How to Radically Minimize Your Bathroom Clutter: Personal Hygiene Edition

Warning: Following the steps in this post would radically minimize your bathroom routine.

Considering the fact that approximately 23 billion toothbrushes are thrown away every year, I think we need to talk about reducing plastic use in the bathroom.

I’ve found that the easiest way to reduce plastic use in the bathroom is to minimize my bathroom routine. After rounds of minimizing, my bathroom routine has been low-waste and low-plastic for the past 4 years, and it has saved me loads of money!

It started with a decision to switch to a bar soap – one of the most effective and easiest switch to remove a “plastic fixed cost”. And it’s great because…

… all those shampoo bottles can’t actually be recycled. And then you think about how long you’ve been on this planet, how many bottles you’ve used – it makes you step back and reflect. Siobhán Pereira, carbon specialist at Costain Group

Besides, recycling is a lousy option compared to not using plastic in the first place. Read about it in this post.

By now, you’ll already know the basics to reducing plastic use. It all boils down to using sustainable alternatives to plastic/disposables.

Instead of listing the myriad ways to reduce plastic use in the bathroom, here are the simplest and cheapest ones. Read on to find out how to radically minimize your bathroom routine and substitute the plastic bottles or disposables in it.

This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase a product through one of the links, I get a small commission at no cost to you. Thank you!

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1. Substitutes in the shower

Shampoo, body and facial wash: 1 bar soap
Conditioner: Diluted fresh-squeezed lemon juice (freeze lemon juice into 1/2″ cubes in advance)
A lot of people use an apple cider vinegar rinse, but I prefer the smell of lemon. Either way, you’ll be able to lick your conditioner. How many people can say that?

You’ll have minimized your bathroom routine by a good bit if you only made this switch. To pull this off, buy a soap so harmless you can use it on your face or a baby.

I use the ingredients as a guide when choosing a soap – I go for the shortest list of ingredients with names I recognize to be good or harmless, preferably with only paper packaging.

Optional: When your plastic comb gets damaged, replace it with wooden brush/comb!

Note: Give your hair lots of time to get used to the simpler soap that doesn’t contain all the nasty chemicals that make your hair smooth but is bad for your body. After the transition, your hair will be smooth even without all those chemicals. More on this in a later post!

You may want to consider these:

2. Substitutes for your dental needs

Toothpaste: Coconut oil-baking soda-peppermint oil mix
Toothbrush: Bamboo toothbrush
Floss: Silk floss

What you’ll need:
– 4 tablespoons of coconut oil
– 2 tablespoons of baking soda
– ~35 drops of peppermint oil.
It’s a very forgiving recipe, so don’t worry about precision.

Instruction:
In a small jar, mix ingredients together. Stick a little spatula in the jar and give it a little stir before each use. You only need a petite-pea-sized amount of toothpaste to brush with.

Note: It’s pretty salty and not sudsy. But once you get used to it, you’ll find that it makes your mouth healthier. Coconut oil and baking soda are both antibacterial, and coconut oil and peppermint oil are anti-inflammatory.

You may want to consider these:

3. Substitutes for moisturizing needs

Face, lip, hair and body moisturizer: Choice of oil in a glass bottle
Popular choices include coconut oil, jojoba oil, rosehip oil, and argan oil.

I stopped chasing after the different brands of moisturizers after my skin developed a sensitivity towards them. There was a period of time when using moisturizer caused red blotches to bloom all over my face and it’d itch and burn until I washed the moisturizer off. I was using reputable brands like Laneige and Clinique too!

It took Physiogel to heal my skin in the end, then I converted to jojoba oil and never looked back. Jojoba oil is actually a wax that is similar to sebum on our skin.

We’re better off not believing the benefits touted by marketers about their products. Very often, the benefits they claim their products have are based on a few good ingredients they use among a sea of chemicals.

There are great and honest brands out there, but don’t take their word for it, always check the ingredients and choose products in a glass jar or a recyclable metal tin!

You may want to consider this:

If you’re not a fan of oil, check out rose water!

4. Substitutes for hair removal

Shaving needs: Safety razor for body, or tweezers for eyebrows
Shaving cream: Soap!

I don’t shave my legs, so all I use are different tweezers for eyebrows and underarm. They’re stainless steel, would last a lifetime and recyclable too!

5. Substitutes for scents

Deodorant:
I don’t use deodorant. This is an easy recipe I found from goingzerowaste.com, a source I trust! Please let me know if it works.

What you’ll need:
– 2 oz of water
– 1 teaspoon of sea salt
– 1 teaspoon of baking soda
– Optional drop of essential oil

Instruction:
Boil water and stir in sea salt and baking soda.
Let the solution cool, then add essential oil to the mixture.
Pour solution into a spray bottle. Shake before use.

Roll-on Perfume
What you’ll need:
– Carrier oil such as jojoba oil, sweet almond oil or even coconut oil.
I use my moisturizer oil as a carrier oil so I don’t have to buy another bottle of oil!
– Essential oils of your choice.

Instruction:
In a reusable roller bottle, mix your own essential oils with a carrier oil.
Shake well before use and roll on wherever you need it. I use it on my hair and as a massage oil too!

Note: When using essential oils, always find out what the right dilution is.

6. Period progress

Menstrual protection: Menstrual cup with the wonderful Thinx and reusable cotton pads as back up.

Get a menstrual cup from a reputable brand. It’s totally worth it as it’ll last years. If you can, invest in a few pairs of Thinx – they’re expensive but a lot more comfortable than reusable cotton pads. But reusable cotton pads work perfectly as a backup for menstrual cup users too.

You may want to consider this:

The trusty MCUK.

Also, you may want to read this!

A Comprehensive Guide To Using A Menstrual Cup

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As promised, simple, cheap and saves you money in the long run! Would you minimize your bathroom routine too?

It’s not zero-plastic but it’s way better than before!

I know not everyone would be able to do this – our bodies are different. But doing this has greatly reduced the amount of chemicals I put on my body.

I believe that the more junk we put on our body, the more problems it’ll cause. So I’ve intentionally simplified and curated everything I put on my skin.

It’s working well for my body. My hair and skin are healthy, I don’t get mouth sores anymore, and the monthlies are way easier to handle.

The simplicity is great for my mental well-being.

It’s better for the environment too. Not just because I don’t throw out plastic bottles, but also because I don’t put more chemicals than I need to into the environment. All those shampoos and body washes we use, they all end up in the water. The water treatment plants don’t catch all the chemicals.

I’ll be doing in-depth posts about some of these points at a later date. Stay tuned! In the meantime, try to minimize your bathroom routine for a lower carbon footprint!

Don’t forget to share if you’ve found this post crazy or helpful! 🙂