My quest for sustainable beauty and eco-friendly skincare and a more plastic-free life in general has led me to be unfaithful. Once I find a great skincare product or fall in love with a makeup item, I become a loyal partner. I’ve only made changes rarely, when a beloved skincare product is discontinued and replaced by a new item… Yet during the 10th week of my greener living journey, I “cheated” on my cherished beauty products… And broke up with some.
THE NEW LOVED ONES
Skin rubs: Honey and salt instead of micro-beads
There was this skin scrub product that I loved. When articles about micro-plastic first started to appear, I did not dare to check what is inside of my beloved body scrub for a long time. I was afraid that I would be obliged to give it up. This love was so strong. Even when this skin scrub fell under the shower and the lid broke, I would keep the half-dried product for many weeks… Last week, however, I decided that it was time for eco-friendly skin care. Products with micro-plastic are not an option for me anymore.
For my face, I had already started to use this scrub below:
It is more natural, and its lid is made of wood, so it met my standards in many ways.
For my body, I heard about various sugar and coffee scrubs. However, I also remembered my mom’s honey and salt scrub. When we were in Estonia and went to weekly sauna with my mom, she would take this magic potion out. And we girls would also try it. I remember this incredible feeling when I caressed my skin afterward—it was so soft! This was the body scrub that I wanted to try! I went to look for coarse salt and solid honey and got these products:
With my mom’s guidance, I made a half-and-half ratio. She also suggested that I mix only a small quantity. Otherwise salt can sink to bottom with time and honey can get even more solid on the top. I tried it out, and the result was as I remembered – extremely soft skin!
Cleaning face with wash cloth when stopping the tap in the same time
As discussed in my blog post on water conservation, I had changed several habits at home to save water. Yet I was happy when a friend of mine suggested that I buy the reusable washing pads, presented in one of the featured photos.
With this gesture, I not only reduced our plastic and single-use cotton consumption, but also lowered water consumption.
Buying only natural skin care products with a minimum of plastic packaging
The week I changed my beauty routine, I had just run out of the cream for my eye contours. Therefore, I looked in Satoriz for a more natural options, and I found one made by a company called Weleda. I discovered this label when I had children, as they make a variety of baby care products that I love. Since then I have not been disappointed – the eye contour cream works very well! And an important plus – this cream is packaged in an aluminium tube!
CHALLENGES
While these three changes went smoothly and I did not regret breaking up with my previous products. Other experiments caused me more mixed feelings.
Switching to solid shampoo, conditioner, and soap for body and hair care
The advantage of solid products is that they are not sold in plastic. Moreover, as they are lighter to transport, their carbon footprint is also smaller. I had accumulated quite a few solid soaps that my friends had offered me. As I never used solid ones, they were all just piling up in my cupboard. I thus took out an Aleppo one that I am using now, and I am happy with it. Regarding solid soaps for hair, I love when I can buy most of the things that I need in one place. I thus decided to look in Satoriz for these products. Indeed, I found a a solid shampoo, and I eagerly placed it beside the Aleppo soap in my bathroom.
However, I was disappointed as I was not able to find a solid hair conditioner in this shop. Or at least one that is not packaged into plastic. Having long hair that tangles easily makes it impossible to use solid shampoo alone without conditioner. If any of you have found an eco-friendly hair conditioner for long hair that I could buy somewhere close to Geneva or order online in Europe, please do let me know!
Moreover, after having used the solid shampoo few times, I had to abandon it. My hair remained dirty and got very tangled and greasy, so unfortunately this solid hair care product from Satoriz will not be part of my beauty routine. Again, if any of you know a good solid shampoo for long hair or even a liquid one that is not packaged into plastic, please do let me know!
Sustainable beauty: using eco-friendly wax strips
I found some all-natural wax strips also in Satoriz. While the process of applying the wax went smoothly and I was satisfied, the end result was not as good as when I used the standard supermarket brand. Some hair remains, and it is difficult to achieve a beautiful result with these strips. I will give them a second try, but maybe also this is an area where I need to continue looking for other solutions.
Buying a bamboo toothbrush and no-plastic dentifrice
In order to keep my life simple, I bought a new toothbrush and solid dentifrice also in Satoriz. While the tooth brush is working all well, I again struggle using the solid dentifrice. For now, I am switching between my usual dentifrice and the solid one. As I have sensitive teeth and gums, I love the Sensodyne toothpaste. However, if I could find one that is good for sensitive gums and that is not packaged into plastic, this would be great! If you have come across a great “green” dentifrice, please let me know!
Eco-friendly skincare: using coconut oil as a cream
When I was describing my current steps to green my beauty routines, somebody told me about solid coconut oil. Although I had heard about it before, I was ready to take the information in just now. I had become open-minded and willing to try new things. Luckily, I found the solid coconut oil also in our organic supermarket. I tried it both for body and face. It smells good and feels good on my skin.
Applying the solid coconut is a bit difficult, though. First, I love to have my beauty things all together in bathroom, but for coconut oil I need to go to fridge to take it out. And often I forget it. Next, when I was putting it on, some pieces dropped to the floor. I also have to keep the solid pieces between my palms in order for them to melt. While I am very happy using it for my body, applying it to my face is more controversial. For a night it is all fine, but when I apply it in the morning, I have the feeling my face is way too oily for my taste. I will use the pot that I bought, but I am not convinced that I will go back for a refill.
What is great about coconut oil, though, is that I can also use it for cooking! Coconut oil has many health benefits. However, one needs to be careful that coconut oil does not go bad and great tips how to best preserve it could be found in David Lewis blog post on coconut oil.
“Side effects” of green products
While I got a bit discouraged with the solid products that I found in Satoriz, I remembered that finding my previous beloved beauty products took time. It was never the first ones I grabbed in the supermarket that I fell in love with! I might need to widen my horizons in the search and be patient until I come across the ones that I want to keep!
My son has an “eco-backlash”
On another note, my oldest son has signs of a strong adverse reaction to my “greening” activities. He has quite few times said that he hates all ecological things. Lev is quite an introvert, and it is difficult to understand what is exactly going on in his mind. When I ask him why, if he responds, it is along the lines that it is “too difficult for him.” His backlash was building up gradually, but the change in grocery shopping seemed to really upset him.
I thus decided to take one week to look more into how to help Lev. I will not introduce other habit changes for 7 days and focus on consolidating the 70 changes that have been introduced.
HIGHLIGHTS
While this week was full of bumps on our green road, beautiful things also happened.
A new yogurt-maker
As mentioned in my blog post on greener grocery shopping, seeing that a lot of our single-use plastic came from yogurt, my husband started contemplating buying a yogurt-maker. The new appliance arrived, and together with boys—including the two-year old Rick, who loves to make yogurts—we have now made delicious homemade yogurts! I was afraid that buying this yogurt maker would increase my workload at home, but all the boys—big and small—are very passionate about experimenting with it.
Greener Self-Care
I got overwhelmed last week, as my husband was traveling and I was alone with my three musketeers. I was lacking “me time,” and when I finally got again few hours of free time for myself, it was on the day that I normally had an hour-long gym class. Yet that morning I was exhausted and also did not feel like using a whole precious hour for the gym. Thus instead, I went jogging in the forest with our bulldog Fleur for 30 minutes, then meditated and did some gardening. Under the circumstances, this felt more “right” and self-loving than spending that hour in a muscle strengthening class at the gym.
I feel that since I started to change my life, one step at a time, I have grown more connected to nature. I feel the seasons on a deeper level. Now that we are saying goodbye to autumn and its colours as snow is already covering the mountains nearby, I feel that I have had enough time to spend with the passing season. Before, I always felt that they somehow run by, and I did not have enough time to enjoy them. And I also learned that colourful autumn leaves have a lot to give to the cosmetics industry, a connection now increasingly explored.
Thanks for all you share.
At Lush, I’ve found a great vegan solid soap to wash my hair. I normally need a conditionner since my hair is quite long. But this one does the job. No conditionner needed on top and my hair is very clean.
In order to save natural ressources and out of respect of all animals, I’m very careful not to use material that is produced with parts of animals, animal testing or something that animals would produce like milk, honey, wax etc.. My scrub is done with salt and coconut oil. The result is very nice.
For the toothbrush I’ve found wooden ones. They’re made locally. In the shop where I buy them, they sell also solid toothpaste but I haven’t tried it yet.
For my skin care, I’ve found at BioFrais a great brand called Annemarie Börlind that offers some of their creams in glass containers. I have a very delicate and intolerant skin but today, I only use their vegan formula and am very happy. They produce in the Schwarzwald which is only a few hundred km away from where I life.
I have tried the re-usable pads to remove makeup. Unfortunately, the stains are not removed when I wash them and after a while, I didn’t feel them to be efficient anymore. So until I will find new ones, I’m buying bio cotton pads and also bio cotton q-tips with wooden sticks instead of plastic.
Thank you Maya for sharing about your experiences! You are a source of inspiration – this is great that you have been able to put in place so many green personal care actions! Somebody else suggested me also LUSH, so it must be a good brand when people speak about it! I will then order some products to try out!
I’ve just been shown and given some samples of a new beautyline. I’ve been in Zurich and discovered a shop. Unfortunately they produce in Australia. I will use their samples, one never knows, but I might stick to the products of my vegan supplier who’s producing in the Black Forest, only about 300 km from Geneva.
Thank you Maya for your comment! What is the Australian beautyline called? I have the same strategy as you – I first try to see if I find a product that I like as close as possible to reduce the carbon footprint from transport. But in case I cannot find something that suits me, I am willing to try out the things produced further away.