Waste free ablutions - part one

As we enter the final week of our official waste-free month I am noticing that we are running low on things like hand lotion, shampoo, conditioner, toothbrush and toothpaste.   I am determined not only to eliminate landfill waste but to also reduce our use of packaging in general.  Which means sourcing bulk materials and making some things from scratch.

Shampoo and Conditioner

I am all about making things from scratch, but when it comes to my hair, I am a bit of a freak. It's not that I have great hair, it's quite blah in fact, but I love my hairdresser and will sacrifice shaggy need a haircut badly for as long as it takes to get an appointment with him over having anyone else touch my hair. Maybe because I hardly wear makeup and my wardrobe is a little dated that I think my hair is something that I can wear that makes me look (and feel) good about myself. And when it comes to shampoo and conditioner, I tend to go with the salon brands over the natural health food store brands, mainly because my hair feels so much better (but who am I to judge).

Brought my hair home to compost

I recently got a haircut and got to chatting with my hairdresser (as you do), Ken, about our family's challenge, partly to explain why I wanted to take my hair home with me.   To make a long story short  Ken has agreed to sell me shampoo and conditioner from his salon, as he buys in bulk already anyways, and didn't think it was a very good idea for me to buy a 5 gallon tub of shampoo.

While we were on the topic of environment, Ken and his boyfriend introduced me to environmentally friendly hair care products made by Kevin Murphy. This australian stylist/ surfer wanted to a professional brand of hair care product that suited his lifestyle and and no impact on the environment, in other words, he wanted to be able to feel good about washing his hair in the river.  His product comes packages in high quality plastic bottles, that are box shaped instead of the traditional cylindrical bottles.  Finally a marketer gets smart and saves all that wasted space - not only in the consumer's shelves, but more impotently in the transportation of goods.  Ingenious!

And that is why I won't let anyone besides Ken touh my hair.  Not only is he an amazing hairdresser, he will accommodate his clients needs and is open minded.  I can now buy salon quality shampoo that is environmentally friendly and safe to use on my baby, and can completely avoid new packaging!