In a recent post we shared some ideas how to replace your conventional cleaning agents with cheaper, biodegradable, homemade alternatives. Body hygiene products often contain a large number of dubious substances such as artificial perfumes, microplastic, silica, aluminum and a host of other chemicals that are harmful to the environment and to your body.

With our very simple and cheap alternatives below you can replace all your commercial products and do both your body and our planet a favor.

Body wash

You can very easily replace your body wash fluid with any natural soap. We just use olive-oil based Aleppo soap or Castile soap, but any other natural soap will do just as well.

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Body scrub

You can dunk your natural soap in (used) coffee ground and start scrubbing. This method even cleans machine oil off your hands!

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Shampoo

There are plenty of recipes available on the internet, but after experimenting with a few we opted for the two simplest ones, give them a try and choose the one you prefer:

1. Aleppo soap: simply scrub a good amount of Aleppo soap into your hair and onto your scalp, then rinse thoroughly.
2. Baking soda (sodium bicarbonate): mix one tablespoon (or more depending on the length of your hair) of baking soda with one cup of water, pour it onto your wet hair, scrub it in, then rinse thoroughly.

Our experience was that our hair became oily and itchy when we first switched from chemical to natural shampoo, but after about a month our hair had adapted. We now only use natural shampoo and wash our hair only every fourth or fifth day and it looks and feels healthier and cleaner than ever!

Update: I have been completely shampoo-free for over two years now. I use only water to wash my hair when I shower. Unbelievably my hair is neither oily nor smelly and even the dandruff, which I have always been fighting with, is pretty much gone!

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Conditioner

For the best and simplest conditioner simply mix one tablespoon of vinegar (we use apple cider vinegar, but really any vinegar will do) with one cup of water. Apply the vinegar-water mix to your hair after washing it with Aleppo soap or baking soda, then rinse your hair thoroughly. Done!

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Toothpaste

Toothpaste is one of the products with the highest amounts of toxic chemicals. Common toothpaste includes chemicals such as Sodium Lauryl Sulphate, Triclosan, Polyethylene Glycol, or Titanium Dioxide, just to mention a few. Just DuckDuckGo any of these and you’ll know why you will not want those in your mouth. The fact that it is common knowledge that you should never swallow toothpaste is worrying enough! To replace your chemical cocktail with a healthy alternative you can either try some of those at an organic store near you (I have switched to Weleda Salt toothpaste long time ago) or have a go at the recipe below.

You need

• 2 tbsp. of bentonite clay
• 2 tbsp. of water
• 4 drops of tea tree oil
• 10-15 drops of peppermint essential oil
• small pinch of salt
• 5 drops of liquid stevia (optional)

Recipe

1. Combine water and bentonite clay in a non-metal bowl and mix with a non-metal spoon.
2. Add the tea tree oil, stevia, and peppermint essential oil – mix well.
3. Add a pinch of salt, mix well and taste.
4. Store your toothpaste in a jar with a lid, as it will dry out if left uncovered.

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Deodorant

Most commercial deodorants contain aluminum, which has turned out to be one of the causes of breast-cancer in women. Not surprising as it blocks the pores in your armpit, preventing your body from excreting toxins through your sweat. Thankfully there are great alternatives out there, like the following:

You need

• 2 tablespoons corn starch or arrowroot powder
• 1,5 tablespoons baking soda
• 4 tablespoons coconut oil (melted)
• Essential oil

Recipe

1. Mix the baking soda with the starch.
2. Add the coconut oil and the essential oil.
3. Stir until smooth – it’s ready to use!
4. Store in a jar and apply with your fingertips onto your armpits.

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Shave soap

You need

• 35g sheabutter
• 35g coconut oil
• 25g olive oil, sesame oil or almond oil
• 2 flat tbsp. white rhassoul powder or fine bentonite clay
• 1 tsp. honey (optional)
• 10-15 drops of essential oil (try sandelwood or ylang-ylang)

Recipe

1. Melt sheabutter and coconut oil by placing them in a smaller pot, which you place in a larger pot that has a some water at its bottom. Heat up the pot and your sheabutter and coconut oil will melt.
2. Once melted, add the rhassoul powder or bentonite clay, oil, honey, as well as the essential oil.
3. Let the mixture cool down to room temperature, then refridgerate until cool. Once cooled down use a wire whisk or mixer to beat it into a whip-cream like consistency, fill into a tight-sealed jar and use within 4 weeks.

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Aftershave

You need

• 200ml Vodka
• 150ml boiled water, cooled down
• 100ml witch hazel extract
• 30 drops essential oil (for instance lemon, sandelwood, lavender; or peppermint, rosewood, lavender) or 1 tsp. tea tree oil

Recipe

Combine all ingredients in a suitable glass bottle, shake, use.

• natural body hygiene
• natural living
• waste management

4 Responses to “Biodegradable Body Hygiene Products”

• So many good articles I read here, I think you can make thepermaculturecollective.com go viral easily.

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