eco bathroom swaps

It can seem an overwhelming task, eliminating as much plastic as possible from our lives and replacing it with more sustainable alternatives. I feel like despite these ‘swaps’ I still rely on so much plastic - but as I was compiling this list and doing an inventory of our bathroom products I felt proud of how far we have come since January 2018 when we started on this journey. I hope some of these eco-friendly swaps are helpful, or items you perhaps hadn’t thought of exchanging before.

BODY

Hydrophil cotton swabs

I know you shouldn’t anyway… but I do, and these are great. The famous image by Justin Hofman (see here) sticks with me to this day - a haunting reminder of how unnecessary plastic has leached into all corners of our planet.

Albatross stainless steel razor

If you haven’t already switched to a steel razor (and kicked that disposable razor habit to the curb) you should, not least because you’ll get a smoother shave. I promise. You can opt for a ‘butterfly’ razor or a ‘3 piece-razor’ but they are much of a muchness and it simply refers to the mechanism to replace your blade when it blunts. I use a traditional 3 piece-razor from Albatross Designs and love it. This company are noteworthy because in an effort to be a truly zero waste company they accept the return of their used razor blades which they recycle and repurpose. Wow.

Shaving soap bar

I got mine from the Package Free Shop in Brooklyn which we visited whilst we were in NY NY (you can read about that here). There are tonnes of options for alternatives though which you can find a little closer to home, the one I use is by the company ‘Unwrapped life’. The benefit of a soap bar (whatever it's use) is that you can purchase them without any plastic packaging and there is no waste product at the end to recycle or throw away. They can also be pretty and work just as well as a bottled alternative. Again if it is a bar you will likely want a steel container to store it (I use this ‘Hydrophil Travel Tin’, which fits both shaver and shave bar).

Bamboo face flannels

Interesting fact - during my pregnancy my weird craving was… (wait for it, it’s rather strange) … sucking a flannel. I mostly resisted the urge but spent the majority of my shower time daydreaming about my sweet bamboo face flannel.

natural loofah

I used to use a plastic net loofah or shower puff, but long-since replaced this with a ‘Mayan Loofah’ (I stocked up with a few from the Package Free Shop in NY). The loofah’s are traditionally grown from a family farm in Guatemala, without pesticides. They are compressible but expand when wet, and work really well to exfoliate as well lather. Although I haven’t trialed it - another alternative I sourced was a hand crochet pouf which you can buy from La Pepa Boutique.

DEODORANT

For Valentines this year Ryan bought me a subscription for an 100% natural deodorant which came in a personalised and re-fillable aluminium case. The company is called ‘Wild’ and so far I’ve had zero complaints… which leads me to believe that I smell delicious.

DENTAL

Bamboo toothbrushes

We get these on subscription from The Bam and Boo, but I also have some in the cabinet from Bamboogaloo as a back up. I can vouch for both companies who post everything in biodegradable, compostable packing. With the Bam and boo subscription you can choose a new bristle colour each time you replace your brush, which mixes things up a little and adds a splash of colour to the bathroom. The bristles are currently made with nylon, and although you can buy animal hair bristles on the market we are vegetarian and nylon seemed a better alternative for us for the time being.

toilet

recycled toilet paper

This was one of our very first plastic free swaps. We subscribe to Who Gives A Crap Toilet Paper, but I'm tempted to trial White and Green toilet paper for the black and white aesthetic. Each roll comes individually wrapped meaning you avoid the plastic wrap at the supermarket and in today's climate you don't have to worry about running out of loo roll due to the zombie apocalypse pandemic mentality.

feminine hygiene

Disposable COTTON panty liners

For the past few years I have been using TOTM (Time of the Month) ‘Unwrapped cotton liners’. You can order them on subscription and their service is commendable. They are made with GOTS certified organic cotton, meaning they don’t contain any nasty fragrance, dyes, bleach or rayon. I prefer the ‘unwrapped’ option to reduce packaging. They are delivered in a cardboard box which fits through a letterbox.

COTTON TAMPONS

I can also vouch for the TOTM cotton tampons, which can be delivered via subscription too. I did trial a ‘Mooncup’ which can be a completely waste free menstrual alternative, but it wasn’t for me unfortunately.

Hand and skincare

Handsoap

Lush stock a variety of hand soaps. I got hooked on one right before they discontinued it so we are currently trialing an olive oil soap bar. We use a Sind Studio dish in the bathroom to store our soap between uses.

coconut oil moisturiser

In a revelation pretty early on, I started to purchase coconut oil in a recyclable glass jar from our local supermarket. Coconut oil is a delicious, inexpensive alternative to bottled body moisturiser, smells incredible and melts in your fingers against the warmth of your skin.

HAIRCARE

Bamboo head scarf

My mum recently gifted me this for Christmas and it’s a wonderful alternative because guess what - the one I used to use was made out of … you guessed it … PLASTIC!

Shampoo bar

I use a shampoo bar from Lush. Pre-covid days I visited the flagship store in Liverpool (which is an experience in itself) and found I really liked their citrus scented bars (their Montalbano vegan shampoo bar is my favourite, you can find it here). I haven’t yet trialed an eco conditioner I love but I can certainly vouch for this shampoo! Make sure you buy a steel container to store it in and keep it dry as it will preserve it between uses and prevent the bar sticking to the wet bath or shower surface on which it is placed. Lush sell a £2.50 container which fits their bars perfectly (see here).

I should add that many shampoo bars at Lush contain SLS ‘Sodium Lauryl Sulfate’. If you haven’t heard of this chemical compound, it is commonly found in cleaning and beauty products and has the potential to irritate the skin. You can look on any of your bottled shampoo or conditioner bottles on your shelf and they will undoubtedly contain SLS. Technically speaking it helps create a ‘lather’ but also strips “good oils” from our hair and to compensate we produce more oils, making hair seem greasy however I have trialed products without and found it to be a difficult cycle to break. You can google the “no-poo method” for more on this (and may even stumble across some hilarious “no-poo” blogger efforts like I did). I myself couldn’t push beyond the transition period and I am sticking to SLS containing shampoo bars for now.

Wooden comb

I ditched my hair brush years ago and use a comb instead. I found mine at Plastic Freedom (a UK company based in Southport).

There are quite a few eco alternatives I am still searching for in the bathroom department, including; a conditioner, body soap bar, toothpaste and cleaning products (to name a few). Don’t even get me started on make-up!

I have unsuccessfully trialed various toothpastes, conditioning bars and found a perfect ‘Avocado Wash’ bar as a replacement for bottled body wash which was later discontinued - so please feel free to offer your successful swaps below and spark some conversation. I’d love to learn more.