Green Health and Beauty

By Anne Schroeder

We all use soap, shampoo, toothbrushes, etc., but can we do better than the standard we’ve been used to?

Body soap often comes in plastic containers. Try going back to good old-fashioned bar soap. Soap wrapped in paper is even better than plastic. You can now get shampoo bars formulated for your hair type. A shampoo bar can last just as long as a plastic bottle of shampoo.

You can also cut down on plastic by using a safety razor. There are many economical clubs you can join like Harry’s Shave Club or Dollar Shave Club to get replacement blades very reasonably priced. The metal blades are usually recyclable.

Another item that fills up landfills is plastic toothbrushes. You can instead use bamboo toothbrushes that decompose almost completely when thrown away or composted.

When you buy deodorant, try to avoid anti-perspirants, which use aluminum salts to seal up your pores. This is a potential health toxin. Aluminum also takes a tremendous amount of energy to mine. Buying one stick of aluminum-free deodorant could save the amount of energy to power your laptop for 30 minutes.

Lastly, try to buy baby oils made from organic seeds and nuts instead of from the refinement of petroleum. Baby oil (or mineral oil) is used at about 100 million gallons a year.

What is your favorite zero waste hygiene product?

Source: The Green Book, opens a new window by Elizabeth Rogers and Thomas M. Kostigen