10 Essential Eco-Friendly Bathroom Products

When you’re starting off on a low-waste, sustainable lifestyle, the bathroom is one of the easiest places to start making changes. The average bathroom is filled with plastic bottles and other single-use products, and most of them can be easily switched out for low-waste alternatives. 

And as low-waste lifestyles are becoming more popular, the range of products is increasing. Thankfully this means the days of ineffective, oily shampoo bars are gone, but it also means it can be a little overwhelming trying to work out which products work best. Today I want to demystify it all for you, by sharing my favourite eco-friendly bathroom products.

Before we dive in, I want to add a note of caution. The temptation with these things (me included!) is to rush out and buy a whole load of new ‘sustainable’ goodies, and let your current products go unused, or worse binned. If that’s you, remember that the most sustainable option is always to use up what you already have before you buy new. Use what you have first, and when it runs out, you know where to come!

Soap

I used to be a sucker for expensive liquid soap in pretty (plastic) bottles, and was racking up a huge amount of waste because of it. Soap is something that’s really easy to buy with minimal packaging. Bar soap has been around for years for a reason. It’s cheap, effective and simple. Castile and Marseille soap are two all-natural soaps that are wonderful for a whole range of uses, including washing dishes, cleaning surfaces, and of course, washing your hands. My favourite is Dr Bronners, because it comes wrapped in paper and the ingredients are sourced sustainably.

If you’re still in love with liquid soap, there are a couple of options. Liquid castile soap can be bought easily in bulk, either from somewhere like Amazon, or from a zero waste store. Just make sure that you’re buying one free from palm oil (or with sustainably sourced palm oil). 

Another option is to shop with an ethical toiletries company. I love The Conscious Beauty Co, who produce gorgeous toiletries in recyclable refills. You simply order a refill when you need to, and return the empties back to them for recycling. My favourite is the Pomelo scent!

Shampoo and conditioner

Zero-waste shampoo bars have a bit of a bad rap, and for good reason! They are known for leaving a residue on the hair that can be uncomfortable and well, not too pretty! Enter Beauty Kubes, little cubes of shampoo and conditioner that are completely plastic free and totally wonderful. They smell divine, they clean my hair so thoroughly that I only need to wash it once a week, and there’s no residue in sight. You can read my full review here. This is one of those swaps where the eco-friendly version is hands down better than it’s plastic-laden equivalent.

You don’t know how long I searched for a plastic-free toothpaste that worked for me

Razor

Using single-use razors, or even razor heads, can lead to racking up a huge amount of plastic, but thankfully there’s an option that is completely plastic free. Like so many sustainable alternatives, the safety razor has been around longer than its plastic counterpart. There’s a bit of a knack to it, so you might feel a little nervous when you first start using it, but once you get the hang of it, it’s no harder than the razors you’ll be used to. The safety razor itself will likely last a lifetime, or more. I bought mine on Etsy, but you can also buy antique ones that are still completely perfect. All you’ll need are replacement razor blades, which each last about ten shaves, are completely plastic free, and are super cheap. 

Facewash

I’ve already talked about the wonders of castile soap, and here’s another reason to add to the list. You can even use it to wash your face! I have a recipe here that is lovely to use and super effective. It’s all natural, and almost entirely plastic free, and you can tailor it with your own favourite scents!

Toothbrush

Replacing a plastic manual toothbrush is super easy, now that bamboo toothbrushes are widely available. My favourite brand is truthbrush, but really they’re all pretty similar! If you use an electric toothbrush, as we do, it’s almost unavoidable to use a plastic head. However, recyclable heads are available, including these by Brushd, which we love!

Toothpaste

You don’t know how long I searched for a plastic-free toothpaste that worked for me! Lots of eco-friendly options are also fluoride-free, and I didn’t want to sacrifice the health of my teeth in the switch. On top of that, so many plastic-free toothpastes are gritty or taste of straight-up baking powder. A couple of months ago, we started using Brushd tooth tablets and they are wonderful. They taste pretty close to normal toothpaste - minty and fresh - with not a hint of baking powder. And they’re available with or without added fluoride, so whatever your view there, there’s an option for you!

Deodorant

Good deodorant can be tough to find. No one wants to have problems with a bad deodorant! My personal favourite sustainable option is nuud. Although the packaging is still plastic, I use so little of it (I only apply it once a week!) that the resource and transportation impact are super minimal. You can read my review of it here. If you want a plastic-free option, Earth Conscious is also excellent.

Plastic-free periods

Ok, bear with me for a moment! I really didn’t think I could be sold on this. Sanitary towels and tampons are some of the biggest contributors to landfill. While the things themselves are often at least partly biodegradable, they almost always come wrapped in plastic packaging or with plastic applicators. Instead, switching to a menstrual cup means no waste each month, massively reducing your waste footprint.

One of the biggest concerns women have about switching is how sanitary menstrual cups are. I understand where this is coming from, but having used one, I can now say that they feel so much more sanitary than other products. You can sterilise them by boiling them, so you know that they’re completely clean and sanitised for next use.

Personally, my main concern was how I would deal with using one in public toilets. The joy is that you don’t need to change a cup anywhere near as often as other products, so you can wait until you get back to the privacy of your own home!

There is a somewhat overwhelming array of menstrual cups to choose from, but the wonderful ladies at Put a Cup In It have a quiz (based on feedback from hundreds of women!) that recommends the perfect cup for you. I have been very pleased with my own purchase based on this quiz!

If you prefer sanitary pads, then you need to try Bare & Boho or Fern pads. I used these after having my second baby, and they were just wonderful. Slim, comfortable and very reliable. You can read more about them here.

Cotton pads

I used to use several cotton pads to remove my make up on a daily basis. Making the switch to a reusable version has not only been good for the environment, I also find it much kinder on my skin, especially around my eyes.

There’s a whole host of different options out there. Funnily enough, I find reusable breast pads make excellent make up removers - these are the best. But there are also some lovely handmade options on Etsy, or you could even consider crocheting your own if you’re handy with a crochet hook.

Toilet paper

I left this one til last because, frankly, I think you need to be pretty far into your journey to consider this. But why not use reusable wipes instead of toilet paper? I have a whole post on wipes here, including a section on what’s known as ‘family cloth’. This is one of those things which seems crazy but is actually wonderful once you give it a go.

If you want to take a little step but family cloth is too far, then why not take a look at eco-friendly toilet paper. Who Gives a Crap are wonderful.

This page contains affiliate links, which earns me a little bit of commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you. Thank you!