Looking for cheaper eco products

[bumblebumblebumblebee]

Hi I'm looking to reduce my plastic consumption and be more green however I'm on a really tight budget

Is it better to by bigger bulk items such as tresseme shampoo and recycle or are there cheaper shampoo bars etc

I've look at a few like LUSH etc but don't have the money to spend out

Ideally I would like to switch to the following eco products

Shampoo
Conditioner
Face wash
Body wash
Face cream
Deodorant
Hand wash
Bathroom/toilet cleaner

Also

Hairbrush
Make up

I would love some recommendations

Would you consider switching hand wash and body wash to bars of soap?

Ethical superstore is quite good for comparing prices - I use it mainly for cleaning products.
The beauty products on there are really expensive - hopefully someone else will be along with some more suggestions.

www.splosh.com/
Splosh products are excellent. Postal delivery, concentrated products, zero waste.

www.friendlysoap.co.uk/soap/
Excellent soap, really quick delivery. I love their solid conditioner.

bain-savon.co.uk/
Great shampoo, the coconut milk is my favourite.

Face wash, Body wash, Hand wash you can use the same bar of soap or decant a liquid soap from a large container.

Bathroom/toilet cleaner - I use a bucket of warm water with a little laundry powder dissolved. works a treat.

Ocean saver are good for cleaning products.. they come in dissolvable sachets. Use an old spray bottle, fill with water and just add the sachet.

Thank you 😊

To be honest, i find it so hard to shop ethically on a tight budget.

Splosh are reasonably priced and their products are good - you can get hand wash, shower gel and cleaning products from them.

Do you have a refill shop near you? That's another option which won't break the bank.

Dripak for bicarb of soda, soda crystals, borax substitute in non plastic packaging - can make all your own cleaning stuff and it's cheap.

Most zero waste shops do refills of white vinegar which is also useful for cleaning.

Loads of shampoo bars available and not expensive - remember each one lasts longer than a bottle of shampoo does as well.

Just use bar soap for washing the rest of you. Upcircle do a more gentle soap bar for the face if you are very sensitive.

Do you have a zero waste/refill shop somewhere nearby? Often can refill shampoo etc there, usually brands like faith in nature or similar.

Deodorant - all the plastic free ones I have tried are "natural" ie no aluminium and various other things. This does mean they are less effective than Mitchum!

I used Wild and it was fine but now prefer a more expensive one from Aurelia....a little goes a long way though.

What about www.ironandvelvet.co.uk
Use old bottle add sachet and warm water.

I buy Faith in Nature shampoo, as I've not found a shampoo bar that suits my hair. I've cut down on how much shampoo I use, how often I wash my hair and I've stopped using conditioner, so one bottle of shampoo lasts months and it's refillable. It took a couple of weeks for my hair to adapt but now it's in great condition.

Paper wrapped soap could replace face, hand, body wash.

Face cream - I buy nivea in the blue metal tins.

Deodorant - I use a crystal stone deodorant, like Pitrok. It doesn't stop you sweating but it stops all odour - for me it works better than Sure/Mitchum but I've heard other people have mixed results. Very economical as one deodorant lasts years.

General cleaning - I buy stardrops multi purpose cleaner and dilute it in a reusable spray bottle - it's quite concentrated so a bottle lasts ages.

The Ethical Life shop is very good. They sell shampoos, conditioner, cleaning products apart from lots of food in bulk, etc. Look:
www.anethicallife.co.uk/shop-online.html
prices are very reasonable

I have found that my supermarket has started selling the big refill packs of carex handwash- they're £2.85 and they're 1l, son4 bottles worth- cheaper and less packaging.

We buy Ariel/ Persil laundry powder. It’s not an ‘eco’ product as such, but we buy the biggest box of powder and it lasts ages ( about a year). It’s just powder in a cardboard box so no plastic bottles at least. It’s often on offer for £10-12 for a box that says 130 washes on it, but I think we use way less powder per wash than suggested so it probably does 200 ish washes and everything included washable nappies are clean.

Body wash, hand wash, face wash - I just use the same bar of soap for all of these things.

Hello,
I'm Amy! I have a small online eco-friendly store to help kickstart your low-waste journey.

If you are still after some bits do take a moment to check it out, www.greenerwithamy.com