A plastic free shower

Perhaps the bathroom is the place in the house where we accumulate more jars and containers: personal hygiene products, beauty articles, cosmetics, a first aid kit, or even medicines. And the great majority are made of plastic.

Since the range is so wide, today we want to focus on the shower. The list of accessories when it comes to showering is rich and varied: sponges of artificial fibres, or natural ones, but stuffed with polyester; children’s toys made of pvc or polyurethane; or synthetic pedicure files, pumice stones and exfoliating scrubs.

And what can we say about the myriad of chemicals we use to clean ourselves up. Do we really need so many types of shampoos, gels, conditioners or bath salts?

From Sinplástico, we want to share some simple tips to reduce most of the plastics that surround us when having a shower.

For the body:

  • Use soap bars containing organic vegetable oils, and essential oils instead of artificial fragrances. These soaps are more natural and, therefore, more skin friendly. This way we will remove the gel plastic bottles. In addition, if we buy them in bulk, we will avoid the wrapper in which they come packaged.

  • Use cotton wash cloth or cellulose sponges, avoiding marine sponges as they are nothing but animals. They are the ideal complement to soap bars.

  • Use wooden brushes made of natural bristles to clean and massage your skin.

  • We can use luffa sponges, natural pumice and sisal gloves that besides removing dead skin, reactivate blood circulation. Artificial exfoliating gels not only come packaged in plastic but also contain plastic micro-beads that end up polluting the oceans.

  • At bathtime, we can replace children’s plastic toys with natural rubber bathing toys. They are biodegradable and much more healthy, since they do not detach harmful particles in the water.

For the hair:

  • With regard to the issue of hair care, we would like to mention the trend “no-poo (no-shampoo) that promotes its cleaning without using any shampoo, arguing that their chemicals are harmful, and weaken the hair. In exchange, they propose to wash it only with lukewarm water or, if the hair is very greasy, with natural products such as baking soda or apple cider vinegar. After a short adaptation period, they say, hair natural oils will restore, and hair will get its original texture that makes it keep smooth and balanced.

  • However, if you do not want to go so far as “no-poo” movement,  we can also reduce our impact by using smaller doses of soap, and by washing our hair less regularly. It is shown that washing your hair on a daily basis is not healthy because it weakens it and encourages an excessive oil production.

  • Another interesting option to reduce our plastic footprint, when washing our hair, is to choose shampoo-bars.

  • However, if your choice is common shampoo, choose eco-friendly options with labels such as SOIL or Ecocert which guarantee that contain natural ingredients. Today it is almost impossible to find a care product without PEG type silicones. These cancer-causing petroleum by-products are not biodegradable and, therefore, end up in the ocean when rinsing them out. And, then, to our food chain.

Now, take care of your body and enjoy a good shower in a healthy and ecological way.

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