Sustainability in the shower

When I think of sustainability I think about my everyday actions, from recycling anything I can, riding my bike instead of driving a car to turning off lights and heating. These are things we do and I know I’m conscious of not emitting too much carbon when I do it. 

But what about things that we do or the stuff we use where the carbon has already been emitted for us? What I mean is, do we ever think where our stuff has come from and how much carbon, chemicals, bad stuff it took to make it? 

I don’t reckon I thought too much about it until recently. Especially not about the stuff I use in the shower. 

For a very long time I have used head and shoulders shampoo and conditioner. I have no idea if I have dandruff or not and I don’t have a very good reason why I used it. It was purely because my hair felt pretty damn soft after I washed it.  We all know the feeling, right? 

Well a few years ago my mum tried to get me onto a shampoo and conditioner that just didn’t seem as nice as good ol' head and shoulders. But Mum reckon this one was much better for me because it didn’t contain all those nasty chemicals that other shampoos did. Nasty chemcials? I was shocked. Why would a shampoo and conditioner contain bad things when it made my hair feel so good? Oh multinational companies and their cunning ways!

So what are these nasty chemical that my Mum was so adamantly against, I hear you ask? Well unfortunately folks, it’s kind of a long and scary list.

The chemicals in Head and Shoulders

The bad stuff and what it is
Sodium Lauryl Sulfate/Sodium Laureth Sulfate: cancer-causing agent that’s in about every shampoo and conditioner. It pretty much means “I’m bad, do not use me”.

Polysorbates: the solvent that binds water and oil together, can react badly with scalp and  disrupts the skin’s natural pH in the body.

Glycol: they’re a common ingredient and a cancer-causing agent. It’s used as a solvent to incorporate products into a formula, and they’re extremely dangerous—they’re known carcinogens. They mean bad news!

Amodimethicone: this is the chemical that leaves your hair all smooth and silky. Damn you, amodimethicone! This guy is a silicone-based polymer that’s used to seal moisture meaning that nothing can breathe. But we want the scalp to breathe. Be free and breathe scalp!

Cetrimonium Chloride: this guy is a conditioning agent with loads of preservatives in it. The experts reckon it’s no good and doesn’t actually need to be in conditioner.

What can we do? Get up right now and check our shampoo and conditioner. Go on, do it. I’ll be here when you get back.

You’re back! What’d you find? Chemicals? I thought so.

If you’re a regular to my blog then you’ll know this is where the good stuff comes in. This is where I tell you that there are alternatives, ones that are good for you and good for the environment. Let’s be honest, we don’t really want all those chemicals running down our drain and into our waterways. That just means trouble.

So what are the alternatives?

Well you know that stuff my Mum was trying to get me onto years ago, turns out it’s actually pretty great.

It’s called Sukin and it’s all Australian and all natural. That means we’re not using nasty chemicals on our heads and the environment. It’s 100% vegan, 100% carbon neutral and their tagline is, "Skincare that doesn’t cost the earth". I’ve been using their body wash for a while and it does a great job. I’ve started using the shampoo recently and although my hair doesn’t feel as silky smooth, I think that’s probably a good thing! Moisture can escape and my scalp can breathe! 

No bad stuff in Sukin!

What I love most about this product is that Sukin have actually thought about their environmental impact. They used recycled packaging, their products are grey water safe, ensuring that what we use is not going to damage our rivers, animals and plant life once it heads down the drain. They also use plant based ingredients rather than super nasty chemicals. Sukin formulations are also biodegradable, avoiding build up and contamination in our waterways. 

Make your own shampoo 

A dear friend of mine has stopped using shampoo and conditioner all together. She was a little freaked out at all the chemical in her shampoo and decided to switch it up. She now uses bi carb soda and apple cider vinegar in her hair.

If you want to try it, here’s what she does:
- pour 2cm of bi carb into a small jar and fill it with water
- pour bi carb into roots and scrub/massage into scalp
- rinse out thoroughly
- pour a little bit of apple cider vinegar onto the ends and rinse out
- now you’ve got nice, clean hair!

My friend says it works a treat. I’m yet to try it but I’d take her word for it. She’s been doing this for 18 months and knows her stuff.

There are also many homemade shampoo and conditioner recipes out there. Here’s a simple one a friend recommended I look at. It’s from Blah Blah Magazine.

Homemade shampoo
Makes about 250ml
Saves about $8 (based on average natural shampoo costing $10, but some are way more expensive)
Does not contain Sodium Lauryl Sulfates, Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate, Mureth Sulfate, Siloxanes, Derivatives of Lauryl Alcohol, Propylene Glycol and Olefin Sulfonate
Reduces carbon emissions and water use

Ingredients:

½ cup liquid Castile soap
¼ cup boiled water, cooled
¼ cup honey (not for babies under one year old)
1 tablespoon bicarbonate soda
15 drops orange essential oil
30 drops lavender essential oil
15 drops rosemary essential oil
1 tablespoon aloe vera (optional)
Sterile or very clean squeeze lid or pump 250ml bottle
Mix all the ingredients in a bottle. Label with ingredients and date.

So if you’ve looked in your shower and thought (like I did) “oh god, what have I been doing?!” Take a deep breath and know that there is another way. Whether it’s natural or homemade, just try and make sure that you’re not putting deadly chemicals onto you, or into the environment. Oh, and enjoy your shower!

Change your shampoo, help the environment!