Valentine’s Day is traditionally focused on the romantic love between two individuals. That’s a beautiful thing to celebrate and we’re all-in on it. But there are other kinds of love too.
As Life Without Plastic co-founder Jay Sinha wrote years ago in a university newspaper editorial on love… “There is not just one kind of love. The love in ‘Juliet loves Romeo’ is different from the love in ‘Juliet loves Genoese gnocchi with pesto.'” Well, maybe Juliet would disagree, but you get the point. Romantic love isn’t the only type of love worth celebrating.
This year, given all that’s happened to everyone’s worlds over the past year, we’d like to shift the focus of Valentine’s Day toward a love that is available to us all at all times, regardless of what the rest of the world is up to: self-love. We want to help you think about, and act on, loving yourself at this time of monumental global transformation.
This is not about being selfish. It’s about loving yourself enough to take the time to care for yourself lovingly.
We are often hard on ourselves. Our inner voice may tell us we’re not good enough or we didn’t do enough or maybe we’re just too overwhelmed and tired to even think about ourselves at all. So why not step back from the pressures of life for a moment and consider some ways to love and care for yourself?
We have some plastic-free suggestions revolving around a few of our products to help you wander down this golden path of nurturing self-love.
Have a warm — and explosive — bath
There’s nothing like a warm bath to nourish body, mind and soul. You create a little oasis of self-love with some candles, incense, relaxing tunes. And how about a lovely bath bomb to spice up that comforting warm water duvet?
We searched all over for a natural and plastic-free bath bomb and found they tended to come shrink-wrapped in plastic film. Then we found Monica from The Blessed Organic. She was just as committed as we were to the idea of plastic-free bath bombs. Together we tested cardboard packaging and tissue paper packaging, but found that without plastic humidity would get in and cause the bomb to crack.
Then Monica had the genius idea of offering a deconstructed bath bomb: a loose powder bath bomb. No cracking bombs! And she uses completely plastic-free, stunningly cute and funky, twine-tied burlap linen sachets to package it. So that is how our Handcrafted Plastic-free Jasmine Bath Bomb Sizzle Soak was created!
Natural body-friendly ingredients. And the smell…holy moly! Monica is an aroma wizard. LWP co-founder Jay tried out the bath bomb and was blown away:
“It’s just plain stunningly fragrant — I mean it smells soooo good and natural — it will have you feeling you are surrounded by actual jasmine blossoms. Because you are! There are oodles of real tiny dried jasmine flowers in the mix that blossom in the water and surround you with their wafting perfume. Those mixed with the peach and coconut oils leave your skin feeling and smelling divine. I kept smelling myself long after my sizzle soak just because I loved the smell so much. Yes, guys can appreciate this too.”
There’s an added bonus… the burlap bag holds twice the amount of a usual bath bomb so it can be used over two baths if you only pour in half the contents at a time. Self-love²! When it’s done, use the burlap sachet to store soap, potpurri, precious jewels…
While bathing in your bomb, how about a natural sponge to gently massage clean that skin?
We think a sea sponge is a plastic-free essential. Yucky synthetic sponges, loofahs and cloths are not recyclable. Plus, they constantly break down in the water, creating microplastics that go down the drain, polluting our waterways and water supplies and harming wildlife.
Our Unbleached Natural Sea Sponge is a plastic-free and versatile alternative. Natural sea sponges absorb many times their weight in water to provide a soft, textured cleaning experience with consistent rinsing and massaging of the skin. They are a soft and safe way to wash the bod. And at the end of its body cleansing life, you can use it for home cleaning purposes, painting and crafting. You could give your walls a neon sponge bath!
This sponge is an unbleached Caraibica Honeycomb natural sea sponge with medium pores. They have the ability to regenerate and are sustainably harvested with care to ensure regrowth of the sponge.
Wondering what the bath bomb and sponge look like in action? Take a look at this wonderful video by plastic-free youth dynamo Hannah Testa and her family unboxing our Winter Subscription Box, which included the Sizzle Soak bath bomb and the sea sponge.
So you’re set for your self-loving bath.
And if you want to infuse that self-love with some romantic love, go ahead and invite your partner into the mix — but maybe give yourself some time alone first to just bathe in the beauty of you, your sponge and da bomb.
Love your body, treat your skin
Post-bath, you can give your skin some more love by indulging in a plastic packaging-free Botanical Bars Natural Body Lotion Bar. Only four simple natural ingredients to nourish and hydrate your skin: beeswax, shea butter, coconut oil, essential oil (lavender or lemon mint blend).
Like da bomb, these bars are handmade in the USA and come in packaging that can be reused — in this case, a little round tin that, once cleaned, is super handy for travelling and on-the-go transport of little things like toothpaste, vitamin supplements, a wee sewing kit.
And while you’re at it, why not smell nice? Just for you. Our Made Simple Organic Deodorant has only three ingredients, all certified organic and plant-based: unrefined coconut oil, arrowroot powder and essential oils of bergamot and ylang ylang.
With this deodorant a small amount goes a long way — just a pea-sized portion rubbed into your armpit and you’re fresh and ready, whether the self-love plan is action, or relaxation…
Settle down with a book that warms your soul with positive energy
If it’s self-love relaxation you need, how about cozying up with a fine book to nourish your mind and warm your soul? The bestselling plastic-free living guide by our co-founders, Chantal Plamondon and Jay Sinha, is an option. Just saying.
Life Without Plastic: The Practical Step-By-Step Guide to Avoiding Plastic to Keep Your Family and the Planet Healthy is a distillation of well over a decade of research and experience diving deep into the plastic pollution issue and testing all kinds of plastic-free living tips, tools, techniques and alternatives.
Written in a non-judgmental way that meets you where you are, it’s valuable to all, whether you’re just getting into the issue or a seasoned pro. It’s now available in English and French and four other languages.
Choose — and live — unconditional self-love, beginning each morning…
Co-founder Jay actually has a new book coming out later this Spring 2021 on morning rituals and how they can change your life. The whole premise of the book is self-love, and the rituals are infused with it — one in particular very directly. Choosing to be unconditionally self-loving is a powerful way to start your day. And consciously curating your mornings around what contributes to you being your best self is a deep and meaningful form of self-love.
If you’re interested in being informed about the launch of the book — Masala Morning Rituals: Curated Ways to Nourish Body, Mind and Soul into the Flow of a Spicy Daily Start — you can sign up here and receive a complimentary chapter to whet your morning ritual appetite.
In fact, the chapter you receive focuses on mouth care and how it can be a core part of your morning ritual. Looking for some plastic-free mouth self-love? We’ve got you covered there too. Just check out our plastic-free dental hygiene products.
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So as you can see, there are many many ways to practice self-love. Indulge. Be infinitely kind to yourself. You deserve it.
And if everyone did it constantly, just imagine how lovely the world would be.