Shampoo bars and other stuff

[RoseMartha]

I recently tried shampoo bars after a growing concern about single use plastic. They suit my hair better than the liquid shampoo which is good.

I was in Boots the other week waiting in the queue thinking about how much plastic was actually just on the selves in there.

Anyway. I already use bar soap over shower gel and have been for years as never keen on the shower gel. Of course if I am given some as a gift I will use it.

I also use the bag refill hand wash and we just reuse the bottles we had months ago with a different make in.

I saw an ad on refillable deodorant sticks but they are out of my budget.

Thinking about what else I could replace. Any suggestions?

Ocean Savers are great - concentrated liquid floor cleaner/bathroom cleaner/anti bac etc. Just add them to an empty bottle and top up with water. Cheap too

Period pants?

Ben and Anna natural soda deodorant- the one in the cardboard tube. It lasts a long time too, very good value for money and I like the Persian lime - lots of others to choose from.

Safety razor, menstrual cup/cloth CSP/period pants, bamboo toothbrush, "truthpaste" (powdered toothpaste in a glass jar-not tried it personally) or dental tabs.

I also use the bag refill hand wash

Out of interest, what do you do with the empty bags?

I just wanted to say, if you didn’t already know, that co op take lots of soft plastics to recycle, everything from yogurt pot lids, crisp packets, pet food sachets, bread bags, bubble wrap.

www.coop.co.uk/environment/soft-plastics/packaging-list

Ok thanks some great ideas. I will look them up.

@Idontlike it says to recycle in normal way.

That's good to know thank you.

I will have to see if they recycle cartons as my council stopped.

Plastic free pads and tampons by Natracare (if you don’t like or can’t use period pants)

Plastic free dental floss. Not the cheapest but I love the little glass bottle, looks good in my bathroom.
uk.georganics.com/collections/dental-floss/products/dental-floss-spearmint

Reusable bamboo cotton wool pads for removing make up.

Love Lula is a great webshop with loads of eco friendly beauty stuff.

Things I do:

Wear less makeup and if I do, preferably glitter free to avoid micro plastics.
Bar soap instead of shower gel
Bar soap instead of liquid hand soap
Buy handcream in tins instead of plastic tubes if available (think Atrix) and same goes for lipbalm
Use facial oil as a moisturizer instead of cream from a plastic jar, oils are usually packaged in glass bottles.

What shampoo bar do you use @RoseMartha?

Lovely more ideas thank you 

@Mcmcmcmc

Shampoo bars

I have tried alberto balsam raspberry. Not as keen on this one

The Ultimate Blends Honey one is good which I got half price in Tesco.

My favourite is Faith in Nature. Coconut and shea butter.

Thank you @RoseMartha!
I tried the ultimate blends (garnier) aloe vera and was really surprised with how good it was. All the other shampoo bars I tried before (usually from ‘natural”’ type brands) were rubbish and made my hair look oily in the roots with dry lengths and ends!
I find it a bit expensive at full price but I got it half price at Boots. I will try the Faith in Nature to see how it compares.

@Mcmcmcmc
Let me know how you find it. The bar is not as soft as the other two.

It is a shame that more brands are not offering environmentally friendly products. That are affordable as well.

I am marking off how many washes I get from each of them to see how good they are re value for money. Which probably sounds really odd. I am probably the only person who does this.

I use flannels to take make-up off (and tell friends I'm a devotee of the hot cloth method because it sounds more fancy) - just stick them in the wash.

Smol are great for dishwashing tabs, plastic free subscription service. They also do clothes washing tabs and have just started doing tablets for cleaning products - so you buy a spray bottle the first time which comes with a soluble tablet, fill up the bottle, pop in the tab and away you go. I suppose you don't even need to buy the bottle, just use a tab on a clean bottle but I was a bit wary about mixing chemicals.

I cannot get along with bamboo toothbrushes I'm afraid, but have swapped to a metal razor so only disposing of the heads now.

There's a refill shop just opened up near me too so I'm now refilling a huge 5l tub of hand wash and using that to top up nice dispensers around the house.

Not really a style and beauty thing but I use Who Gives A Crap for toilet paper.

Also refill my shampoo and conditioner, hand soap, toilet cleaner, shower gel and white vinegar from 5 litre bottles. The empties make great cloches for the garden.

Washable make up pads and flannels.

Loads more ideas over on the Ethical Living thread.

it says to recycle in normal way

Yes @RoseMartha but it is actually accepted by your kerbside collection, have you checked your councils list?
Those bags aren’t accepted in our area, but the co op soft plastic would collect them, it could be contaminating a whole batch of recycled plastic if you are putting it in and it’s not something they accept. If your council aren’t even accepting cartons they may not accept those bags.

Tesco accept soft plastics now too @Idontlike and @RoseMartha

I started a thread about it on the Ethical Living board.

Our Sainsburys also collects soft plastics too.

@Idontlike @LittleWingSoul @DotBall
Ok ty. Will look into this.

@LittleWingSoul what is that toilet paper like, my girls use loads especially on their periods we can get through a roll a day. I dont think they will go for period or the cup though as a couple of people suggested.

@PlanDeRaccordement will look into these. Ty.

@GemmaRuby I have bought a few of these to try. Ty

Cant change toothbrush as I use an electric one (it is 4 years old though and obviously I change the heads). and can only use one type of toothpaste due to dental issues.

Does anyone know if bamboo dental brushes are available?

Also I have a broken saucepan. I dont want to just bin. I emailed a metal recycling place but my email bounced back. It is still sitting by my fruit bowl.

@bluejelly and @NoYOUbekind
How well do they clean.

I have been using Method cleaning stuff and get it when its on offer.

My favourite shampoo bar is little blue hen - no plastic, no palm oil, just made by a lady.

You can get recycled or wooden heads for electric toothbrushes.

If you're on an eco drive one big thing to do is change your bank and change your energy company, so you're not funding fossil fuels.