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In the fight between quality and sustainability two things are true: 1. We shouldn’t have to choose or the other, and 2. Quality usually wins. Especially when we are dealing with aspects of personal hygiene, this could hardly even be considered a “fight.”
To make the impact we know we can (and must), we have to be able to maintain our planet-healthy habits for the long-haul! And that means we need some top-notch products that make for a seamless switch, and even a preferred choice to our old, planet-harming ways.
So, if you don’t already know, the sustainable company Plaine Products is doing phenomenal things to eliminate plastic pollution, and that is what brought us to their site.
But the quality of the products is why we stay.
Everyone’s hair and skin are different and that means everyone has different personal care needs. I have pretty thin, wavy, often frizzy hair. And I don’t have any sort of beauty regimen in my daily routine.
My priorities are feeling, smelling, and looking fresh and clean all day.
Cory has thick, curly hair that he doesn’t like to wash often because it messes with the curls—gives him a real 80s Jane Fonda look. Meooww. Anyway, we both lathered up our locks to give Plaine Products as much of a test run as we could.
I’m pleased to announce: Plaine Products are a different ball game. I don’t want to overstate, but they’ve Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants’d personal care—good for dry skin, but also won’t take you into oily territory, effective for all across the hair thickness spectrum, scented to make men and women alike jump onboard, and perfect as a solo source for your self-care routine or a smooth addition to a 10-step regimen.
Our Buy Ensemble Review: Plaine Products
The Complete Plaine Products Review: Making the Eco-Friendly Switch Feel so…Natural
Refill, Reuse, Rejoice!
A pet peeve of mine is when doing good is complicated or difficult—I want easy breezy world-saving! So, I love that Plaine Products doesn’t make you work for your impact in any unnecessary way.
No guesswork, no extra costs. So, here are their instructions with my commentary:
STEP 1: Order one of our awesome products. It will arrive at your door in a refillable bottle. Replace lid with pump. Rejoice! You can recycle the shipping box and the extra lid.
**So long, plastic. Plaine Products’ aluminum bottles come in sustainable packaging at each step. If it’s your first time purchasing with them, you can let them know when you order and they’ll make sure you get your pump that you can use in each new bottle you order going forward.**
STEP 2: When you are getting low order a refill bottle. Or subscribe and we’ll send a bottle in a timeframe that works for you.
**Ahhhh, the sweet peace of mind of never having to hit my shampoo bottle begging for just ooooone more drop.**
STEP 3: When your current bottle is empty rinse it out and switch the pump to the refill bottle.
**This experience made me feel unexpectedly empowered. This was when I got the doing good warmth of participating in a circular economy. At this point, you’re well into the saving the world game.**
STEP 4: Put the refill’s lid on your empty bottle and place it in the refill box. If you have more than one bottle, make sure the box is full before sending it back. Stick the enclosed return label over the existing shipping label (make sure it’s completely covered), and set it out for your postal carrier to pick up just like any other letter. Best part: we cover the cost of shipping to send it back!
**The errand resistance starts kicking in when you have to return anything. Plaine Products makes this process so simple. You have everything you need. You got the box, the label, and the contents all right in front of you. Shipping costs are covered. There is even a use for the lid. They’ve thought of everything!
All you have to do is set it out to be taken away by your postal service. This means that not only are you saving the planet and staying stocked up on all your shower needs, but you are actually cutting out a grocery store run. Much appreciated!**
Subscriptions vs. One-Time Purchases
As a procrastinator, I am constantly having to make a one-product run to the store (and I complain about it every time).
So, a subscription is ideal for me. But I didn’t just rush into a long-term relationship before it felt right. I started with a one-time purchase, where I tested both scents and got a sense of how frequently I’d need to re-stock. It lasts longer than I expected.
Plaine Products is one family’s answer to the single-use plastic crisis—offering high-quality plastic-free personal care products that are good for people and planet.
Explore Plaine Products' extensive line of all-natural, eco-friendly bath & body products.
Zero Waste Shampoo and Conditioner
The Natural Ingredients Make Each Bottle Non-Toxic and Eco-Friendly
Their natural shampoo and conditioner (like all of their products) are vegan, biodegradable, baby-safe, Leaping Bunny Certified (cruelty-free). And the ingredients are non-GMO ingredients, sulfate-free, paraben-free, phthalates free, silicone-free, and palm oil-free.
Central to the Plaine Products mission, they are also completely free of single-use plastic. Woo!
Plastic-free and zero-waste in the bathroom, here we come!
The scents to set your mood
Instead of synthetic fragrances, Plaine Products uses essential oils to create the most wonderful scents that make each shower just what the doctor ordered each time.
Right now, there are two scents to choose from: Rosemary Mint Vanilla and Citrus Lavender. Each of these delicious combos wafted unique energy into my shower. Both are light and aren’t overpowering at all—a clean scent as you hop into bed and nothing that clashes with your go-to perfume or fragrance.
The Rosemary Mint Vanilla is my favorite for some good in-home luxury. The essence of rosemary teaming up with the warm vanilla and fresh mint changes the game here. The vanilla isn’t the overwhelming sugary sweet scent I usually expect, but more of a smooth, calming note that complements the rosemary to give it that spa vibe. The mint gives it a lightness so you can step out of the shower feeling zen and renewed.
These aren’t only my words. Cory, my partner, loves the Rosemary scent too.
We were pleasantly surprised by the Citrus Lavender as well. The citrus is more of a spritz than a whole fruit thrown in a bucket. Perfectly balanced with a lavender concoction, it’s great for a boost of freshness to get your energy up without leaving you smelling like you rolled in a cleaning product. It’s light, energizing, and refreshingly subtle compared to other citrus-scented products.
After much deliberation, we’ve concluded: For us, it’s Citrus Lavender for the morning/post-workout and Rosemary Mint Vanilla for end-of-the-day showerers.
Hair feels nourished!
This is where natural products often lose the battle to quality for me. I may just be weak-willed, but it’s difficult for me to look past dry, unmanageable hair and find complete solace in the sustainability aspect. Thankfully this isn’t at issue here!
I know we don’t need our shampoo to be lather-rich for it to work, but as a former L’Oreal kid, I’m a bubbles gal, so yeah, I need it. And this was another thing I’d found missing in natural hair products in the past that Plaine Products solved.
I only use the conditioner every other…or every other, other time I wash my hair now. The shampoo leaves my hair clean, hydrated, and not oily. So, I like to use the conditioner for my ends just to treat them to a little extra support now and then. But again, this is mostly for some extra softness and shine when I need a little boost!
Plaine Products Body Wash
A lot of what I mentioned for the shampoo and conditioner applies to the body wash as well. The body wash comes in the same scents. And even more importantly, a little dollop creates the bubbles we’re all looking for.
Even without lotioning up right after the shower, your skin is soft and nourished, with subtle notes of I-am-saving-the-planet confidence.
Plaine Products Beauty Oil & Lotion
If I’m being honest, I’ve been waiting to talk about the beauty oil since the moment I typed the first words of this review. After a couple of uses, I actually got back on the website to go buy another bottle or two in case for any reason it gets discontinued, but Cory told me that was “hoarding” and “unnecessary.” He’s clearly never had a go-to product taken away, but also true.
My skin needed some moisture, but every time I would try a moisturizer or oil, I would get oily or break out.
The Plaine Products beauty oil isn’t greasy, but still keeps your skin nourished and moisturized. At first, I only used it at night, but it also gives you a nice dewy look, so I brought this stuff into my morning too.
After a couple weeks, I haven’t had any breakouts, and in fact, it’s noticeably lessened any redness on my face and made my skin silky smooth. And, it smells lovely. No chemical smell and nothing over-perfumey. It’s just clean, wonderful nourishment. Bonus: wiping my hands on my legs to get the excess product off is actually acceptable because it moisturizes them as well!
And, as we got our first cold front, Cory used it too, and he loves it for all the same reasons. It weighed down my hair too much when I tried it, but it’s perfect for Cory’s hair. It keeps the frizz low and the curls full, so he recently admitted to me that he’s been dipping into my bottle after showers. So much for not needing a backup supply…
The lotion is similar in that it doesn’t have the greasiness that comes with some lotions—It’s a great lotion when you’re in a rush to get out the door because you can throw it on and slip right into your favorite pants with little resistance or residue. I tend to want something pretty heavy-duty for my body lotion, so I keep a travel-size lotion to the car for my hands, and it does a good job keeping my hands soft, but still ready for action.
Cory on the other hand barely uses lotion at all, so it’s been his moisturizer of choice.
Need Some More Convincing?
I know. It’s bizarre, but a lot of people, including myself, feel a lot of resistance to switching things up. I got onto Plaine Product’s site multiple times before I bought anything.
All of a sudden I was this overly cautious bathroom buyer. Anyone who looked in our shower previously would understand why I say “all of a sudden.” In a habit that I’ve found is not all that uncommon, not only was I replacing each empty plastic bottle of hair care and skincare product with another plastic bottle, but somehow we constantly ended up with more bottles than could fit on a shelf.
And really, why do you even need a full shelf!? How much versatility do you need in each shower?
Anyone who has 3 shampoos and 2 conditioners, a shampoo bar, and a bar of soap, but also a pump bottle of body wash, and a face wash, and also a scrub (or lives with someone who does) understands. I guess I just wanted to test them out? But also I was never satisfied?
If you want a low impact test run, try out
Do It for Your Hair, Your Skin, and the Planet
After using shower products that came in plastic bottles my entire life, it took abouuuut one week for me to completely erase any memory of my plastic past and fully adopt my new, zero-waste shower identity. It feels good.
Now, my personal care routine is just what I needed for healthy hair, skin, and planet! If you want to dive in and vote with your dollar and reduce your plastic use, use our code GROW20 for 20% off!
Plaine Products is one family’s answer to the single-use plastic crisis—offering high-quality plastic-free personal care products that are good for people and planet.
Explore Plaine Products' extensive line of all-natural, eco-friendly bath & body products.
Annie Bright
Co-Founder & Managing Editor, Grow Ensemble
I’m Annie Bright, co-founder of Grow Ensemble. I’m a researcher, writer, and editor with a focus on sustainability, social impact, and human rights.
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