I’d love to be an Eco-warrior! I live by the sea, have huge regard for the ocean and belong to “Surfers’ Against Sewage,” a charity that benefitted from Harry & Megan’s charitable wedding list. And, I was horrified when last winter’s storms threw all kinds of rubbish onto the lovely beaches of Cornwall where I live, (think Poldark), littering minute pieces of plastic and other detritus across the sand. It really emphasised to me that we need to give up using plastic wherever possible, as well as stopping the flushing of non-biodegradeable items down our toilets.

(The beautiful Cornish coastline below)

But, and it’s a big ‘but’, it’s one thing not accepting plastic straws and saying ‘no’ to fruit and vegetables in plastic bags, it’s quite another when it comes to the products (and let’s face it these are often chemicals in plastic bottles) that I use on myself. I’ve managed to ditch the shower gel in favour of soap, “Dove” if you must know, and remove my makeup with an old-school flannel, which I boil-up regularly. But when it comes to my hair, it’s another level.

In my town a ‘zero-waste’ store has just opened, run by a young woman with absolute vision, and I want to support her. I’ve happily bought nuts, grains and pasta in brown (recycled) paper bags. I’ve also purchased some metal straws and a metal lunch box, and, on Saturday, I went one step further and bought a bar of shampoo. The main ingredient of this ‘shampoo’ is ‘soap nuts’ which isn’t soap at all but ‘Sapindus Mukorossi’ a plant related to the lycee. Not only does the plant cleanse, it also helps combat the greenhouse gas effect by converting carbon dioxide into oxygen and what’s more, its shells are 100% biodegradeable. The berries themselves can apparently be put into a bag and used in the washing machine in place of your usual powder or gel, but I haven’t tried that one (as yet.).

Anyway, to my hair. I wasn’t at all confident it would work and was expecting it to tug and pull, but I was pleasantly surprised the ‘Soapnut Shampoo’ lathered easily, and truly, the action didn’t seem much different to proper shampoo. I gave my hair a second wash, as I wasn’t convinced I’d thoroughly cleansed it the first time around, but, after rinsing, I have to say my hair felt squeaky clean. I purposely didn’t use styling products as I wanted to see how it looked and felt. Once dry, my hair was pretty shiny, but it felt rather as if I’d used some kind of waxy product, which was a bit weird. However, I’ve had no irritation and overall I wasn’t completely disappointed. I don’t think I’m quite ready to throw out my usual fabulous shampoos and conditioners, but I really like the concept and hope more solid, vegan, chemical free shampoos are developed. One positive thing, the Soapnut Shampoo would be perfect for travelling with ‘carry on only’ luggage and is easy to pop into your bag when you’re off to the gym or pool. I’m going to use it again as I want to see what it’s like used over time and of course, I can use it on my body too. So, not nuts about soapnuts, but overall it’s a good soap story!

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