10 Personal Care Swaps for Sustainable Beauty

Beauty may come at a cost, but that cost should never be the environment. 

Unfortunately, beauty companies around the world are responsible for120 billion units of plastic packaging being produced each year. On top of that, most of this plastic packaging is not recyclable. 

Of course, not every brand is contributing to the problem. This means you and your beauty routine can not only be a part of the solution, but raise the demand for change! 

So where do you start? Check out these 10 simple swaps to take your bathroom out of the dumps and into sustainable beauty!

1. Dental Care

As Bob Marley so simply said, “Thebest curve on a woman's body isher smile.”

What better place to start than your pearly whites? While you’ve been hard at work keeping your smile beautiful and bright, your dental care products haven’t been pulling their weight. 

Just one plastic toothbrush takes over 1000 years in the landfill to decompose. Times that by the billions of toothbrushes thrown away each year and we have a serious problem. However, by swapping to a sustainablebamboo toothbrush, your toothbrush can be disposed of right in your compost bin!

Still using tubes of toothpaste to prevent decay? Your teeth aren’t the only thing resisting decay. Tubes of toothpaste flood our landfills because they are very difficult to recycle. In order to recycle them properly, they need to be sent to special recycling centres such as our friends over at TerraCycle. 

Save yourself the hassle and the earth the energy by swapping out your minty tube for a jar instead. Products such as our Toothchews Toothpaste Tablets or best sellingLove Beauty Foods toothpaste come in a glass container that has endless reusing possibilities. Beyond this, the toothpaste is 100% toxin-free so you can feel great about the ingredients your putting in your mouth.

2. Shampoo

If you use liquid shampoo, we’re willing to bet that it’s packaged in plastic. While this is understandable (glass containers and showers don’t mix), it’s still more plastic waste than necessary. 

Solid shampoo bars such as theO.G. Shampoo Bar pack all the power of your regular shampoo into a plastic-free form. Beyond this, you actually get a higher concentration of product (because no water is added) and toxin-free ingredients! 

Just one bar of this shampoo and conditioner replaces 6 bottles of the liquid alternative. 

3. Razors

Love those buttery smooth legs for summer? Don’t panic, we aren’t telling you you’ve got to grow your pits and leg hairs to be zero-waste. Instead, trade in disposable or plastic razors for areusable safety razor. 

These razors are made of metal and open up for the insertion of a blade. This means you won’t have plastic handles or plastic razor blade heads going into the bin. 

The blades are completely safe, easy to use, and recyclable when worn out. 

4. Hairbrush

Most conventional hairbrushes are made out of plastic bristles attached to a larger plastic platform and handle. While this wouldn’t be such a big deal if one hairbrush lasted a lifetime, that’s just not how it goes. 

Abamboo hairbrush on the other hand lasts far longer than brittle plastic and just like the toothbrush, can be broken down in your compost bin! Not to mention the harvesting of bamboo is far more eco-friendly given the high regrowth rate and low resources needed to produce it. 

5. Hand Soap

If you run a busy household, hand soap is likely the most used product in your bathroom. Unfortunately, just like liquid shampoo and conditioner, the watered-down substance is leaving you with plastic bottle after plastic bottle. 

The simple switch? You guessed it! Bar soap to the rescue. Our favourite is the Australian Pink Clay Soap because it holds its form without going soggy in the shower.

Keep your bar soap around for longer with less mess by using ourreclaimed wooden soap holder. Not only will it let your soap dry more freely, but it’s a cute touch for any bathroom counter. 

Bonus points for storing your shower soap and shampoo blocks on your holder outside of the shower for extra longevity.

If you prefer a bottled soap option for areas like guest bathrooms or the kitchen we recommend opting for the Resparkle foaming hand wash with home compostable refill sachets.

6. Loofa

Nothing feels better after a long day than scrubbing off the dirt and grime with a loofa. Swap your plastic loofa for anatural konjac sponge and get all the benefits of a soapy scrub without the waste. 

These natural loofas become soft and smooth when wet and help you work up a lather with your soap bar so you can get more out of each bar. 

Konjac is a root vegetable that helps to exfoliate your skin, giving you a naturally brighter and healthier complexion and the material itself contains alkaline to balance the PH levels of your skin!

7. Makeup

Love to get all dolled up? While makeup can make us feel great on the outside, the toxic ingredients and excessive plastic packaging aren’t the best for our insides. 

Consider giving your cosmetics bag a makeover with sustainable beauty products such astoxin-free mascaraandfoundation in reusable, plastic-free packaging. 

These products are better for your skin, your health, and your planet!

8. Makeup Remover

Once the glam is on, you’ve got to have a way to take it off. Enterreusable makeup remover pads.

These pads can be used with or without product to remove makeup, smooth skin, and leave you with a beautiful, fresh face. Each side has a different texture for different jobs and they can be washed and reused endlessly! 

Say goodbye tosingle-use makeup wipes and hello to your new bathroom bestie!

9. Cotton Buds

Whether you need cotton buds for crafting, touching up makeup, or cleaning hard to reach places, we’ve got the perfect fix. 

Regular cotton buds use plastic to hold the cotton ends together, however, ourbiodegradable cotton buds are 100% plastic-free and compostable. 

Use them for whatever you need and rest assured your buds won’t be stacking up in the landfill. 

10. Feminine Products

Here’s to you ladies! We all need feminine products to get us through the month, but they don’t have to be disposable. 

With toxin-free and zero-waste alternatives such as menstrual cups, reusable pads, and period panties, you can easily replace both tampons and pads for astress-free, zero-waste period. 

Not only are these products better for the environment, they actually end up costing far less than disposables over the years. 

Sustainable Beauty with Zero-Waste Products

Now that you know 10 clever swaps you can make for a zero-waste bathroom routine, it’s time to put your knowledge to work. Whether you are looking to begin your sustainable beauty journey or master the zero-waste bathroom, every little bit helps!

Want to get your hands on the best sustainable beauty products for your home? Pick up yourzero-waste care pack today and kick off your personal care journey with ease!