Much like the kitchen, when you start to assess all the items you have at home regarding personal hygiene, there is a lot of plastic involved. The media has already demonised cotton ear buds thanks to this picture of a sea horse carrying one home and there are now a lot of different products available to replace plastic ones.
Initially when trying to de-plastic the bathroom, I collected up my products to work out what items I actually used and which I was buying unnecessarily. Then as items in my bathroom ran out, I started searching for alternatives. The ££££ signs certainly could start adding up when it comes to beauty products. So let’s start small …
As with many of the swaps I have made, a lot of them are simply going back to items I used as a child and that my mum still favours. When the plastic ‘poof’ that I used in the shower was past its best, I purchased two flannels. To go with this, when the shower gel ran out, I started to buy bars of soap instead. From the market in Loughborough, (often the best place to find olde worlde items) I bought some handkerchiefs. I was a little sceptical about using a hanky to start with, but for the last six months or so I have not bought any tissues and don’t find myself missing them at all.
Toothbrushes and toothpaste tubes are two items that cannot be recycled. Let’s do some scary maths: take your age and multiply it by 5. Then take you age and multiply it by 8. Add the two numbers together. My number is 507. That is 507 toothbrushes and toothpaste tubes that have potentially been thrown away, by me in my lifetime. All of those items still exist somewhere on this planet, maybe in landfill, maybe in the sea, maybe in a foreign country. That is a lot! Bamboo toothbrushes are becoming more popular, however, with all these ‘eco’ items there is a price tag and there are caveats. The bristles are often still made of plastic (unless you get a really, really eco one made from wild boar bristles) and therefore this part won’t decompose. However, a few bristles in comparison to the whole toothbrush is significantly better. They are also, mostly, very soft brush heads, which isn’t for everyone. They can be found from anywhere between £1.50 and £4 depending on the type you choose.
It is worth mentioning here that for the majority of bathroom items, I have used Nada, the new Zero Waste store in Leicester. The products are no different in price to the internet, but there isn’t the postage and packaging charge which can bump the price up significantly. It has the added benefit of making friends with the owner who has tried most of the products and I like to support a local business. Even if you don’t use the store for your dry foods, the other bits and bobs they sell could work out to be good value.
At the beginning of the year, Cherrie, a lady in our village decided that her New Year’s Resolution would not only be to use less plastic, but to take the whole village along with her! She put a shout out in the local newsletter and 42 people joined her What’s App Plastic Group chat. The benefit of having a whole group joining together is that you can buy in bulk. We decided to try ‘Who Gives a Crap’ toilet paper a try and benefited from the bulk option of 5 boxes of 48 rolls. We split them between us and everyone gave the swap five stars! The rolls are larger than normal rolls and really soft. The company donates 50% of its profits to help build toilets and all the paper is made with environmentally friendly materials. As everyone liked the product, most recently we ordered 10 boxes, making an even better bulk saving. Whether I can make the next order 20 boxes of 960 toilet rolls remains to be seen!
When other items finished, I looked around for alternatives. Lush is a good place to start for non-packaged products (they call them their ‘naked’ products). The black tubs that hold some of their items are made from recycled plastics and their own recycled black pots. You can take empty tubs back to the shop for them to recycle again and again. I tried out their shampoo and conditioner bars with metal tin containers for trips away. I have to say I did not get on with them and after five weeks I did go back to normal shampoo and conditioner. You win some, you lose some. When those bottles finish, I am going to try the refill system at Nada as that is a liquid product, which I think I would prefer.
From Nada I have also bought cotton ear buds with wooden sticks and Geoorganics toothpaste and compostable dental silk. I am not sure what the dentist will make of the toothpaste, I shall wait for my next check-up. Hopefully, she will be pleased with the amount of flossing I am now doing. Having never liked this hygiene routine, I’ve discovered it was the feel of normal floss which I really disliked. My new compostable version doesn’t have that squeak, so I am more than happy to floss regularly!
The toothpaste is …. different! It took a while to get used to and I am still not sure some weeks in whether I like it or not. It was quite expensive and I am keeping an eye on how long the glass jar lasts. If it is the equivalent of two tubes it will be the same amount of money as regular toothpaste. The main difference is that it doesn’t foam and froth and is a more gritty paste (I am really not selling this!). However, afterwards my teeth feel perfectly clean and fresh.
Some products can be replaced with more natural alternatives such as using coconut oil as a make-up remover. (Be careful with this one if you are a contact lens wearer) This works really well, especially when using a crocheted make-up removing pad. These pads can be machine washed after use unlike single-use disposable ones.
I have also made my own deodorant… but I think I will save that for next week!
I hope these two swapping posts have got you thinking. There are plenty more ideas to come next week. As with all things zero waste, it is worth being prepared. If your face wash or shower gel is nearing the end of the bottle, start thinking now what you might want to replace it with. If you are in the supermarket, and desperate for a replacement, as you have already run out, you are more likely to end up buying the same plastic packaged product through sheer convenience. Replacing items one step at a time also means you are not getting used to new shampoo, toothpaste and soap all at the same time.