Shower-time: simplicity and ease
I don't know about you, but the thought of using all the different cleansers, toners, scrubs, shampoos, conditioners, masks, peels etc etc etc makes me feel a little anxious! Before I started paying attention to the impact of my daily habits and actions, I used to use all these products and more!
Now that have consciously eliminated most of these products, I realise they actually don't do any magic for my skin or body. I strongly believe most of these bathroom products are just money-making gimmicks for big business and that we're brainwashed into buying them.
My shower time nowadays is super minimal. You might think that this sounds boring or sad but in actual fact I found that by eliminating all these unnecessary products I save SO much time (from going out to buy them and then in actually using them) and money from avoiding purchasing them all together. To me, these two facts alone make my shower time much more relaxing. I now can enjoy the warm water and the few simple products that I genuinely love and serve me without being overwhelmed and distracted by everything else.
I will say that being super minimal in life can make our homes feel medical and completely devoid of any real life and I don't encourage going that far with this process. What I am suggesting though, is to really take an inventory on all the products you use and assess which ones you genuinely love using, which are actually making a difference to your skin and body and which ones might be having a negative effect on your health (think products with really long lists of unrecognisable ingredients and that are full of chemicals eg fake tans, cleansers with mircobeads*, shampoos like Pantene etc).
By going through this process you might be able to get rid of a lot of products that are really doing nothing for you except draining your precious money and time!
You can even go a step further and assess if the products that you do love come in plastics that can be avoided and what impact buying and using these products may be having on the environment. This might be a big step to take after you've eliminated so many products so you might want to do this next step a few weeks after you are used to using less.
So what does my shower time look like?
Shower essentials:
Side notes:
A word on microplastics in facial cleaners/scrubs:
Did you know there are A LOT of bathroom products that have microplastics in them. What are microplastics you might ask? Microplastics or 'microbeads' are the really little round beads in your facial scrubs and similar scrub products. Personally, the thought of scrubbing my face with plastic sounds DISGUSTING (and I ignorantly used to do it!!!) To make things worse, all those little beads of plastic go down our plug holes and into the ocean to be consumed by fish, whales and all the beautiful sea life that we love so much!
I think it's really important to consider the full circle in this process too - these plastics eventually end up in the fish that get caught and sold to us for consumption. Healthy ocean caught tuna seasoned with microplastics for dinner anyone? What goes around comes around! You can't expect health if you're polluting the place you expect health to come from.
Instead of buying products with microbeads in them, try and buy scrubs that use natural ingredients as scrubs like oats or volcanic rock.
A word on razors and hair removal:
Currently, I am using a plastic razor (gasp!) but the reason for this is I bought a packet of 12 'disposable' razors about 2 years ago and I am still using them. I bought these before I realised I needed to get rid of the plastic in my life. Once I have used these razors I will probably purchase a metal safety razor which will see me through the rest of my life. But until then, I am taking care of these blue plastic ones I have had for so long. Disposable razors shouldn't be advertised as 'disposable'. If you take care of these razors, cleaning them thoroughly after use and placing them somewhere where they can thoroughly dry in between uses, you will be using one of these razors for years...yes years!
We can even go a step further here and say I got laser done on my armpits a few years ago and so I don't have to shave there at all. I wonder though, if you compare the manufacture of metal hand razors to the manufacturing and use of laser machines, how the two weigh up for environmental impact?
Alternatively, you can use homemade sugar wax and 100% cotton cloth if you're into waxing because the cotton sheets can be composted. Or you can get empowered and not remove your hair at all. I don't really mind what you do, as long as we consider the environmental impacts.
Other bathroom essentials:
I hope that inspired you to make your bathroom an environmentally friendly and relaxing space. Let me know what you're going to eliminate or swap out from your products!
Did you see my recent post on deodorant? If not and if you're inspired by this post, that is definitely one to have a look at!
Love,
Liza
Now that have consciously eliminated most of these products, I realise they actually don't do any magic for my skin or body. I strongly believe most of these bathroom products are just money-making gimmicks for big business and that we're brainwashed into buying them.
Saving my shower water means I can give my drought affected plants a good drink every day.
My shower time nowadays is super minimal. You might think that this sounds boring or sad but in actual fact I found that by eliminating all these unnecessary products I save SO much time (from going out to buy them and then in actually using them) and money from avoiding purchasing them all together. To me, these two facts alone make my shower time much more relaxing. I now can enjoy the warm water and the few simple products that I genuinely love and serve me without being overwhelmed and distracted by everything else.
I will say that being super minimal in life can make our homes feel medical and completely devoid of any real life and I don't encourage going that far with this process. What I am suggesting though, is to really take an inventory on all the products you use and assess which ones you genuinely love using, which are actually making a difference to your skin and body and which ones might be having a negative effect on your health (think products with really long lists of unrecognisable ingredients and that are full of chemicals eg fake tans, cleansers with mircobeads*, shampoos like Pantene etc).
By going through this process you might be able to get rid of a lot of products that are really doing nothing for you except draining your precious money and time!
You can even go a step further and assess if the products that you do love come in plastics that can be avoided and what impact buying and using these products may be having on the environment. This might be a big step to take after you've eliminated so many products so you might want to do this next step a few weeks after you are used to using less.
So what does my shower time look like?
Shower essentials:
- A 20-25L bucket (to save the precious water I use for my garden which is suffering in our current drought and complete abscense of rain)
- A bar of natural soap (for normal washing, for shampoo and for shaving) Natural soaps are made from olive oil, bees wax, essential oils and/or similar ingredients that we could imagine sourcing from the backyard kitchen garden
- A razor*
- A scrubbing mit - either a loofa that can be composted or a mit that is going to last you a really really really long time
No more microplastic scrubs for me!
Natural soap - for washing, shampooing and as a lather for shaving.
Side notes:
A word on microplastics in facial cleaners/scrubs:
Did you know there are A LOT of bathroom products that have microplastics in them. What are microplastics you might ask? Microplastics or 'microbeads' are the really little round beads in your facial scrubs and similar scrub products. Personally, the thought of scrubbing my face with plastic sounds DISGUSTING (and I ignorantly used to do it!!!) To make things worse, all those little beads of plastic go down our plug holes and into the ocean to be consumed by fish, whales and all the beautiful sea life that we love so much!
I think it's really important to consider the full circle in this process too - these plastics eventually end up in the fish that get caught and sold to us for consumption. Healthy ocean caught tuna seasoned with microplastics for dinner anyone? What goes around comes around! You can't expect health if you're polluting the place you expect health to come from.
Instead of buying products with microbeads in them, try and buy scrubs that use natural ingredients as scrubs like oats or volcanic rock.
A word on razors and hair removal:
Currently, I am using a plastic razor (gasp!) but the reason for this is I bought a packet of 12 'disposable' razors about 2 years ago and I am still using them. I bought these before I realised I needed to get rid of the plastic in my life. Once I have used these razors I will probably purchase a metal safety razor which will see me through the rest of my life. But until then, I am taking care of these blue plastic ones I have had for so long. Disposable razors shouldn't be advertised as 'disposable'. If you take care of these razors, cleaning them thoroughly after use and placing them somewhere where they can thoroughly dry in between uses, you will be using one of these razors for years...yes years!
We can even go a step further here and say I got laser done on my armpits a few years ago and so I don't have to shave there at all. I wonder though, if you compare the manufacture of metal hand razors to the manufacturing and use of laser machines, how the two weigh up for environmental impact?
Alternatively, you can use homemade sugar wax and 100% cotton cloth if you're into waxing because the cotton sheets can be composted. Or you can get empowered and not remove your hair at all. I don't really mind what you do, as long as we consider the environmental impacts.
Other bathroom essentials:
- A compostable toothbrush
- Recycled toilet paper (more to come on this in future posts)
I hope that inspired you to make your bathroom an environmentally friendly and relaxing space. Let me know what you're going to eliminate or swap out from your products!
Did you see my recent post on deodorant? If not and if you're inspired by this post, that is definitely one to have a look at!
Love,
Liza
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