We get through a lot of soap in my household. As a mother, I am constantly washing my hands (preparing many meals, changing nappies, cleaning up child-generated mess etc.). The other members of my household frequently wash their hands too, and this was all before the Covid-19 pandemic. The bathroom seems to produce the most waste or at least is produces the most irritating mess. A few years ago my husband and I looked at our soap habits, changed them and I’m going to do so again. This post looks at whether bar soap is better.
For hand soap, for years we always used liquid soap. The problem is, the pump dispensers are not readily recyclable, if at all. This meant that every month or so the pump would go into the bin, the bottle into the recycling bin and a new bottle would be purchased. This was costly, contributed to filling my bathroom bin (why are they always so small?) and subsequently collected only to languish in landfill.
My husband then discovered that you can buy liquid soap in bulk which is brilliant! Nothing goes in the bin until the big bottle runs out of soap, because you refill the bottle and reuse the pump. Even then you can think of ways to reuse the big bottle. Each large bottle contains many months-worth of soap and is much more cost effective. It feels good to know I’m not adding to the landfill pile every month too.
But, we can go one step further. There is a soap used in West Africa called “black soap”. I first encountered black soap when a relative returned from Ghana and it came as an irregularly-shaped portion of soap which was wrapped up. You just break off a piece when you need to use it as it is relatively soft. It is a traditional soap which is shea-butter-based and I love it! I love liquid black soap too, just a little bit more in fact, but then we are back to the pump problem.
If you can’t get to Ghana (and at the moment, no one can), you can look for a UK stockist. There are a few local business that sell black soap bars. I have used one by Aviela. It came in a cardboard box which is good because the packaging can be recycled but Aviela is currently being rebranded so they are out of stock. I’ll be trying the black soap bar from Mon Shea when I next order my Shea Oil.
I have been using the Luxemore London Shea Butter Luxe Bar Raw* which was part of a gifted Discovered Beauty Box*. It’s also shea-butter-based. I use (refillable) liquid soap beacause I find it is less harsh on my dry skin. This bar soap is almost as gentle as liquid soap. Although I didn’t try this myself, it can also be used on your body and your hair in place of shampoo. Luxemore London also has other bar soap options – it’s nice to have a choice! It was packaged in a simple white cardboard box and sealed with a label. This soap inspired this blog post.
This is not the first time I have encountered a shampoo bar. As well as Luxemore London you could also try Anita Grant who has a large range of shampoo bars and has always had the environment as a priority. Again, the soap bars are packaged in cardboard which can be recycled. I haven’t tried a shampoo bar yet so I’ll need to put one on my list.
Finally, as a gift for being a loyal Miller Harris customer, I was sent some body care items, one of which was “soap on a rope“! I know this is a nostalgic item for some – I just think it’s cute and slightly amusing! The box is made of cardboard so I can put it in the recycling bin.
Have you considered swapping liquid soap for bar soap, or buying your liquid soap in bulk to reduce your plastic waste?
If you are concerned about the amount of plastic bathroom waste you are generating, I recommend that you try bar soap that is packaged in cardboard. This small change can make a noticeable difference to you and to the environment.