Sustainable September 2017 - Day Twenty Five

SEPTEMBER 25 (MONDAY)

FASHION & BEAUTY - MAKE YOUR OWN MAKEUP & BEAUTY PRODUCTS

Welcome Sustainable September-ers.

Yesterday was all about reducing Plastic in our hair care regime. I am excited to take up Shampoo Bars.

Sustainable September Day Twenty Five: Reduce the amount of chemicals and plastic used in your beauty routine.

One of the simplest ideas to reduce the amount of the plastic and environementally un-friendly chemicals is to simplify your beauy routine.

For some guys this is probably less of a problem, however, there are some men who use more than me when it comes to health and beauty regimes.

" Cosmetics companies may use any ingredient or raw material, except for color additives and a few prohibited substances, without government review or approval. About one in eight of the 82,000 ingredients used in personal care products are industrial chemicals, including carcinogens, pesticides, reproductive toxins, and hormone disruptors. To top it off, U.S. federal law allows companies to leave many chemicals off labels, including nanomaterials, ingredients considered trade secrets, and components of fragrance.

The scariest of all? More than 500 products sold in the U.S. contain ingredients banned in cosmetics in Japan, Canada or the European Union. and here we are, buying this stuff up like it’s the cool thing to do." (One Green Planet)

I don't tend to wear much makeup except for the occasional promotions work I am doing at the moment. I have been working to change the products I do use (on the rare occasion that I do actually use them) to vegan and environmentally friendly. I recently upgraded to a vegan mascara, which is pretty good.

I also gave making my make up a go. It was a little bit of a failure. I know there is a lot of different recipes

ACTIVITY: Make your own Makeup and Beauty products.
For example:

Check out more make up ideas here. There are a lot of other ideas for Homemade Body Products on a new Pinterest Board of mine.

Enjoy
Love Daena x

Sustainable September 2017 - Day Twenty Four

SEPTEMBER 24 (SUNDAY)

FASHION & BEAUTY - PLASTIC FREE SHAMPOOS

Welcome to the final week of Sustainable Septemeber 2017. Where we are looking at making life a little kinder for our planet and all those who live here. This week is all about Fashion and Beauty. How can we make our daily Fashion and Beauty choices more sustainable? Start small and build up. Today is a simple idea,

Sustainable September Day Twenty Four: Reduce the amount of waste from Shampoo and Conditioners by using more sustainable Options.

There are several options that can reduce the amount of waste from Shampoos and conditioners. For examples there are Shampoo Bars, Dry Shampoo, No-Poo, Hair treatments that are home made and package free. Just to name a few.

Depending on the level of committment you are prepared to make to the environment. Here are a few options. Buy in Bulk. This means less packaging for the same amount of product you would usually buy. It is still producing waste, but not as regularly therefore not as much. This is a transitional stage for when you are looking to reduce your waste but not sure about where to start.

As always there is a simple switch that can be made. Instead of buying a whole new plastic bottle everytime you need more shampoo or conditioner you could take the containers to be refilled at a bulk store, which for me is the Wasteless Pantry. It is all about REUSING. I know the Wasteless Pantry have the ability to refill your already existing bottles of shampoo and conditioner. However it wont be the same brand you have already. It will be the next best thing. Just check out the closes bulk supply store you can. Hopefully it wont be too far away from you, wherever you are.

Then there is also using a home made or bulk dry shampoo option. I recommend making it because that reduces the amount of waste that goes in the bin. You can check out the one from Going Zero Waste. I use a little bit of Tapioca/Arrowroot flour and a little brush that i sprinkle on and then sort of sweep through my fair. I use my fingers and massage it into my scalp then too. It is not perfect but i dont feel that my hair is super oily. From the things that the Going Zero Waste link talks about... i might give that recipe a go next time. Using Dry Shampoo probably reduces the amount of waste i have by delaying my hair washing to once a week instead of two or three times a week. SO thats pretty awesome. It means that i am doubling the time it takes for me to go through the same size shampoo bottles i have (and yes i still use liquid shampoo and conditioner... for now).

THe next level of reducing waste is to use a Shampoo bar and Conditioning Bar. These are plastic free, come in a million different flavours and sizes, and are apparently really great to use. I have put in an order for some which sadly didn't arrive in time for me to share my experiences... but hopefully next year they will be. Shampoo and Conditioning Bars are like soap bars for your hair.

I am looking for one that is great for allergies and helps get rid of things like Psoriasis in the hair. I have Psoriasis (an autoimmune disease where you skin produces a lot more skin cells in certain areas) which is often pretty bad. Mind you at the moment with my diet and health improvements my psoriasis is almost unnoticable. A couple of my friends have recommended one for people with bad dandruff and psoraisis... it is called the Bee Beauty Beer Shampoo bar. Yes you read that right... it is a BEER flavoured Shampoo bar. and apparently it is the best. They are an Australian brand - from Tasmania. This particular shampoo bar is apparently just as good for all hair types. So that is awesome and I can't wait to give it a go*. Its about $12.50 AUD per bar.

In the meantime my sister has ordered me some other shampoo bars to see if they work, from her Bulk Buying Group. They bought in bulk from a supplier which significantly reduced the amount of money per bar that they had to pay. So they are due to come in the next few weeks. Hopefully before i have to buy some more of my Coal Tar Shampoo (which is the traditional treatment/ Shampoo for Psoriasis). Its costing me about $4 AUD per bar (Cheapest option).

I have also see a whole lot in Lush, the soap shop. They have waste free soap, shampoo and conditioner bars available. (Its about $15 AUD per bar depending on which ones you get.). Or even the Wasteless Pantry has some (at about $20 per bar). So shop around for the best price and the best option for your body/skin/hair type.

Then there is No-Poo. When i first heard about it i have to admit... i laughed. A lot. at the name mostly. When you live with two kids/teens (one of whom is a boy), fart and poo jokes are everywhere! heheh. But then i heard the premise about it. Basically it is using baking soda and apple cider vinegar to wash your hair less and almost detox your hair and the chemicals that are often in mainstream shampoos and conditioners. A friend of mine is currently giving this a go. There is a detox period (she is currently struggling through this period). But she led me to a blog about it (which if i find again i will post tomorrow).

But if you want a really balanced opinion before giving No Poo a go... check out this link from Google. It gives you the facts when it comes to No Poo so you can make your own choices.

ACTIVITY: Make your own Shampoo.
There are also a lot of other recipes for Shampoo and Conditioner Bars available on my Pinterest Board Eco and Environment ideas.

I hopeyou enjoy the first of this last weeks theme of Fashion and Beauty.

*NOTE: I do not get any money for any of the sites or products I mention. I just thought other people might like to hear about the ones I know (from my friends showing me) work. 

January Kindnesses 2012

Hey everyone,
So I just figured out that the best way to update my monthly kindnesses is to just type it all in and you can see it quick and easily (even if it wont be quite so pretty as last years! :). I know it should have been a lot more obvious to do it this way to start with... but I like a little beauty and creativity. And quite honestly who doesn't? ;)

So when I figure out a better way (or prettier way) to do this, I will!

After loosing a chunk of this year already I have been piecing the year of kindnesses back together. This is another reason I am typing it up now... because I want to remember them and share them with you... or at least as much and as many as possible. So, if you can remember something I did... or told you I did.. or you saw me do... kindness wise... please let me know. I can always add and update this.

JANUARY 2012

1st January: I bought lunch for three of my friends! At this point I wasn't even sure i was going to continue for another year... but I found that i just couldn't stop myself! :)

2nd January: I sent messages of love and support to a friend in need.

3rd January: Helped made a cake for a friends surprise birthday (Its a train for a friend who is a train mechanic/engineer/cleaner type person).

4th January: Helped make a cake for my brother-in-laws birthday (Its a little RED car!). 

5th January: I saw a little old lady at a coffee shop that i frequent. And i decided i wanted to do something for her. so when we both happened to be paying our bills, I offered to pay for hers. She refused! But both she and the cashier were surprised and touched by my offer.

6th January: Dropped off some packing supplies to some friends moving inter state.

7th January: Helped set up and run a surprise baby shower for a friend.

8th January: Picked up some dinner for me and some family and friends (Mums kindness was that she paid for it). I just acted like a pick up and delivery service so that no-one else had to leave the air conditioning! :)

9th January: Helped a stranger by putting her shopping trolley away.

10th January: Bought a friend, who was financially struggling, dinner.

11th January: Sent messages of love, support & farewell to friends moving inter-state.

12th January: Held a door open for a stranger.

13th January: Acted like a beautician and gave my dad a manicure, so the staff at his nursing home didn't have to!

14th January (BALI): Waited up for my Bali-room-mate, as he was arriving on a later flight from Australia!

15th January (BALI): Took a friend for a "tour" of the hotel so he'd know his way around! Plus, I picked up someone-elses' rubbish whilst scuba diving. We got to feed fish underwater and had little plastic bags filled with bread... I collected the plastic bags and tucked them in my wetsuit and put them in a bin when we finally got to shore! :) 

This is me on the boat after scuba diving and taking the rubbish to the shore! We were on our way to go Para-sailing! That is something else I can cross off the Bucket List!

 16th January (BALI): I gave our taxi driver a big tip (in the local currency).

17th January (BALI): Helped out with some first-aid for different friends.

18th January (BALI): Helped out a couple of friends by lending them the correct currency to purchase suitcases with. This meant that they could buy the suitcases immediately instead of having to make a special trip back to the hotel to get their currency and then back to buy the suitcases!

19th January (BALI): Put away the dishes at Burger King for everyone eating with me.

20th January (BALI): Said "Bless you" to a sneezing stranger, and bought a friend a drink.

21st January (BALI): Put extra money in the "pot" for dinner so that those that didn't have the money on them didn't have to stress about it!

22nd January (BALI): Held the door open for a stranger at a shopping center and warned them of the slippery floors (after torrential rain). 

23rd January (BALI): I helped a sick friend at the airport by finding toilets along the path to the terminal we were leaving from. So she could make her way from toilet to toilet and not throw-up somewhere along the way. She had a very bad case of Bali Belly!!

24th January: Gave friends and family gifts on my return from Bali.

25th January: Agreed to house-sit my sisters house while she and her family were away for a couple of days.

26th January: Fed my nephews fish whilst he was away on holiday.

27th January: Helped Construct a table-tennis table as a surprise for my sisters kids. The gift was from the other side of the family (my sisters parents-in-law)! I also managed to get the legs around the wrong way! It was very funny! :)

28th January: Paid for a round of drinks for my friends birthday.

29th January: Did some cleaning at my sisters house in preparation for her and her families return from their holiday.

30th January: Sent a message of love, support, celebration and encouragement to a friend having a GOOD day!

31st January: Helped a lady get some milk out of a mass display of it. There was only a small amount of the kind she wanted and it happened to be at the bottom and at the back of the milk pyramid, so i helped her get it out!

Hope you enjoyed January 2012! I had a great time in Bali, Indonesia and loved celebrating the many family and friends who had birthdays in January too! :) was a lot of fun! :)

Look forward to sharing the next month very soon! Obviously there will be some holes in my recollection but I am still piecing everything together! :)

Enjoy,
Luv Daena xx

P.s. I tagged this posts Location as Bali, Indonesia... just need to clarify that I am actually back in Perth, Australia at the moment! :) But if you want to know where Bali is... you can check it out! :D