The price of personal hygiene

[BrainInAJar]

Hi all,

I know this is not exactly breaking news but OMFG the cost of living!

I have a decent job and a modest lifestyle in terms of financial outgoings so relatively comfortable. And I'm pretty low-maintenance in terms of personal care (I don't spend a lot on hairdressing, nails, tweakments etc).

HOWEVER, I'm finding the cost of just BASIC hygiene noticeably growing ridiculous.

I buy cans of 250ml spray deoderant in my weekly shop. With clubcard discount that is £2.50. It lasts 2 weeks for me when applied once daily. In summer etc that would only last a week! I'm pretty sure the cans used to be bigger, last longer and be far cheaper!

My other basics: shampoo, conditioner, bars of soap, basic moisturiser, cotton wool, toothpaste. None of them fancy but the cost really does add up.

Coupled with the cost of having an actual shower, it's bloody ridiculous. It's like something out of the 19th century for a person to be thinking that they need to think about the cost of keeping their body clean!

Thanks for listening to my rant!

Luckily I am past needing sanitary protection.
But nowadays I bulk buy from Amazon pack of 12 deodorants, pack of 12 shower gels shampoos etc and go for the most reasonably priced 'name'. At the moment I'm using Pears shower gel which worked out at about 80p for 200ml, it's not bad smelling either and is quite economical in use (by that I mean you get a lot of suds for one small squeeze onto the puff).

I mostly only use the cotton wool for removing mascara and nail polish. Not that I wear either very often these days!

I wash my face in the shower with CeraVe and my hands.

It's the deoderant which broke the camel's back today though and set me off ranting! Trying different brands can be a bit of a waste of money though if they don't work for me.

Appreciate that I'm privileged and that it's just irritating me, the cost, it's not that I can't afford it.

Period poverty for something that is essential is horrendous.

I use resuable sanitary pads (works for me, not for everyone I know), and Aldi cheapest shampoo, deodorant and conditioner.

Now I think about it, my basic hygiene stuff hasn't really gone up much. My roll-on Mitchum is still £1, branded sanitary towels etc actually seem cheaper now than they used to. My Garnier cleanser is cheaper because it's in Savers etc. The soap I like is 3 for £1 (used to be 4 for £1), and Pronamel is always on offer at £2. Radox bath has gone from £1 to £1.50 but it lasts months.

Compared to food price increases it all seems good value. Although since opening this thread I am seeing ads for a Kerastase shampoo and conditioner for a mere £46.60, so I guess it depends on your lifestyle!

Genuine question, are you angry about toilet paper too? Because I spend way more on that essential care product!

Invest in some period pants where possible. Short term outlay but saves a lot over time. Re-useable face wipes too. Plus supermarket own brand shampoo/conditioner/hand wash etc. I do all that.

I’d totally agree here in Scotland you can pick free sanitary products from public buildings (you don’t have to ask there is a stack of boxes in the loo) and you take what you need for now/ later. I’ve not paid for a sanitary product since they introduced the policy.

I'd like to switch to sustainable products even if there is a larger initial outlay. I'd be interested in any brand name or online stores that specialise in that kind of thing.

Re periods, I switched to a subscription service a few months ago. Its sustainable organic products, no plastic packaging and to keep shipping at a minimum they deliver once per quarter. Its called we are Riley, it's in Ireland so not sure about UK delivery.

Everyone seems to expect to live for free these days.

Don't wear deodorant every day if you are just doing things like WFH, school run, supermarket etc. I have found since lock down that allot of things aren't necessary.

Who Gives A Crap subscription FTW! Seriously, check it out. (I do not work for them.)

Those of you who use bar soap do you have one for every Member of the family? I don’t fancy washing myself with soap that my husband and son have washed their arsed and balls with

Santitary pads/tampons only cost about £2 for a months supply.

Shipping toilet paper from China doesn't seem like a good idea to me......

Good point. I’m the only adult in the household and DS is still young (and barely washes anyway if you ask me). Also I’m old enough to remember the days before body washes were a thing. But I remember XH occasionally leaving hairs in the soap and 🤢

Because?

This is the one I use, 6 for £22 but you only need a couple of clicks and it's one you apply at night
Nothing else works for sweating for me

Maximum Protection Sport Strength Anti-perspirant Cream Stick pack of 6 96h protection anti-perspirant deodorant for 3x stronger* sweat protection 45 ml amzn.eu/d/86HzNl5

YABU

Nobody gets through a can of deodorant in 2 weeks. What the hell are you doing with it?!

I buy deodorant in bulk off Amazon. Six cans in one go and works out £1 cheaper per can than boots

Unpopular but agree.

Re period products, you can get 48 tampons from Superdrug from less than £2. Much better then plasticy tampax too.

Roll on deodorant never finishes.

Buy cheaper versions of stuff.

Also, why is cotton will on the list? It's around 70p for a pack, how much cheaper do you expect shops/manufacturers/farmers to sell their stuff?

If you read the OP’s posts she says that possibly due to perimenopause, many deodorants don’t do the trick for her at present.

You know not everyone has 2 quid for tampons don’t you? I mean, I do, but I’m aware that some people don’t have enough to eat. Just because we don’t know any of them doesn’t mean they don’t exist.

You know I looked at them before and if I had lots of space I would give them a try, but 9 ordinary rolls is the most I can really accommodate so I'm stuck with the supermarkets really.

Barely used Shampoo bottles are often offered on local freebie facebook page. Random other toiletries, too.