This Mom Creates Her Own Affordable Shampoo Bars
In an effort towards a zero-waste lifestyle at home, this mompreneur makes her own shampoo bars to use and sell
Many of us are trying to adopt a zero-waste lifestyle, and so there is a growing beauty trend (and hopefully, a permanent practice) of using shampoo bars instead of commercially packaged shampoos, which leave a lot of plastic waste.
In her own quest for a zero-waste lifestyle at home, businesswoman Gen Enriquez-Gerodias took that practice one step further and made her own shampoo bars. At first she made some for her personal use, but then eventually started selling it in her eco-beauty online shop No Drama Mama.
The zero-waste journey starts at home
Gen explains how her shampoo bar usage started. “I started using shampoo bars years ago, so I thought, ‘why not make one myself?’ It was a personal choice to minimize plastic usage, and I have to admit, it’s difficult to transition, especially if you’re used to traditional products that huge companies have successfully embedded in our minds,” she says. “I’ve been toying with the idea for months after being bothered by seeing how massive plastic consumption (especially one-time usage) has negatively disrupted our ecosystem.”
The mother of three decided to concoct her own shampoo bars for personal use. “Since I spend on toiletries and love trying out products, I thought of making a shampoo and conditioner bar, taking my cue from that international brand that invented shampoo bars [a trailblazer]."
"I just started making the bars last August, and thought of selling it to my friends. My motive was to get them to take the alternative route and shift from traditional products—it was more of an advocacy than being profit-driven.”
Super-soft hair, up-cycled packaging
The shampoo and conditioner bars, which are produced in an FDA-licensed facility in Antipolo, smell deliciously of lilac combined with a bit of vanilla. The bars are made out of all-natural ingredients like cocoa butter, virgin coconut oil, avocado oil, grapeseed oil, among others. And unlike other bars, your hair comes out super-soft, thanks to the conditioner bar, which has keratin.
And in keeping with the zero-waste practice, Gen ships the bars in her own recycled shopping boxes and bags for big orders (above), which she encourages the buyers to reuse afterwards. “I didn’t want cumbersome packaging wherein you fumble with it in the bathroom,” she explains. “The stickers come of easily, and you can definitely reuse the paper box for your presents (below).”
Gen hopes to produce more eco-products in the future. “We have new scents coming out soon, and will definitely branch out with more earth-friendly products. But for now, I am quite happy to actively promote an alternative. I think that when you educate consumers about ethical buying, it makes them more mindful of how to utilize our finite resources.”
For more information, follow No Drama Mama on their Facebook page or Instagram account. Since No Drama Mama produces very small batches of the product, you may pre-order from them starting October 1, 2018. The next batch of production is on October 15.
