Plastic-Free Personal Care
The bathroom is where plastic gets closest to you - a toothbrush in your mouth twice a day, floss dragged between your gums, a razor on your skin. Most of these are all-plastic by default and thrown away by the dozen, but each has a clean, well-established swap. Pick a type below.
Why plastic matters here
Personal-care plastic is easy to miss because the objects are small and cheap - but they're used directly on your body, daily, and replaced constantly. A toothbrush and a razor are the two things most people put in their mouth or on their skin every single day, and the conventional versions are almost entirely plastic. The material that actually does the work is the part to look at: on a toothbrush it's the bristles, not the handle; on floss it's the thread and its coating; on a razor it's the handle and cartridge around a steel blade that was never the problem.
One thread runs deeper here than "less plastic." Conventional "glide" floss is frequently made of PTFE - the same fluoropolymer as nonstick pans, part of the PFAS "forever chemical" family - so a plastic-free choice in this room can also be a PFAS-avoidance choice. And because these items are bought again and again, the swaps compound: a metal safety razor and a wooden toothbrush replace a lifetime of disposables. None of the swaps ask you to give anything up. We break personal care down by type below.
Browse by type
Toothbrushes
A bamboo handle is the easy part - the bristles are the whole question. Almost every "eco" bamboo…
Dental Floss
Floss is the marquee case in this whole hub, because the floss engineered to slide most easily is…
Razors
The blade against your skin is steel in every razor - even a Gillette. So on a disposable or a…
Cotton Swabs
The cotton tip is the same on every swab - the whole question is the stick. A rolled-paper or…
What to look for
- Look at the material that does the work, not the handle - the bristles on a brush, the thread on floss, the blade-holder on a razor
- Natural or metal beats plastic here - boar or plant bristles, silk or plant-fiber thread, a solid-metal razor - and a "bio-based" or "eco" label doesn't mean plastic-free
- Durable, refillable, or recyclable formats cut the constant replacement - a swappable brush head, a refillable floss vial, a safety razor with recyclable blades
Related reading
Related:Clothing