About a year ago (let’s call it a mid-year resolution), I decided to ‘Get Clean for 2015′. My aim was to slowly but surely replace all of my household products, toiletries and make-up with those which contained as little ‘nasties’ as possible, came from companies who cared about the environment and the ethics behind their business and created as less waste as possible.
As time went on (probably when they realised I wasn’t going to turn into a greasy, unwashed heathen and that my house hadn’t succumbed to five feet of grime) more and more of my friends started to ask about specific substitutes that I had found, and encouraged me to compile a list of my favourites. So here it goes...
Household Products
This is an area where lots of new products are on the market, some as yet unheard of, and others which are now widely available in supermarkets. Here are my top 3:
Splosh - Mail order cleaning products. You buy the empty bottles and little “graze-like” boxes are posted with pouches you can use to mix up more when you run out. Work out about £1 per bottle for everything. Laundry detergrent works out about £2 a bottle.
My fav Splosh products are:
Washing up liquid (seems to last forever and smells divine)
Laundry detergent - Cotton flower no bio (only non bio I have found that leaves a strong scent
Household sprays - Love the kitchen,bathroom and toilet cleaners, all do just as good a job as conventional cleaning stuff.
http://www.splosh.com/shop/splosh/open/range/
Method - Widely available in most supermarkets and whilst not entirely nasty free are much less nasty than the normal stuff. They also make a much wider range of products
Top 3 Method products:
Furniture polish - Its almondy scent is divine and as its a spray (and quite wet) not an aerosol it seems to last for a long long time.
Glass cleaner - One of the few eco glass cleaners around (I know, I know I could just use lemon juice or vinegar, but I’m lazy!)
Stainless steel cleaner - As a clean freak I like my stainless steel shiny and this does an amazing job!
Bio-D - Bio-D is an amazing brand if you like buying in bulk to be thrifty and the are one of the few eco brands that tackle dishwasher products. You can buy huge 5 or 15 L boxes with taps for household cleaners, so you can just top your bottles up as and when.
My top 3 Bio-D:
Dishwasher powder - Lasts forever as you only need a tiny, tiny scoop
Dishwasher rinse-aid - Its hard to find an eco-rinse aid (most require importation from America) but this is a goody
Laundry Bleach - A non-chlorine containing bleaching product which works using an oxygen based antibacterial whitener.
http://www.biodegradable.biz
Toiletries
It’s hard to give up products you have been using for years, but reading about the possible long-term effects of some of the chemicals used in conventional toiletries and make up is quite scary stuff. Plus we all seem to have made the move to make sure we are using safe, organic products on our children’s skin and it’s time we followed suit. Here are more top three toiletries:
Dead Sea Spa Magik - I absolutely adore this brand and use their face masks, rejuvenate bath salts, BB cream and natural toothpaste. In face I love it so much I even wrote a specific blog post about it! ---> here
https://shopforspa.com
Lush - Lush, whilst not entirely nasty free in some of their products (just ask in store about SLS and paragons, they have a lovely range of products which are so practical and seem to last forever. My top 3 are:
Block shampoos - They have huge range from anti-dandruff, to full body, to shine and they also have a fab conditioner too. My hair feels so clean and light weight (and by that I mean it feels like hair, rather than hair coated in silicone!
Toothy tabs - A great alternative to toothpaste and they come in lots of yummy flavours.
Fresh face masks - These gems only last a couple of weeks as they have no nasty preservatives. My favourite is cupcake which has lots of chocolate in and leaves my skin silky soft.
https://www.lush.co.uk
Weleda - I have always loved weleda and it is one of the oldest and most trusted holistic eco brands we have. They also have fab products for babies and children too. My favourites are:
Hair oil - A little bit of this on damp hair after a shower leaves my curls defined and shiny (but with no grease) (for other great eco hair products see Giovanni Cosmetics)
Wild rose day/night cream - It smells divine and literally feeds my skin
Skin food - An all over moisturiser which literally feeds you skin, its amazing!
https://www.weleda.co.uk
Make-up
You would think substituting make-up would be difficult but it was actually one of the easiest bits. The main brands to look for are Benecos, Lavera, Dr Haushcka and Korres. If you are unsure then head over to Big Green Smile (where all of the below are available) and have a browse. Here are my recommendations across the board:
Concealer and foundation - Lavera. They have various types so that their range mimics one of the mainstream brands
Blusher, highlighter/bronzer and nail polish - Benecos. Their nail varnish contains no formaldehyde and comes in a range of colours including some really cute pastels. Their blusher, highlighters and bronzes come in small palettes and can be used on eyes, lips and cheeks and they seem to last forever!
Lips - For lipsticks definitely Lavera, they do some great matt lipsticks as well as lipgloss sticks and conventional lipsticks. For tints and tinted balms definitely Korres.
Perfume - Florame. They do a whole range of extremely affordable organic and vegan scents. I love the Patchouli!
I will also be holding a live Q & A on these products on my Facebook page on Wednesday 5th August. So if after reading this you still have questions or would like to see some of the products, then please just post on the Facebook Page wall and I’ll answer them and make some suggestions.
