Living the zero waste life looks impossible. I mean, how can you not have any trash, right?
This is the common problem among those who want to lessen the mountains of landfills and incinerators in the country. And fortunately, this very sentiment triggered the creatives to ease this lifestyle’s journey by crafting eco-friendly products.
One of the products is the shampoo bar, which eliminates the single-use plastic packaging and amount of carbon footprint (production-wise) the commercially available ones usually have and produce. The concept is not new, especially in the west, but recently, there’s been a surge of local crafters making their own shampoo bars. Here are some of them:
Ecobar
Ecobar is an online shop that sells solid shampoo and conditioner (at least for now). It sells three variants: Thickening, which stimulates hair growth and protection; Hydrate, which encourages scalp hydration and hair repair; and Detox + Heal, which regulates oil production and protects from dandruff and other scalp problems. They also have one conditioner bar, which repairs and nourishes locks.
Daniela Calumba
Daniela Calumba creates a lot of things—skincare products, beeswax wraps, and eco jewelry among others. And her skincare products include shampoo bars, which has different types. She’s made moisturizing and damage-repair bars with neem oil and antibacterial ones with almond oil, golden jojoba oil, and cocoa butter.
Bath Geek
Bath Geek is a new online shop based in Ozamiz City in Misamis Occidental. Just launched earlier this month, it carries three varieties of shampoo bars: anti-dandruff with tea tree and castor oil, cooling with peppermint, and soothing with rose and chamomile. Soon, it’s also launching Deep Cleanse bar with kaolin mineral and charcoal, as well as Repair with pure cacao. Being from Mindanao gives Bath Geek the privilege to source materials like cocoa butter and coconut oil from the nearby communities.
Zero Basics
Zero Basics’ shampoo bars are new to its line of zero waste face and body products. It just launched its bars made with cinnamon, rosemary, and peppermint therapeutic-grade essential oils. This means the shampoo bars are also rich in moisture, anti-dandruff, and strengthening.
Paralúman
If you’re trying to shorten your bath time to conserve more water, Paraluman offers a two-in-one bar. Called Flowerchild, its shampoo-conditioner bar is a mixture of glycerin, jasmine, and ylang-ylang (using real flowers) for the cleansing part, and hibiscus-infused olive oil, golden jojoba oil, argan oil, macadamia nut oil, and shea butter for the conditioning part.
Pure
This ACV (apple cider vinegar) shampoo bar has virgin coconut oil, castor oil, shea butter, and apple cider vinegar that keep your hair clean, strong, and revitalized. “It increases the activity of the sebaceous glands to flush out debris, excess oil build-up, and unhealthy bacteria,” according to Pure.
HBN Soapworks
Lovelocks is HBN Soapworks’ shampoo bar. It’s good for hair growth and protection from scalp problems like hair fall and dandruff as it contains olive oil, coconut oil, soybean oil, castor seed oil, and a blend of essential oils.
Read more:
Easy hacks for zero waste grocery shopping
Baby steps to living that zero waste life
Thinking of going zero-waste? You’re not alone
Read more by Yazhmin Malajito:
What our barangays should be doing about waste management
Pasig River is the second worst plastic waste contributor in the world
Would you adopt some clams?
