3 tips for switching to a zero-waste bathroom

Protecting the planet and our health through a few sustainable eco-friendly habits—wouldn't that be a great resolution for 2018? Because our habits and choices regarding beauty, well-being, and hygiene have an impact on our environment and our health, reducing waste in the bathroom is an excellent way to minimize our ecological footprint. Here, we offer some sustainable eco-alternatives to protect the planet and your health, and to rediscover the charm of traditional grooming rituals: bathrooms free of all plastic.

A zero-waste bathroom is a minimalist bathroom. We’ve been accumulating creams and accessories for years—are they all really necessary? So, before changing our habits, let’s make some room!

1 - Decluttering

Which products do I not use, or use very little of? Which ones could or should I do without? In a zero-waste approach, it is essential to choose each product with care and leave room only for what is necessary and sustainable.

To help you, organic, multi-purpose, natural vegetable oils—often in glass containers—are an excellent choice. Jojoba oil can be used as a makeup remover, moisturizer, massage oil, or aftershave, especially for oilier skin types. Sweet almond oil is a perfect body lotion for damp skin, but also a highly effective hair mask or restorative treatment. You can even add a few drops to your dishes to flavor them and help reduce diabetes! Thanks to its many properties, coconut oil can also be used as a lip balm, restorative cream, after-sun treatment, or to treat infections (eczema, fungal infections, cold sores, mouth ulcers). In cooking, it is known for its appetite-suppressant qualities and for relieving heartburn.

2 - Say goodbye to disposables!

Makeup remover pads, wipes, or cotton swabs that we throw away every day are not optimal for our ecological footprint, so let’s switch to sustainable alternatives!

Washable makeup remover pads are made to last, avoiding the need to throw away a pad every day and saving on the consumption of cotton, the cultivation of which is very water-intensive.

At Alaena, we’ve adopted them: they’re practical, you just toss them in the washing machine, and presto—they look nicer on the sink edge, they’re very soft, they take up less space when traveling, and they’re more economical.

We do the same with wipes or tissues.

Commercially available cotton swabs are often made of plastic with cotton tips filled with pesticides. Moreover, they are an absolute ecological disaster; they are among the waste products most frequently found in the ocean. To avoid this, it is quite simply possible to do without them: wash your ears gently in the shower or use an "oriculi," a small curved stick. And if you cannot give up cotton swabs, choose ones made of wood or cardboard with organic cotton tips.

To wash your body, use exfoliating gloves or loofah sponges. For shaving, it is preferable to use electric razors or those where only the blade needs replacing. And for dental hygiene, why not switch to toothbrushes with replaceable heads or bamboo ones, which are recyclable?

3 - Shun plastic

The extensive use of plastic poses environmental and health risks. Nowadays, plastic manufacturing involves many chemical products derived from petroleum. Some can leach into food and cosmetics, potentially impacting our health.

To avoid this, we prioritize glass or wood for containers and accessories, and those with packaging reduced to the bare minimum. !

By switching to cold-processed bar soap, you save on packaging and do your body good! Indeed, as we explain in our article Washing naturally, shower gels are often drying for the skin and pollute the planet.

For deodorants, forget those sold in supermarkets, which are literal cocktails of chemicals harmful to your health. They are in no way natural and are bad for the environment and the body. Alum stone is a great ally, but be careful to choose a natural one, not a synthetic one. You can also switch to solid or homemade deodorant.

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