The Most Sustainable Zero Waste Shampoo
It’s frightening to think about how many plastic bottles I have used and thrown away in my lifetime. Even if I put them in the recycling bin, most of them were probably never recycled.
Things were different when I was growing up. We used soap bars instead of liquid hand soap, glass bottles were the norm and we never ever drank bottled water.
But the times changed and the convenience of single-use plastic took over.
For as long as I can remember, I took my own reusable grocery bags to the supermarket and if I did drink bottled water I chose glass bottles (I drink tap water now). But I found switching back to soap bars more difficult and zero waste shampoo bars were practically unheard of until a few years back.
My issue with solid soaps is that they’re messy. Looking back that’s a ridiculous reason to not make the eco-friendly switch. But the feel of soap that has been sitting in a pool of water on a soap dish doesn’t appeal. Not only that but soap scum that quickly builds from soap requires frequent cleaning.
Honestly, these are such minor issues so a few years ago I made the change and switched all my hand soap and body wash to regular bars of soap. There are so many beautifully scented soaps that I love all my soaps now. What a shame I didn’t do it sooner.
Switching to zero waste solid shampoo bars did take me a little longer but I’m used to them now too. I usually alternate between brands but often come back to Ethique* which is readily available here in Australia. I still use liquid shampoo from time to time, using a refillable bottle from a bulk store near me.