Made From Concentrate

We're not talking about orange juice - I prefer that fresh squeezed! Nope, we're talking about cleaners.

Selling dry powder, solid bar, or concentrated products is not a new concept, but let's make it a preferred one. There's bar soap vs body wash, powdered or concentrated laundry detergents, concentrated household cleaners, and those yard sprays that you attach to your hose for full yard coverage.

Why the shift? First, if you can remove water weight from your products, you are literally not paying to ship *water* from the manufacturer to the store or your doorstep. This also saves room and weight on the shipping truck, saving fuel. For concentrated liquids, you will reduce the size of packaging needed for the product, and for dry solids or powders, you may even be able to shift to non-plastic packaging.

So with all the reasons to buy minus the water and all the other products listed above that already have this model, why don't we see it more with beauty products? How many plastic bottles do we have in our bathrooms from shampoos to face wash?

Enter salonsolids. I stumbled across them after being disappointed that I can't seem to find bulk bath and body products in my area. salonsolids is an online store for hair products (shampoo, conditioner, and styler). They are sold as granules, and you simply add hot water to mix them to a "regular" consistency. They come in a variety of scents, naturally fragranced with essential oils like mint, lavender, and lemongrass.

Sarah was kind enough to send me a shampoo sample to try. The small envelope was enough to last 5 washes.Check out this simple paper envelope - no travel shampoo bottles here.

Simply mix in whatever hot-water-safe container you have handy. Hello, mason jar! Or perhaps I'll reuse one of my previous bathroom bottles, cuz I do love a pump or lid to squeeze through.

I was a little nervous because I have frizz-prone, dry hair, and while washing, it felt a little too "squeaky clean". However, when my hair dried, it felt glossy and soft. After 5 washes, I'm pretty confident this formula will work with most hair types despite not having multiple formulas for specific hair types.

The products come in paper tubes that are recyclable or compostable. If you want to take it totally zero waste and reap the rewards, you can send 11 tubes back to salonsolids, and they'll send you a 12th product free.

I'm glad to see there are becoming more options low-waste beauty products. Mail order solids may just be for you!

Halloween is just 3 weeks away!

And with that, I realized that Thoughtful Consumer is 1 year old!! Thank you all for joining me on this ride, and reading the last 57 posts. :)

Every year around this time, I start creating my Halloween costume. Let's be honest, I've been thinking about it for months, but now it's time to get down to work.

I've never been into just picking one of those bagged costumes at a store. I find they usually run small, are poorly made, and cost a lot of money, making me pretty sad when I get home and half of my $59.99 costume sortof fits. Also, you're ending up with a costume that many other people will be wearing.

Last year, I wrote about swaps, which is one great way to mix up your routine. For free, you can mix and match pre-owned items from your friends to create a unique costume.

This year, I'm finally going for a costume that I've had in mind for a few years: Ursula from The Little Mermaid.

This store-bought costume is $89.99 and has no tentacles. :-/

This one is $129.99 and has tentacles, but I think I can do better for less. 

Both of the above are 100% new polyester. I think I can get away with a spending a loss less, and using recycled materials. When you have a specific idea in mind, thrifting + alterations can often be more targeted than swaps.

I'm starting with a $10 black evening gown that I bought from swap.com, an online second-hand store.

This dress is a little loose in the waist and tight in the hips, but no worries, because there are many alterations needed. (It also helps that T said "wow!" before taking this picture. :) It's a good departure from my usual jeans and tee.)

I bought a lavender cape for $10 at Lifelong Thrift that I will use for the lining/underside of the tentacles. Finally, I did buy some new sculptural wire from Amazon ($13.35) that I will use inside the tentacles to shape them. After wearing the costume, I'll pull the wire out for another costume or art project.

I have a long way to go taking these materials into a finished costume. In addition to a fun DIY project, I'll end up with a unique costume, and $90 in savings.

I'll be sure to post a step-by-step and finished pics closer to Halloween. Now friends, have fun at your own swaps and thrifting - can't wait to see what you come up with for costumes!