This sweet orange & lavender bath bomb (Wales) is a nice alternative to conventional bath bombs that often are made with non biodegradable fragrance oils, and packed in plastic. This bath bomb contains no plastic packaging and is made with real essential oils.
Avoid essential oils for pregnancy/nursing & affected medical conditions (epilepsy, asthma, heart – no rosemary, citrus or sage oil for high blood pressure). Avoid shea butter for latex allergies. Keep essential oils & cocoa butter (toxic if licked) away from pets.
Scattered with calendula petals, this combines soothing pink clay with bicarbonate of soda, to fizz up when dropped in a bath, so you can relax amid soothing scents. Sent in zero waste packaging, this is also a safer alternative to slippery bath oils, that are also a nightmare to clean. Also in a version with rose petals.
Upcycled rubber bath mats is made from waste with mineral based colours in granite, marble or sand. Each one has 299 suction cups with no risk of slipping either side, and easy to rinse after use.
This pumice stone is made from volcanic lava, a sustainable way to remove calluses from hands and feet (use with a small amount of water, it’s too harsh on skin if used dry). Pumice hardly wears out, so one stone can last for many years.
Volcanic lava is simplify solidified magna (the thick syrup hot liquid that erupts out of volcanoes). Usually found on tectonic plates over hot land and sea (most volcanoes are in Hawaii’s Pacific Ocean), eruptions can cause floods, earthquakes and tsunamis. We can’t use them as free sources of heat, as tribes view them as sacred spaces and they are too unpredictable (also they spew out toxins, due to tourists throwing litter in them).
We’ll just look at you. If you looked scared, then we’ll panic (crew to volcanologist, while filming at volcano that has continuously erupted for several hundred years).
These coir coconut fibre soap rests are the ideal alternative to slatted soap dishes, to keep natural soap and shampoo bars dry naturally. Because natural soaps and shampoo bars tend to be creamier (retain natural glycerine) they can go squidgy, once they begin to get used. You can keep them on a slatted soap dish, to dry naturally inbetween uses, so they last longer.
These are a natural alternative. Made with natural rubber, just set your soap and shampoo bars on top, to avoid a wet soapy mess in the bathroom! This in turn helps the items to last longer, so works out more affordable. Plastic-free, and they compost after use.
zero waste body butters
If you have oily skin, you likely don’t need a body butter. And don’t use cocoa butter if you have pets, as it can be as dangerous as chocolate if they lick your skin. But if you have dry skin, they may be a good idea and are better than slippery bath oils that can be dangerous in baths, and make the bath tub difficult to clean too. These body butters are all made with plant-based ingredients with no palm oil, and sold in zero waste packaging. Most body butters are based on natural butters like shea, mango and cocoa. It’s much thicker than a body lotion, so good for very dry skin and night-time use. To use body butter, just scoop it in your hand and apply in circular motions to dry patches of skin.
Nourish Organic Body Butter (East Sussex) contains shea butter, coconut oil and restoring jojoba and avocado oils. Sold in a glass jar, this is made by a qualified aromatherapist and is scented with oils of lavender and mandarin.
Avoid essential oils for pregnancy/nursing & affected medical conditions (epilepsy, asthma, heart – no rosemary, citrus or sage oil for high blood pressure). Avoid shea butter for latex allergies. Keep essential oils & cocoa butter (toxic if licked) away from pets.
Often good skincare for your body is through what you don’t do, rather than what you buy. As well as eating and drinking well and staying out of strong sun, other tips include avoiding strong soaps, not staying too long in the bath and protecting your skin before shaving. It’s best to apply body balms within 5 minutes of drying your skin, to let them sink in properly.
What is your skin trying to tell you? Often the skin is a metaphor for deeper issues, and a way for your body to send up a red flag, to warn you that all is not well underneath. For our skin to be radiant and clear, it is important that the kidneys, liver, lungs and colon are cleansing the body effectively. Judyth Reichenberg-Ullman
Your skin is the fingerprint of what is going on inside your body. And all skin conditions from psoriasis to acne to ageing, are the manifestations of your body’s nutritional needs. Dr Georgina Donadio
