The Eco-Friendly Bathroom
Hey, y'all! Today, let's talk about a few SUPER easy eco-friendly swaps you can make in your personal care arsenal (aka your bathroom)!
These are so easy, and such no-brainers, that you can totally do them even if you don't consider yourself much of a tree-hugger! Much like cleaning up your diet and your skincare, it's all about the baby steps. It's all about doing what feels good and what feels just outside of comfortable - without overwhelm and perfectionism.
OKAY here we go:
Bar Soap instead of bottled body wash or bottled hand soap!
This is SUCH an easy swap to make at home. Guest bars make perfect hand soaps that sit super pretty right beside any sink in your house, and full bars are chunks of beautiful art for your shower. Their packaging is biodegradable, and they do not need preservation. If well-cared-for, a full sized bar of soap should last about a month for one person to use, and guest bars can last much longer than that!
Eco Friendly Scrubby Items:
This includes polyester bath poufs, silicone body scrubbers, plastic nail brushes, all easy swaps! Opt for a natural bath pouf, an exfoliating dry brush, or moisturizing body scrub instead!
Reusable Washcloths and Facial Pads:
Ditch the makeup remover wipes and disposable cotton pads. Remover wipes are horrible for your skin, and both are unnecessary waste. To remove makeup, remember "like dissolves like" - most makeup is oil-based or easily removed with oil, so use a cleansing balm or oil instead of a wipe - it'll even help to break up clogs in your pores and deeply remove dirt and oil, then wash it all off with a foaming cleanser & cotton wash cloth or facial pad. It's like magic, and your skin will thank you.
*note: oil cleansers can also take off lashes or lash extensions, so talk to your esty about eye makeup removal options that will leave your lashes (and your $$$) intact.
Wood or Ceramic Soap Dishes
If you're switching to bar soap for the first time, you may not be aware, but it HAS to be stored on a draining dish, or your gonna have a bad time. We're talking a mushy, melty, soap not lasting longy bad time.
Skip the silicone, skip the plastic, and opt for gorgeous sealed wood or ceramic soap dishes. There are even cast iron ones out there! Explore your options, but make sure it has a drain hole in the bottom!
Shampoo & Conditioner BARS:
Now I'm gonna be perfectly honest, I haven't been brave enough to try out the shampoo bar craze yet. I've spend a long time rehabilitating my hair after years of damaging it with at-home color, so I'll have to do some digging to either begin developing a recipe or find a shampoo bar brand I love.
Whatever you do though, do not use shampoo bars that are not pH balanced. Your hair is acidic and your hair cuticle can be irreparably damaged by alkaline cleansers. That means that natural bar soaps are - as much as I love them - NOT good for your hair no matter what anyone says. Don't do it.
The big shampoo bar mogul that starts with an "L" and ends with a "sh" is also not a good place to get a shampoo bar because a) they use SLS which is incredibly irritating and b) several of their bars pH test at over 9 which is a SUPER far cry from the pH 4-5 that your hair needs.
Shampoo and conditioner bars are another great place to eliminate plastic bottles in your life though, and they don't usually need very much (if any) preservation. How exciting! Thrilling because it's kind of a terrifying leap but exciting, nevertheless!
I don't have any solid recommendations, here, but if you know of a place to get FAB and well-formulated shampoo and conditioner bars, smash that "message us" tab in the corner and let your girl know!
Choose eco-friendly packaging whenever you can:
Opt for glass bottles or jars, paper boxes or tubes, or aluminum tins. Avoid plastic wherever you can! Even "eco-friendly" or recyclable plastic is still plastic, so it's still perpetuating petroleum dependency and it's still a tremendously harmful pollutant. It's nearly impossible to completely eliminate, but remember - BABY STEPS.
This one's a little different - but try out a menstrual cup or period panties!
Instead of disposable tampons or pads that can be irritating to your bits and usually come wrapped in wut???
*everybody shouts* "PLASTIC!"
You can try out the increasingly available and popular menstrual cups that are washable and reusable, or if you're opting for a plastic/silicone free option, you can use washable cotton pads or period panties!
Before you run away flailing at the idea of using washable pads, it's no different than cloth diapering, and women have been using some version of a washable menstrual pad all over the world for as long as we've had periods - and spoiler alert - we've had periods a lot longer than we've had neatly individually wrapped hygiene products.
Just open your mind to the possibilities, and choose the path that works for you!
So, how are we feeling? Do you find yourself now wandering into your yard, arms outstretched, looking for a tree to hug?
Well, honey, hug that tree if you feel compelled because it loves you too!
In all seriousness though, I hope that you feel encouraged to make a few green swaps wherever you see fit, and don't be afraid to tiptoe out of your comfort zone! Do try to be gentle with yourself. This is a lifestyle shift. It's a marathon, not a sprint, and we're in this together!
TTFN,
Courtney
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