The low waste living struggles are real for me. As you know if you’ve been reading this blog, I am a black gay woman who lives in the bay area. When it comes to cleaning products and bulk shopping I am a pro. However, given my body type, hair type, and personal style, being “zero waste” or fitting the “idea” of that lifestyle is difficult. Let’s just stay I don’t fit at all!

Hair Struggles

I wrote a blog post about how during this process I would try low waste shampoos and conditioners, which turned out to be mostly bars of shampoo and conditioner. I should start by saying at the beginning of this process my hair was in the best shape and health it had ever been in. It had grown six inches in 9 months after finding a green-certified salon and stylist who specializes in curly hair like mine. For curly readers wondering, I have 3c/4a curls.

After four months of trying products and two months of using one consistently, my hair was extremely damaged. When I met with my hairstylist, she was talking about possibly cutting off several inches given the damage.

The products I used before trying bar hair care are made in California. These products are vegan, never tested on animals, EWG safe and clean, and made by a small company that stands by transparency.

When faced with how to proceed on my journey, I decided to be transparent with my hairstylist about what I wanted to achieve. She supported me by talking to the shop owner and they began selling me some of my products in bulk. So now I get my shampoo and conditioner refilled.

Body Type and Personal Style

I want to very clear, I appear as your average size woman walking down that street. But that is not my body type. I am very busty (34I) and a size 10 pants. However, with a chest like mine and body insecurity like mine (but that’s for another blog post!) my personal style has been a journey.

I started with clothes that hide my body and curves to reduce attention, then moved on to clothes that showed them off. I later explored masculine clothing as a way to escape managing being a woman who is easily sexualized, which can feel unsafe. At one point I didn’t even have a “personal style”, I just followed trends.

As I began to plan my wedding and to make what felt like self-defining choices, I began to explore fashion in a way that made me feel safe in my skin and in my clothes. The 1950s pin-up and housewife looks are my loves! However, those clothes are hard to find. They are not easily thrifted given my body type. The stores where you can find them are not always “zero waste”.

What do you put first? Given the perfectionism in the zero waste community, I gave up wearing clothes that made me happy. After a year of this, I finally found an online store that wasn’t perfect but was transparent and ethical with their labor practices. I realized I had found a balance.

Balance/ Struggle

I find balance is more important to me than struggle. I would rather have a healthy low waste home then and unhappy zero-waste house. See, what I realized is the Youtube stars I watch make money by being perfect. This isn’t my job! Zero waste is the job of companies! It is my job as the consumer to put pressure on companies to change, with my dollars and my voice.

I talked to my salon. I shop at more responsible companies. I don’t need to be perfect! I am a part of the change!

Tea Tip: Donate your clothes to your county hospitals. Homeless people go to county hospitals for help, clothes, meals, etc. 

As always, I hope what I wrote was helpful and encouraging. Today I am having homemade blueberry lemonade. Just reducing little by little helps the planet a lot.

With Love,

YaniTee