McSisters Tackle Plastic

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Wash that plastic right out of my hair!

Frances McChesney

McSisters are on a never-ending quest to reduce our use of single-use plastic.  For this blog, I took a close look at my personal care products, and not surprisingly, just about everything uses plastic – toothbrush, toothpaste, floss, shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, razors, makeup, lotion, and more.  The three of us have been trying personal care products without single-use plastic packaging and encourage you to do the same. We want them to work just right for us personally because, after all, they are “personal care” products.  

Shampoo, and conditioner are challenging products to get just right because we all have different hair and preferences.  I’ve had great success with a couple of shampoo bar brands. My favorite so far is J. R. Liggett’s Old Fashioned Bar Shampoo – it lathers quite well.  They also sell Coconut and Argan Oil, Herbal, Tea Tree, and others.  I prefer to shop locally to minimize shipping but haven’t been able to find J. R. Liggett’s.  My husband likes HiBar – the Moisturize formula, and the HiBar conditioner.  We found it in our local food coop. We have found that shampoo and conditioner bars last a very long time.

You might be wondering, how does one travel with bar shampoo? I purchase stainless steel containers with silicon tops at my local food coop and there are many on-line options. One of my favorite online brands is U-Konserve.   They are intended for food storage but have small sizes that hold shampoo perfectly. 

Why should we care about shampoo and conditioner in plastic bottles?  I found estimates that more than 500 million shampoo bottles are thrown away every year in the U.S., and another 500 million in the United Kingdom, and another 500 million in Canada.  Sadly, plastic is a forever product.  Thankfully, many hotels have eliminated the practice of providing single-use plastic personal care products.  As of January 1, 2023, California banned their use in all hotels in the state with more than 50 rooms.  Hawaii is considering such a bill.

This blog emphasizes shampoo and conditioner but we Mcsisters encourage you to explore how to reduce plastic in all your personal care products.  We can all make a difference by shifting away from single-use plastic in our personal care products.

What can you do?

  • Try out shampoo, conditioner bars or find a local refill store.

  • Find out if you have a local co-op or refill store that sells personal care products you like and easy travel containers.

Try some non-plastic alternatives for all your personal care products. A few good websites are listed here.