Making more eco-friendly choices in our purchases should be something at the forefront of our minds when making any purchase, but there are some products where you probably don’t give it a second thought. And eco-friendly personal care products are likely one of those places. Not all of these products will work for everyone, but even making the switch on 2-3 of them will make a big impact.
Eco-Friendly personal care products you should be using (but probably aren’t)
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Biodegradable bandages
Patch organic bamboo strips are made with 100% bamboo fibre and are incredibly soft and comfortable and stay in place while providing a breathable bandage.
They are fairly new to the Canadian market and can be purchased through well.ca. Offering plain bandages as well as bandages containing activated charcoal, aloe vera and coconut oil you can find the perfect bandage for your needs.
Compostable cotton swabs
This one is a bit easier because if you purchase the classic Q-Tip cotton swabs, that are made entirely of cotton so are already compostable. If you prefer organic cotton, Organ(y)c cotton swabs have you covered. This is a simple change we can all make to remove that much extra unnecessary plastic from our landfills.
If you want to go a step further, there are also reusable swabs available on the market*. I’m not sure I’m ready for that quite yet, but I bet they would be great for travel and hiking!
Compostable dental floss
Think you are saving the environment by skipping flossing? Well, you aren’t contributing to the compost that lands in the landfill, but you are also compromising your dental health. It’s time to toss that reasoning out because you can purchase compostable dental floss! Senzacare Tea Tree Oil Silk Dental Floss is the only 100% plastic-free floss on the market! This is one area I haven’t made the switch myself as I have difficulty using traditional floss (I need the glide stuff as my teeth are so close together) but I’m going to pick up a package of this to see if it will work for me. Fingers crossed!
Reusable cotton pads
Using cotton pads to remove makeup, apply toner, or cleanse your face might not be the worst choice since cotton pads are biodegradable, but why not take it one step further? Pick up (or make!) a set of reuasable cotton pads* that can easily be washed and reused.
I made mine out of an old flannel sheet, they are nothing fancy, I cut out circles and sewed them together (very hastily I might add, please don’t take this as evidence of my sewing ability) over a year ago and haven’t purchased cotton pads since. I use them daily and they work like a charm. Check out your local maker’s markets as you can probably get a set there to try while also supporting a local small business.
Make-up remover cloths
I still keep some disposable make-up remover cloths around (though I really try to buy brands that are compostable), but 95% of the time I remove my makeup using a makeup remover cloth. I first was introduced to these probably 6 or so years ago when I picked up a 2-pack Sephora. Since then, I’ve got my friends all hooked on them.
They are now readily available at drug stores and Winners. Over the years I’ve picked up enough of them while on sale that I have enough for every day of the week. Some like these from Amazon*, are quite large so I cut them in half and put a binding on the cut edge to make two out of one. These truly do remove makeup wonderfully with just water, I love them!
I keep a mesh laundry bag hanging in my bathroom closet so each time I use a cotton pad or one a cloth, I can just toss it in the bag. Then on laundry day, I zip it up and toss it in with the towels so nothing gets lost. Easy peasy!
Make a change, make an impact
Sometimes it feels like the crisis earth is in is so serious that nothing we do can make an impact, and that’s simply not true. If we all made a few small changes like incorporating more of these eco-friendly personal care products, that would add up to huge results. Forgoing plastic bags. Not purchasing bottled water unless necessary, making sure you purchase cotton swabs that don’t have a plastic wand. All of these things matter. They all make a difference. And in the case of the products mentioned above, all of them work as well, if not better (truly I prefer the Patch bandages over regular ones) than their “regular” counterpart.
Let’s all promise to do a little bit better, and we really can start to turn the tides.
Disclosure: I received a complimentary package of Patch bamboo bandages in order to help facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.
When you made your own cotton pads out of the sheet you said you sewed them together. So 2 circles or you just sewed the edges to prevent fraying?
Ahh, just saw your comment now sorry! Yes I cut out two circles, placed them back to back and used a zig zag stitch to sew them together. But doing it by hand would probably work even better if you want a work project that would come together pretty quickly.
Do bamboo adhesive bandages really stick well?
These ones do! I didn’t think they would but I found they stick really well. A million times better than stupid plastic ones. And they are comfortable!