A Plastic-Free Bathroom in 6 Steps
As this month is Plastic Free July, I thought it was time for another blog with eco-tips! As a gal, I am well aware that our beauty routine is one of our biggest creators of waste - we use single-use containers for everything: shampoo + conditioner, make-up, skincare, brushing our teeth, flossing and shaving. This can all add up quite quickly - yikes!
I know, it’s pretty bloody overwhelming trying to overhaul years of routines with your products. So, let’s try it ONE product at a time. When you run out of a beauty product, ask yourself: can I replace this with a product in a glass bottle, a bottle that I can re-use, or even a zero-waste option? Do I even need to replace this with anything or can I go without it?
Continue to do this with each product that you finish or run out of in your beauty routine and bathroom and you will slowly transition to a more eco-friendly and lower-waste bathroom!
Honest Disclaimer: My bathroom is NOT fully plastic-free. I use a shampoo + conditioner bar but I buy liquid body soap in the biggest bottle I can find with funds donated to African communities (because my boyfriend can’t do soap bars). I use a Dollar Shave Club razor which is pretty eco-friendly, compostable floss in a glass jar, a bamboo toothbrush, my DIY face wash and oils/serums in glass bottles. Nobody is perfect. Some of us are more zero-waste than others. It’s not a competition. It’s an honest and intentional lifestyle with the aim of treading lightly on our beautiful planet.
So here are my 6 fave ways to reduce your plastic in your bathroom!
1. Soap bar or homemade instead of hand-soap + body-wash
Apparently people think that bars of soap are unsanitary, but this has recently been proven false.
Think of all of the plastic bottles that you can save going to landfill, or to the ocean, by switching to bar soap in the shower. At least 6 per year? (I wouldn’t know an exact number because I don’t use it lol) Multiply that by 30 years? That’s more than 200 bottles that you are saving from landfill from making 1 switch alone. Bar soap is often a cheaper alternative as well! Just look out for, and avoid, ingredients like SLS, palm oil, sodium palmate and artificial fragrances and perfumes.
If you like liquid hand-soap but still want an eco-friendly option: purchase a re-usable foaming bottle and make your own with just water, castile soap and essential oils! It is one of the easiest DIY recipes to make.
2. Shampoo + conditioner bars
See our blog about my Honest Thoughts on Shampoo + Conditioner Bars. These are a fantastic alternative to plastic bottles of liquid shampoo and conditioner – a lot of brands are plastic-free in their packaging and they last longer than plastic bottles of shampoo + conditioner. I have recently been using these 2-in-1 Shampoo + Conditioner Bars and been really happy with them - they keep my dry, dyed hair fresh and soft. They say that one shampoo bar saves 6 plastic bottles of shampoo from ending up in landfill or the ocean!
3. Bamboo toothbrush
Every plastic toothbrush that you’ve ever used, from your childhood until today, is still floating around the planet somewhere and hasn’t broken down. Every single toothbrush ever used is still around. That’s crazy!
Bamboo toothbrushes are 100% as effective as plastic toothbrushes at cleaning your teeth and when you’re done with them you cut the bristles off the brush and compost the bamboo handle. The brushes range from $2 - $5 each, in line with the cost of plastic toothbrushes. This switch is a no-brainer!
4. Dollar Shave razor or Safety razor
Ladies, please stop using those razors packed with built-in soap – leave those in highschool. Mens razors actually have more blades, are more effective and cheaper (of course they are). Stop using disposable razors altogether though because we throw 2 billion razors in landfill every year. That’s about 1 million pounds of plastic waste and they don’t break down easily.
I’ve used Dollar Shave Club for a few years now and I’m still not sure if it’s a product made specifically for men, but it works great. They send you razor heads monthly (you can also choose to skip months) in minimal packaging and you just replace them as needed, keeping the same razor handle.
One eco-friendly step further is using a Safety Razor to shave. I haven’t personally done this yet but I am putting a Leaf Shave Razor on my Christmas wishlist this year.
5. Plastic-free toilet paper
I’ve been using Who Gives a Crap toilet paper for a couple of years now and it is the best. Imagine never running out of toilet paper or remembering to pick it up at the shops because you get it delivered to your house every 3-4 months (you choose your timeframe)? It’s genius.
Who Gives a Crap has 2 types of toilet paper – recycled and premium bamboo. Splurge and get the bamboo ($48 for 52 double-length rolls), it is the softest thing that will ever touch your bum. They also have forest-friendly paper towels and tissues, so you can stock up on these if you use them too.
All rolls come individually wrapped in paper and there is zero plastic packaging. I reuse the paper to wrap presents for friends at Christmas! On top of being high-quality, sustainable and plastic-free, the company donates 50% of their profits to build toilets for communities in need. Did you know that 40% of the worlds population doesn’t have access to a toilet?!
6. DIY homemade face wash
Our beauty routine can be our biggest source of plastic-usage, but there are so many options available now to buy toxin-free products from ethical brands. While these are great, unfortunately, many of them still come in single-use plastic bottles. I started making my own face wash about a year ago after seeing a basic recipe with ingredients that I already had at home. And let me tell you, it is so much cheaper than purchasing face-wash and it is so easy to do. The best part is that you can customise the ingredients to suit your skin type! See the blog for our DIY Aloe Face Wash Recipe or if you’re a visual gal, check out our Youtube DIY Aloe Face Wash Video.
For more ways to reduce your plastic outside your bathroom, check out our blog on 5 Easy Ways to Reduce your Plastic at Home!
