7 Ways to Create Less Waste with your Skincare Routine

With my thirtieth birthday right around the corner, I’m finding myself a bit ~~obsessed~~, er preoccupied, with the number thirty. In addition to the 30 goals I set for myself before the big birthday, reducing my waste has been one of the most important things I’ve worked on this year. So, in honor of 30, I thought I’d share 30 (mostly) easy ways to reduce your waste and stop creating so much garbage that is actually expensive, unnecessary, and bad for the planet.

Because 30 changes is A LOT to make at once, and reducing waste can already seem pretty hopeless, I’ve split these 30 things into 5 different categories, making one potentially crazy long post a more manageable series. This is Part 1: Ways to Create Less Waste with your Skincare Routine.

Links on this page may be affiliate links (I receive a commission, at no extra cost to you, if you click on the link and make a purchase). I only recommend products I’ve used and love.

Switch out your body wash and shaving cream for good old-fashioned bar soap.

People like to hate on bar soap, but let’s be real: it’s come a long way since people made their own soap from boiling pig fat down and combining it with plant ash. Yep, kinda gross. Today’s bar soap comes in a ton of varieties. It doesn’t have to be your grandpa’s mint green Irish Spring soap.

Personally, I prefer a bar soap that has added moisturizers and a light scent. My current favorite is a Himalayan salt infused soap from a local shop. Not only does it smell amazing and leaves my skin nice and soft, it’s also formulated with ingredients that relax sore muscles. A definite win. Also, I never have to worry if my body wash is in a small enough container when I travel because it’s not a liquid…it’s a bar of soap. 🙂

If you are local to Wisconsin, my favorite shop to pick up handmade soaps is in downtown Appleton on College Ave. I just discovered Eco Candle earlier this year and can’t believe I didn’t know about them before. Everything I’ve tried from this store is amazing. If you’re not local, they also have a website here: https://ecocandleco.com/

Stop using shampoo and conditioner from plastic bottles.

A 2018 article from Business Insider pointed out, “With over 80 billion plastic bottles being disposed of around the world every year just from shampoo & conditioner alone, things like environmentally-conscious packaging are increasingly important.”

80 billion plastic bottles just from shampoo and conditioner?! I can’t be the only one who thinks that figure is bananas! Luckily, there are quite a few ways to combat this problem.

One workaround is to use shampoo bars. There are quite a few places that sell varieties of these, Lush being one of the more well-known shops. I don’t personally recommend shampoo bars for those with very thick or very long hair. I’ve used shampoo bars several times and found that they either didn’t get my hair clean enough or I went through them way too fast. My husband however, loves shampoo bars, and they are amazing for travel, so if you have shorter or thinner hair, definitely give them a try.

While not technically a completely package-free option, I’ve been using Plaine Products shampoo and conditioner (and body lotion) for several months. Plaine Products packages all of their products in reusable, refillable, and recyclable aluminum bottles. With your first order, they will send you a reusable pump for their bottles that you can keep. When you’ve almost used up your products, you place another order (or you can subscribe to receive refills automatically) and they send you new bottles to put your pumps in. Then, you use the refill box to send back your empty bottles which they recycle and refill. The postage is paid for by the company and you get the satisfaction of knowing you kept more plastic bottles out of a landfill!

They have two scents for their products: Citrus Lavender and Rosemary Mint Vanilla. I’ve tried both and they both smell great, but I’m a sucker for Lavender, so I generally order that one.

What else is great about Plaine Products?

Free of sulfates, parabens, phthalates and palm oil
Blended with whole essential oils (instead of synthetic fragrance)
Vegan and have non GMO ingredients
Designed to biodegrade
Baby safe and hypoallergenic
Cruelty Free, Leaping Bunny certified
Free of single-use plastic

While they might seem a little pricey, these are big bottles (16 ounces) and will last you a long time. Also, saving the Earth is priceless. 🙂 They do have travel-size bottles too, if you aren’t willing to take the big leap quite yet. Try out Plaine Products!

Swap your plastic (and overpriced) razor for a safety razor.

Let me preface this swap by saying that this is one that fits into the (mostly) easy section of this list for a couple of reasons. But before we get there, let’s all agree that women’s razors and razor refills are absurdly priced for hunks of plastic, yes? And don’t get me started on the layers and layers of plastic packaging that they’re wrapped in. Also “disposable razors”: more plastic that I’m supposed to throw away just because I can’t be bothered to change the razor head? What? (Okay, rant over. I apologize.)

A safety razor is old school; I will admit that this is one swap that is significantly less convenient. Plastic razors are easy to travel with, have that nice (albeit chemical-filled) coating so you’re less likely to cut yourself, and come in pretty colors. A safety razor has a bit of a learning curve to be sure. It’s one that I definitely think is worth it though. Less irritation, a closer shave, and no plastic? Those are big enough wins for me to deal with the occasional cut and having to slow down a bit. Also, a safety razor handle will literally last a lifetime and the blades are CHEAP ($3 for a 10-pack of blades).

I got my safety razor (and 10 free blades) from Package-Free Shop, one of my all-time favorite sources for zero waste goodies. They have so many great things and I’ll be highlighting a few others throughout this series, but I’d encourage you to check out their plant-able greeting cards and pencils for sure. They are adorable, great gifts, and of course, eco-friendly. Use my link to shop at Package-Free Shop (and get a $10 off coupon)!

Make your own hand soap in refillable glass bottles.

As much as I love using bar soap for body wash, I can’t quite get behind the idea of sharing a bar of soap with multiple people, which is why I continue to use liquid hand soap. Although, I make my own liquid soap using Soap Nuts (which sound weird but are awesome) and glass dispenser bottles, both from Marley’s Monsters.

Marley’s Monsters is a Eugene, Oregon based small business and if it’s possible to have a crush on a business, then I have a crush on this business. They make a huge variety of sustainable and eco-friendly items and I think I own almost all of them.

I especially love them because you can choose your favorite prints to customize the items you buy, which is why I have cactus print bowl covers, a cactus print travel utensil roll, and two different cactus print mason jar tumblers. They are constantly changing their prints and their turnaround time is also super fast for personalized items. Seriously, you guys, I have a giant crush on them.

Ditch the cotton balls and rounds in favor of flannel.

Again, Marleys Monsters for the win! Their adorable facial rounds can be customized to fit your bathroom by choosing your own print and are way softer than any cotton round. Plus, you just throw them in the washer and dryer every so often and you can use them almost forever, so they’ll save you money in the long run.

Think you still need cotton balls for nail polish remover? Nah, just designate a few of your older or more heavily used rounds as your nail polish rounds and repeat the same procedure as above. They may not look pretty, but is that really what you’re going for here?

Use solid face products instead of those with plentiful packaging.

Lush has been my go-to for delightful smelling bath products for years, so when I started to go package-free in my skincare, I knew they were a great place to look for products. They have an entire line of package-free skincare, the Naked collection, and so many options for all types of skin.

I definitely recommend checking out a store, as every employee I’ve talked to has been super knowledgeable and helpful when it comes to customizing your routine for your skin type. However, if you’re far from a brick-and-mortar store, I’ll give you a few of my current favorites. I have skin that’s on the drier side for reference, and I love the Tea Totaler solid face wash and the Full of Grace solid moisturizer. My husband particularly likes the Movis facial soap. I am not a Lush affiliate (though that’s pretty much #thedream); I’ve just been using their products for more than ten years and highly recommend them. 🙂

Use body cloths to replace face wash, body wash, and shaving cream.

This is a swap that took me a long time to try. Using just a cloth and water to clean my face and body weirded me out at first, but it totally works. This is another great travel hack as it cuts way down on the amount of products you need to pack and doesn’t have to take up any valuable space in your liquids bag!

My current favorite way to use Norwex Body Cloths is as a substitute for shaving cream: this makes my legs super soft and I don’t cut myself, even with the aforementioned semi-dangerous safety razor. 🙂

I found Norwex Body Cloths because my older sister discovered them first (as she has almost everything throughout our lives) and started espousing their virtues. If you are unconvinced (like I was), she runs a Body Cloth Challenge every month where you can try it out for free! If you’re interested in that, sign up HERE.

That’s it for my low-waste skincare favorites. I’ll be back with some favorite ways to stay low-waste even while out to eat in Part Two. Stay tuned!