Personal care products in Wānaka
If you’re looking for personal care items, Wānaka has a wide selection of waste free options including soap and deodorant bars, refillable shampoo and menstrual cups.
In this guide, we’ve rounded up some of the best low-waste personal care items in Wānaka. From locally made soap to sustainable razors, it’s time to add some plastic free toiletries to your bathroom.
Soap
When it comes to soap, Wānaka has a range of locally made options including Bare Naked Soap and the Soap Kitchen. Based in Hawea Flat, Bare Naked Soap is available to purchase at The Old School House in Cardrona. Using locally sourced ingredients, this local soap company produces unique scents like chocolate mint and purple clay with lavender.
Made using 72% of olive oil, Soap Kitchen is a Wānaka based company with plastic free packaging and nourishing ingredients. Soap Kitchen can be found online and from the Revology Concept Store.
At the Lavender Farm, you can get your hands on a handmade soap bar using lavender essential oils, packaged in a small cotton bag.
Looking for something else?
Other soap bars can be found at the following stores:
- Originz, Pembroke Mall, 139 Ardmore Street
- The Workroom, 75 Brownston Street
- Health 2000, 24 Helwick Street
- Wonder Room, 80 Ardmore Street
- Wānaka Artisan Market – buy direct from local artisan producers
Dental Care
How many toothbrushes do you go through? It’s probably a lot, right? Well, in New Zealand, toothbrushes equate to roughly 287,640kg of rubbish each year. If you’re looking for a plastic free toothbrush, bamboo is the next best option.
In Wānaka, the team at Revology Concept Store have developed their own 100% biodegradable toothbrush. While it’s built to last, this toothbrush can either be recycled or go straight into your compost when it’s time to throw it away. All of the RE+ products at Revology Concept Store are made from raw, natural materials without the use of paints or colours.
For toothpaste in plastic free packaging, grab Solid Oral Care toothpaste in a jar from Freshlink Grocer. For floss made from 100% silk, head to Revology Concept Store.
Find other bamboo toothbrushes at:
- New World Three Parks and New World Wānaka
- Aspiring Pharmacy, 29 Helwick Street
- Wānaka Pharmacy, 41 Helwick Street
- Health 2000, 24 Helwick Street
Shaving
A durable, reusable razor or safety razor is a great investment that will save you money in the long-term. In Wānaka, the Cali Woods Safety Razor is a fantastic plastic free option with five stainless steel blades and a return blade envelope so they can be repurposed or recycled correctly. The razor and the Low Waste Shave Kit can also be found at Wānaka’s Wonder Room, a great little shop full of great little things!
To fully enhance your shaving regime, use a bar of shaving soap instead of foam that comes in a can. The Bare Naked Soap Co has a lime shaving soap that only uses natural ingredients. Wānaka based Soap Kitchen also offers a shaving cream, available in a reusable tin.
Alternatively, think about not shaving. Pick up beard oils and balms in glass bottles at the Bare Naked Soap Co, Wonder Room, Revology Concept Store and Wānaka Pharmacy.
Shampoo, conditioner and more
Swap out your single-use bottled products for bar versions instead. You can use bars for shampoos, conditioners, soaps and deodorants. Buy locally made shampoo and conditioner bars at Soap Kitchen, Bare Naked Soap or the Revology Concept Store.
Get the popular Ethique range of toiletry bars, which come in home compostable packaging, at Health 2000, Freshlink Grocer or Aspiring Pharmacy. While some of these may look expensive, they last a long time and are good value for money. Ever Kind deodorant bars are also available at Freshlink Grocer.
Menstrual cups/washable pads
Reduce waste and save money with menstrual cups and washable pads. An alternative to tampons and disposable pads, these items are available across Wānaka’s supermarkets and pharmacies. For something NZ-made, look out for My Cup NZ at Health 2000 or Wanacare Pharmacy.
Toilet paper/tissues
While we don’t have an eco-friendly loo roll made in Wānaka yet (watch this space), you can find Earthsmart (made from 100% recyclable paper) at both New World stores.
Online options include With Small, made from sustainably farmed bamboo fibres or Eco Roll, which is delivered to your door in plastic-free packaging.
Refills
Whether you’re looking for shampoo, conditioner or something else, refills are a highly effective way to cut down on waste. If you prefer the liquid form of these toiletries, get refills of the Ecostore brand from both New World Wānaka, New World Three Parks, Freshlink and Four Square in Wānaka and Albert Town.
Our favourite finds
At Plastic Free Wānaka, we’re always keeping our eyes open for new low waste products. With this in mind, there are a few items that do not fit into the above categories but certainly deserve a mention.
Here are some other personal care items in Wānaka to get your hands on:
- Reusable Facial Rounds and bamboo hairbrush from CaliWoods
- Wooden Nailbrush and sunscreen in a tin from Freshlink Grocer
- Lemon & lavender salt scrub in a glass jar from the Wānaka Lavender Farm
- Homemade lip balm in a tin at Soap Kitchen.
A tip from us...
As you can see, there are a lot of amazing products out there and sometimes making the swap can feel overwhelming. When you’re looking for solutions and alternatives, it’s best to take it one step at a time. Choose one item that you’re going to swap out and focus on implementing that into your daily routine. Once you’ve done that, you’ll find that it becomes easier to adopt more low waste solutions.
Remember, behaviour change isn’t something that happens overnight. So relax, do what you can, and, most importantly, have FUN!