Happy Easter to everyone who’s celebrating! As a special gift, you can read another long-awaited blog about my bathroom habits.
Err, not like that.
However, I would love to talk about what’s in my shower!
I’ll be honest, readers, I did think about just showing the more zero-waste items in my shower today. But that wouldn’t be authentic at all. I can assure everyone here that trying to make your shower -look- low-waste isn’t the goal. It’s nice to have matching glass bottles to refill all your products, or only have wooden combs and natural loofahs, but like I’ve said before, the most zero-waste thing you can do is use what you already have.
In this first shot is the majority of my shower products.
I have a shower gel from Lush I was gifted, and while the plastic bottle isn’t great, it’s pretty concentrated (been using it since Christmas and it’s half full) and Lush is mainly a fair trade company and uses 100% recycled plastic to make its bottles.
The empty container next to that was once a body scrub I bought in a store, but I’ve been using it over and over to make my own body scrubs out of sugar, olive and coconut oils.
That funky blue thing is a silicone body scrubber, which unlike your standard loofah, is much more reusable because silicone doesn’t harbor bacteria much and you can clean it pretty thoroughly. No need to buy one though, as before this I was just using a washcloth with a rougher texture in the shower and honestly it worked fine!
Another Lush product in the black pot is Angels on Bare Skin face cleanser. It’s a gentle exfoliant and I only use it about once a week. I love buying products in black pots from Lush because they will endlessly recycle them if you bring them back (and you get a free face mask if you have five!)
The white pump bottle contains a particular soap for piercings, and though it is in plastic, it’s lasted me a year so far and I won’t really need to purchase another one since I’ve discovered saline soaks are good enough for me.
The jar next to it is a container I’ve upcycled from something in the kitchen to fill with bulk coconut oil I buy from Costco. I like to use coconut oil as a swap for buying in shower lotions or even shaving cream for sensitive skin. But be careful: it will grease up your shower floor if you don’t clean it off!
I don’t normally use shaving cream, but I was gifted that bottle for my birthday so I’ll keep using it up.
I normally use shampoo bars, but that one bottle of shampoo I purchased while out of town and didn’t have much else. It’s the only bottle of regular shampoo I’ve purchased in a year though!
It’s hard to see, but I actually have two bars of soap there — one unscented bar from the drugstore, and one bar I bought from a local soap-maker at the farmer’s market.
The spiky purple thing is a silicone scalp massager. A totally unnecessary purchase, but something I enjoy using.
To the left, I have my trusty safety razor. It has saved me a lot of money over the past five or so years I’ve had it, shaves better, and uses minimal plastic. The stainless steel blades I use do come in plastic packaging, so I’m still searching for a plastic-free way to refill them.
I tried making a foaming castile soap body wash in a glass pump bottle, but I think the foaming version works better as a hand soap. You can certainly add a few drops of castile soap to your washcloth or scrubber and wash that way, but the foaming version doesn’t go far enough for your whole body.
I bought that wide-tooth neon orange plastic comb when I was maybe 13 or so and it still hasn’t broken! I admit that it’s not the prettiest, but it gets the job of detangling done. Seeing how long it’s lasted, it’s probably the most zero waste item in my shower!
Finally, I have my Ethique shampoo and conditioner bars. I was using the Pinkalicious shampoo, which worked well enough, but am soon going to try out the Mintasy one and hope I like it a little better. The Wonderbar conditioner bar was a pretty solid meh, as I’ve said before, and though the Guardian conditioner bar (not pictured) I’m currently using is a little better. I think next time I’ll look for refillable conditioner instead. I do love that the $6 minis of these products last me longer than my normal bottles of liquid shampoo.
Pro tip: if you don’t have a soap rest like I’ve got my shampoo bars on, crisscross some rubber bands over a jar or candle lid and it works just as well!
The point of showing all of this was to let you know that living a less wasteful life is a gradual process. I have only recently used up all my old stockpiled body washes from the semi-annual bath and body works sales, and now will be using bar soap and castile soap instead to wash. These swaps take time to get to. Additionally, your shower can be half low-waste products and half regular ones — there’s no pressure to change everything at once!
A take of mine that might be a little controversial to other low-wasters: you can still buy the occasional plastic body wash. Seriously! It’s okay! Over this year, I’ve used one plastic body wash that I’m only half way through, because using plastic-free bar soap some of the time means I can lessen my consumption of body wash.
With a less wasteful lifestyle, you can pick and choose what things you need and don’t need in your life. It’s all about what works for you. Me personally, I am fine with using shampoo bars and a metal razor and not ever buying shaving cream or body scrubs. But buying the occasional nice-smelling body wash brings me joy.
All we can do is make better choices within mental and financial reason.
There is no universal way to be a conscious consumer or to live a low-waste life.
Happy showering!
Grace Kennedy
For clarity, none products or companies linked in this blog post were sponsored.
nice to see you back! looking at your comments, I feel pretty good about being low-waste in the shower. I have little refillable bottles for shampoo and conditioner that I've been using for years. I have a scrubber thingy for body washes which I've had a long time. I throw it in the washer once in a while in a net bag and it's held up well. I also have some soaps i was gifted at christmas, so I'll get on those next. They came from a shop where they hand make soap, so they're supposed to be green.