Plastic free product review…

As you will know by now I’m a big supporter of the plastic free movement and I’m trying to cut down on how much single use plastic I use! Plastic pollution is a huge problem and our attitude to this material really need to change, and fast! Humans use an unsustainable amount of non biodegradable waste, especially single use plastic. This waste usually ends up in landfill sites or often the ocean!
So I have been trying to identify things that I use that come in plastic containers and working out what products I can buy instead that a more environmentally friendly. For me it’s mostly food and toiletries.
Finding food which isn’t in single use plastic is often quite hard unless you are able to go to a no waste shop which facilitates this. There is a new one in Leicester called Nada, located in St. Martins. It sells a range of useful non plastic products including dried food (think pasta, lentils), spices, metal straws, soaps and water bottles. If you do have the option to buy your food here that’s amazing and you could also get your fruit and veg from the market or a greengrocers (I’ve been meaning to try the one of Queen’s Road)! But often no waste shops are only in the centre of town, aren’t open late, and can be more expensive which makes them less accessible for students on a busy schedule and a tight budget.

Toiletries, however, are much easier to switch for package free alternatives. This is partly because I already prefer to buy toiletries that are a bit better quality than the cheapest supermarket own brand (unlike food) and I don’t need to buy them every week. I’ve been trying out some plastic free products and I thought I’d write a review for one.

I was given Lush’s ‘Seanik’ shampoo bar for Christmas, with the metal tin that Lush sell to keep the bar in. You can then use the tin again with another bar when you need a new one. Which won’t be for a while, the bar lasts up to 100 washes according to Lush! I got the ‘Seanik’ bar because I get greasy hair quite quickly and this was one of the ones the shop assistant said would be good for my hair type (because it has lemon oil in it).

So what’s the verdict? I loved this shampoo bar when I first got and I can honestly say I can’t see me going back to using normal liquid shampoo again now! However, I think I will be trying a different bar because I have noticed my hair is getting dry with this one. The bars are so easy to use you just rub the bar between wet hands and it creates a lather. Then you just use this lather in the same way as normal shampoo.
This shampoo smells AMAZING and I think my hair seems to get greasy less quickly since using it (although I’ve never bought shampoo designed for greasy hair before), but I think because my hair very fine this bar is too harsh for it. It also seems to be lasting really well and I think would be a while before I needed another, which makes it seem better value for money than at first glance (it retails at £7.50). Having said that I am going to have to try a different one that will be better suited to my hair.

The only other drawback for me is that I’ve found it can be hard to get the bar back out of the tin after a few washes (because it’s wet and I’m assuming is sticking to the container and then drying stuck), however it lathers up so easily that you can just rub one hand over the top of the bar in the tin and it works fine.
Initially I couldn’t fault this product and I’m so pleased I tried it because I was slightly sceptical at how well it would clean my hair before. I am completely won over by the idea of a shampoo bar,  but this one may not be the one for me. If you make one change to reduce you single use plastic consumption this is such an easy one, plus it’s not a compromise as the shampoo definitely does the job.

B x