In this final article of my Cosmetics series I will look into these other every-day items and help you chose more environmentally friendly alternatives. As well as make-up and beauty products, there are many other self-care items that can be swapped out for sustainable substitutes from body-wash to dental care to deodorants.
Ditch the Bottles – or refill them!
As mentioned in my first article, packaging in the cosmetic and self-care industry is a huge environmental issue, with 120 billion units of packaging being produced globally each year for these products. So one of the easiest things you can do is swap out bottles of shampoo, conditioner, moisturiser or body wash for solid alternatives. Over 20 years ago, Lush Cosmetics discovered that the majority of shampoos, conditioners and moisturizers are made up of 90-95% water. By removing water from products, not only reduces products water footprint, but also removes the need to bottle it up. By buying solid products, such as shampoo or conditioner bars, you are reducing the carbon footprint and eliminating plastic waste.
Fortunately, soap, shampoo, conditioner and even moisturizer bars are becoming more popular and easier to find in stores, in both local eco-shops and larger chains. Of course it is still important to bear in mind the production of the item, such as where its shipped from, if it contains harmful chemicals etc as previously discussed. As always, the more locally produced the better, especially if you are supporting small local brands. I love all my hair and body care bars and will never go back to bottled products! (This is a slight lie, I have a very sensitive hair so sometimes have to use special bottled shampoo so I alternate between my bottled and shampoo bar, and always make sure to rinse and recycle the bottle once finished!). Here are a few suggested brands to look out for:
Examples of two conditioner bars I picked up from my local shops
Lush – Offer a wide range of shampoo bars for different types of hair. Most of their shampoos are Sodium-Laureth-Sulphate free, so they won’t make much of a lather, not that this makes a difference to the cleaning of your hair. Removing SLA means they don’t contain the palm oil derivative that can have harmful impacts on aquatic ecosystems – so its worth the sacrifice don’t you think?! Their bars cost around £8-10, but I find if looked after properly, bars last longer than bottles! They also do conditioner bars and bars of soap.
Kind Earth – A multi-award winning brand sold in Holland and Barrett, these plastic-free shampoo and conditioner bars are made in the UK. Their products are made from natural, sustainably sourced ingredients and are vegan. In a recyclable cardboard box, they can be picked up for £6.95.
Faith in Nature – This brand not only offers shampoo, conditioner and soap bars but if you don’t get on with the bars, Faith in Nature have refill centres, which can be found in local eco-stores which allow you to refill your shampoo or body wash. This prevents all those bottles from going to waste. If you don’t have a refill centre near you, they have a scheme where you can post your empty bottles back to be refilled. They also offer a wide range of other products such as household cleaning, they are worth a look at!
There are many other brands out there, these are just a few of the well-known ones. The only tiny problem with using bars instead of bottles is that you need to make sure to take care of them. If left wet and soggy they will disintegrate pretty quickly so it’s important to make sure you dry it out after use.
Don't forget to consider washing accessories, LoofCo make great alternatives to plastic scrubbers and sponges
Deodorants
I have been using solid, plastic free deodorants for about a year now, and although it took me some time to find a brand that works for me, I would never go back to roll on or spray deodorant! But why are conventional deodorants so bad? Firstly, as I am sure you may have guessed – the plastic. Roll on deodorants are made up of two layers of plastics, making them hard to recycle. It would be more expensive and produce more carbon to try and recycle these plastics than to just make new ones, so that’s what the industry does. Although deodorants that come as aerosols can in theory be recycled, a) how many of us are actually aware of that and b) the compressed gases that are used in aerosols have harmful impacts on carbon emissions.
There are many eco-alternatives to the conventional, wasteful deodorants. Although they are often more expensive than the normal deodorant you would pick up in your weekly shop, they also last a lot longer, so in my opinion, it’s worth it!
My deodorants - I especially love my Earth Conscious one!
Solid deodorants – These are like soft bars of soap, often packages in a cardboard tube and you simply apply the deodorant like you would a roll-on. Popular brands that may be available in local eco-shops or online include ‘Your Nature’ (£7.95 from Peace with the Wild) and ‘Earth Conscious’ (£6.65) which comes as tubes or in a tin – this is the brand I have settled on, no matter how much exercise I do their deodorant keeps me smelling fresh!
Minerals and salt deodorants – Using natural minerals to prevent odour, deodorants such as Salt of the Earth’s Crystal Classic Natural Deodorant (£4.99 from Holland and Barrett) are fragrance free and gentle on your skin. To apply you just dampen the mineral stick and run along your skin. The great thing about these deodorants is that they don’t really run out.. or they take forever too (mine is still going strong!). Although I do find this product good, it isn’t plastic free and personally I only find it effective for every day use, not if I was doing any exercise – that’s when I would switch to using my Earth Conscious deodorant!
Razors
Disposable razors are terrible for our planet, their use is short, they are hard to recycle and will build up in our landfills and travel in our oceans for more than our lifetime. When you start to think about how many disposable razors you may have used, it can get quite scary the part you have played in the ‘throw away’ culture.
In 2019, TerraCycle launched a recycling programme with Gillette to prevent such a huge number of razors going to landfill. By posting your razors to TerraCycle (with shipping labels available to download online) you can ensure your razors are stripped and recycled. Even though this is a good concept, in reality it is not a solution and we should be phasing out disposable razors in our self-care routines.
Jungle Culture is just one of many sustainable razor brands
Buying a reusable razor means you only have to change the blades, significantly reducing the waste produced. Some razors such as safety razors have blades that are plastic free too so you can enjoy plastic free shaves! I use a bamboo safety razor, as it is completely plastic free and should last my lifetime! You can spend £15-£20 on a reusable razor, and once you’ve spent that money you only ever have to buy replacement blades as and when you need them.
You can also buy shaving bars, a solid alternative to shaving foam, reducing your waste even further (and they last for ages!)
Shaving bars are great and last forever, although personally I just use soap!
Dental Care
When I was volunteering on a conservation project in Costa Rica, I participated on multiple beach clean ups. I can honestly say I was shocked and disgusted with the amount of plastic waste that washed up on the pristine beaches that lined the pacific, and a huge amount of the rubbish I collected were plastic toothbrushes! One of the easiest sustainable swaps you can make in your daily self-care routine is swapping out plastic brushes for biodegradable. Bamboo brushes are becoming more common and easy to find in local eco stores, even some larger super-markets are starting to stock them. Sadly, the bristles are still made from nylon, but multiple companies are working to find a plastic free alternative for these that won’t compromise your dental health.
My eco-toothpaste and toothbrush!
Another way to reduce your plastic use when cleaning your teeth is to go for solid toothpaste and get rid of the non-recyclable plastic tubes! Using toothpaste tablets can be a bit odd at first, but they leave your teeth feeling just as clean and your breath nice and fresh. They are also very handy for travel, saving you buying mini toothpaste tubes to fit in your carry-on liquid allowance! I have sampled a few brands of toothpaste tablets and I prefer Lushes toothy tabs which come in recyclable bottles, however some brands such as ‘Eco Living’ provide refill options for when you run out of your toothpaste.
Cotton Buds
Even though single-use plastic cotton buds are banned in the UK from October 2020, you can go a step further and opt for some reusable cotton buds. There are small number of brands out there such as LastSwab that provide two different models of cotton buds, depending on the use (general or beauty). Sadly, I haven’t seen reusable cotton buds in any shops yet so I had to order mine online, but they’re easy to use and clean and I would certainly recommend!
Reusable cotton buds are so handy and easy use
I have covered a brief overview of a number of ways you can continue greening your self-care and suggestions for sustainable swaps in your bathroom cabinet. But this is not an inclusive list and there are many other sustainable swaps you can make, but if you are unsure where to start, the items in this article are some good pointers.
I hope you enjoyed this article series on the cosmetic industry and I like to think I have equipped you with the knowledge to make more environmentally friendly choices in your daily life. Remember, every small change you make makes a small difference and its important we all do our bit to help move our society to a more sustainable one.
Sources:
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/2019/04/beauty-personal-care-industry-plastic/
https://www.hollandandbarrett.com/shop/natural-beauty/washing-bathing/deodorant/?utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=google&utm_campaign=nonbrand&&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIwJ-8vJza7QIVQYBQBh2y8wx2EAAYAyAAEgJ4uvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
https://ecovibe.co.uk/products/toothbrush-tablets-with-fluoride?variant=31652902535222&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIruu8saDa7QIVCuDtCh2aUApQEAQYAiABEgJXiPD_BwE