How to Make Your Self-Care Sunday More Sustainable

Don’t hate me for saying this, but your self-care routine is worthless if it’s harmful for the planet. That doesn’t mean you need to abandon everything you know and love about your seven-step skincare routine, but there’s a few teeny tiny adjustments you can make to your Sunday ritual that have a huge impact on our one and only home. That’s why we’ve partnered with Brita, to help you filter your habits to live more sustainably—mind, body, and soul. Here, seven easy changes you can make right now.

Hydration is key, single-use plastic is not

Proper hydration is the best thing you can do for your body. Care for yourself and the planet when you reduce your single-use plastic footprint by switching to a reusable water bottle with built-in filter and refillable water filter pitcher. It’s a tiny change for you that makes a huge difference for Mother ?. 

Brita Water Filter Pitcher, shop now 

Make a DIY hair mask out of produce you aren’t going to use

Before you introduce more ~excess~ into your medicine cabinet, try a DIY hair mask using products you already have…in your pantry. Those brown bananas, week-old Greek yogurt, and oversized olive oil can all be put to good use—see some amazing, moisturizing recipes for those split ends here. (More of a coconut oil gal? We’ve got you covered.)

Pack up and donate clothes that no longer spark joy

Shedding clutter from my packed closet is one of my favorite ways to Self-Care Sunday, and one woman’s old blazer is another’s oversized dream. Bless someone else with the gift of the perfect OOTD when you donate your old clothes instead of tossing them—it’s one less *new* outfit being purchased into circulation. 

Brita Filtering Bottle, shop now

Power down your devices

I get that going on a mind-numbing Netflix binge is just good for the soul sometimes, but powering down all of your devices for just one hour on Sunday is so good for your mental health (and conserving power). Light a candle and grab a juicy beach novel (I just finished Where The Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens and I’m jealous of anyone who hasn’t read it yet) the next time you’re tempted to watch Friends for the tenth time. 

Indulge with products that give to you *and* your planet

There are so many beauty and self-care products out there (that work, btw) that donate a percentage of every sale to an environmental organization—so there’s literally no reason to use a moisturizer that doesn’t. My personal fave? This one from One Ocean; the luxurious formula makes me feel like a rich person even though the packaging is 100 percent recyclable, and the brand donates a portion of its proceeds to Oceana. 

Use a shower bomb instead of a bath bomb to cut back on water waste

I won’t lie…this was a hard switch for me to make. But a worthwhile one, nonetheless! The EPA reports that it takes 70 gallons of water to fill a bathtub, while a 10-minute shower only uses 20-25 gallons. So switch to one of these sustainably created, sustainably packaged shower bombs for the same olfactory benefits you love about bath bombs…with less than half the water waste of a bath. 

Ditch your face wash if it has microbeads

I hate to be the one to tell you this, but if you’re using one of those gel-textured face washes with exfoliating beads suspended in the formula…you’re probably washing plastic down the drain and into the ocean. Those little beads are actually microplastics, and they’ve been found in the digestive tracts of fish (the same fish you eat, btw) and other sea creatures as a result of beauty companies including them in their products. 

For more tips to living sustainably and to save $1,450 by switching from plastic water bottles to Brita, check out Filter Your Habits.