The Rubbish Junkies waste-free recipe: Cocoa and Shea Body Butter

No more forking out a fortune for plastic tubs of toxic infused body butters, this recipe simply uses raw organic ingredients in an up-cycled jar!

WHAT EXACTLY IS BODY BUTTER?

In a nut shell (as so many good ingredients are!) body butter is made by mixing natural butters (solids) and natural oils (liquids) in a 3 to 1 ratio.

For example:

75% BUTTER (SOLID): cocoa butter, shea butter, mango butter

25% OIL (LIQUID): coconut oil,  sweet almond oil, olive oil, avocado oil

INGREDIENTS:

For a rich nutty cocoa aroma and a body butter that melts onto skin without leaving it greasy, I selected the following:

50% : 150g* – Cocoa butter

25%: 75g-  Shea butter

25%: 75g – Coconut oil

*The amounts (grams) provided here produce enough body butter to fill one large coffee jar. For a smaller quantity simply stick to the 3:1 solid:liquid ratio.

A LITTLE MORE INFO:

SHEA BUTTER (pronounced Shee): Derived from the kernel of the shea tree fruit, shea butter is rich in fatty acids, vitamin E and A, with unique nutty fragrance.

COCOA BUTTER: A derivative of the cocoa bean and a key component in chocolate production, cocoa butter is full of fatty acids which promote skin elasticity and moisture retention. But mainly it smells like chocolate and so it’s got my vote.

COCONUT OIL: Another natural ingredient, this time from the coconut. Coconut oil is rich in fatty acids, proteins, vitamin E, and anti-microbial properties. Not only does coconut oil nourish your skin, it helps keep your skins immune system stay happy and healthy.

75g of coconut oil, the 25% liquid portion of the recipe.

75g of shea butter, which when combined with 150g of cocoa butter made the 75% solid portion of the recipe.

…AND ACTION!:

• 1) Add all your ingredients to a double boiler (or in my case, a glass mixing bowl in a pan of water on the hob). Let the bowl sit a fraction above the water in the pan, and place a lid over the top.

• 

  Combined ingredients in a glass bowl placed inside a pan of heated water.

  

  My low budget double boiler.

• 2) Gently heat without letting the water come to a boil. The water should not touch the glass bowl, allowing for the ingredients to melt by heat and steam. The nuttiness of the shea butter and the chocolate fragrance of the cocoa butter will be much cleaner this way, and the ingredients will infuse together nicely.

5-10 minutes of heating.

10-20 minutes of heating.

• 3) Once fully melted, stir well to make sure the ingredients have fully blended.
• 4) Decant the liquid mixture into a freezer-safe container (plastic is fine, I use a pyrex measuring jug). Place in the freezer until almost hard. For the amounts given here, I recommend 1 hour freezer time, smaller quantities will take approximately 20 minutes.

Fully mixed and melted ingredients in a Pyrex jug ready for the freezer.

• 5) Once firm, decant the hardened mixture into a large deep mixing bowl and break up any large chunks with a wooden spoon.
• 6) Whip for approximately 15 minutes. I use an electric hand whisk, though I would strongly recommend a cake mixer if you are lucky enough to have one. Good luck trying this by hand-and hat’s off to you if you manage it!

10 minutes of whisking with an electric whisk.

15-20 minutes of whisking with an electric whisk. Ideal consistency.

• 7) When the mix is light and creamy, simply plop it into an up-cycled jar and smother upon your person at will 🙂 !

Completed body butter in my large up-cycled coffee jar.

ADDITIONAL TIPS:

• Place a tablespoon of your body butter in a cup of boiling water and stir, once melted add to a hot bath for an aromatic relaxing soak.
• Keep your body butter at room temperature, all these ingredients are shelf stable and have a healthy shelf life of 3-4 years!

Waste free toothpaste

I did it! I finally did it! I finally managed to ditch my toothpaste tube! But what do I use instead?

Well for a while I was toying with the idea of using bicarbonate of soda, which is what a lot of the most popular American zero waste bloggers recommend. But living in England once again proved that the supposedly simple solutions are quite often not that simple at all….because guess what (yes it’s beginning to be a recurring theme here)…I couldn’t find bicarbonate of soda in bulk and I couldn’t find it in recyclable packaging. So that was that option out the window, and incidentally that was my household cleaning options out as well, but that’s a story for another time.

Thankfully, Lush came to my rescue with their neat little invention: Toothy tabs! A smarter way to brush your teeth.

ERM WHAT?  Lush is great company who produce handmade organic cosmetics in recyclable packaging with no animal testing or animal products;  and Toothy Tabs are a solid alternative to toothpaste that come in tablet form. WIN WIN.

HOW? Now this really is the simple part: Just use one “tab” each time you brush your teeth by chewing it in your front teeth, then brush it into a lather with your wet toothbrush. Ta da!

MY VERDICT: My teeth are clean! YAY! For me, that’s all I really care about, but that being said I was initially sceptical about how they would compare to conventional toothpaste. I had read some reviews that made them sound a little gimmicky, and I got the impression that the novelty ran out pretty quickly with some people. However, not only am I completely converted, my boyfriend is as well (and lets just say he’s a little less enthusiastic about waste free alternatives than me, but as long as the alternatives are equal in effectiveness then he’s game).

So lets take a look at the POSITIVES:

• ZERO WASTE: Recyclable cardboard box. Thank you.
• SIZE: Hello Toothy Tab Latino Tour! Travel friendly…compact, will fit in a pocket, won’t leak, and not restricted by airlines (yes toothpaste tubes do count as a liquid). So in short: Congratulations Toothy Tabs you’ve made it onto my Travel Essentials List for my next trip to South America.
• LATHER: This is the bit that might be odd for some people, as the lather is a lot lighter than ‘normal’ toothpaste, but I actually much prefer that.
• CLEAN: My teeth feel cleaner than they did when I was using conventional toothpastes, and that’s saying something as I am a bit of a clean freak when it comes to my teeth. I’ve never had a filling so I don’t want to start now…which leads me to the negatives…

NEGATIVES:

• ZERO FLUORIDE: Personally, I don’t know the long term effects of using toothy tabs instead of conventional toothpaste … yet. I say this as a negative not because I am expecting my oral hygiene to decline, but because I’ve never used a toothpaste that does not include the ingredient fluoride. II have also read some conflicting  views regarding fluoride, some view it as a positive and some view it as a negative. So I guess on this, only time will tell. I’ll keep you all updated.
• TASTE: I’m using ‘Dirty’, a minty tab which is nice but could be a little stronger in taste as it’s hard to ignore the bicarbonate of soda taste whilst chewing initially.There are many different flavours to choose from, though I’m not sure I want to try ‘ultrablast’, as it tastes of wasabi…erm, no.

ARE TOOTHY TABS AN ECONOMIC ALTERNATIVE? LETS SEE:

Oral B, Colgate, McCleans- ~ £2.00 per 100ml, could last longer than three weeks but then the tube takes between 500-1000 years to biodegrate.

Vs.

“Dirty” Toothy Tabs – £2.00 a box, contains 40 tabs, almost three weeks of teeth brushing (though not if you’re now sharing them with your boyfriend!)

New year, new grocery shopping habits

So after struggling with finding waste-free alternatives to my usual grocery shop in regular UK super markets…I turned to facebook in a plea for help. And my prayers were answered!! It turns out, that whilst I have been living away in Oxford, a great new supermarket has opened up in Brighton which is quite frankly a revelation for this city.

WHAT IS THIS MAGICAL PLACE? I hear you say…Well, it’s called HiSbe, and it’s an independent supermarket chain, which set up it’s pilot store in my home town of Brighton, East Sussex, UK. AND I LOVE IT. As soon as I entered I felt like a little girl in a sweet shop. Although my boyfriend was slightly embarrassed by me taking photos and flapping around in excitement over the LACK OF PLASTIC, I was so overjoyed as my zero-waste life just got so much easier!

BUYING BULK: Wow, suddenly the air of confusion which has engolfed me regarding the term ‘bulk’ has been lifted, and it feels good. I always thought it meant buying more of a particular item…oh no no no! It is when the shop buys more in weight, and sells it to us unpackaged…genius! Exactly what I have been looking for.

Not only was I completely thrilled to find dispensed pastas, rice, and quinoa….I found dispensable chocolate (halelula!), cereals (to which no students diet is complete without), and even ecover laundry conditioner (oh my I’m in heaven). Plus, it means my long quest for finding cheep castile soap (erm…cheap? Yeh that doesn’t exist) is over as I can opt for the lazy option and just refill my own glass bottles of ecover liquid for household cleaning. Amazing, economic, environmentally friendly, and minimal effort. I LOVE BULK. I LOVE HISBE.

YUM

MEGA YUM

Bulk e-cover cleaning liquids

Being the excited waste-free geek that I am, I found myself rummaging through every department from home cleaning to dry foods, fresh fruit, and bathroom products. I was ecstatic (and slightly relieved) to find recycled toilet paper wrapped in COMPOSTABLE PACKAGING…

Thank god, the alternative was to ditch it altogether….

…but I was also disappointed to find no recyclable toothpaste tubes, bamboo toothbrushes, or reusable sanitary towels. They did sell moon-cups, the reusable menstrual cups, but they were hard to find and gave zero consumer options….personally I find moon-cups too big and bulky, a scary prospect for a first time user, and with so many other brands available it would have been nice to provide more choice. So there are areas which I think could be improved upon.

THAT BEING SAID, HiSbe is now my favourite place in Brighton to shop. It supports local producers, provides bulk buying, and has some great quirky zero-waste alternatives to many store bought products destined for landfill…such as recycled cleaning cloths, sponges, and dish brushes! I think I will be having a lot of fun experimenting with these ideas in the future….and their voucher system is such a great idea that they will indeed be on this years birthday wish list. Although this is still poor comparison to the types of health food bulk shopping available in America…it is such a great start and a big relief for someone looking to dramatically reduce their waste. I hope more and more people in Brighton convert from mainstream supermarkets to Hisbe, and hopefully we will see more shops like this become common place in the UK.

You should check out the HiSbe website here.

Waste-free shaving

To keep with my general theme of lowering my environmental impact without having to adopt a totally hippy ethos by going o-natural…I HAD TO FIND A WASTE-FREE ALTERNATIVE TO DISPOSABLE RAZORS. But what are the alternatives? Well, embracing the hair was definitely out, leaving me with the following options: An epilator (too much packaging, pain, and a reliance on electricity which for me is just impractical), a cut-throat razor (hell know! We’ve all seen Sweeney Todd, and I really don’t have a steady hand enough to risk it) or …a safety razor.

SO AFTER FINALLY USING UP MY LAST DISPOSABLE RAZOR, I took the plunge and bought my very own Haryali London Saftey Razor (below), a one-bladed reusable razor. Initially I was really scared of slicing myself to shreds which admittedly was enhanced by the severe look of many of the traditional safety razor styles, but to me, the ergonomic design of this one made it a little less scary.

PACKAGING: The packaging was such a bonus! Not only is the sleek box made from cardboard (totally recyclable!), I have decided to refrain from buying a travel case for it until this pretty box eventually gets too messy or soggy (which somewhat comes with the territory when living in the bathroom).

MY SEXY REUSABLE SAFETY RAZOR

USAGE: I love my safety razor so much! I love the ergonomic design, the shiny stainless steal, and the weight of it is really pleasing. It took a while to build up enough courage to use it freely in the shower as you have to tilt the head in a way which is slightly counter-intuitive for someone accustomed to throw aways, but after two successful attempts in the bath I now use it in the shower without giving it a second thought. I simply lather up some soap, shave as usual, moisturise my skin with my home-made whipped coconut oil body butter afterwards, and then dry off the razor to prolong the life of the blade. It’s also an incredibly close shave which I wasn’t expecting for a single-blade razor…honestly, I don’t know why I didn’t do this sooner! 

My safety razor cost me £22.00 (reduced from £36.00), which was the cheapest of my hairless options, will save me so much money in the long run, and will completely stop my contribution to landfill in the form of over-priced, unsustainable, and ugly disposable razors. I’d take my sexy-albeit-slightly-manly safety razor any day! …AND YOU CAN BUY YOURS HERE

A waste free Christmas

Trying to keep to the waste-free ethos during Christmas was daunting at first, but I have found some really simple ways to minimize my Christmas waste without being the Scrooge of the festive season.

I didn’t start my waste-free endeavours until recently and so I very much doubt my Christmas this year will be completely waste-free. I presume most of my family had bought me presents before I decided to go waste-free and so didn’t even think about the packaging because lets face it, who normally does? Until now I certainly didn’t. Plus there were a few items which I bought as presents for others, which I couldn’t find unless they were wrapped in plastic…I know what you’re thinking: “RIGHT THAT’S IT, SHE’S A FAILURE, A WASTEFUL FRAUD!“, or maybe you’re thinking “who the hell cares” right?

Well, as sad as it may seem, I care. I just don’t think Christmas should be at the expense of the environment. But before I focuss on the waste I made, which I have to say was a grand total of two cellophane wrappers which equate to the size of my fist, the rest of my Christmas shopping has been a waste-free breeze!

SO HERE WAS MY WASTE-FREE EFFORT THIS YEAR:

THIS YEAR I WRAPPED all my gifts in old newspapers and parcel string. This was a little tricky at first as I didn’t want to use any sellotape but after a few failed attempts I got the hang of it. I think they look great! Plus the newspapers were full of Christmas adds which I could use to my festive advantage!

Free Christmas themed wrapping!

The Rubbish Junkies junk…I mean, presents!

I ALSO DID A LOT OF RESEARCH on where to find certain products, and chose those with the least amount of environmental impact. To stick within my budget I bought bulk items from retailers and instead of paying for delivery, I collected all my items in store. Although this was more effort on my part, I made sure I tied it in with a trip I was making anyway, which saved me time and money, and it ensured I skipped out the additional packaging and fuel emissions from having the item delivered to my door.

I MADE THE SKIN CARE GIFTS that I usually buy in high street retailers (you know the ones, the box sets which are all neatly packaged in pretty boxes with cellophane windows, plastic moulds, and so much material that you really begin to wonder what it is you’re actually paying for). Instead I up-cycled jars from my used glass jar collection, and made handmade labels from old envelopes and toilet role tubes!

The Rubbish Junkies home-made skin care gifts for Christmas

I BOUGHT HOME-MADE chutneys in recyclable glass jars from a local independent company, which lead to me forming a nice deal with the owner who now gives me all her used glass jars for my skin care remedies! …plus I got to have fun tasting all the jams, jellies, and chutneys…which, I’m not going to lie, was a tasty little bonus!

Though I have to say, my favourite festive waste-free project this Christmas has been when I finally got to use an old 2 litre glass cider bottle that I had been saving for ages….to store our home-made mulled wine! One beautiful large glass bottle up-cycled, two bottles of red recycled, and a very contented me,snuggled up watching Christmas films with mulled wine, giggling to myself at the grinch.

Merry Christmas! R.J. XXX

PS. Here’s some more impressive beards…Christmas beards!

Waste-free home-made skin care remedies

I wanted to call this post “Waste-free home-made skin care products” because I guess that is what I have been making, but the word “products” just sounded a little too commercial and non-natural- which is exactly what these are not.

NATURAL HOME-MADE MAKE-UP REMOVER. By using a blend of almond oil and castor oil I have created a very simple and beautiful make-up remover to replace my wet-wipes, which I had admitted to being over-reliant on a few weeks ago (you can read that blog post here).

The Rubbish Junkie’s natural almond oil make-up remover. Fragrance free.

As this is for my own use I have made this blend specific for oily skin, but I have also learned to make different mixtures for dry and combination skin types.

MY VERDICT: I have to admit I was apprehensive at first about using an oil make-up remover when I have oily skin, as I thought I would look and feel greasy. Thankfully I was very pleasantly surprised- my skin has felt so much softer since switching from face-wipes to this! I was also really pleased with finding such a lovely little square jar which was being recycled at work. I didn’t think it would last very long but  I was AMAZED AT HOW ECONOMIC this blend is, as I only need to use a few drops to remove all my make-up each evening…which means this little jar will last me well into 2015 and produces no waste at all-unlike my usual pack of wet-wipes the contents of which are all in the sewers within a month.

I haven’t got round to making some  cotton/hemp reusable make-up pads yet but that’s next on my to do list!

WASTE-FREE WHIPPED COCONUT OIL BODY BUTTER. This is one of my favourites! I was having a lot of trouble with my coconut oil as when it’s cold (hello England) it literally turns rock solid and is a nightmare to get out the jar. But I found a great whipping recipe which means my coconut oil will stay airy and creamy at cold temperatures.

The Rubbish Junkie’s waste-free whipped coconut oil body butter. In luxurious lavender.

MY VERDICT: I decided to make a really lush lavender fragrance body butter with added vitamin E, which I found to be great as a luxurious indulgent treat at the end of a long day to sooth dry winter skin. As with the make-up remover, the natural plant-based oils are shelf stable and so my body butter will last me right through the winter months and beyond! I am however, going to invest in some small eco-friendly scoops to use as applicators as I have read that the moisture from your skin and from humid rooms can bring a risk of mould, and that would be such a shame!

COLLECTING GLASS JARS is quickly becoming my favourite fun activity, and often feels like I am on a treasure hunt! I have now built up a lovely little collection of a veriety of shapes and sizes, for me to play with more skin-care recipes (I keep having more and more ideas each day!).

One example of being a Rubbish Junkie- what is one persons waste, is my treasure!

I am also thinking of setting up my own etsy shop to sell jars of skin care remedies, to promote healthy bodies, minds, and environments- all of my items would be packaged in my reused glass jars, with recyclable or compostable labels….watch this space 🙂

What is this?!

What is this?!.

via What is this?!.

What is this?!

Whilst learning about which materials are recyclable, and which are not, I have found that I have been a label and packaging scrutinizer. As vegetarians and vegans scan packaging for the very clear and obvious ‘V’ sign, I scan packaging for the recycling sign…which is possible the most vague sign ever invented for consumers.

I mean, WHAT IS THIS??

LOOK HOW ENVIRONMENTAL WE LOOK WITH THIS NICE GREEN ARROWY LABEL.

I don’t know if I am alone in this, but I always thought it was a recycle sign. Oh no:

The Green Dot does not necessarily mean that the packaging is recyclable, will be recycled, or has been recycled. It is a symbol used on packaging in many European countries and signifies that the producer has made a financial contribution towards the recovery and recycling of packaging.

Which essentially translates to:

We have put in SOME effort to make up for the fact our packaging is contributing to land fill, ocean pollution, and is completely un-environmental. We won’t tell you how much effort, or how this effort can be of use to you in recycling this product. Nevertheless, we want credit for this unknown contribution by using this sign as a gold star, which is green, because green gives the IMPRESSION of being ENVIRONMENTALLY CONSCIENTIOUS…which we’re not.

THE GREEN DOT CONCEPT, as Wikipedia so kindly informs me, is that these companies have contributed financial investment to recycling systems such as house-hold collection services, or the recycling points outside supermarkets. But how does that help me dispose of this particular piece of packaging? As far as I can see, it doesn’t.

My new waste-free…deodorant and tooth brush

After a lot of research into different brands of personal hygiene products, I soon discovered that natural products were the way forward. Biodegradable, ethical, and good for my body. My first little batch of orders arrived yesterday which was really exciting… so lets have a look:

PACKAGING

MY FIRST REACTION was that I was really pleased because at first glance it seemed ALL the packaging was biodegradable or recyclable! Until I looked closer at the alum stone which was placed in a plastic jar (this I think I can find a way to recycle but I am not sure if Brighton will accept it) and then the stone itself, inside the plastic jar, was wrapped in plastic cellophane (which I definitely cannot recycle).

This was disappointing-a completely natural waste-free care-product, whose consumer market includes environmentalism and they wrap it in plastic…nice touch. Just goes to show how much product packaging is really thought about.

ALUM STONE

ALUM STONES . . . BECAUSE RUBBING ROCKS ON YOUR PITS IS NATURAL APPARENTLY

so this is it…I now have to rub a rock on my pits…really?

THE ALUM STONE IS 100% POTASSIUM ALUM, a natural mineral salt, which tightens yours skins pores and fights the growth of bacteria (AKA body odor) all the while being breathable and non-toxic to your body.

MY VERDICT: I have to say, so far it’s bloody brilliant! It is very odd I’ll give it that, but it has done the trick so far and I’m sure I’ll be testing it even more thoroughly on my hour walk to and from work each day not to mention by running around a hot kitchen. As a penny pincher, I am also very happy with my choice of waste-free deodorant as a 150g stone cost me £8 and it will apparently last me over 2 years! That is a lot of money saved on the commercial alternatives, not to mention the nice gap left in landfill where my deodorant bottles would otherwise end up, which I guess is a small price to pay for the one-off cellophane wrapper. You can purchase your alum stone here, alternatively if anyone knows of a brand which does not wrap their alum stones in cellophane please let me know in the comment box of this post.

BAMBOO TOOTHBRUSH

I opted for the Medium brush strength as I don’t like soft bristles…I want to brush my teeth, not stroke them.

My new toothbrush is not only 100% biodegradable (including the packaging!), it’s BPA free so it’s good for me, it lasts as long as a regular tooth brush, and most importantly it’s panda friendly!

MY VERDICT:  I was pleasantly surprised by the brush strength as it was just right for me which was a stroke of luck considering they don’t make a stronger version. The brush cost me £4 online but the day after ordering this I found the same make in my local whole foods shop for a little cheaper. From now on I will be buying them in bulk from there, as an added penny saver and to support my local businesses. If you don’t have a local option you can buy your environmental toothbrushes here.

SO THAT’S MY WASTE-FREE PROGRESS SO FAR, I am beginning to get the feeling that thinking outside of the norm is going to be, well…the norm, from now on. I mean, b’jaisus- never did I think the day would come when I would compost my old toothbrushes and be carrying around a rock for two years which is greeted by my pits on a daily basis…but then weirder things have happened, right?