Category: Products

NUUD after 18 months

Meanwhile, I am an avid user of this natural deodorant. I cannot say that it was without doubt, but I would not want to use anything else. 

The first half year I had a real love-hate relationship with NUUD. They warn you of an addiction period for all the chemicals in other deodorants. Like everyone else, I thought it would not be that bad. I often missed a fresh smell and was often afraid that I did not smell good. To overcome this period, I decided to get a block of natural, fragrant deo. The combination of these two products got me through this period. 

Since I switched to this deo, I also went to Vietnam for 3 months. In this very hot, humid environment I also only used NUUD. Here I never had the feeling that I would benefit more from classic deo. 

How much does it cost now 

NUUD itself says that you can get by for about 6 to 7 weeks with a tube of deo. This amounts to about 40 euros per half year. However, I have found that I last at least four to five months (depending on the season) with one tube! This means that in all this time, I have only used 4 complete tubes and have only spent 50 euros on this deo after one and a half years. I also bought a block of deo at LUSH for just under 10 euros. However, I only use it in the summer, so after more than a year I still haven’t used half of it. 

In terms of purchase price, these deodorants seem to be a big chunk of your budget, but after a trial period of more than a year, I have come to the conclusion that it is not much more expensive than buying deodorants elsewhere. Plus… a healthy body is priceless.  

NUUD, the carefree deodorant

One of my very first acquisitions: ecological carefree deodorant. 

This carefree deodorant is harmless both to your body and to nature.  

First of all – and certainly not unimportant – it is packaged in unbleached biodegradable FSC certified cardboard. The tube itself looks like ordinary plastic. However, this appears to be made of fully recyclable sugar cane (if only they would replace all plastic packaging with this?!).  

A big disadvantage, however, is that it can only be ordered online, which means you have to add transport to the bill. Nuud, however, promises that every shipment will be sent in a CO2-neutral way.  

The product itself contains absolutely no harmful products, according to its makers. Nuud tackles the cause of bad odours without making your body unable to perspire properly. 

Besides all this, it is supposed to be a very durable product (which is definitely a must for my budget). I paid €24.95 for the duo pack and one tube should last me 6-7 weeks. They recommend a pea-sized amount per armpit and only once every 2 to 6 days. 

I am very curious and promise to keep you informed! 

Can you get clean clothes with the eco-egg

As well as trying to limit washing clothes too quickly, I also wanted to try another way of reducing my impact on nature when washing. This is how I came across the eco egg/Ego Egg via various sites. I wanted to test if I could get clean clothes with the eco-egg

How it works 

This eco egg consists of two different types of pellets. The black ones are tourmaline ceramic pellets. Normally they do not need to be replaced during the lifetime of the egg. The purpose of these black pellets is to weaken the adhesion of the dirt to the fabric. Then there are white pellets, which need to be replaced every few washes. These pellets ionise the oxygen molecules that penetrate deep into the fabric to remove the dirt. 

You can buy the white pellets in different scents. You have the basic perfume-free one (which I bought). Your laundry smells clean, but it doesn’t have a specific scent. You can also choose, for example, spring blossom or cotton blossom. I haven’t tried these scented variants yet, so it’s hard to say how long your wash will smell of these blossoms. 

It is very easy to use. You put your washing in the drum, put the eco egg on top, choose your washing programme and start. Three points to bear in mind are that you can only wash at 60°C, do not overload the drum and do not use a water-saving programme. As the egg works when it comes into contact with water and must be able to move around well in the drum, these points are important. 

My experience 

This eco-egg is perfect for not-too-dirty ‘laundry’. The washing comes out of the machine clean and smelling fresh. When there are stubborn stains somewhere, I have already noticed that they fade, but often do not disappear completely. 

You get clean clothes with the eco-egg, but I have not yet found a good alternative for when there is a stubborn stain in my clothes. Luckily, I still have a box of Vanish that my mum gave me 2 years ago. As soon as I have found an environmentally friendly stain remover, this is the first place you will read about it! 

Why you should try ivy as your newest ‘green’ detergent

When I read that some people use ivy as a detergent for washing their clothes, my first impulse was to try it out myself. I must admit that at first I thought ‘wow, that is really back to basics’. I went to my mother’s garden to look for ivy so I could take it home with me. It is best to look for large mature leaves and not the young, light green ones. 

How to start 

It was very easy. Pick a few leaves (5 – 10, depending on the size of your wash), tear them into big pieces and put them in a sock and tie a knot in it. Put this in your washing machine and wash as you would otherwise. 

I had a laundry bag at home so I decided to use that instead of the sock. I should add that when I tried this, I had been using the eco-egg (laundry egg filled with mineral pellets) for a while. My laundry never smelled the way it did with conventional detergent and fabric softener. 

After washing, the laundry smelled fresh and clean. There is no strong smell due to the ivy, but all bad odours have completely disappeared. I would not use the ivy on really dirty laundry, towels, rags… I only use it on relatively clean laundry that really just needs a freshening up. 

Would you like to make your ivy wash extra effective? Then add some vinegar. Put this vinegar directly into the drum with the laundry and not into the soap dish. Depending on the amount of laundry, choose how much vinegar you want. This is a bit of a search in the beginning. 

Since ivy can be found everywhere (recently also on my own balcony in my new flat, although it will have to grow a bit more), ivy as a detergent is a very ecological and cheap alternative to classic detergents and even the eco-egg. So it is definitely worth a try! 

Brushing my teeth plastic-free

Brushing my teeth plastic-free: how I prepared for it 

Once I had decided that I wanted to focus on brushing my teeth plastic-free, the first place I went was, of course, Lush. This shop was often at the top of my list at the beginning of my quest for a more sustainable life. So I went there to look for toothpaste as well.  

Toothpaste tablets 

They have a wide range of toothpaste tablets for anyone who wants to brush their teeth plastic-free. These small tablets are packed in a plastic box. Like all plastic jars, you can bring them back here after use. 

In spite of this, the plastic jars continued to bother me. I must also say that even after a year, I still wasn’t a fan of the tablets, despite the many different flavours I tried. So you can’t say I didn’t give it a chance! 

Solid toothpaste 

Solid toothpaste on a wooden stick Lamazuna is the next option I tested. You just put this lollipop-like toothpaste next to your toothbrush. When you want to brush your teeth, just wet your toothbrush, rub the toothpaste and brush your teeth. It is that simple! I never had a really clean feeling with it so I didn’t test it long enough to share with you my long-term experiences. 

Liquid toothpaste 

I went in search of an alternative that suited me better. That’s how I ended up at Ohne, a packaging-free shop that had two branches in my city, Ghent. Here they sold liquid toothpaste in a glass jar! The handy thing about these jars is that there is a pump on top which you just have to push once and a perfect amount of toothpaste comes out. The biggest disadvantage is that this pump is made of plastic. In Ohne, you are allowed to bring in your empty packaging, but again, this was not completely plastic-free toothbrushing. So, even though I was a huge fan of this toothpaste structure and flavour, I continued my search. 

I ended up with Ben&Anna, the toothpaste that I still use to this day. This liquid toothpaste comes in a glass jar with a metal lid. These materials are 100% recyclable when properly disposed of. The jar comes with a small bamboo stick to scoop up the toothpaste and spread it on your toothbrush. You just need to make sure you wash the stick after each use to keep it hygienic. Especially when you share it with other people! 

So far I have not found a toothpaste I am more satisfied with than Ben&Anna. I’m always open to trying new kinds that I don’t know about yet! 

Toothbrush 

Besides toothpaste, you also need a toothbrush! Fortunately, there are fewer choices in this area, I thought when I started looking. Not so. As good as all plastic-free toothbrushes are from bamboo made, the real choice is in the bristles themselves! The most common bristles are made of nylon, jute, sisal or hog’s hair. Among these options, nylon is the only one that is not actually fully biodegradable. Sisal and jute are compostable, but the bristles are too soft to have a good mechanical cleaning of your teeth.  

The perfect combination between mechanical cleaning and biodegradability is hog’s hair. If it did not come from an animal, I would not hesitate. As I do not feel comfortable buying these animal bristles and I would like to have clean teeth, I opted for nylon bristles. These nylon hairs are not yet optimal if you want everything to be truly ecological. Nylon 4 would break down completely under perfect conditions. Unfortunately, the non-degradable nylon 6 is mainly used ‘secretly’, but that is another discussion. It is best to break off the front part of your toothbrush when recycling it. The bamboo can go in the compost heap but the nylon should go in the regular rubbish bin. 

After this search, my bathroom is a bit more ecological again and if I may be honest, it is also much nicer than all that plastic! 

How to wash up in a plastic-free kitchen

In the kitchen, like all the other rooms in my house, I wanted to try and keep plastic out. Apart from food packaging, most people’s kitchens are full of plastic. I wanted to find out how to wash up in a plastic-free kitchen. First, I looked for an alternative sponge. The typical disposable sponge that can be found everywhere is always wrapped in plastic. To be able to wash the dishes without plastic, I first looked for a replacement. I found a hemp sponge wrapped in recycled cardboard. This sponge is made from wood-based cellulose and comes in a hemp bag. The handy thing about this sponge is that it can go into the dishwasher when you think it needs a wash. Not everyone has a dishwasher, but I found out that the sponge has no problems with a washing machine either!  

Another nice thing about this sponge is that it is designed so that you generally need less soap. Win-win! 

Disadvantage of the sponge: you can’t use it at all for scrubbing the dishes. For many dishes, this does not apply, but occasionally I just want to be able to scrub out my dirt easily. It didn’t take me long to find a replacement for this. The dishwashing brush has been around for years! Now you can luckily find one everywhere made from a handle of durable wood and a brush of natural fibres. It works perfectly. 

detergent for washing up in a plastic-free kitchen 

Washing up without plastic is not possible if you continue to use the regular dishwashing products that come in a plastic bottle. In a packaging-free shop in my city, Ghent, they sell blocks of washing-up liquid. 100% plastic-free. You rub this soap on your dishwashing sponge, it makes foam and you’re ready to start washing your dishes! 

Both the sponge, the scrubbing brush and the washing-up liquid have convinced me completely. they helped me in my journey on how to wash up in a plastic-free kitchen. I have a dishwasher (with durable dishwasher cubes, but that’s another story) and fortunately don’t have to wash the dishes very often, but when I do, I want it to be easy. Important advantage: after a few months it is not more expensive than disposable sponges and cheap detergent from a plastic bottle. Definitely worth considering! 

Wash your hair plastic-free with these shampoos

The transition from plastic-bottled shampoo to plastic-free shampoo was such a natural, easy one that I almost forgot to tell you about it. I would like to share my story anyway. So you too can wash your hair plastic-free with these shampoos! 

I bought my first shampoo block so long ago that I can’t remember why I did it. Shampoo blocks have so many advantages. They smell good without having to open the bottle, they are pretty, they are handy to take with you… and above all, you don’t need plastic! I started with shampoo blocks from Lush. I also tested one from the Lamazuma brand and now I’m loving the HappySoaps blocks. 

Wash your hair plastic-free with these shampoos: the first shampoo block 

The choice of shampoo blocks is huge. There are many different scents and colours. Thankfully, most brands cater for different hair textures and dryness. There are shampoo blocks for coloured hair, for grey hair, for very brittle hair… Everyone can easily find one that suits them. I have a lot of long hair, but it is very thin. My hair gets greasy easily so I needed to find a soft block that could still degrease my hair. When you go to a shop (as opposed to a web shop) you can ask for help in the shop and they can recommend something. Of course, it is always a matter of testing and finding out for yourself what suits you. 

Lamazuma 

At first, I went to the shop and asked for advice, but after a few blocks I wanted to test other brands. The shampoo block I had from Lamazuna was a bad bargain for me. At the time, I was taking medication that had the side effect of stopping my hair from becoming greasy. However, I only used this block after I stopped taking it. So I don’t have to explain that this block for dry hair was not very useful on my absolutely not dry hair. After washing my hair, I had the feeling that my hair had become even greasier.  

Although I knew that this block was not really for me, I tried it anyway. Every time, I had the feeling that my hair was not clean, so I stopped using it. I will definitely test other blocks from this brand. I will keep you posted about it! 

Happy Soaps 

Then I switched to shampoo blocks online. I came across Happy Soaps and, unlike Lush, they were much cheaper. The downside, the shipping costs made the price difference less. Luckily, they offer free shipping from a certain amount. I have friends and family who also like to use shampoo blocks. We always order together and so the shipping is dropped.  

A shampoo block lasts about as long as 3 bottles of shampoo. Since a block of shampoo costs 8 euros here, you would have to buy very cheap bottles of shampoo to save money. The purchase price of plastic-free shampoo may be higher, but in the long run you save rather than lose. Besides, you’ll need fewer bin bags!