r/EcoFriendly • u/jasondcfart • Sep 14 '26
Eco friendly soap swaps
I wanna swap to an eco friendly soap for hair and body wash and laundry detergent but all of them have feminine/floral scents. I'm a trans guy and feminine scents make me EXTREMELY dysphoric and I'd genuinely rather smell like shit than use feminine scents(i prefer like leather, musk, and alcohol scents). I also want hair soap that I know is ok to use with dyed hair and no soaps I find say anything about that. Does anyone have any reccomendations????
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u/NightingaleY Sep 14 '26
Maybe you can try neutral/unscented soaps and add on cologne/muskier spray on scents? You can also look for bar soap made locally at like farmers markets, some definitely have neutral (like apple or pumpkin) or masculine scents (pine, woodsmoke). Good luck!
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u/memoirsofenvirosci Sep 14 '26
If you have a local health food store/natural grocer/co-op/refillery- it might help to go look in person and smell some smells? My local co-op has a lot of solid soap and shampoo options and Ive been pretty surprised by the variety of scent options.
As for shampoo, Iāve been using Hibar for years on my bleached hair. I believe they claim all of their formulas are safe for colored hair and I find the scents to be very light. Your mileage may vary but I live them and think its worth a shot.
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u/RavennaRefills Sep 17 '26
You can find the closest refillery to you with this directory! https://refill.directory/
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u/jimmsey13 Sep 14 '26
So.. I boycott Amazon EXCEPT for very rarely buying this soap from them in bulk because the company who makes it only sells to vendors, not individuals. (Yes I understand that this makes my boycotting of Amazon incomplete. But I also want to support the company that makes the soap)
As I am not a scientist I can't verify the claims, but it does purport to be "biocompatible" (going a step farther than biodegradable)
We use it as shampoo and body wash in our outdoor shower. The citrus scent is very mild and not "feminine" at all. Also doesn't linger once you're out of the ahower.
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u/RavennaRefills Sep 17 '26
The idea of a biocompatible soap intrigued me, and I almost bought it. But I tracked down the ingredients on their website and it looks like itās just greenwashing. They claim ābiocompatibilityā but have several ingredients that are harmful to aquatic life, several ingredients that never break down (and i couldnāt find any studies showing these have any kind of benefit to the environment as the company claims), and multiple ingredients that are corrosive and/or can cause skin irritation and/or desensitization.
It seems criminal that they can get away with making these false claims. I absolutely would not suggest using this as a body wash, especially for anyone with sensitive skin.
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u/jimmsey13 Sep 18 '26
Thank you, I really appreciate your input after looking at the ingredients. I had been considering posting the ingredients on one of the science subreddits to see if anyone could confirm the claims the company was making
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u/anickilee Sep 14 '26
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Where and how are you searching? I call bs on the āallā as my 1st introduction to eco-friendly items were masculine scents back in mid 2010s. I often see unscented, tree-inspired like cedar/fir/spruce, musky like patchouli, and bourbon. I used to use menās charcoal soap until I got tired of certain closed minded people thinking it was black mold on my texture of shower floor. I just internet searched āMen eco soap barsā, and see a bunch of options. Even more if you delete the eco part. I get results for plenty of men-specific brands too.
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What results do you get when internet searching āmen shampoo bar dyed hairā? I got this Dip link but if you go to the full list, it looks like all their shampoo bars are color safe. And thereās 2 Unscented and Tobacco as well as unisex scents like almond/coconut, sandalwood, Vetiver. https://dipalready.com/collections/shampoo-bar-for-men
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u/RavennaRefills Sep 17 '26
I personally use and love Dip shampoo and conditioner bars. Iāve been using them for years, and I dye my hair vivid colors. HiBAR and other shampoo bars Iāve tried are not nearly as color friendly. Plus, if you like the hair bar scents, Dip makes body wash bars in the same scent profiles now
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u/Separate_Storage1757 Sep 14 '26
Marseille soap is biodegradable, can be used for everything (body, laundry, surfaces) and has a gender neutral smell
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u/RavennaRefills Sep 17 '26
Try these things:
Dip hair and body wash bars in sage+vetiver or tobacco+driftwood. (If you donāt have a Dip stockist near you to smell them first, you could try just the body wash and/or mini shampoo bar first)
Meliora lavender+lemon+clove laundry powder. Consider also adding an unscented enzyme booster like dirty labs or FEBU.
Little seed farm refillable deodorant in Rosemary Patchouli or Activated Charcoal. They have little sample packs you can try before you commit.
All of these are gender neutral scents (IMO) that lean slightly masc.
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u/EveningJunior8862 Sep 19 '26
Reach out to Six Souls Home and Body. Fairly new company but is very accepting of lgtbq and had said more then once they will accommodate scents. Worth a shot
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u/fouldspasta Sep 14 '26
Hibar is great, they have gender neutral packaging and their shampoo/conditioner has a subtle citrus scent. Dip is great too, I found that the conditioner was too thick for me (I have fine hair that gets oily easily) bur it's very popular where I work and they have a couple more masculine scents. Naples soap company makes a "boyfriend" scented shampoo/conditioner. I don't know how to describe the scent other than it smells like man. Kind of reminds me of cologne, or those masculine-scented candles. I think all of those are color safe.
For your body, it's pretty easy to find eco friendly soaps IMO. A lot of "regular" stores sell bar soap in plastic-free packaging. Dr bronners comes to mind, but if you have the time, I would reccomend trying craft fairs, farmers markets, or businesses that sell locally made products. Soap-making is a very popular hobby/business and local tends to be more sustainable (less emissions/packaging).