Less plastics in the bathroom : Ben & Anna deodorant and shampoo bars

Last year I started to search for some alternatives to plastic waste I have in the household. I'm not a person of great revolutions and shouting on the barricades. My behaviour is not exemplary but I try to make little changements that stick and that I can keep up with.

So... alternatives to my plastic packaging in the bathroom.

DEODORANT. 

First I switched my regular deodorant stick from a fast moving consumer good brand, to Salt of the Earth.  It's a natural deodorant with minerals and you can get packaging with big refill bottles.
When using it I didn't really have a fresh feeling. It was completely odorless so sometimes I felt uncertain whether I had not forgotten to apply it. But yet I managed to survive this summer heath waves with it.

But Salt of the Earth still comes in plastic and I'm not sure how big the earth's mineral sources are if we'd all start using these. Somehow it didn't feel right yet so I searched further.

In the summer I came into Content, the packaging free store in Leuven and I found the deodorants of Ben & Anna. These are natural deodorant sticks in a cardboard packaging.  I tried to smell a little and liked the fresh smells.  They are not the usual smells and they are not too strongly present. But yet they are there.  

The only issue is that by the end of the stick, which you need to push up with your finger...my finger is too short :D. I need the steel of my hair brush to push the stick a little higher to use it to the end, but that's not too much of a problem.  The stick is also a little bit grainy...they could make it a little smoother to be ideal. 

Nevertheless I am very fond of my Ben & Anna sticks.  Somehow I'm disappointed that they last so long since I want to go and by some of the other smells :D.


SHAMPOO BARS

When I grew up as a child we washed ourselves with soap bars but more and more colorfull and nicely smelling liquid soaps in beautiful bottles.  Soap bars seemed so old fashioned and boring.

But nowadays I try to return to bars. Instead of buying regularly a new plastic shampoo bottle, I have returned to shampoo bars. It took me a while to find where to buy them: colleagues recommended them in stores that were nearby but I found it very stupid to drive far for a shampoo bar (just waisted time but even more silliness to drive in order to be more ecological).  For the same reason I refused to buy online in the many fun cool ecological webshops that exist.  I might have a digital reputation but I try to keep my online buying to a minimum.

I bought my first bar at Dille & Kamille.  The bar did its job: it foams well as soon as you rub it with wet hands, my hair is well washed etc.  But I miss a nice smell.  It's not very exciting.  Sometimes I miss the feeling of pampering myself a bit, what other bathroom products can help me better.
So I bought a 2nd bar now in Content as well. This one was not rounded at the edges like the one from Dille & Kamille which made it the first weeks harder to rub and turn in our hands. I have the feeling my hair has become less greasy and in the mean time I got used to it and don't miss a nice smell as much anymore.  But to me that's still the missing link: anyone who can recommend me a nicely smelling good shampoo bar, let me know!  I am also so surprised that shampoo bars have not made their appearance in the supermarkets yet.

TOOTHPASTe LOLLY
One day I've impulsively bought a toothpaste lolly with cinamon taste.   It's horrible. i've tried it twice or 3 times but it tastes very disgusting and I realised that a refreshing taste has also become essential in the experience of brushing our teeth.  So this is not a success and I don't think I'll ever use this lolly until the end

Comments

Le petit requin said…
Ik gebruik een shampoobar van Lush, die ruiken wel lekker, al heb ik wel eens ergens gelezen dat die ecologisch niet zo ideaal zijn (gebruik van palmolie), dus dat wil ik nog eens (her)bekijken.
Merci voor de deo-tip! Ik heb er nu eentje van Lamazuna en die is op zich qua geur wel goed, maar niet zo praktisch om aan te brengen, omdat er geen houdertje is. Minder afval, maar mijn vingers plakken dus vol met deo :) En daardoor blijf ik dus afwisselen tussen die deo en een roller die ecologische ingrediënten heeft, maar in plastic verpakt is.
Goofball said…
@le petit requin: ja ik hoorde al van de shampoo bars van Lush maar die bestaat dus niet in Leuven. En om nu naar Louvain la Neuve, Brussel of Antwerpen te rijden om iets ecologisch te kopen vind ik ook contradictorisch. Maar als ik ooit voorbij een Lush wandel ga ik zeker eens kijken.
Le petit requin said…
Nee, dat zou inderdaad nogal aan het punt voorbijgaan. Had er niet eens bij stilgestaan dat Leuven nog geen Lush heeft, ik dacht dat die ondertussen wel in alle grotere steden verspreid waren :)
Leen said…
Ik heb exact dezelfde opmerkingen bij die Ben & Anna. Ik gebruik hun lavendelgeurtje :-)
Mijn shampoo bars koop ik ook bij Content (tenzij de laatste keer toen was de conditioner net op en heb ik een voorraadje online besteld... samen met andere mensen en nog andere spullen dus dan voelde het nog niet al te vervuilend :p). Helemaal Shea is het merk denk ik.
Tandpasta durf ik niet te switchen zolang niet is bewezen dat de niet-Colgates en consoorten niet schadelijk zijn voor je tanden. Ik weet het, maar ik ben bijgelovig want nog nooit een gaatje gehad dus mijn tandroutine veranderen is scary!

Popular Posts