All Natural Minimalist Products

It's been a while since my last post about chemical free simple products, so here is an update on what I am using at the moment for myself, my family and our house.

EVERYTHING we use is in this picture!

We are always trying to trim back on the plastic and things that will end up in landfills.

Around the house we use Dr Bronner's for everything that needs CLEANING, wiping and washing - including the LAUNDRY.

Sometimes we will also use a lemon with a screw in spritzer head, random I know! But it works, and the bonus of this is that there is no plastic and no waste, because you can just toss the empty lemon in the compost when you are done - none of that pesky plastic.

We have actually decided to not buy Dr Bronner's when our current bottle is finished and just use the lemon for cleaning as well as the 5 litre vinegar that we bought for laundry and cleaning, as I find the Dr Bronner's a bit drying, and it sometimes leaves streaks - whereas the vinegar leaves our clothes perfectly clean and very soft.

To WASH OURSELVES we use water - if you want more insight into this then I recommend reading The Moneyless Manifesto by Mark Boyle, I have a post about his book here.

And the logic behind using water is that sweat and dirt are both water soluble and buying chemical products in plastic bottles to strip your natural oils (which is all the product is really doing, other than leaving you caked in a chemical scent), and then buying more chemicals to artificially replace that moisture is completely unnecessary, and ultimately destructive to your skin and the environment.

So yes we wash ONLY with water and exfoliate our bodies with the natural plant LOOFAH...

We buy it in a chunk like you see in the picture, and then slice it into inch thick slices so that it lasts longer, and is easier to use.

We also use one of these slices to wash the DISHES, instead of buying those horrible scouring sponges.

Once the loofah's get all grubby we just chuck them in the compost :)

For our FACES we use konjak sponges, which are also made from a type of root and are nice and gentle on the skin.

They are also great at removing make-up with just water and this is the main reason I use one of these.

For my skin, because I wear make-up and am prone to a couple of spots a month, I like to SCRUB my face with a little bit of baking soda in the evenings, it gets right into the pores and is great for evening out skin tone.

I use roughly a half teaspoon of straight baking soda and just rub it on my face with wet hands.

For MOISTURISER and skin care I like to use avocado oil - I've found it to be THE best facial moisturiser.

Coconut oil tends to make me break out on my face so I use that on the rest of my body, but avocado oil is great for the face!

I also occasionally use a couple of squirts of Vitamin C serum - All those fancy products that promise you the world with wrinkles and glow etc, Vitamin C serum does it all, so if you haven't tried it yet then definitely check that out.

For DEODORANT/underarms I like to use magnesium spray.

I've never been a fan of conventional deodorants as they are full of chemicals, block your pores and come in little plastic containers that need to be chucked out every couple of weeks.

With magnesium spray, you are getting your daily dose of magnesium, it lasts for months and it's very effective.

It however doesn't smell like anything, so if I want to smell pretty then I just put a few drops of essential oils on my hands and rub that on afterwards ;)

For TEETH we are currently using Dr Organic toothpaste, but I think we will go back to the tooth powder that we were using previously as I still haven't found anything that works as well.

We have been between houses this last year so most of my home made product ingredients have been spread out in boxes all over the place, but now that we are in one place for a little while I'll start making my own again.

The recipe for the tooth powder is here.

Oh and we all use bamboo toothbrushes - because, again they are biodegradable and go straight in the compost when we are done with them.

For HAIR REMOVAL - under my arms I use an epilator, it lasts for years and I only need to use it once a month - I've also never gotten a rash or any adverse side effects like I always use to with shaving.

For hair removal on my legs I use a straight razor.

I know the idea of using a straight razor terrifies a lot of people, but it's honestly very easy to use and will literally last more than a life time!

You could even pass it down! (you do get vegan strops to keep it sharp.)

I slather on a bit of coconut oil and get the best shave of my life, while feeling good in the knowledge that I'm not dumping however many razor blades a person would accumulate throughout a lifetime.

I will just briefly touch on HAIR as I think it will need to be it's whole own updated post.

I still WATER-ONLY wash and I made a post about it when I first started out here.

I will say that the most important part about water only washing is clean filtered water and a decent boar bristle brush.

Lastly let's talk MAKE-UP. I made my own make-up for a long time and you can read about that and find recipes for that here.

But again with all the moving I was forced to find a good ethical natural brand

- so I came across PHB ethical beauty and they did not disappoint.

They use very similar ingredients to what I did when I made my own and I recognise everything in the ingredients list which is quite rare, they are obviously also vegan and really REALLY good!

I honestly think their mascara is the best mascara I've ever used. I only use concealer, mineral powder and mascara, but they have many more amazing products on their website so check them out.

http://www.phbethicalbeauty.co.uk/

So there you have it guys!

I hope that this post inspired you to use more natural products and just LESS in general.

Get rid of the chemicals and the plastic in your life - you will NOT regret it.

#NaturalProducts #Environment #Ethical #BathBeautyproducts #Bamboo #Minimalist #Zerowaste