Various islands are just the perfect spot for a relaxing holiday spent lying on sandy beaches and drinking cocktails under a palm tree. However, that is not always the case. One specific island in the northern Pacific Ocean covers an estimated surface area of 1.6 million square kilometres. Being three times the size of France, this island seems gigantic, and you now probably begin to think, why you have never heard of this island before… Well, it is technically not an island and is officially called Great Pacific Garbage Patch. As the name states, this artificial island is made out of millions of tons of plastic and other marine debris floating at the water’s surface, harming aquatic fauna and flora.
Plastic packaging makes up most plastic waste found all around the world; however, most of the packaging can only be used once, so after having their job done, they go straight to the trash bin. This situation may seem fine considering how many people recycle their trash, yet the problem here is that sometimes it is just not possible to recycle some plastic waste. This group includes dirty plastic rubbish, various containers, and here the largest is played by personal and house care products. Bottled shampoos, conditioners, shower gels, washing liquids and other products are only needed as long as there is still some product left in the bottle. After that, we throw away the bottle and replace the product with the new one continuing this process for our entire lives. Thanks to each of us, millions of tonnes of non-biodegradable plastic rubbish end up in landfills and water during those decades.
This consumer habit is being tackled in various ways, and we have seen quite a few zero waste stores opening recently (we talked about zero waste several weeks ago). Still, they alone do not solve the problem. It is our responsibility to change habits – that is why today we invite you to make your own cosmetics, personal and home care products which fight plastic pollution! Made by one’s own hands, these products are all-natural, so they are much safer to use every day – you will not need to worry about products damaging your skin and flaring up allergies. Let’s roll up our sleeves and make natural products for a healthier tomorrow and cleaner future!
Face Mask Heaven – Cucumber and Lemon
Various face masks play a necessary part in our everyday skincare routine. However, the more product we are willing to use and buy, the more plastic trash we accumulate. Therefore, making your organic detoxicating mask at home once a week is a great way to help yourself by helping the planet in the first place.
Peel and crush one decent size cucumber into a puree, add five drops of lemon juice, and stir in one tablespoon of natural honey. Lastly, add several drops of essential oil of your choice (we prefer lavender) and mix until liquified. After preparation, pour the substance into a jar and store it in the fridge. Use within 4-5 days and mix well before each application! Apply the mask onto a clean face avoiding the eye area, leave the mask on for 15-20 minutes and gently remove it using a wet cloth.
While it is a relatively easy homemade skincare recipe to make, mask’s ingredients have many powerful properties, all of which we can pack into one excellent organic and natural product. While cucumbers reduce swelling, puffiness and soothe irritation, lemon juice contains Vitamin C, which may reduce skin damage and has high pH levels, known to decrease skin’s oiliness. Honey is an excellent moisturizer and exfoliator, so all of those ingredients together make a mask we all swear by!
Gorgeous Hair Secret – Shea Butter and Coconut Oil
Shiny and long hair is possibly everyone’s dream to have, yet it is complicated and requires a lot of time to maintain that salon look. Besides, one has to buy a handful of different products to ensure their hair look fabulously, and this, of course, adds up to plenty of plastic waste. Due to this reason, there is no better way to tackle plastic waste than making a nice hair strengthening cream yourself!
Put a cup of shea butter into a bowl, add a little bit of coconut oil, hemp seed oil, and castor oil to the bowl so these three ingredients would make 1/8 of a cup. Carefully blend everything and pour the mixture into a jar and wait a bit for it to solidify. As you can use this amazing cream to both your hair and body, it may not last very long, so do not worry when the cream jar empties.
Quickly being one of our favourites, this cream gorgeously takes care of the hair by strengthening it and adding moisture. Shea butter is known for its non-greasy qualities, while coconut oil helps slow down the hair loss process. Hemp oil is perfect at its job of stimulating hair growth, and castor oil nourish the dry scalp. Mixing up all of these ingredients together, you can create a powerful hair-loving product right in your kitchen!
Breathtaking Smile Magic – Sage, Baking Soda, and Salt
Our smile is often considered our business card or nicest jewellery one can have, but sometimes it feels like a blinding white smile is something only the Hollywood elite can afford. Well, trips to the dentist are often led by huge bills, therefore, stopping people from taking care of their teeth. On the other hand, quality teeth care usually depends on our lifestyle and the products we use. However, the latter adds up too much unnecessary plastic waste, which we can also minimise using homemade teeth care products – toothpaste and mouthwash.
Mix a handful of sage leaves with a teaspoon of salt in around 100 ml of boiling water. Wait for the mixture to cool off and swish it in your mouth as you would usually do with regular, store-bought mouthwash. Another recipe everyone should try is grinding one teaspoon of salt, two teaspoons of baking soda, one tablespoon of powdered orange peel, and two teaspoons of dried sage together. You can, of course, add a little bit of peppermint essential oil to achieve that pleasant fresh smell usual toothpaste has, but bear in mind that you will need to add a few drops of water to the mixture to achieve the same or similar texture.
While homemade toothpaste and mouthwash are remarkable for their eco-friendliness, there are several other upsides to making these products on your own. First of all, one can control the ingredients and customize the texture, flavour, and abrasiveness. Still, most importantly, one majorly reduces their plastic consumption and cut costs on the shopping bills. However, we advise you to check with your dentist before making and using homemade teeth care products as some recipes may not fit your needs.
Sparkling Clean Shine – Vinegar and Rosemary
One’s home is one’s castle, which needs to be defended from wrongdoers and various germs and bacteria. Wanting to keep our house clean and smelling fresh, we use many chemical products, which, while doing their job, are far from being natural and sometimes are the complete opposite of a pleasant smell. Besides, most chemicals come in plastic packaging, which cannot be recycled due to the products’ nature. To kill those germs and also fight plastic pollution, we invite you to make an all-natural, all-purpose cleaner spray, which would soon become your favourite!
Combine one part of white vinegar with one part water into a spray bottle, add several lemon rinds and rosemary springs. Once you are done with the preparation process, let the mixture infuse for at least a week before using it for the first time to clean your home.
This cleaner will quickly solve many different problems around the house and clean those nasty water stains, various smudges, and much more – you will be thankful for our advice! However, do not use this acidic cleaner around granite surfaces as the cleaner may etch the natural stone – you’ve been warned!
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Making organic homemade remedies and cosmetics has never been easier; besides, by caring for yourself, you also take care of the planet by reducing plastic pollution and eliminating single-use plastics from the market. On the other hand, we know how difficult it is sometimes to spare some time to make those natural products in the first place. In this case, of course, you will continue buying shampoos, conditioners, creams and other products in various shops or online.
Due to this reason, you should consider doing a little research before making a decision and choosing sellers or brands which take care of the planet for you. Look for natural products, have not been tested on animals and are vegan; choose products whose packaging states using recycled materials. We also care for the planet and advocate for organic, eco-friendly cosmetics – try out our Rich Cream, Silk Balm or Cooling Gel and feel nature’s powers!