A community place for sharing sustainable lifestyle ideas for a healthy home and planet.
Let’s talk hair — more specially the hair care products you use in and out of the shower. Ask yourself, are these products free of synthetic fragrances, sulfates, silicones, phthalates and dyes? Are they cruelty-free? And better yet, are these products making an effort to reduce their carbon impact and help us remove plastic from our homes and the planet?
Did you know that all of the basic ingredients found in shampoos and conditioners are available in solid form? In the United States alone, 550 million empty shampoo bottles are thrown away every year. That’s enough non-recyclable plastic to fill 1,164 football fields. Remove the water and ditch the plastic bottle and you have a product that can be transported more efficiently while preserving fresh water.
At Green Space, we’ve found products that care for our bodies and our planet. We’ve researched and tested products on ourselves that are proven to be safe and effective. These products have to be free of any harsh chemicals given my sensitivities to sulfites that I mentioned in last month’s post on body washes. Many of the products we’ve highlighted have an entire line of hair care products for shampooing, conditioning and styling. And we’ve selected products for any budget, something good for you and the planet needs to be affordable too.
As a reminder, our green do-gooders do not consider ourselves experts. Our finds are personal opinions with no compensation or gifts in-kind for promoting these products or companies. We are committed to making the switch one product at a time and removing single use plastic from our homes, our oceans and our landfills. You don’t have to compromise with these products. Just making one switch of a shampoo bottle can have an outsized impact for your family and the planet.
Take a try in February or send us your favorite sustainable products for the shower to info@wiltongogreen.org. We will highlight them in next month’s post. Enjoy!
Winter and Product Chemicals Cause Havoc For Hair
As the temperatures drop, the lack of moisture in the air can cause havoc on your hair and scalp. Brittle hair and a dry, itchy scalp have no defense when cool air is combined with chemicals in products that strip our hair and scalp of moisture. There’s no better time to make the switch to one of these chemical and cruelty-free products. Your hair and scalp will feel clean and nourished throughout the year!
HiBAR Shampoo & Conditioner
HiBAR gets high marks from green do-gooders Tammy T. and Cynthia K. HiBAR’s Shampoo and Conditioner Bar fits comfortably in your hand with each bar lasting as long as 2 big plastic bottles of shampoo. The brand offers many different choices for every hair type. Tammy loved the way this product suds up and leaves your hair and scalp feeling clean and refreshed. The bar is color safe and pH balanced for healthy hair. The convenient shape also makes the bars a great travel companions on long (TSA-approved) or short trips. The brand is satisfaction guaranteed so if you don’t love it, you can receive a full refund.
EVERIST
https://helloeverist.com/collections/hair
Back in the mix is the brand Everist from last month’s body wash post. Everist’s shampoo is a concentrate — the texture and packaging reminds me more of toothpaste from a tube. But looks can be deceiving, a small dab packs a powerful punch of suds in making your hair and scalp feel clean and refreshed. I’ve been using the shampoo for a few weeks now and even with my sensitivities, my scalp is itch-free. The aluminum packaging is on par with their body wash, a metal pin is included to make sure you get as much product a possible from the tube. As you get further down the tube, it does take a bit more grit to get the last bit of the product however it’s worth the effort. My flyaway hair is now smooth and shiny and the more I use the product, my scalp is thanking me. Everist comes in a range of products from hair care to body care. The brand has fragrance free options and mini travel companions. If the shampoo tube is not your thing, tin packaging is also available. The company is proud to be certified carbon neutral.
TANGIE Shampoo & Conditioner Bars
https://tangieco.com/product-category/hair-body/
Tangie takes care of the entire family with products for hair available in many scents including scent-free. There are solid shampoo bars for kids and even beard conditioning bars for men. Green do-gooder Stephanie R. has been using Tangie products for years for her entire family, The all-plant ingredient formula lathers well and provides moisture to prevent a dry and itchy scalp. As advertised, each bar provides 50+ washes and replaces 3-5 plastic bottles.
Stephanie’s favorite scent is the Rosemary Mint/Peppermint having a cooling and invigorating feeling on the scalp similar to stepping out of a spa! To get the most wear out of your bar, Tangie recommends using their drying disks https://tangieco.com/product/tangie-turtle-drying-disk-for-shampoo-conditioner-bars-pla-edition/. The bars are elevated preventing breakage from sitting in water. Tangie is carbon neutral and is recognized as a Green America Business Certified company.
For more tips on sustainable and plastic-free living, visit Wilton Go Green (https://wiltongogreen.org/plasticfreejuly/). Be sure to read next month’s Green Space spotlight on shaving.
Happy product trying & swapping!
Julie Andersen
Wilton Go Green