Green Your Grooming Routine Just in Time for Earth Day

Our daily health and hygiene routines are essential for self-care and wellness. But they also generate quite a bit of waste. This Earth Day, check in with your daily rituals and try to commit to practices that are better for the environment. Here are a few simple steps to help you build a more sustainable grooming routine. 

Choose Sustainable Grooming Products

What’s good for the Earth can also be good for your hair and skin. Using products with fewer ingredients reduces the chance of irritation or allergy. If you experience itching, redness, or irritation, stay away from products that contain fragrance, essential oils, and stripping ingredients like sulfates. 

Keep in mind that just because an ingredient is natural does not mean it is sustainable. Some natural ingredients – like fragrance, vanilla, and palm oil – are much worse for the environment than their synthetic counterparts.

Whether an ingredient is sustainable depends on how much of a natural resource is needed to produce it, and whether the production process and supply chain is ethical and sustainable. Here’s a roundup of the most eco-friendly products to add to your sustainable grooming routine.

Reduce Waste

Because of their packaging, personal care products can be especially difficult to recycle. So instead of worrying about whether that empty bottle or tube is recyclable, commit to creating less waste in general. 

The convenience of single-use or limited-use products is a major reason for all this waste. If you shave regularly, think about how many disposable razor cartridges you throw away each year. Learning how to use a safety razor may be intimidating, but it’s a skill that’s great for the environment and your skin. 

Fortunately, there is a growing amount of innovative personal care products from brands who are working to reduce the environmental impact of personal care products. Check out these packaging-free soap bars from LUSH, refillable deodorant from By Humankind, and reusable cotton swabs and tissues from LastObject. 

Need help finding eco-friendly products to add to your routine? Book with the best local service providers on Booksy. 

Choose Biodegradable Materials

When it comes to choosing better materials, simple swaps can make all the difference. This is especially true for products with a shorter lifespan, which you replace every few months. 

Let’s use dental hygiene as an example. Generally, you’re supposed to replace your toothbrush about every three months. If you use a regular plastic toothbrush, that means that every brush you toss out will take 400 years to decompose. Choosing a bamboo toothbrush and biodegradable floss is a small step towards keeping these items out of the landfill. 

It’s difficult to go fully zero-waste with items that need to be replaced regularly. That’s where it all comes down to the materials. Build a more sustainable grooming routine by looking for products that are either biodegradable or compostable.

Visit Eco-Friendly Service Providers

You go to the barbershop or salon to escape, relax, and enjoy some time to yourself. The last thing you want to be thinking about is the waste that is generated from every single service. 

A lot of that waste is simply necessary to protect the health and safety of clients. But there are better ways to manage it, and barbershops and salons are increasingly getting on board. 

If you visit salons or other personal service providers, check out the “Find a Salon” tool on Green Circle Salons. GCS is a certification program for service providers that allows businesses to send in their waste to be recycled. This includes everything from personal protective equipment, single use items, and even hair clippings – all saved from the landfill. 

Spring clean your grooming routine with a trip to the barber or salon. Find trusted professionals in just seconds on Booksy.