Shopping Guide – Bath & Beauty

Balm for any cut or bruise

Go to your local co-op and look for a salve with comfrey.  It should have basic ingredients like olive oil, beeswax, etc.  I like the one sold by HerbPharm.

Bathmats

The bathmats from Pottery Barn do not shrink in the corners, and they are all cotton – no polyester micro plastic going down the drain, and in the air, every time you wash and dry them.

Bath brush

Body Wash

Deodorant
Find perspective here.

  • DeodoMoM on Amazon.  I believe this was sold by http://www.30sdomeweeks.com which is no longer an active site.  I tried to contact the seller through Amazon to confirm there are no additives – without success.
  • MoM on People’s Pharmacy. They also offer an economy size, or two sticks with free shipping.  This product has several additives (Lithium Magnesium, Sodium Silicate, Ethylhexylglycerin, Caprylyl Glycol), whereas DeodoMoM on Amazon does not.
  • Milk of Magnesia.  Some buy a bottle and put in a spray bottle or lotion pump, or dab on with a cotton ball, (ex. GoodSense Milk of Magnesia, but I can’t verify that there are no additives in that specific brand)
  • Alcohol & Zinc Oxide – one of the most powerful make-your-own combinations.  Apply alcohol first, then the zinc oxide; then dab on cornstarch.
  • Tallow-based balm – Creatrix Solutions Tallow – Fresh Scent.  Some make their own tallow balm with magnesium hydroxide.
  • Powders – these can decrease odor AND help with excess moisture or sweating….corn Starch (non-GMO), arrowroot powder, baking soda, dry powder ‘milk of magnesia’–magnesium hydroxide. Many people don’t need anything other than this – dab on or make a mix.
  • Apple Cider Vinegar – dab on.

Floss
No more plastic floss escaping into the wild.  It’s time for amazing silk floss.  I love the brand Dental Lace.

Hair Dye

There are two very safe ways to dye hair. With both it’s best practice to not use any hair products one week before dyeing, or use a chelating shampoo like the one sold by Hairprint for $24 8oz.

  1. Ancient Sunrise Henna for Hair Kits from Mehandi.com and support from HennaforHair.com – short hair kit 100g $31 – This will take a few to several hours, and if you want black, it will be a 2-day affair.
  2. Velvet Bean and carbomer from MyHairprint.com – short hair kit $42 – time required is more similar to conventional hair dyes.

There are tons of less safe ways to dye hair:

  • Goldwell Elumen Long Lasting – semi-permanent, will only last a half a month if you shower every day.
  • Schwarzkopf Simply Color
  • Wella Koleston Perfect Me+

Hairbrushes & Combs

Lotion

See ‘Moisturizer’ below.

Makeup
If you want non-toxic beautiful makeup, don’t buy from anyone except Toups Organics.

  • Concealer – Toups & Co
  • Blush – Toups & Co or make your own:
    • take dried passion flower, red roses, radix lethospermi
    • soak dried plants in olive oil at least 10 days.
    • melt some beeswax, adding the colored oil from above as you melt
    • mix 1 part rose powder, 1 part cornmeal, 2-3 parts pearl powder in a mortar and pestle
    • add the beeswax/olive mixture little bits at a time, mixing
    • pour into a vessel
    • to apply: rub a finger in the blush paste, and dab onto cheek gently
  • Brow Gel – Crunchi
  • Eyebrow pencil – Toups & Co, or make your own:
    • mix coffee powder, bamboo ash, and extract of blue colored plants mainly consisting indigo and indirubin. The blue powder is commercially available from Chinese drug stores that sell herbs for Chinese medicine. The name is “青黛粉”. If you can find a Chinese drug store, you can ask them. The dark blue type is more superior than the light blue type.
    • then add a little melted beeswax and mix.  should be firm powder, not mash.
  • Lipstick – make your own like Liziqi:
    • crush red rose petals in a mortar and pestle with a little water and fresh lemon juice
    • put mash into a cloth and press out the dyed water in a bowl
    • heat the dyed water until it reduces down
    • soak pieces of powdered paper in the dyed water; dry
    • paint more dyed water onto the papers 3 – 5 times, letting dry each time.
    • to apply, wet lips with a finger, and press lips onto the paper, putting paper in between lips together.

Makeup Brushes
There are a variety to choose from if you want natural bristles and natural materials.  I haven’t tried all of these:

  • cream blush: Tom Ford Cream Foundation Brush 02
  • powder bush:
  • Make Up Brush Kabuki – Koyudo red or blue squirrel brushes
  • powdered foundation brush: Koyudo Fu-Pa 14
  • others: Redecker brushes 610517 cosmetic brush and 610510 mini blusher brush are not available in the USA

Menstrual Products

Consider reusable feminine care products a try – you will save about 250-300 pads or tampons from being thrown in the landfill each year, or ~400 pounds throughout a lifetime of menstruation.  

  • Menstrual Cups: 100% medical-grade silicone – Diva Cup, The Honey Pot Co and Organicup, or 100% rubber from natural latex – The Keeper Cup – available for periods and after birth.  See this how-to video.
  • Re-usable pads: Life Giving Linen!  They also have postpartum pads.
  • Period Panties: Not recommended, because the moisture-wicking chemicals applied to the fabric contain perfluorinated substances (PFAS forever chemicals).  Mamavation has a great article about how the PFAS period panty discovery came to be.  Companies are not transparent about how they’re treating their fabrics to repel moisture.
  • Disposable pads & tampons: 100% organic cotton, plastic-free

Mirror

Moisturizer

Nail brush

  • Redecker thermowood nail brush with pig stiff bristles – Amazon

Razor
Get the stainless steel open comb design if you’re a lady or man who doesn’t shave every day.

  • Timeless Razors is the best place!  I recommend the stainless steel, smooth cap, open comb, 0.95 blade gap, knurled handle, polished finish, and the matching ‘stand’.  Tip: find the ‘scratch and dent’ page to get a cheaper one!
  • If you want to level up to a straight razor, Mooremaker has a good one.

Razor blades

Shampoo

Shaving brush

Shower

  • metal shower ‘rings’ that allow you to take curtains on and off quickly – Amazon
  • magnets if you need to weigh down your shower curtains – Amazon
  • Nylon shower curtains CAN be less toxic than PVC or hard plastics.  Linen or hemp would be best.

Soap

Toothbrush 
Don’t settle for so-called ‘eco-friendly’ toothbrushes with bamboo handles that still have non-biodegradable bristles.  Choose a truly natural toothbrush with natural pig hair bristles.  They are made by Redecker and are available from the following two companies in both adult and children’s sizes:

Toilet brush and stand 

  • Redecker from Amazon 
  • for a plunger, buy the simple red plunger you find at the hardware store, with the wood handle, and get a simple clay plant pot water tray to rest the plunger on.

Toilet Paper

Stop buying plastic, and go totally plastic free.  Who Gives a Crap toilet paper is wrapped in cute colorful paper with funny sayings, you can put the rolls anywhere in your house – you don’t have to hide it in a closet.  

Many brands of toilet paper contain harmful chemicals like chlorine dioxide, dioxin, BPA, and phthalates, colors, fragrances and inks. Toilet paper is made of, well, paper, and the commercial paper making process is a chemically intensive, not to mention environmentally unfriendly, process. The chlorines (to make TP white), fragrances (to make TP scented), formaldehyde (to provide wet-strength), inks (to make TP express your personality), and colors (to make TP color coordinated) are all chemicals that can cause ill health affects.  Ensure it is free of:

  • Chlorine
  • Dyes
  • Fragrances
  • BPA

WholeRoll meets the criteria perfectly.  Naturolly is a good brand too. Although not as common to find in the US than other places around the globe, bidets are a fabulous option for your health and the environment – try Tushy, a modern bidet that you can easily install.  Use the Branch Basics 10% discount (click here or ‘BranchBasics’ code).  Who Gives A Crap does not use chlorine on  recycled rolls but does use a small amount of elemental free chlorine on bamboo rolls. 
 
Who Gives a Crap focuses on sourcing high quality raw materials mostly from schools local to the  factories, with a small amount coming from post industrial sources, which consist of office paper, books, paper off cuts and notebooks – none of which should contain BPAs. They conduct BPA testing on a regular basis with a third party test agency to assure this is the case. As each batch is different, they don’t guarantee the product is BPA free, however any trace amounts would be in such minuscule quantities that the risk of harm being caused is extremely unlikely.

Toothpaste and Tooth Tabs

Towels to dry hands that don’t fall off the towel bar
Ditch the regular ‘hand towels’.  They are too small and always fall down.  Get a slightly larger size and take one more little annoyance out of your life.

  • Hand towel 20″ x 40″ – Coyuchi

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For miscellaneous items, check www.PackageFreeShop.com and  www.LifeWithoutPlastic.com.