Simple Zero-Waste Health & Beauty Swaps

by Texas Homesteader ~

Come see my favorite yet super-simple daily zero-waste health & beauty routines.

Zero-waste steps are good for the environment and oftentimes are less expensive too. I make most of these items myself!

Benefits Of Zero-Waste Health & Beauty Routine

Striving for zero waste in my health & beauty routines accomplishes several things that are near and dear to my heart:

- Zero-waste appeals to the eco-warrior in me. Low (or NO) packaging to trash.
- Homemade products are often missing those complicated ingredients I’d rather not have on my body.
- Zero-Waste products save money over buying disposable counterparts over & over again.

Want to see my favorite zero-waste health & beauty swaps?

Zero-Waste Reusable Metal Safety Razor

I always hated the sheer waste of those disposable plastic razors. And the expense too. Buy – use – throw away – repeat!

So I bought an honest-to-goodness vintage safety razor and a pack of razor blades (all packaged in paper, #thankyouverymuch!)

Will I Cut Myself Using A Safety Razor? I’ll admit I was afraid of that at first. I wondered if I’d need those special moisturizing strips and multi blades so popular on plastic disposable razors to keep from cutting myself. Nothing could be further from the truth.

The difference of using a safety razor vs. disposable is that I don’t press down on the safety razor like I did with the disposable razors.

Only the weight of the razor itself and a light hand with no downward pressure gliding the blade across my skin has kept me cut-free for over a decade.

Imagine how many plastic disposable razors I’d have been through in that amount of time!

Simple Homemade Soap For A Zero-Waste Clean

And to shave I don’t buy shaving cream in cans I’d have to dispose of when empty. I only use our homemade bar soap. Let me tell you that lather is luxurious!

We’ve made many different kinds of homemade cold-process soap over the years, but our favorites are:

Using this homemade soap is zero waste and we love the different soap options. And that luffa soap offers a little extra scrubbing power during Chigger Season so it offers two benefits!

Home-Grown Biodegradable Luffa (Loofah) Sponges

Several years ago I found how easy it was to grow my own Luffa Sponges. No plastic luffa in our shower!

As I mentioned above, we also turned some into homemade Luffa soap. They made nice Homemade Christmas Gifts too. But there are far more zero-waste uses for my luffa.

Although home-grown luffa is a great zero-waste health & beauty option in the shower, there are other luffa benefits too:

- Our honeybees and other pollinators love the blooms.
- The long vines cover the chicken yard fence, offering summertime shade.
- Young luffa are Actually Edible – a zucchini substitute.
- I make Scrub Sponges for the kitchen, luffa sponges for the shower and luffa soap too.

Soapberry Shampoo Comes From Trees!

I was so excited to find a Western Soapberry Tree on our property several years ago! Now I harvest soapberries every year around November and dry them. Then I infuse them in rainwater to make Soapberry Shampoo.

The soapberry infusion is mixed with a small amount of baking soda & kept in a repurposed squeeze bottle in my shower (because glass in the shower makes me n-n-n-nervous!)

You don’t get any more zero waste than soapberry shampoo made with soapberries you’ve harvested yourself from trees!

Shampoo Bars Use No Packaging

I realize my thing isn’t necessarily everyone else’s thing. RancherMan hasn’t bought into to the low-suds action of soapberry shampoo yet. (even though he knows suds doesn’t equal more cleaning power)

Still he enjoyed the suds. So he still used regular shampoo in the shower.

BUT he happily traded the bottled stuff for a homemade Shampoo Bar since it offers lots of luxurious lather.

Simple Homemade Dry Shampoo

In between shampoos I sometimes use Homemade Dry Shampoo. It’s made with cornstarch, baking soda and cocoa. Sometimes I add a little cinnamon or nutmeg to match sun-kissed hair color.

It’s applied to the roots of my hair using a makeup brush. Then I wait a few minutes and comb it all out.

Who knew dry shampoo was so easy to make myself. And have you priced it in the stores? WHEW! Chalk up another savings to homemade low-waste personal hygiene.

Low-Waste Toothbrush With Replaceable Brush Heads

We first tried Bamboo Toothbrushes. But although they would suffice for tooth brushing, I had a hard time adjusting to the feel of bamboo in my mouth. And I didn’t like that the bristles from the bamboo toothbrush often came off in my mouth.

So I went looking for other solutions and found the Snap Toothbrush much more to our liking.

This toothbrushing experience is much more like using a traditional toothbrush. But only the tiny bristle head would be replaced. The handle is used over & over again. So our toothbrush waste has been reduced by over 90%!

Simple Homemade Mouthwash

I make my own Homemade Minty Mouthwash too. Sometimes in the morning you need a little sumpin’ to freshen that morning breath #amiright??!!

I use mint essential oil and filtered water. A quick swish helps me greet the day with a fresh attitude. (and fresh breath!)

Low-Waste Homemade Deodorant

In the morning when I’m getting dressed, I start off with my Homemade Deodorant. (it’s just rubbing alcohol. Shhhhh…)

When I first decided to make my own deodorant I searched online for various concoctions that people made at home. But most of them either had specialty ingredients I’d have to order or were known to cause underarm irritations.

Then I read a post from someone who simplified everything. She said underarm odor is the result of bacteria. When we sweat, the warm moist environment is ripe for growing bacteria. The result is armpit stank.

So to keep bacteria at bay she sprayed plain ole isopropyl alcohol on her pits and nothing else. I decided to give it a try almost 10 years ago and it’s all I’ve used ever since!

Note: I shower and shave at night before bed and don’t apply my deodorant until morning when I get dressed for the day. I’ve never had a problem with irritation, but I suppose if I were spraying it on freshly-shaved pits I’d feel differently!

3-Ingredient Light & Sheer Homemade Face Powder

I make my own customized Light & Sheer Face Powder and I whip it up from ordinary ingredients in my kitchen.

It’s easy to make & just enough coverage to even out my skin tone. In the summer months I might go heavier on the cocoa, but in the winter months I’ll back off the cocoa a bit to match my skin color. That’s the beauty of homemade – totally adjustable!

Easy Homemade Tinted Beeswax Lip Balm

I’ve never been big on lipstick. But I do like a touch of color on my lips. I’ve made my own Beeswax Lip Balm from the beeswax harvested from our beehives.

I colored my lip balm with a touch of lipstick. I simply mixed a tiny bit in with the beeswax as I was making the lip balm. The result is a nice, subtle color that actually moisturizes my lips.

Repurposed Elastics For Zero-Waste Hair Ties

If I’m working around the homestead I need a way to pull my hair out of my face. More times than not I’ll use my repurpose powers for good!

You see, I repurpose old socks for so many various uses. For holding my ponytail I’ll Cut Sock Elastics and put them aside for just this purpose.

I use those elastics for hair ties to hold my ponytail. (I actually use various sock elastics for many things such as keeping packages closed in the freezer and such.)

Different colored socks result in fun colored hair ties. I have repurposed sock elastics tucked in the glove box of our car and our work truck too.

I have others tucked into our overnight case. I’m never without a way to pull my hair out of my face. And it’s FREE and zero-waste!

Other Zero-Waste Health & Beauty Steps

There are other ways I use simple zero-waste principles for health & beauty too.

Things such as making Rosemary-Scented Hair Rinse using infused vinegar. Or the super eco-friendly step of installing a Bidet in our master bathroom. (Hint: It’s simple to install. And if you’re renting your home it’s just as easy to remove & take it with you!)

So what are your favorite zero-waste health & beauty steps?

~TxH~

This post categorized in

Tagged in

Zero-Waste Health & Beauty

Personal Cleaning

Homemade Beauty Products

C’mon by & sit a spell! Come hang out at our Facebook Page. It’s like sitting in a front porch rocker with a glass of cold iced tea. Lots of good folks sharing! You can also follow along on Pinterest, on Twitter or on Instagram.

If you’d like to receive an email each time a new blog post goes live it’s EASY to
subscribe to our blog

~Texas Homesteader~

Working To Provide For Ourselves On Our Texas Homestead

My Favorite Simple Zero-Waste Health & Beauty Swaps