Cutting down on plastic in the bathroom

[Figmentofmyimagination]

This is my NY resolution as we seem to have so many plastic bottles in the bathroom. I'm trying to switch us back to bars of hard soup (very 70s) for hand washing - Joseph do a nice soap dish on an angle, so the soap doesn't sit in its own puddle and get soggy and gross, and I'd like to find some nice, giant-sized shampoo, conditioner and shower gels - say 1000 ml. - or bigger still if they are refillable. Does anyone know of any business doing refillable toiletries or have other good ideas? My other idea is that I'm trying to encourage everyone to use cotton hankies instead of tissues but I'm facing a teen revolt over this.

[Tika77]

Faith in Nature does 5 l bottles. Been using those for years. Decant soap into foaming dispenser as well this way they last a lot longer. I

[Deshasafraisy]

uk.loccitane.com/hair-care-eco-refills,83,1,39674,0.htm

[SimultaneousEquation]

I have the Joseph soap dish by the kitchen sink. I recommend the bronnley lemon soaps for kitchen and bathroom hand washing as they are nice and hard and the shape stops them going soggy. They also smell divine. We use lush shampoo bars but will look into the faith in nature range for family members addicted to liquid shower gel and shampoo.

[Figmentofmyimagination]

L'occitane looks lovely but a bit expensive. Outside Christmas my normal budget for shower/hair stuff is something high street like Aussie.

[mumonashoestring]

Lush do solid shampoo and conditioner bars, might be worth a try?

Bamboo toothbrushes?

I don't know if you have anything like this locally but we have a local market which includes a wholesale stall where you take your own containers and buy flour, oil, lentils etc. by weight. I know in the US there are shops that operate on the same basis and sell shampoo, soap, laundry soap etc. but it might be worth asking around to see if anything's available locally.

[derangedmermaid]

Lush.

Their naked range includes shampoo, conditioner, shower gels and body conditioners.

All last an absolute age if you keep them dry, smell amazing and are ethical.

[SignoraStronza]

Was just coming on to suggest Lush stuff too. Only plastic bottles we have now are those that came from Christmas gift sets. They even have a solid shower gel.

[derangedmermaid]

I've got the Snow Angel and Rose Jam solid shower gels from gift sets over Xmas. They are brill. Smell so freaking good

[EmpressOfTheSpartacusOceans]

I'm always wary of going into Lush because of the horror stories about the full-on assistants though...

Is it actually possible to just look round quietly or do you constantly have to fend off offers of help?

[Figmentofmyimagination]

Do you take the shower bar into the shower every time? It sounds lazy but I was hoping to find giant bottles for the shower so they can just stand there waiting for people to get in the shower and use them! I guess it's just changing peoples' habits.

[hattiehollow]

I can’t tell you how amazing traditional soap is compared to Carex or equivalent. In a normal winter, my hands would be shredded by now... regular soap (any brand, not fussy) seems much gentler. I use it in the shower too, instead of gel.

[Figmentofmyimagination]

I always feel 30 years too old in lush which is stupid, as it smells v nice from the outside.

[SimultaneousEquation]

Out of Eden do 5l bottles of nice shower gel and shampoo for not a very high cost. I think I’ll try them

[derangedmermaid]

@EmpressOfTheSpartacusOceans

Yeah, just ask them to leave you alone. Say I'll ask if I need anything thanks. They are people too, they get it.

I probably know more about the Lush products than most of the staff due to my Lush addiction and I usually just wave them off whilst looking intensely at the nearest bath bomb.

@Figmentofmyimagination my naked shower gels live on top of the shower grate in the ensuite and then on the windowsill in the main bathroom.
They do sell tins but I think a normal soap dish may be better.

It's really no faff. I promise.

[Figmentofmyimagination]

Ive also switched to roll on deodorant! My teens won't do this though.

[mumonashoestring]

Empress I tend to very firmly pre-empt the sales sharks (in any shop) with 'browsing, thank you' until I actually need to ask them something. Usually gives them the message without being so rude that you can't face asking when if you can't find what you're looking for despite having walked past it six times

[YoBibbity]

Can anyone recommend a Lush solid shampoo for fine greasy hair?

[ClaryFray]

Lush does shampoo bars which last a while. And a variety of nice soaps for bath time.

[VienneseFingers]

How can I get rid of the plastic non-recyclable toothpaste tube? Is there a (not too weird) alternate to them?

[derangedmermaid]

@YoBibbity

uk.lush.com/products/shampoo-bars/seanik

I've always been told this is great for greasy hair.

[brownelephant]

you can get tooth powder.
nottried them so far.

[thelastredwinegum]

A longish thread but there's recommendations for solid conditioner www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/3128675-to-ask-what-youre-doing-to-reduce-your-use-of-plastics

Apparently the Lush one isn't highly rated as much as the shampoo is.

[MotherWol]

TK Maxx often have big bottles of shampoo/conditioner, and you can also get big bottles of liquid Marseille soap there that makes a good shower gel. Plus we found the big pump bottles get used up more slowly than little bottles - a 750ml shower gel lasted us a whole year!

[Bellamuerte]

Eww cotton hankies are gross! Carrying your own snot around with you in your pocket and then putting it in the washer to be smeared all over your clothes. No thanks, I'll continue putting my tissues straight in the bin!

[brownelephant]

if you have a food waste bin you can sometimes dispose of used tissues there.