My Favorite Zero Waste Beauty Swaps (that I’ve been using for +6yrs …and are vegan!)
If you told me in 2016 that I would end up preferring a shampoo bar to my regular bottled shampoo, I would have laughed in your face. But alas, here we are almost six years later, and I can’t imagine washing my hair any other way!
I’ve made a lot of low waste swaps over the last few years. Many many swaps. Some great, some not so great. But as it turns out, I’ve loved a lot of them, and many have stuck around in my routine because they ended up being, well …better than their more wasteful counterparts. Many of them are more cost effective and have simplified my routine, and I’m all here for that!
In 2021, I posted a few videos detailing some of my favorite swaps thus far but I felt like maybe it was time for a bit of an update with the new items that have tapped into my routine.
The following list is full of my tried and true faves in my current (2023) routine. And I’d totally recommend giving them all a try if you’re looking to make some zero waste swaps in your own life (or just try something new out too).
1. Shampoo Bar
I truly don’t know what my life would be like without solid hair care bars. Lately I’ve been loving the Kitsch Tea Tree shampoo bar. But I’ve loved many shampoo bars over the years. You can watch my full zero waste hair care routine from 2020 to see how I actually use shampoo bars and my zero waste hair styling routine for wavy hair.
2. Conditioner Bar
I’ve been loving the Kitsch Rice Water Conditioner Bar lately as well. I also really love the HiBar Moisturize Conditioner Bar.
*Note: I know solid shampoo and conditioner bars look really expensive, but they are concentrated product. You’re skipping the water you would have been getting with a liquid product. One bar will last me ~7 months, which is about 2.5 regular bottles of shampoo/conditioner for me.
3. Body Soap
My two favorites lately are: the Uni refillable liquid body wash or a good ole bar of Dr. Bronner’s soap (which, spoiler alert: just like everyone else, use for absolutely everything as well. Clothing stains, countertops, dish soap … you name it! These bars are so multi faceted.)
4. Safety Razor
Firstly, if you’ve never used a safety razor before, and they make you nervous or unsure to try, you can watch this video that I posted a few years ago answering any and all questions. I compared and explained the various shapes, form factors, handle lengths, etc. — And yes! You can use them all over like you would a plastic razor!
I’m still loving both my Leaf razor as well as my traditional butterfly razor! I know Leaf recently came out with a butterfly-style razor, but I have yet to try it. But I’d be very curious! The butterfly shape tends to be my favorite, but my biggest recommendation there is if you’re using it all over your body, go with one with a longer handle. Like the one I’ve linked here.
5. Toothpaste Tablets
Simple and effective! Toothpaste tablets are just so great! And so easy to travel with as well, which is always a bonus. Meaning that I am happy to report that I haven’t had to run out to the pharmacy at midnight the night before a flight to grab a travel size for years now.
I prefer toothpastes with fluoride, so I recommend checking out Unpaste’s tablets. But if fluoride isn’t your thing, then Hello’s are great, and relatively accessible at several big box stores, which is a bonus. We love accessible swaps!
6. Zero Waste & Vegan Lip Balm
I’m a lip balm girlie through and through.
And I’ve found it confusing and hard to find ones that I actually like that come in a paper tube AND are vegan. It’s felt near impossible to be honest. But I’ve finally found a few that my picky soul really actually loves.
My favorites thus far are the unscented lip balm from a small company called Terracotta! As well as the Vegan Lip Therapy Balm from Blue Heron Botanicals. This one is in a uniquely shaped paper tube, which I’ll be honest isn’t my favorite shape in comparison to the more circular ones. It’s not as easy to get the product out, BUT it’s unique shape just kind of is fun to use and feels right in your hand. So I’ll keep buying it because who doesn’t like to spicy things up, y’know. And lastly, I also love Meow Meow Tweet’s lip balms as well (especially the rosemary & eucalyptus flavor)!
I recommend trying all three because well, this lip balm girlie can never have enough! 😉
7. Zero Waste Body Lotion:
I have recently discovered my favorite body lotion (like HANDS DOWN, my favorite ever). Well, it’s a body serum actually! I’ve never liked body lotions for the sake that they tend to sit on top of your skin, rather than soak into it quickly like face lotions do. It’s always driven me absolutely bonkers to feel oily and greasy for hours upon hours. And so I must admit, that for the first 27yrs of my life, I didn’t really use any at all. 🙈 And perhaps when I’m old and wrinkly, I’ll be cursing myself …or perhaps I won’t, because 1) wrinkles are beautiful, and 2) I recently found a fave that I actually use! (Finally!) The Uni Body Serum is just that, a serum that soaks in almost immediately! And the smell makes me feel like I’m staying at the most divine hotel in the middle of the jungle every time I apply it. I could not rave about it enough. It’s not cheap, though. But by golly is it a nice luxury!
And my other favorite is a body butter from my friends’ store, Eco Collective. Their ‘Real Smooth’ Body Butter is simple, but divine! Definitely a bit greasier than the Uni serum (it is a body butter after all), but when I’m in shorts or about to head to bed, it’s truly that lovely buttery feeling! And doesn’t stick around for quite as long as most body butters in my opinion.
8. Period Cup:
I’ve been using my Intimina Lily One since probably 2016 or 2017. I don’t really have any other cups to compare it to (it was the first one I bought and have been using it ever since). But it’s been pretty great! It’s collapsible and comes with a travel case, making it more convenient to keep in your everyday bag for emergencies, or on your travels. It’s about the same size an AirPods case when collapsed and cased.
Though I can’t lie and say I use it 100% of the time, just because sometimes it’s not the most practical thing. Depending on the situation i’m in, I’ll still use a tampon here and there. I hate to admit that, but it’s the truth. I’m imperfect, what can I say! But truthfully, that’s more of a personal preference / user-error thing, if anything.
9. Brow Gel:
When I first learned about soap brows, I was really skeptical. Understandably so! Do they stand up to sweat? Absolutely not. Do they withstand water at all? No. But in all other scenarios, they’re great!
What are soap brows you may be wondering? Well, essentially they’re achieved by using a bar of soap as brow gel! A technique that I believe has traditionally been used by drag queens to glue down their brows.
I’ll have to do a tutorial on Instagram or TikTok showing how I do this in my morning routine soon, so be sure to follow over there as well, as not to miss it!
But essentially, I bought a $2 bar of (vegetable glycerine based) soap (similar to this one, but unpackaged from my grocery store). I cut off a small piece of the bar, and melted it into a metal travel tin like this.
Every day, I take a lash spoolie, get it a bit wet, and rub it through that soap. Then I rub that through my brows to brush them out. And that’s it! The soap dries down, and voilà! Brows are secured! Brow gel + an old eyelash curler are pretty much my only makeup routine these days, which has been very freeing in so many ways might I add.
10. Glass Nail File
I don’t know why I didn’t know about this sooner! To never have to buy another nail file again? Sign me up! And they keep your nails healthier than their alternatives do. I have a glass file from BlueLemonArt on Etsy. She hand paints them and they’re just so darling! I’ve had this one with the oranges painted on it for going on two years now, and couldn’t recommend it enough!
I hope that this post has been helpful! If it has, feel free to check out my current favorite zero waste home and lifestyle swaps as well.
And be sure to follow along on YouTube, Tiktok, and Instagram to see what products I try out and review next!
