Written by Mailelani and Juni, 1/22/2021
Next up on the podcast, we talked about Sustainable Beauty and Hygiene. To listen to our podcast, click here.
1. Beauty Products
Source: TheKnot.com
First up Juni told us about her favorite makeup and cosmetics brands. Her number one was Elate Cosmetics. She told us how they come in compostable packaging, made with natural ingredients, and how they carry safety razors and eco-friendly toothpaste now.
Source: BeautyIndependent.com
The second was Mac Cosmetics. Though they aren’t the best brand for earth-friendly products, they do have a Back 2 Mac program where you send back your empty containers and they recycle them.
The third was Bare Minerals. They sell their products in recyclable glass bottles and their cosmetics are made from natural ingredients as well.
Next Juni talked about her favorite brand for skincare: Lush. It is a new company that started in the United Kingdom in 1995 but didn’t open and become popular in the United States until much later.
This company is great because all of its products are natural and package-free. They sell all sorts of skincare, hair care, and self-care products. You can also buy shampoo and conditioner bars from them, which we talk about a little later in the episode.
A few other beauty companies that my mom and I use are Mineral Fusion, Pacifica, and Gabriel. I don’t wear makeup, but I have a few times before when I had dance recitals.
Mineral Fusion is a really good brand for nail polish. I use it all the time! They sell vegan (no animal products) cosmetics and don’t test their makeup on animals. Yes, other companies do that.
They also sell makeups and lotions, and even have a few tutorials on their website!
Source: MineralFusion.com
Pacifica is a great brand for makeup and they have really cool colors. They even have some glitter in their eyeliner if you like that! Their products are made with sustainable packaging, and just like Mineral Fusion, they are vegan and cruelty-free.
Source: BeautyIndependent.com
And lastly, Gabriel. Their makeup is made with 100% all-natural ingredients and is cruelty-free as well. They are best known for their lipsticks, which I\’ve used before for dance performances, and it stays on very, very well.
Source: MomTrends.com
RELATED READING: Trash Is Collecting In Our Oceans!
2. Bathroom
Source: NBCNews.com
Next, we talked about sustainability in the bathroom. More specifically, zero waste soap and toilet paper options.
Juni talked about soap bars for shampoo and body wash, as well as hand soaps that you can use. I also mentioned a recent article, Easy Swaps You Can Do Towards Zero Waste, about soap bars.
Source: Eventbrite.com
We also talked about different toilet paper options. Juni talked about using a bidet, and I mentioned two different sustainable toilet paper brands that I liked.
The first was Marcal, where the toilet paper comes individually wrapped in recyclable paper and it comes in a box without any plastic whatsoever. The second was Who Gives A Crap, which is pretty much the same as Marcal.
Sources: OfficeSupply.com and StillBeingMolly.com
Finally, I talked about not using paper towels and instead of using hand towels. I also talked about this in the article Easy Swaps You Can Do Towards Zero Waste.
I explained how I use Sand Cloud, a local company in San Diego, California, that sells beach towels that take the sand off of you. The towels are thin and soft, and we use them in our RV on our travels. They also sell other zero waste products, such as metal straws and water bottles.
Sand Cloud is all about saving the ocean, and they even donate a small percentage of their proceeds to companies that do just that.
Source: BusinessInsider.com
3. Menstrual Products
Source: YourMoonTime.com
Let’s face it: all girls get their period, at one time or another. There’s no reason at all to be ashamed of it. It’s just nature reminding you that you can be a mom one day!
Sure, it sounds exciting, knowing one day you’ll end up being a mom and all, but don’t most of us hate it every month when we see that spot of blood show up on our underwear? Don’t you want to be a little more comfortable while on your period? Here we talked about some comfortable AND eco-friendly options for products to use during… well, that time of the month.
First Juni talked about menstrual cups! Menstrual cups are basically exactly what they sound like! They are little medical-grade silicone cups that you fold up and insert just like you would a tampon, let it fill up with blood, dump, rinse, and repeat! She explained that this is her favorite method of eco-friendly period products, and even if she was not doing this zero-waste lifestyle, she would never go back!! (The brand she loves you can find here) she then talked about reusable period underwear, the brand talked about is Thinx. She explains period underwear are basically reusable cotton pads in the form of panties! She has never tried these but says that she has heard good things about them!
Lastly, I talked about using reusable pads. I use this really cool brand called GladRags, which sells eco-friendly pads that come in all sorts of pretty designs. They have pads for all types of flows, whether heavy, light, or overnight. They work way better than regular pads, and I’ve never had a leak while wearing them! You have to clean them right after you take it off, though, and it’s a lot of work, but it’s worth it. (Hint: wrap them together and clean them in the shower, then you don’t have to worry much about the mess!)
RELATED READING: Episode 5 – What Is Zero Waste?
4. Dental Hygiene
Source: TheGuardian.com
The last section of our episode was all about teeth. First I mentioned how you can make your own toothpaste, and I will post a recipe on that as soon as I can.
Next I talked about toothbrush options. You can go with a bamboo toothbrush (see photo above), or a Preserve toothbrush, which are made from recycled plastic, and you can send them back when you are done and they will recycle it for you.
For mouthwash and floss, you can recycle your containers, and floss is small and thin, so it can fit in your jar of trash. You can also buy silk floss, which is reusable. And you can make your own mouthwash, and I’ll post a recipe on that as well.
Juni also told us about dehydrated toothpaste tabs. You can just pop them in your mouth and chew and it will clean your teeth.
She mentioned David’s Toothpaste as well. This company sells their toothpaste in metal tubes, rather than plastic ones.
We hope you learned something new in this episode. We had a lot of fun recording it (as you can hear from us in the episode). Please give us a review and post a comment below if there’s anything you want us to talk about!
Love from your hosts,
Juniper and Mailelani
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