My Top 5 Waste-Free Beauty Brands and Products

While we encourage going plastic-free as much as possible all year long, every year, Plastic Free July is a month-long movement that encourages widespread education about the devastating impact of single use plastics on our environment. The movement helps connect people to share the steps we can all take to reduce plastic waste by swapping single use plastic products for reusable and recyclable alternatives in our daily routines. Making these swaps is a really practical and accessible first step for those looking to live more sustainably. To help get you started, here are a few of my favorite, waste-free and plastic-free wellness products for daily self-care:

Bite Toothpaste - I love Bite as an alternative to plastic-tube toothpaste (and the plastic micro-beads used in Crest - yuck!). They also are a great, liquid-free and TSA-friendly toothpaste for frequent travelers. To use, simply chomp down on one of the little toothpaste “bites” in the glass bottle and brush the resulting foam as you would a paste. I actually think the charcoal version makes my teeth whiter than any tube toothpaste I’ve used previously!

Peet Bros Palm-Free Soap - I really love any soap - preferably locally-sourced from your favorite Farmers Market - as a package-free bathroom staple. When you can’t find it locally, Peet Bros is a great alternative. Their biggest commitment is delivering high quality, ethical products without ANY palm oil - an ingredient responsible for driving the catastrophic destruction of the world’s rain forests. Instead, they use ingredients like shea butter and olive oil to keep skin soft and supple. While their lotions come in plastic bottles, I recommend their soap bars for an easy, clean face wash. The bars come in a variety of ingredient combinations based on skin type. They recently launched a line of hemp and CBD-infused bars as well.

LUSH Shower Moisturizers - Speaking of Soaps, LUSH is another great spot for picking up yummy-smelling, sustainably packaged soaps as well as many other waste-free staples. I love their in-shower moisturizers (my fav is the Ro’s Argan) because I’m always too lazy to put lotion on after I leave the shower. The best part is you can bring your empty containers back to the store for a re-fill or to be recycled!

Nixit - If you haven’t made the swap to a reusable menstrual cup, I get it, it’s intimidating. But just like it was intimidating to use a tampon for the first time, you get used to it very quickly. Nixit is a reusable cup made from safe, non-toxic materials to support vaginal health. You can leave it in for 12 hours and go about your day as planned. Also, it doesn’t use suction to stay in place so there’s less likely hood of it getting stuck.

The Ordinary - Madeleine and I are both big fans of The Ordinary because of their safe, no-nonsense ingredients and ethical practices. Of course, not all of their products are plastic-free (which is why they include this handy disposal guide on their site to ease recycling), but our favorites are the glass bottle Niacinamide and Hyaluronic Acid serums, which we use daily to keep the face looking fresh.

Salt Rock Deodorant - I don’t have a particular brand I favor for this, but am blown away by how effective and long-lasting this waste-free bathroom staple is! Simply wet your armpit or the stone (I usually apply just after I get out of the shower, while still wet) and rub the stone under your arms where you usually develop odor. The salt’s antibacterial properties prevent me from smelling all day long - and I live in a humid, tropical climate!Not only that, but I’ve also rubbed it on my chest when I had a developing case of chest acne and the acne went away within days. Just note that the rock can pick up odor, so make sure you only rub it on clean pits (just as you would normal deodorant).

(Updated July 2023)

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