Each year, it is reported that 522 million bottles of shampoo are tossed and sent to a landfill. Although this number alone is crazy, it doesn’t even take into account bottled products used in your everyday shower/skin care routine like conditioner, face wash, body lotion, body wash, and hair treatments. When I looked into my shower back home over break, I had body wash, 2 shampoo bottles, a conditioner bottle, a leave in conditioner bottle, and a body scrub. As someone who is very much against creating waste, it might be surprising how much plastic is in my shower. However, sustainability is a journey, and having plastic bottles is in the first part of mine!
When I first began looking into more sustainable options for my life, I found shampoo and conditioner bars. These bars intend to reduce waste by taking all of the good ingredients from your hair care products and not diluting them with water. So, these good ingredients are put into a solid bar and often packaged minimally in biodegradable packaging. I found my own when I was on vacation in Florida and found a local company with shampoo and conditioner bars on sale!
Naples Soap Company has a wide variety of shampoo and conditioner bars, and frequently has sales on them! I’ve already gone through a shampoo and conditioner bar, but quickly purchased 2 more of each during a buy 3 get 1 free sale.
My first purchase was “Sunkissed” which is perfect for summer and very floral/fruity.
My top favorite scent! You only need a couple of swipes to condition your hair!
And I understand if at this point, my love for shampoo and conditioner bars confuses you more about why my shower had so many products. After my first bars and put away my bottles, I read an article about how the most sustainable thing for you to start out with is just finishing the products you have now. There’s no reason to throw away something that has a use even if it’s packaging isn’t environmentally friendly. I just was very excited to start using my bars though, so I alternate my products to still get rid of what’s left (hence all of the bottles). But in time, I hope to get rid of the bottles and stick to bars of soap, shampoo, and conditioner. These products also tend to have more wholistic ingredients which is important for me because I have eczema.
It has definitely been a struggle figuring out how to bring my sustainable life to college where convenience is important. I started out with bottles of product, but then invested in small soap trays that fit the bars perfectly and allow me to use them in the showers here more easily.
This tray has a drain for excess water and lid for easy transport. The shape is perfect for the bars I use too!
Living sustainable isn’t always easy, but it can help us live a little better and more holistically! I encourage you to give shampoo and conditioner bars a fair shot because they smell great, are amazing for your hair, and make the earth a cleaner place to live!