Eco friendly toiletries?

bre16

hi everyone, i have changed my lifestyle over the last year to be more economically & ecologically friendly, growing my own fruit & veg, using vinegar instead of conventional cleaning products etc. now i want to start using toiletries that are Eco friendly, Ive looked into buying them but they are so expensive i was just wondering what alternatives there are. i have found out that almond oil makes a good alternative to moisturiser but what about soap, exfoiliater, bath oils, shower gels etc?

Gigervamp

Bath oils can be made simply by adding a few drops of essential oil to sweet almond oil.
For exfoliating, add some olive oil to salt or sugar. Just make up enough for one use, because if you make a bigger batch and get water in it, it will grow bacteria.

Bicarb is a good exfoliator for the face.

Soap can be homemade, but you need to follow safety procedures and don't substitute any of the oils in a recipe without recalculating the lye amount needed. A good place to learn about soapmaking is http://www.millersoap.com/

Shower gels are more difficult to make because they use surfactants, emulsifiers and preservatives. However, you can buy these ingredients from soaping suppliers (google the soap kitchen, they're a supplier that I recommend).

Purple_Sparkles

You can make liquid soap by using soapnuts, this can be used in place of shower gel and you can also wash your hair with it.

50g of soapnuts in 1L of water for 10 minutes. When cool, strain the mixture into a clean container.

Soapnuts don't lather as much as commercial products but they do work and can be used for washing clothes and more.

ndbruton

If you don't fanvy making your own stuff, have you looked at the Faith In Nature range??

www.faithinnature.co.uk

shandypants5

bre16 wrote: »

toiletries that are Eco friendly,

Gigervamp

ndbruton wrote: »

If you don't fanvy making your own stuff, have you looked at the Faith In Nature range??

www.faithinnature.co.uk

I see they use no preservative in their products. That worries me, in a product that contains water. Still, pathogens are natural too. :rolleyes:

Ben84

I don't use liquid soaps or shower gels, which tend to be expensive and full of unnecessary ingredients like synthetic perfumes and dyes. I buy solid bars of simple soap. They're almost entirely sodium tallowate, which is a readily biodegradable substance. No dyes or perfumes, both of which are environmentally dubious ingredients in many products. Far less packaging too, and I find each bar lasts a long time. However, like many bar soaps, it is made from animal fat, which may concern some people.

organic

Hi

We sell Organic & Nautra Toiletries, including Green People & Faith in Nature Range & Organic Blue. We have an offer for the next 36 hours for Free Delivery on uk orders. We have a few samples for the Organic Blue range, if you send us an email with your details we can put them into the post for you.

Green People
www.cyberstrawberry.co.uk/acatalog/Green_People_for_Grown_Ups.html

Faith in Nature
www.cyberstrawberry.co.uk/acatalog/Faith_In_Nature.html

Organic Blue
www.cyberstrawberry.co.uk/acatalog/Cyberstrawberry_Hair___Bodycare_37.html

Fire_Fox

I have VERY sensitive skin, but really like Ecover shower gel ... it's even gentle enough for my face. The 5 litre container is about £30, which works out about £1.50 to refill a 250ml (standard) container. 5 litres has lasted me well over a year and still going strong!