What’s in my shower?

If you looked at my shower organizer, it might appear that I am an avid collector of bar soap. There are at least four resident bars at all times, sometimes more. The secret is that they are not all your standard bar of body soap. So, what is really in my shower?

A shampoo bar. Regular bottles of shampoo use a type of plastic that can be difficult to properly recycle. The shampoo itself also commonly contains harmful ingredients that are not healthy for your hair. Instead, I use a bar of shampoo which you use just like a bar of body soap, except on your hair. It comes unpackaged or in easily recyclable materials. The ingredients also tend to be more natural and thoughtfully made. Best of all, you can find shampoo bars made by small businesses in person and online. 

A conditioner bar. This complements the shampoo bar and makes the perfect plastic-free hair care duo. Conditioner bars only need to be applied to the very ends of hair so they last a long time. They can also be used as a hair mask if applied and then left for a few minutes before rinsing. Conditioner bars often come in packs with shampoo bars or can be purchased together if you want matching scents. 

A DIY hair rinse. This apple cider vinegar rinse gives my hair a reset every few weeks. I combine one part apple cider vinegar with three parts water, let it sit in my hair for a few minutes, rinse, then wash like normal. 

A bar of body soap in an agave soap saver bag. Although bars of soap are seen as old-fashioned, they are a great plastic-free product that gets the job done. There are also lots of fun options for soap bars with a range of scents and designs. This is another product that can easily be purchased from small businesses. The agave soap saver bag is like a loofa except it is made of natural materials rather than plastic. The bag holds soap bars or even soap bar scraps. It gently exfoliates your skin and can be composted when it needs to be replaced. 

A face bar. As someone with sensitive skin, it can be difficult to find products that don’t make me break out. Luckily there are many facial wash bars that seem to work perfectly fine for me. This product can take a bit more trial and error, but when you find a bar that works for you, it is just as good as any liquid face wash. 

Sometimes, a shave bar. Shaving cream comes in cans that are not easily recyclable. Much like the fancy shaving soap that is used with a shaving brush, shave bars are a low-waste product that can be used to shave, except it doesn’t require a special brush. The bar can be rubbed directly on the area that needs to be shaved. Sometimes I use a shave bar, and other times I just use regular bar soap to shave. Both work perfectly fine and it’s just about what I have around at the time. 

A safety razor. Like a bar of soap, safety razors are one of the old-fashioned things that also happen to be more environmentally friendly. Safety razors use fully metal individual blades instead of partially plastic refill cartridges. These blades can be saved and then recycled, so the entire safety razor is plastic free. 

Mini shoe update: If you read “The story of my shoes” you learned all about my struggle with buying new shoes and even saw a picture of the ones that I ordered. Unfortunately, the shoes arrived and they were remarkably similar to the Cariumas that I returned a few months ago. I realized that buying shoes online is probably not for me, and I should stick to in-store purchases. So, the weekend after getting the package, I made an impromptu trip to the New York City Vans store. I ended up exchanging my previous purchase for a different pair of Vans that are gray and a bit more comfortable. This mini-update isn’t directly related to sustainability, but I have had some questions about why my current shoes don’t look like the ones pictured in my previous shoe article, so I thought I would give an update.