Clean Exfoliation

Microbeads…. the newest way to exfoliate. These tiny particles, or microbeads, scrub away at the skin supposedly leaving it wonderfully cleansed.  These beads may well deep clean your skin but guess what? Unless otherwise stated, they are almost certainly made from plastic.

After using, they are washed off your face and down the drain and into the ocean where they become pollutants that don’t biodegrade. Truly, plastic is rubbish!

Here’s a really easy way to avoid this problem.

Totally plastic free exfoliation

Cotton Flannels – the old school way to clean up. Rub away the dirt and dead skin…it works, honest.

Want tougher love? try a luffa. These dried fibrous vegetables will buff up your blackheads and polish your butt.  I got mine, unwrapped, from TKMax. I cut off smaller pieces to do my face with. Gently scour.

Then there are natural bristle brushes for body brushing. This is exactly as it sounds. Brushing your body and I love this. I have had my brush for ages and I can’t remember where I got it, but these look quite nice – sustainable beech body with pig bristles – vegans and vegetarians you could try these with tampico fibres. 

Then there is, as always, the wonderful and versatile bicarbonate of soda. Its particles are rough enough to scour off dead skin but not so brutal as to leave you weeping. Grab a handful and rub it on. I use this on my face and body. You can get plastic free bicarb here.

Some plastic elements

I can only get the following products in polythene bags. These bags are simple plastic, can be easily recycled and, it is claimed, are safe to burn. So, not as bad as other types of plastic packaging, but still…..

Pumice is a textural term for a volcanic rock that is a solidified frothy lava typically created when super-heated (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

For truly brutal exfoliation try pumice powder…arghhhhh. Best suited to hands, feet and really grisly elbows.  Use up to 10% in a moisturising cream base (find out how to make your own right here). Do not use the pumice scrub on sensitive skin. Do not use in a plastic bath – it may take off the surface.

Sea salt is good and scratchy and makes a good deep cleaning scrub. It  is not as harsh as pumice, and you can use it in a plastic bath. I like it for my oily body but would not use it on my face.

I buy both of the above from Aromantics.  

Oatmeal – soothing, exfoliating, soft (no scratchy edges) and known for its gentle, skin-healthy effects. It also contains vitamins B and E. To use, grind the oatmeal up in a food processor, or buy the really fine stuff to begin with, add enough water to make a paste and use all over. I use this on my face where it works really well. I got my oat meal from Goodness (and I use it to make biscuits)

Oatmeal chocolate and butterscotch chip cookies. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Suppliers

I love aromantics   and buy most of my stuff from them but there are loads of good guys out there.

Other plastic free health and beauty products can be found right here

You can find out HOW TO …do all sorts of other things… plastic free right here

Find other plastic free products with the >>>A-Z<<< plastic free index

Related articles

• Baking Soda Scrub! (skincarebydonna.wordpress.com)

a years supply of sun block

 I have absolutely no melamine and my skin burns even in cloudy conditions. Sure I cover up but I still have  to factor up on a regular basis.

I have been making my own sun block for years now and it does work (details below), but when setting off on our plastic free travels I had to ask myself:

Could I  really carry a years supply of home made sun tan lotion out there with me?

If so I would I carry it?

Last time I went away I took my home-made lotions in metal pots. While they are fine in the handbag they are not so good for hard core backpacking. My pack gets flung on and off jolty old buses and the metal bottles crumpled and creased under the strain. Then the lids could not be removed or started to leak.

Obviously I am not going to use glass bottles.

This is one of those times when plastic bottles are the best option so why not just buy the lotion out there ready made and packed in plastic bottles. Its not even as if those bottles would be going to landfill or end up as litter. In most of the countries we visit plastic bottles represent cash and are collected by  litter pickers.

Plenty of justifications for buying ready-made, plastic –packed lotion and yet I was not keen on that idea. Part of it is just stubbornness. I want to see how far I can go with this. Another reason is I hate  the crap they put in those creams – all those nasty chemicals and irritating perfumes.

So here’s my solution.

Back home I made some uber strong sun block cream. It’s  as thick as axel grease with a factor of about 100. I adapted an Aromantic recipe, reduced the water and upped the sun block ingredients,details below. It was all very ad hoc so there is no recipe.

Now, while travelling,  I thin down the axel grease with  homemade lotion as needed. I refill the  reusable plastic bottles I took from home. I can make a range of factors depending on how much lotion I add. So far it is working.

The logical amongst you will be looking puzzled. Surely  the problem remains? Rather then carrying a years supply of sunblock I now have to carry a years supply of lotion to thin the sunblock down with??

No because I make the lotion as I go along using the Plastic Is Rubbish backpackers home made lotion kit.

I think you will be proud of me!

Here’s how you make sun tan lotion

And here is  The Plastic Is Rubbish Backpackers home made lotion kit

Other cream related posts can be found HERE. If like me you don’t tan, you might be especially interested in Home madehfake tan

There are lots more plastic free beauty products here.

Want to find more travel related plastic free tips? Check out the travel category

Stay at home type? Check out this list of plastic free products -the >>>A-Z<<<  index

Related articles

• Great pot (plasticisrubbish.wordpress.com)
• Making cream in Bangkok (plasticisrubbish.wordpress.com)

Antisceptic, tooth whitener and mouthwash …

Bought this bottle of hydrogen peroxide from Boots in Chiang Mai, Thailand. The bottle is glass the cap is metal. Plastic free you might think well apart from the plastic lid liner and plasticised paper label. So massively plastic reduced is it that it is my choice of  antiseptic for my travel medical kit.

As well as cleaning wounds it can also be used as a mouth wash and helps whiten the teeth.

I love a multi-tasking product.

For a great mouthwash recipe try this blog.  And don’t stop at the mouthwash, there are lots of wonderful sounding things in there.

Other plastic free beauty products can be found right here.

Want to find more travel related plastic free tips? Check out the travel category

Stay at home type? Check out my range of U.K based plastic free products with the >>>A-Z<<< plastic free index

Making cream in Bangkok

I don’t know what you do in a downtown hotel room in Bangkok but I make body lotion. I have been making my own creams and lotions successfully at home for ages now but since then of course I have packed my bags to travel the world. Obviously I don’t want to go back to using plastic packed cosmetics but carrying a years supply of creams and lotions was not an option. So I thought why not continue to make my own creams WHILE back packing.

As I am sure you know, cream, body lotion and the like is basically water and oil mixed together in varying quantities. The more oil the richer the cream. As water and fat do not naturally mix you need to use an emulsifier.

The process is simple – mix the oils and emulsifier and heat to a certain temperature. Heat the water to a certain temperature. Mix the two together to make cream.

So before I left I weighed out, mixed up and melted together a batch of oils and emulsifiers. I used hard oils like Shea so the end mix set firm – think butter in the fridge consistency. I planned to add the water at a later stage.
So when my body lotion ran out in Thailand it was time to see if my cunning stunt was going to work.
I set out my equipment.

Tiffin Tin 2
Metal cup
Heating element I had brought along to make tea (and cream) with.

Shea butter emulsifying oil mix
Let the show begin.
I put a dollop of the oil/emulsifying mix in the metal cup and some water in the tiffin tin.
I clipped the tin cup to the side of the tiffin tin with my tweezers.
I heated the water in the tiffin tin with the element.

When I thought everything was hot enough I added some of the water to the melted oils and mixed vigorously.

Not a complete success. The oil and water did emulsify but didn’t thicken quite as much as I had hoped. I had created a kind of sloppy lotion rather than a cream but it was good enough for moisturising.

I refilled my plastic bottle and went on my merry moisturised way.
Lots more information about my cream making exploits can be found on the following pages

Lots more information about my cream making exploits can be found on the following pages

All cream index

How do you make cosmetic creams and lotions the basics

The Aromantics cream making starter pack some more details

Home made sun tan lotion

Home made fake tan

Other plastic free beauty products can be found right here

Want to find more travel related plastic free tips? Check out the travel category

Stay at home type? Check out my range of U.K based plastic free products with the >>>A-Z<<< plastic free index

How to ……cream up plastic free

Its is so easy to make your own creams and lotion that once you start you will never look back. The advantages are huge not least of which are you get to control what goes on your skin, be way more eco friendly  and  you save a whole load of cash. You can make almost anything the cosmetic companies sell  but without the palm oil, dodgy chemicals (have you read what goes into this stuff?)and weird colours. Though you can have all those too if you want.

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Bases

Start by making a  base creams, moisturizer or lotion

How do you make cosmetic creams and lotions the basics

The Aromantics cream making starter pack some more details

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Specialist Creams

Once the base is made you then you  add active ingredients to make specialist creams such as:

Suntan Lotion

- add Microfine Titanium Dioxide OR Zinc Oxide to make a suntan lotion

Self Tan

- Add DHA to make a fake bake that really works – find out what DHA is right here

Magic, age defying, cellulite busting  potions

- scour the internet for all the gubbins, the AHAs, enzymes and crushed pearls that are supposed to  grant instant beauty and add them too. I can’t promise results, but it’s fun experimenting.

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Making creams while travelling

You cannot carry a years supply of home made cream in your rucksack so here are some ideas about making your own home made creams in hotel bedrooms.

Making cream in Bangkok

a years supply of sun block

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PLASTIC SPOILER
Some of the above will come plastic packaged.  As I get huge amounts cream out of one small bag of ingredients so I consider it a worthwhile compromise. It still represents a huge decrease in plastic consumption.

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Suppliers

I love aromantics   and buy most of my stuff from them but there are loads of good guys out there.

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Other plastic free health and beauty products can be found right here

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You can find out HOW TO …do all sorts of other things… plastic free right here

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Find other plastic free products with the >>>A-Z<<< plastic free index

Making Basic Creams and Lotions

As I am sure you know, cream, body lotions and the like, are basically water and oil  mixed together in varying quantities.

As water and fat do not naturally mix you need to use an emulsifier. Read this article on emulsifiers – it makes it all clear

The cream making process is simple –  mix the oils and emulsifier and heat to a certain temperature. Heat the water to a certain temperature. Mix the two together.  Ta da.

For rather better instructions, and a great place to buy ingredients, visit the website  www.aromantic.co.uk.

If it is your first time creaming up, I can recommend the cream starter kit from aromantics.. It has everything you need tho there are some plastic elements read this for more info.

I can now make all kinds of potions from light lotions to heavy repair creams.

Here are some things I have found out about making cream

If I leave out the preservative my skin is less likely to react badly to the cream, (I have very sensitive skin). I was prepared for problems of the mouldy cream but so far that hasn’t happened.

Home made fake tan works.

Buy commercially made products and YES YOU ARE PAYING FOR WATER. Not to mention a whole load of chemicals that may not be very good for you packaged in plastic. It’s a cheesy swizz.

The more oil the richer the cream.

Find other plastic free products with the >>>A-Z<<< plastic free index

G’day for plastic free teeth mate

In Australia, over 30 million toothbrushes are used and disposed of by Australians each year, amounting to approximately 1000 tonnes of landfill each year. The plastic they’re made of won’t break down in our lifetime. Nor within the lifetime of our children. Imagine that on a global scale.
Invented by a Brisbane dentist, The Environmental Toothbrush is a simple solution. Made from bamboo, a natural cellulose fibre, they are 100% biodegradable, environmentally sustainable, and do not pollute the environment. The amazing growth and self-renewing ability of bamboo means that deforestation is not necessary either. Even our packaging is bio-degradable.
You will be helping the earth and your wallet. The Environmental Toothbrush is available in a pack of 12 for only $36
(Freight free in Australia, $12 Freight for International sales).

have it here

Here are some  other teeth related plastic free  stuff

tooth cleanser – bi carb

tooth paste metal tubes

tooth powder home made

toothbrushes wooden

Want to cut down on more of  your plastic rubbish? – find plastic free products with the >>>A-Z

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Acne Girl

Cover Girl – 1966

I have long had the complexion of a teenager – all spots and grease. While in India this situation got a whole lot worse. In desperation I made myself a face wash out of apple cider vinegar. I normally use this to make a conditioning rinse for my hair so I figured that’s what’s good for the clogged up hair might work for the blogged pores. It works – it really does.

Here’s my recipe

2 parts Apple Vinegar

3 parts water

1 drop of lavender oil for every 2 ml water

Shake well before use.

You can buy apple vinegar in glass bottles from numerous shops. Sadly a lot have plastic caps but there you go or you could try making your own at home!

for more uses of this fantastic product try this article

Thanks to rchappo2002  for the great image check out her collection of 60s ads

 

Find more  plastic free products with the >>>A-Z<<< plastic free index

Home made tooth powder

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You can still get toothpaste in the old-fashioned metal tubes if you are prepared to pay a lot, and don’t mind the plastic caps which are hard to impossible to recycle, and that the tubes are most likely plastic lined.

Or you can try salt. UGHHHH

Or bicarbonate of soda – this is pretty good for your but, for all its sterling qualities, I find it far too soapy tasting to use un-cut.

So I mix it with two other famous dentifrices known for their soft polishing action and Orris Root. Orris root is a natural preservative and helps the flavor along.

Home made Tooth Powder / Paste

1 part chalk

1 part kaolin

1 part Orris Root

1 part bicarb

Put in a jar and shake well – saved as tooth powder or mix to a stiff paste with water

You can buy the

chalk, kaolin and Orris Root from Aromantics – But if you do, the products come in a plastic bags which are plastic – booo… but polythene so easily recycled . I get huge amounts tooth powder out of one small bag of ingredients so I consider it a worthwhile compromise. Its less plastic than any other option…and it can be recycled.

You can buy plastic free bicarb here

For more on dentifrices and whats good for your teeth go to mizar

MORE INFORMATION

There are lots of ways to keep your self plastic free and gorgeous right here …including more toothy tips.

Find other plastic free products with the>>>A-Z<<< plastic free index

Find out about plastic, why we boycott it and who we are here

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• How to backpack (or holiday), plastic free (plasticisrubbish.wordpress.com)