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Finding Greener Products
Lucky Cynic
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Hey there guys. I am starting to move towards a more green lifestyle and one area that I know is always a pitfall is the bathroom. Recycling plastic bags is good and all but if you get your shaving cream from a can that has a butane propellant to expel the chemical created 'cream', well, you really aren't making much of a change for the best... So what have I done? I went out and bought some Williams shaving soap, and a boar bristle brush... Yeah yeah, I know its boar hair, but then again these brushes last a while and should I upgrade to a real one like badger hair, with proper maintenance, it will probably last me a few decades. 
So to me, I think that is one decision that helps. However, I am still beside myself with a bunch of other products. Recently I began experimenting with products for my hair. I am getting sick of gel so I have begun to phase that out with Axe hair 'cream' and that product worked alright, got some good results so I also picked up the Axe Pomade but it is tricky to get to look right. I keep experimenting with it though but whats the point, neither product is really green or natural or sustainable. Now I know pomades are made of good ole petroleum so it will be kinda tricky to find a greener product but who knows, do you guys have any suggestions?
Same thing with Shampoo. Currently I use a salon type shampoo called "Redkin Go Clean" for men. It works really nice but its not particularly green and it is expensive... There is a fairly good brand called Every Man Jack from Target that has some real good products in their line up and they compare really well to the salon type stuff but for a fraction of the price. Problem is, these Every Man Jack items are not particularly green... but they seem to cut out lots of unnecessary chemicals and bad stuff from their products like 'tallow' which is beef fat. :X
Next I have been looking at body soaps. I have been using the Every Man Jack stuff for quite a while and I am satisfied with the quality but again, if something greener can be found, even better. I've been looking at Method's Body wash and bars. Expensive and I am not sure as to how well they work.
Thing is, I want to go greener but I've tried other products and they have just ended up being complete crap... I hate to say it like that because I sound selfish complaining about something that is organic and sustainable, but if it doesn't work, well then what the fuck is the point? So if you guys have any recommendations, it would be awesome.
TL;DR: So basically I have a brand for most everything in the bathroom that is high quality and less chemical ridden than the other usual stuff but I am curious if you guys can help me find good green replacements. Ordering stuff from the web can be tricky because there is a lot of stuff that just has ORGANIC and ALL NATURAL and tags labelled all over them but its hard to catch if they are actually any good.
So to me, I think that is one decision that helps. However, I am still beside myself with a bunch of other products. Recently I began experimenting with products for my hair. I am getting sick of gel so I have begun to phase that out with Axe hair 'cream' and that product worked alright, got some good results so I also picked up the Axe Pomade but it is tricky to get to look right. I keep experimenting with it though but whats the point, neither product is really green or natural or sustainable. Now I know pomades are made of good ole petroleum so it will be kinda tricky to find a greener product but who knows, do you guys have any suggestions?
Same thing with Shampoo. Currently I use a salon type shampoo called "Redkin Go Clean" for men. It works really nice but its not particularly green and it is expensive... There is a fairly good brand called Every Man Jack from Target that has some real good products in their line up and they compare really well to the salon type stuff but for a fraction of the price. Problem is, these Every Man Jack items are not particularly green... but they seem to cut out lots of unnecessary chemicals and bad stuff from their products like 'tallow' which is beef fat. :X
Next I have been looking at body soaps. I have been using the Every Man Jack stuff for quite a while and I am satisfied with the quality but again, if something greener can be found, even better. I've been looking at Method's Body wash and bars. Expensive and I am not sure as to how well they work.
Thing is, I want to go greener but I've tried other products and they have just ended up being complete crap... I hate to say it like that because I sound selfish complaining about something that is organic and sustainable, but if it doesn't work, well then what the fuck is the point? So if you guys have any recommendations, it would be awesome.
TL;DR: So basically I have a brand for most everything in the bathroom that is high quality and less chemical ridden than the other usual stuff but I am curious if you guys can help me find good green replacements. Ordering stuff from the web can be tricky because there is a lot of stuff that just has ORGANIC and ALL NATURAL and tags labelled all over them but its hard to catch if they are actually any good.
Lucky Cynic on
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Yeah but safety razors still use the metals in the razors, which seemed to have gone from typical metals to include such pricey shit like Platinum with like no added benefit. =/
But I digress, I have shaving well on its way I think and I am very firmly planted in enjoying 2 face washing products from Every Man Jack, everything else is up for grabs should I find a better alternative.
If were making the green argument, I only throw away one blade from my safety razor a week vs 5 from a fusion.
Or you can not throw any away at all by just having a straight razor.
My point was though that Shaving has some very green alternatives to the defacto shave that typical americans are used to. But for Shampoos, and other such items, not so much... Should I really just look for whatever says "VEGAN" or "ORGANIC" on the label? That's all it ends up boiling down to which kind of leaves me unsure about some products. :<
Besides being green, I am also curious as to how good they are. I guess I am just spoiled but the every man jack stuff does a damn good job of making my hair nice and shiny and clean. I've tried other "organic" products and they are just such poor performers that it makes me go, "well what's the use..."
No yeah I saw that one at Woodfield mall. Not sure exactly where it is but it is kinda far but it seems like a worthy place to check out along side The Body Shop. I guess now I just have to derive my own opinions from different products and see how much I like one thing vs another. Thanks.
following this logic... you should be:
http://ezinearticles.com/?Making-Your-Own-Herbal-Hair-Shampoo&id=31263
I've also tried and liked Giovanni shampoos/conditioners in the past, but I suspect I've got a different hairstyle than you. ;-)
For shampoos and soaps, have you checked out the camping section of your local department store? They usually have eco-friendly products without harmful chemicals, since it all gets washed into lakes/streams.
There was a Body Shop nearby so I checked them out and while they are not as green, they did provide some good shaving products like a really damn nice brush, actual lathering soap and balm. None of which were 100% organic but they are fairly green and with considerably less chemicals than other brands.
I will of course have to mix and match stuff to get best results...
Current I am pondering soaps and shampoos from Lush, shaving stuff from Body Shop, and my general facial/acne stuff can still come from Every Man Jack because their shit just is superb. :P
Here's some of the stuff I've liked.
Shaving Cream: Kiss My Face
This comes in a standard pump bottle (think liquid handsoap). I like it a lot and the funny thing is after living with my roommate for a while I've noticed that she's buying it now too. I guess she ran out one day and used mine and liked it enough that it's now the brand she buys. I use the mint.
Shampoo: Nature's Gate
I'm not too picky on shampoos. However, I'm a huge fan of the smell of their Jojoba shampoo. It makes me want to never stop washing my hair.
Body Soap: Dr. Bronner's
This is just some sort of generic liquid soap. This liquid soap isn't very viscous. So, if you're looking for more of a gel, I'd stay away. It's inexpensive and the almond one, well smells like almonds. This is more hippie-ish than other stuff, so I don't think it's what you're looking for, but I had to post the link because of cool scientist guy in it.
Deodorant: Jason
I use this. There's no aluminum. I used to use the Queen Helene Mint Julep but, that seems to have more alcohol in it (not that alcohol is bad or whatnot, it just evaporates fast).
Really, your best bet is to go to either a vegetarian supermarket or some sort of health food store (maybe Whole Foods has this stuff? I don't know, I tend to shy away from them and go to one of the few vegetarian supermarkets around here instead) and see what they have in terms of things like that. There's also all sorts of cleaning products made by Seventh Generation and Ecover. Those are pretty expensive in comparison, though. I'm sure all of those brands have products in each of the categories you mentioned.
I know this makes me sound like the biggest hippie. But, really, I'm not.
Edit: I just checked the store location link on the Kiss My Face site and it does look like Whole Foods carries it, so if you don't have a vegetarian supermarket near you, you can probably find some things there.
Edit2: It looks like some of these sites offer mixed product trial grab bags of things. So, if you want to try all sorts of stuff, you can get those and pick what you like.
You can get everything from soaps, deodorants, shampoos, facial cleansers, moisturisers, and more all custom suited to do different things for different people instead of some premade base with a bunch of scents added to them.
It's all vegetarian, 75% vegan, no animal testing, and we make a huge effort to be solid with no preservatives, and to use a lot of fair traded and ethically sourced products as well as a TON of essential oils as opposed to synthetic fragrances oils.
We can be a bit prideful too becuase before Lush was founded our founder used to work with The Body Shop's original founder and most of their recipes and formulas, especially some of the best sellers, were created by our founder. He sold them off to TBS to get money to start his own company.
Dude I worked at the Vancouver one!
It's all pretty good stuff, though expensive without the staff discounts :<
For natural stuff, Freeman Naturals is pretty on-par with Lush, I find and actually cheap
It's non-scented save for the ingredients, and the ingredients smell goddamn delicious.
You can find it at Fred Meyer.
I recommend everything!!!
They cast a shadow like a sundial in the morning light. It was half past 10.
www.badgerandblade.com
It's the men's shaving forum equivalent to Penny Arcade and AVSForums. They know their shit when it comes to men's grooming (not just shaving). Give a poke around there, make a thread, whatever, bunch of real good guys who can probably make awesome suggestions.
My grandmother uses pretty much nothing but vinegar water and bicarb for her cleaning needs. None of the crap that is in standard cleaners.
Bleach is also persona non grata - though I'd hate to live without it.
it's the only company that is "environmentally neutral" (doesn't contribute at all to global warming) and everything on their site is green. I use a variety of their products. Cleaning stuff (works REALLY well), makeup (their mascara and eye pencils are the only ones I've tried that don't make my eyes burn), skin care, etc. it's all high quality and really great stuff.
Check out my art! Buy some prints!
The Mennonites also run a small shop at a local farmer's market that they sell all natural stuff from. Plus some amazing free range eggs, and if you know them well enough they can sell you some raw milk.
Oh, and it's really hippyish, but http://www.fakeplasticfish.com/ has some really good ideas on how to reduce plastic consumption, and how to choose/look for natural alternatives. It's basically the blog of a woman who's tried to go plastic-free since 2007.
Why buy paper towels at all? Just use some rags.
For non-toiletries-related cleaning stuff, may I recommend the Spotless books? They're basically a compilation of cleaning tips from a long-running radio show here. Cliffs notes: you can clean almost anything with baking soda and/or vinegar.