Bathroom

Shaving
I hate shaving but I have to do it every day and I have a 5 o'clock shadow by lunchtime!   I am very fussy about my shaving products as they have to be good to ensure the process is as quick and easy as possible!    I made the transition from shaving cream to shaving oila few years ago.  I had read a lot of good things about shaving oils but just couldn't believe it would be better than a thick layer of shaving cream! Eventually I gave it a go and haven't looked back since.  As we attempt to make more areas of our life environmentally friendly my wife, being the creative soul she is, decided to see if she could make some shaving oil using natural oils.  I now use a homemade shaving oil and it is great.  It works a treat, is a fraction of the cost, is environmentally friendly and doesn't contain any chemicals for me to absorb like a lot of toiletries (read the labels - did you know that women that regulalry wear lipstick absorb 1kg of lipstick over a lifetime!!). The recipe is just mixing the following oils together and then shake before each use (these oils are available from health food shops or the internet):

- 1/2 teaspoon sunflower or olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon avocado / jojoba oil
- 1/2 teaspoon aloe vera leaf juice or gel
- 1/8 teaspoon castor oil
- Optional:  3 drops each of lavender essential oil and bergamot essential oil (non photo-toxic version)

I also read that using regular soap is good enough for shaving instead of using any shaving cream/oil.   Again, I nervously tried this and was amazed how well it worked.  So I now I use soap or my wife's homemade shaving oil.

Disposable razors do not make sense economically or for the environment as they just add to landfill.

Deodorant
I used to use both a stick deodorant and body spray (Lynx).  It always concerned me that the packaging told me not to put the can down on painted surfaces.  If it ruined paint what was it doing to me let alone the environment?! We looked at more healthy options and given I sweat like a pig we dubiously bought a 'crystal rock' deodorant.  We bought a travel size first to make sure we are happy it worked before committing to a full size one.  They are quite expensive (about £5) but they do last over a year so overall they are cheaper than traditional deordorants.   I was amazed it worked!  Even after a long run in the summer I still didn't smell!    We went for the  Crystal Rock brand as it was what the supermarket we were in had but there are others available and most high street chemists and supermarkets.  There is one called Pit Rock which I think is a great name!!  Be brave and give it a go!

Shampoo
We are lucky to have a small supermarket locally that sells environmentally friendly food, toiletries and cleaning products.  We now use a shampoo that does not contain chemicals that are harmful to us or the environment.  It also means our bath water can be used to water plants.  We use a JASON shampoo although there are others available at supermarkets, chemists, health food shops or on-line at health/organic shops.  We have found although they are more expensive we actually only need to use a fraction of the amount as traditional shampoos so the cost is not much more, if any more.   

Update: Someone kindly pointed out that JASON products are made in the US and Faith In Nature are a  UK company that also make environmentally friendly shampoo as well as other products so that saves on the transportation environment impact as well.  We now us Faith in Nature products.

Make-up Remover
My wife uses natural Almond Oil as a make up remover and it works a treat.  No absorbing harmful chemicals and it is great for your skin.   Almond Oil is readily available at health food shops.  You only need a small amount so it goes a long way and lasts a long time.  It also comes in a glass bottle instead of plastic which is another bonus.

Bathroom 'Smells'
Light a match instead of using air freshner that uses lots of horrible chemicals to get rid of any 'not-so-fragrent' whiffs from the toilet.  It really works!

Toilet Water
See the entry under the Water section.

Shower Instead Of Bath
A shower only uses 2/3 of the water of a bath.

Toilet Paper
This is an obvious tip but is sometimes not done due to the slight extra cost and lack of choice of colours!   Environmentally friendly toilet paper is an easy way to make a difference.  In the UK we use 13m toilet rolls a week and hardly any is from recycled paper.

Bathroom Design
Thinking about a new bathroom.  Take a look at this article here for ideas on making it environmentally friendly