Plastic-Free Bubble Bath Ideas for a Squeaky Green Clean
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Are you looking for plastic-free bubble bath ideas for a zero or low-waste clean? Don’t get in a lather – here are my top suggestions for a squeaky green clean.
I’ve published articles before on going plastic-free in the bathroom. However, today I thought it would be useful to dedicate a whole post to bubble bath.
For years, we’ve been told to eschew baths and take showers instead. But did you know that taking a bath doesn’t always use more water than a shower? I’ll admit, I do love taking a bath. However, making it plastic-free can be tricky, especially if you want to make it plastic-free on a budget.
If you have little kids who dislike the shower but love the bath, or perhaps you like to unwind after a long day in a hot, bubbly bath, then you might have wondered where to buy zero-waste or plastic-free bubble bath. Well, wonder no more! I’ve got a whole host of ideas for you that can hopefully work for a variety of budgets.
Plastic-Free Bubble Bath Ideas
Scrub up on my top zero-waste suggestions for your next bath:
Bath Bombs
Bath bombs are, I think, the default plastic-free bubble bath option. My kids love choosing and using bath bombs from local shops. And bath bombs certainly make it easier to coax them into the bath.
However, bath bombs don’t come cheap. Finding the balance between getting my kids to enjoy bathtime and a low cost per bath has been tricky.
The best balance I have found for my kids is to use mini bath bombs, such as these ones from Etsy that come in a cardboard box.
At £6.99 for a box of 21, this works out at 33p per bath bomb. With all the fun of standard-sized bath bombs, these mini ones are perfect for the shallower baths that my kids have.
The other eco-friendly option would be to bulk-buy ingredients and make your own bath bombs. This recipe from Good Food is one I’ve used in the past with great success.
Bubble Bath Bars
If you and/or your kids prefer bathing in a cloud of bubbles, then there are still plastic-free bubble bath options out there. Bubble bath bars, for example, are bars that you crumble a little bit off of and sprinkle into running water for luxurious bubbles.
It can be tricky to source them ethically. In particular, I struggled to find plastic-free bubble bath bars that don’t contain biodegradable glitter (spoiler: it doesn’t biodegrade and is just as bad for the environment as regular glitter) and/or mica.
Mica is a problematic ingredient linked to child labour, illegal mining, deforestation, and unfair wages. Mica and/or biodegradable glitter seem to be de rigueur ingredients in bubble bath bars.
Lush has a good selection of bubble bath bars that contain synthetic mica. This sidesteps the issues related to child labour, illegal mining and other issues. I’ll update here if I find other good alternatives.
I have found recipes online to make your own bubble bath bars, like this one at A Beautiful Mess. However, I’ve found these all require the use of liquid bubble bath.
Bubble Bath In Plastic-Free Bottles
Bubble bath in plastic-free bottles can be quite tricky to track down. However, I’ve found a couple of products:
L’Occitane makes lovely-smelling, vegan-friendly bubble baths in refillable and recyclable aluminium bottles. It’s quite an indulgent treat (£29.50 for 500 ml at Look Fantastic), but they smell incredible and only a small amount is needed to create a bath full of bubbles.
The Highland Soap Co. is better value for money. Its range of body washes are available in 1-litre glass bottles for £27.95 (smaller-sized bottles are plastic). Plus, they’re vegan-friendly and made with organic ingredients.
Refill Stores
If you have a local refill store, then bringing along an old container and filling that up makes for a good plastic-free bubble bath experience.
If you don’t have a refill store near you, but do have a Body Shop, then the good news is that the Body Shop now offers a refill scheme. Whilst they don’t offer refillable bubble bath, you can get refillable shower gel. I’ve always found that shower gel makes for a perfectly acceptable bubble bath substitute, and bubbles up nicely. I’m a big fan of the Pink Grapefruit scent – it’s lovely and citrusy.
Bulk Bottles of Bubble Bath
Another great low-waste option is to buy 5-litre bottles, which can be used as a liquid hand wash, shower gel and bubble bath, to save you from buying extra products:
- Miniml offers 5L bulk bottles of body wash/bubble bath for £37.95. The empty 5-litre containers can be sent back to Miniml’s headquarters, where they will be reused again and again.
- Faith In Nature also offers 5L bulk bottles of body wash for £50. The bottles can be sent back to Faith In Nature, where they will be reused or recycled.
More Eco Bathing Resources
Looking for more ways to keep clean and green? I’ve got you:
- Check out my guide to eco-friendly shower gel to help green your showering regime.
- Try my guide to sustainable soap bars.
- Or try my guide to refillable hand soap if bars aren’t your thing (zero judgement here).
- And try my big guide to plastic-free shampoo bars to find zero-waste solutions that work for every hair type.
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This is why I don’t think companies should bother with politics unless their views are unanimously seen as good.
Oh, I know Rebekah, get it wrong and the company immediately excludes its customers who sit on the other side of the political fence.
Hi, Wendy
You content is so unique and helpful,
following since I read your multivitamin post.
Thanks
Really interesting article, thanks. I love that you use bath bombs. They are definitely the most healthy option on the list, as long as real essential oils are used, and not fragrance oils. I know some bath bombs fizz, but I’m not aware of any which make bubbles. For me this is a good thing, however. The surfactants often used in products that produce long-lasting bubbles are known irritants and can contain toxic byproducts which are easily absorbed by the skin. The two main ones are Sodium Laureth Sulphate (SLES) & Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS).
One option for making bath time a more attractive proposition has been missed off the list, hopefully not on purpose as I’d like to mention it here… Bath Oils are a great option for naturally scenting our baths, whilst also delivering healing benefits for our skin as well as our body as a whole. Again, this is only true if natural, therapeutic-grade essential oils are used within the bath oil. There are a lot of bath oils that are scented with fragrance oils, which are, sadly, toxic.