Courtney is 17 and lives in a housing project in Cardiff. She is currently working towards an apprenticeship in hairdressing and has received shampoo, conditioner, soap and makeup from Beauty Banks.

Courtney said: ‘These were things I couldn’t afford to buy. 

‘Before I used to just have to wash with water. People would keep their distance from me, probably because I did smell.

'Now, I feel like people speak to me more, like I have friends. It’s made a real difference to how I feel about myself. I don’t feel like a tramp any more, I feel like me again.’

Frances points out that while the products themselves are crucial, what they represent is also important.

She said: ‘We live in a society where if you are poor or destitute, you are blamed for it. 

‘So to have people, such as those who run, and give to Beauty Banks, giving their time and attention to making sure you have the things that you need to function as a human, because they think you are important, is invaluable. I wish I had the words to describe the look in someone’s eye, the way they light up, when you give them something as simple as shampoo or conditioner. It makes my day.’

Want to make someone’s day? Take your unwanted, unopened Christmas smellies — as well as any other toiletries, sanitary products, baby products, minis from hotels and planes — and send them to Beauty Banks, c/o The Communications Store, 2 Kensington Square, London W8 5EP (after 4 Jan please as the office is closed until then.) 

If you haven’t got anything to donate, but want to contribute, you can shop the Beauty Banks wishlist at easho.co.uk/beauty-bank.

 

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News Pictures Beauty Banks takes skincare donations and redistributes out to those in need 

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