Shampoo - Part I

This is going to probably be the subject of multiple posts, because what I am now in the process of doing is attempting to go entirely without shampoo and other hair products.  Yes, you read that right.  Nothing non-edible in or on my hair, or at least that is the goal.

The whole "movement", if you could call it that, to go shampoo-free (or "no poo") as the converted lovingly refer to themselves is based on a couple of pretty sound premises which are consistent with the goals of this blog and myself in general, so I thought that I would at least give it a try, because if you can, then why not?  Commercially made shampoo has only been available since the early 1900s, so obviously the human race has survived without it before and may even be able to do so again.  I will start by setting out some of the reasons why a person may be interested in living a shampoo-free existence.  In the coming days, I will tell you about different things that I am trying, and how the experiment is going for me personally.

Skin products.

In the midst of my seemingly never-ending quest to reduce the amount of plastics and packaging that I bring into the house, I was contemplating what I could do to ensure that I bring in fewer skin care products that have packaging of any sort, particularly those in plastic packaging. This includes plastic bottles. For those of you that purchase such products, I'm sure you will agree that this is no easy task.  How do you find a cleanser that comes with absolutely no packaging?  No cardboard, no cardstock, no plastic bottles, no shrink wrap?  The same question can be asked about a lot of products, not just personal care products. I have managed to find some solutions when it comes to packaging, and hopefully they will give you some ideas of where to look, if reducing packaging is an issue that you would like to address as well.

Let's first assume that you are not going to make your own skin products.  If you plan to, I admire you greatly.  I've looked into it and I'm not going to be able to give you any guidance on that one.  When it comes to day-to-day skin care products, there are some things that I'm probably always going to buy.  With that assumption in mind, you and I are faced with three solutions on the packaging issue:

1. Accept that packaging is just part of the skin care industry and opt for the most easily recyclable option (recycle);
2. Find products that come in plastic or other bottles and containers, but are refillable (reuse); or
3. Search even harder and source products that come without packaging entirely, and bring your own reusable container with you when you buy them (reduce).