Eco Essentials

3 Reasons To Ditch the Liquid Bottles For Bars

Byadmin
It’s Plastic Free July, and to celebrate the start of the month we’ve put together 3 reasons you should say goodbye to liquid soaps and shampoos.
Eco Essentials

Soap Bottles, Shampoo Bottles - They're all just Plastic Bottles!

We speak a lot about the negative impacts of single-use plastics and how we should avoid plastic drink bottles, plastic cutlery and plastic bags. What we don’t stop to consider is the plastic we keep in our bathrooms! Liquid cosmetics that come in plastic bottles are just like every other plastic bottle, we throw them away and they end up in landfill. These bottles then spend the next 1000 years breaking down and contaminating our soils and finding their way into our oceans and waterways, where they are particularly harmful to marine life. Studies are now showing that tiny pieces of broken-down plastic called micro-plastics are being found in the fish we eat. So ultimately we’re eating the plastics we throw in the bin 🤯

It is estimated that 550 million shampoo bottles end up in landfill each year in the US alone! And we get it right? You need to wash your hair and up until now, there hasn’t really been an alternative. Sure, the concept of bar soaps isn’t new at all, but with new formulas & ingredients that are geared toward different hair needs, bar shampoos are now a practical and earth-friendly alternative to commercial liquid shampoos.

Sustainability

In 2009, there was a Swiss study, that looked into the difference in carbon footprint between the production of bar soaps and liquid soaps. The study concluded that the carbon footprint of liquid soaps is 25% greater per wash than bar soaps. It was also found that liquid soaps require 5 times more energy to create and 20 times more energy to package in a plastic bottle (compared to bar soaps which are often wrapped in paper or cardboard). Plus, with liquid soap, many of us use more per wash than we would if it were in a bar. The simple fact is that bar soap works just as effectively as liquid soap, without the negative impacts on the environment.

Our favourite shampoos are causing unknown harm as well. We may leave the shower feeling beautiful and clean with our new silky smooth hair, but what we’re leaving behind is a wash of chemicals now let loose into our waterways, contaminating as it goes. Commercial shampoos are filled with unnatural ingredients, many of which are not needed to clean our hair. These chemicals are toxic to animals and plants, and shocking we know this because the cosmetic industry to still largely unopposed to animal testing!

Better For Your Skin and Hair

Commercial shampoos are made with harsh chemicals that dry and damage your hair. Sodium lauryl sulphate (SLS) and ammonium lauryl sulphate (ALS), which can be found in commercial shampoo, cause skin irritations as well as striping the natural moisture out of our locks leaving them looking dull or even damaged. Bar shampoos work to clean without damage by using oils, butter, conditioners & gentle cleanser so we get a shiny glow after every wash! Users often remark they no longer need to use products such as conditioning treatments on their strands because bar washes do all the hard work for you.

Bar Soaps come in loads of different shapes, sizes, scents and ingredients. Whatever type of skin you have whether it’s sensitive or normal you will be able to find a bar soap to suit you. We particularly love bar soaps that are made from natural ingredients like coconut oil and shea butter or scented with peppermint and lavender.

So the next time you run out of soap or shampoo, why not try a bar instead of a bottle! It’s the little changes we make that contribute the most, so challenge yourself this #plasticfreejuly.

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