Life Without Plastic - Day 6
The girl is almost out of shampoo and conditioner. Again. Not that any of the multitude of bottles in the bathroom are completely empty! Finishing off the dregs is my job. What are my options for refilling bottles with bulk shampoo, or making my own, or finding a completely different alternative? Quick research showed that no-one offers the bottle refilling option in Ottawa any more. However, I did find these:
I have a bar of http://puresoapworks.com/shampoo.htm at home. I am deeply distrustful of shampoo/conditioner combinations, but I'll give it a try.
https://ottawamommyproject.wordpress.com/2011/06/05/may-results-are-in-all-natural-shampoo-and-more suggested this:
"In keeping with my theme of evaluating a home made solution when possible I also tried washing my hair with plain old baking soda. A lot of people swear by this super cheap option. I put a few tablespoons in a little bowl and added water to make a paste. Once I had my hair wet, in it went and I scrubbed as best I could. There is no lather with this but that didn’t bother me at all. It washed out nicely and left my hair squeaky clean. I’m impressed with the result. My hair was nicer that day as though a lot of gunk had been washed out." That seems like a reasonable option.
But what about a shampoo that lathers? I turns out David Suzuki has some ideas. http://www.davidsuzuki.org/publications/downloads/2012/QueenofGreen-haircare.pdf
Unfortunately, they require liquid Castille soap, and that seems to be sold only in plastic bottles. However, https://ashleyshomemadeadventures.wordpress.com/2012/07/27/making-your-own-homemade-liquid-castile-soap/ has an inexpensive alternative made with bars of Castille soap. If you're really hard-core, you can make your own bars of Castille soap. Ashley also has a recipe for shampoo that I really like (and will help me use up the xanthan gum I bought for a cooking experiment I don't intend to repeat): https://ashleyshomemadeadventures.wordpress.com/2012/01/24/homemade-shampoo/
Hair conditioners seem to be much more challenging. The best I could find was this: http://www.easy-aromatherapy-recipes.com/natural-hair-conditioner.html#buy natural hair conditioner. These recipes somewhat resemble regular conditioner but getting emulsifying wax is proving to be a challenge. At best, I can order it on-line. Or, I could try mixing together a bit of beeswax and borax, and/or maybe a little xanthan gum. From this lady's instructions, something might be possible: http://www.lavenora.com/emulsifierswaxes.htm
Much to think about and play with....
Update - a work colleague just sent me this link: http://www.terra20.com/about/ecobar/ecobar-body/. One is in the Ikea mall, and the other is on Wellington West. How exciting is that?
I have a bar of http://puresoapworks.com/shampoo.htm at home. I am deeply distrustful of shampoo/conditioner combinations, but I'll give it a try.
https://ottawamommyproject.wordpress.com/2011/06/05/may-results-are-in-all-natural-shampoo-and-more suggested this:
"In keeping with my theme of evaluating a home made solution when possible I also tried washing my hair with plain old baking soda. A lot of people swear by this super cheap option. I put a few tablespoons in a little bowl and added water to make a paste. Once I had my hair wet, in it went and I scrubbed as best I could. There is no lather with this but that didn’t bother me at all. It washed out nicely and left my hair squeaky clean. I’m impressed with the result. My hair was nicer that day as though a lot of gunk had been washed out." That seems like a reasonable option.
But what about a shampoo that lathers? I turns out David Suzuki has some ideas. http://www.davidsuzuki.org/publications/downloads/2012/QueenofGreen-haircare.pdf
Unfortunately, they require liquid Castille soap, and that seems to be sold only in plastic bottles. However, https://ashleyshomemadeadventures.wordpress.com/2012/07/27/making-your-own-homemade-liquid-castile-soap/ has an inexpensive alternative made with bars of Castille soap. If you're really hard-core, you can make your own bars of Castille soap. Ashley also has a recipe for shampoo that I really like (and will help me use up the xanthan gum I bought for a cooking experiment I don't intend to repeat): https://ashleyshomemadeadventures.wordpress.com/2012/01/24/homemade-shampoo/
Hair conditioners seem to be much more challenging. The best I could find was this: http://www.easy-aromatherapy-recipes.com/natural-hair-conditioner.html#buy natural hair conditioner. These recipes somewhat resemble regular conditioner but getting emulsifying wax is proving to be a challenge. At best, I can order it on-line. Or, I could try mixing together a bit of beeswax and borax, and/or maybe a little xanthan gum. From this lady's instructions, something might be possible: http://www.lavenora.com/emulsifierswaxes.htm
Much to think about and play with....
Update - a work colleague just sent me this link: http://www.terra20.com/about/ecobar/ecobar-body/. One is in the Ikea mall, and the other is on Wellington West. How exciting is that?