… the bath pouf’s gotta go. When Lori pointed out a little while ago that she traded in her petroleum-based loufa for a cellulose sponge, she made me look at my own plastic lathering contraption in a whole new light. I just couldn’t use it anymore; it made me feel like a Smoggie. But after I went searching and searching for an all-natural one without any success, I came to the conclusion that I don’t really need yet another product in my bathroom, which would surely come with even more packaging. I have a natural scrubby loufa for more rigorous exfoliating, but when it comes to working up a lather, I’m going back to basics and using these crazy things at the end of my arms… I think they’re called hands.
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Green as a Thistle RSS Feed- Homemade natural moisturizer = excitement! December 20, 2010Happy holidays, ye fellow bloggers and readers! I don’t even really know what “ye” means, but nevermind. I just wanted to pop up into your RSS feed/inbox/Google search/etc. for two reasons, which are completely unrelated other than a tenuous connection to Christmas. One is this: I decided to make some from-scratch holiday gifts this year, [ […]Vanessa Farquharson
- Is there any point in having a green wedding if nobody notices? October 28, 2010Yep. Me again. Creeping into the blogosphere like I tend to do these days — about once every few months, with a totally random subject of conversation, which every blogger will tell you does NOT lead to a very consistent readership. Oh well. But I thought y’all might like to know that Miss Thistle is [...]Vanessa Farquharson
- Holy crap, my city officials have a sense of humour! And they care about the environment! September 1, 2010Sometimes, this city drives me crazy — there aren’t enough bike lanes, the public transit system is a mess and we’ve even banned kite-flying in one of our parks! And yet, every now and then, Toronto gets it right. The most recent example is here below, for your viewing pleasure:Vanessa Farquharson
- Homemade natural moisturizer = excitement! December 20, 2010
This blog is a great idea. So is using your hands. I imagine you will spend less time in the shower which will save water. Yay!
Hmm… I dunno… If you already have it, why not use it? I’ll be honest… I have one too. And personally I think its more efficient using it than hands. They make more foam with less soap, and you can scrub all over faster
I think you should go ahead and use it till the end of its lifetime, and worry about getting a replacement (or going manual) when you have to.
I really like using hand-knit facecloths. I knit them from 100% cotton yarn, in a multitude of colors, and knit a few as replacements whenever I come across an interesting pattern or if they wear out. Older ones get used in the kitchen, and they last for years. I’d be happy to make you a few if you want to email me privately with a mailing addy!
Just for information and amusement, I don’t know if they’d grow well in your climate, and you might not have room, but it is possible to grow your own loofah!
Otherwise I’m definitely in the “if you have it, use it” camp. It’s not like it’s wasting any more energy/resources using it, and othewise the petroleum is sitting around feeling unloved
Yippee for you, Vanessa! Power to the Pouf-less!
Alina, she’s also worried about chemical leaching with the “petro puffs,” I think. I haven’t gone that far yet, as I’m letting my hubby & kids use theirs until the end of their life. I, however, having the nose of your typical drug-sniffing dog, was having issues with the smelly chemical residues lingering inside the puff & it making me wheezy.
my wife uses those nasty things, and keeps them until they are completely unraveled and draping their plastic mesh all over the shower. i hate them, but she buys them in bulk at the dollar store. horrible. she’s all for reducing her footprint (when it’s not too inconvenient) but not if it means giving up her pouf.
Haha, Stephen that’s basically what the state of my pouf was — coming undone and looking like it would make me dirtier rather than cleaner! So yes, Alina, it was time for it to go. I don’t think using my hands will make the shower longer, either, I think it’ll just mean less frothiness… Of course, with my crappy new natural body wash there’s now not a bubble to be found. Ah well!
I must be the only person left who still uses an old-fashioned washcloth.
I agree with Alina if you already have it you should use it until it can’t be used anymore. Once it is no longer usable then do not buy a new one. Are you planning on throwing it out? I understand why you no longer want to use it but since you have it I think it is more enviro friendly to keep it then throw it out. By the way I love your site!
Touché, guys. I have to admit I never considered petro-leaching from those things… I guess images have a powerful subliminar power on me, so I was just envisioning your pouf to be exactly like the one in the picture :s Stephen: Is there any other way? :$
Grassroots has a couple of alternatives that you may be interested in — you can pick up sisal, jute, or coconut scrub brushes that can be used for “dry brushing” or they can be used in the shower. They are great for exfoliating and promoting healthy blood flow, among other things. All natural ingredients and well made.
I love what you are doing with the challenge and your blog is a daily must read for me now – keep up the great work! Rob