10 Eco-Friendly Personal Hygiene Alternatives
With the news telling us left, right and center about global warming, it’s time to get our act together and do our bit for the environment but knowing what to do can be tough if you’ve never really thought about it before. Here is a list of 10 easy eco-friendly personal hygiene alternatives you can switch to from your regular ones. You’ll be doing your bit and maybe even saving some coin in the process.
1. Shower
It may seem obvious, but showers are much better for the environment and waste less water than baths. The average bath takes around 13 minutes to fill and you can definitely shower in less than 13 minutes. Plus, showers would use a lot less water in those 13 minutes than a bath. So why not save baths as a special treat.
2. Menstrual Cup
This may not be for everyone, but instead of using pads or tampons there is now the option of using a completely reusable menstrual cup. These are inserted by folding in half and letting fold out inside of you. These catch the blood like a cup as the name suggests and can be rinsed between uses. To sanitize, simply boil them for a few minutes.
3. Microfiber Face Cloth
Ditch the cotton pads and micellular water, microfiber cloths are the future! These fluffy face cloths catch every last bit of makeup in seconds. Just use hot water and a face wash of choice.
4. Bars Of Soap/Shampoo
Save your bathroom from being cluttered with bottles of shower gel, shampoo, and conditioner and swap all of these plastic bottles for bars of soap. You can buy bars of shampoo and conditioner now, which usually contain fewer chemicals and are usually produced locally. These also tend to last much longer than a bottle of shampoo or conditioner would!
5. Natural Nails
As heartbreaking as this fact is, but acrylic and gel nails are just not eco-friendly. The plastics in the products take hundreds of years to decompose, so try to keep the manicures to a minimum. The good news is that there are a few different brands who have produced eco-friendly nail polishes.
6. Metal Razors
The average razor has a lifespan of around a month and then it is thrown away, never to be used again. Although plastic razors are usually fairly cheap, a new razor a month adds up! It’s time to invest in a metal razor, these are more expensive than a plastic razor but will last you much longer and save you money in the long run. Some even would argue that metal razors give you a closer shave.
7. Home-Made Treatments
The packaging alone for many products such as face masks and scrubs are made of single-use plastics, but some products also contain microplastics that are ultimately flushed into the ocean. Save on all of those things and instead, why not make some homemade facials and body scrubs, they’re easy, fun, cheaper than shop bought products and you will know what is going into them.
8. Bamboo Toothbrush
Did you know that every single toothbrush from the ’60s is still around today? Yep, it takes around 400 years for a single toothbrush to decompose and with each person going through roughly four a year, that can be over 300 toothbrushes per person during their lifetime that will take hundreds of years to decompose. Bamboo toothbrushes are a fantastic replacement, they last longer than a normal toothbrush, contain no plastic, and only take around four to six months to biodegrade.
9. Natural Deodorant
One eco-friendly swap you can make in your personal hygiene routine is by swapping spray and even roll on deodorants to natural deodorants. These come in the form of balms that can be applied similarly to Vaseline. These can come in many different scents or even scent-free if you wish. Again, these are usually locally produced and contain much less harmful chemicals than ordinary deodorant. Many producers will also accept old tins that they come in to refill, meaning these can be used to death.
10. Toothpaste Replacements
Now I know what you’re thinking, I am absolutely not going without brushing my teeth, right? Right. You don’t have to and no one would expect you to do that. But what you can do instead of using classic toothpaste, is use tooth tabs instead. Often these come in cardboard boxes that last a month at a time, and aren’t much more expensive than a tube of toothpaste.
