ECO-FRIENDLY BODY PRODUCTS: GOING GREEN FOR A HEALTHY BODY & HAPPY PLANET

Eco-friendly body products made from natural ingredients are such an essential game changer when it comes to taking care of our health and the planet. I have spent so many years researching mainstream body products compared to natural ones. And the deeper you dive into this topic, the more you realize how deceptive, toxic and unhealthy the body product industry is. All at the cost of our own health.

We have unknowingly compromised our health and wellness because of the products we use every single day. So often, we don’t even notice the subtle changes in our health and bodily functions because these products affect us over time. And by the time we are aware of these shifts, we do not correlate our health issues with our every day habits. I believe this is because we were never taught enough about toxic and non-toxic ingredients, certifications and labels and what they mean, how to distinguish between natural and chemical derivatives and what our body needs in order to be optimally supported through the care we give to it.

I do believe that there are certain circumstances in a person’s health journey where pharmaceutical support is perhaps necessary. This is a whole other topic that we can dive into in the future!

The purpose of this blog post is to share really amazing eco-friendly and natural products you can use in your body care routine that are much healthier alternatives to mainstream products – for both you and the planet.

DISCLAIMER: this post may contain affiliate links, which means I’ll receive a commission if you purchase through my link, at no extra cost to you.

 This information is for informational purposes only and does not replace professional medical advice. Always consult a licensed healthcare provider for concerns about your health.

WHY USING ECO-FRIENDLY BODY PRODUCTS IS THE BETTER OPTION:

There are so many reasons why shifting to a greener, more eco-friendly body care routine is just so much better for your own health and for the preservation of the planet.

LESS CHEMICALS (AND REDUCES POLLUTION)

Eco-friendly products are usually made from natural (plant or animal-derived ingredients) that do not cause harmful run off into water-ways, oceans and essential eco-systems. Natural products also need a much less complicated and industrialized process to be produced. This means that they use less energy and therefore cause less pollution. Mainstream chemical-filled products are known to pollute waterways and reduce air quality from the toxins released in the manufacturing process. Natural products release less greenhouse gases in their production process.

SOMETHING TO NOTE: THERE ARE NATURAL PRODUCTS OUT THERE THAT ARE LABELLED AS ECO-FRIENDLY AND SUSTAINABLE. BUT IN REALITY THE SOURCE OF THE INGREDIENTS USED ARE COMING FROM UNSUSTAINABLE PRACTICES. SUCH AS DEFORESTATION, PALM OIL, UNREGULATED HARVESTING AND CHILD LABOUR, UNFAIR TRADE AND UNETHICAL ANIMAL TREATMENT. THIS IS WHY IT IS IMPORTANT TO RESEARCH BRANDS, INGREDIENTS AND CERTIFICATIONS.

TACKLES THE ROOT CAUSE

Unlike pharmaceutical and chemical based products that are made to cover up symptoms, natural products are designed to tackle the root cause of health issues. Yes, chemical products might make your symptoms feel better in the moment. But they do not heal the underlying problems. Natural products may take longer to reduce symptoms but that is because they are adapting to your body and healing you on a cellular level. They are giving you long-term relief and healing the actual issue that is causing the symptoms you are experiencing.

For example, many people are prescribed pharmaceutical products and pills for their skin. These prescriptions might be a solution for the now. But most of the time they are causing other issues in the body such as kidney, liver and digestive issues. For natural healing alternatives, it is best to get advice from professional and certified Naturopathic Doctor or Traditional Doctor.

SUPPORTS YOUR BODY LONG-TERM

When you continuously use natural products that are suitable for what your body needs to thrive, you are supporting your body in its natural functions just as nature intended. When you use toxic, chemical products, you are denying your body of what it needs because they inhibit your bodily functions and your body starts to depend on these products to function normally. Your cells are able to recognize and absorb natural ingredients. This encourages a healthy body and optimizes your essential systems for sustained energy, good digestion, glowing skin, healthy hair, lymphatic drainage, balanced hormones and good blood flow.

Using certain body products can affect these systems in ways we don’t even realize because our skin is the largest organ and absorbs everything we put onto it.

SUSTAINABLE PACKAGING

Eco-friendly body products are usually packaged in recycled, sustainable or biodegradable packaging. They can also be compostable and refillable. This reduces the amount of single-use plastic, micro plastics and pollutants ending up in landfills, rivers and oceans. If a brand has based their values of taking care of the environment, they will not use unnecessary packaging – reducing the waste production of their business.

SUSTAINABLE SOURCING PRACTICES

Eco-friendly body products contain ingredients that are ethically, organically and sustainably sourced from plant and animal derivatives. Sustainable brands pride themselves on causing the least amount of harm to nature and releasing as little greenhouse gasses as possible throughout their production process. They take into account where and how their ingredients are grown. And they only produce what is needed to meet customer demand instead of overproducing and promoting overconsumption.

So many of the ingredients used in major mainstream brands are sourced from large-scale farming that uses GMO-practices, over consumes water, strips the land of nourishment and the ingredients of essential nutrients and deforests environments that are essential habitats to wildlife and endangered species.

CRUELTY-FREE (NOT TESTED ON ANIMALS)

Any brand that tests their products on animals is the complete opposite of ethical and eco-friendly. The fact that there are still brands out there today that are allowed to test on animals is insanity.

Supporting brands that are certified Cruelty-Free is so important in standing up against the unnecessary suffering of animals for the sake of beauty and profits. By purchasing ethically made products instead, you are promoting ethical practices in the health industry. As well as spending your dollar on companies that will continue to strive for a greener, more sustainable future that doesn’t include the suffering of animals.

BIODEGRADABLE INGREDIENTS

I already touched on this in the first point of this section. Eco-friendly body products usually contain biodegradable ingredients that are not only healthier for your own body but also dissolve and break down in nature. They are free from toxic fragrances, hormone disruptors, parabens and irritants, emulsifiers, synthetic fragrances, petroleum and heavy metals. These are all categories of ingredients that are found in mainstream chemical products that do not support our body’s most natural and healthiest state of being.

ECO-FRIENDLY BODY PRODUCTS TO ADD TO YOUR BODY CARE ROUTINE:

To say that I have used my fair share of natural products is an understatement. I shifted my entire toiletry bag from mainstream chemical-filled products to natural products when I was 19 years old. I am now 32. The products that I use change throughout the years depending on what my body is going through, how I am feeling and where in the world I am as a full-time traveler for 7 years now. The conditions I am in very much determine what I need to have with me to support my hair, skin and body. Yes, I pack months and months worth of natural products into my travel backpack! This is something to keep in mind when you are choosing which eco-friendly body products will be best for your body, hair and skin type.

So, to give a little variety of products in this blog, I will be sharing products that I currently use or have used in the past that I believe in. AND I will share a few brands that my fellow nature-loving, eco-conscious, all-natural best friends use too!

EARTHSAP:

Earthsap is an amazing natural and eco-friendly brand that I have been using since the beginning of my all-natural journey. They make almost anything and everything you could think of. From hair care, to body wash and lotions, deodorants, men and women’s ranges and even household cleaning products.

All of their products are made from natural, sustainably sourced ingredients and locally made in South Africa. They pride themselves on their chemical-free, toxin-free formulas that are gentle on your skin and is not harmful to you or the environment. They also use recyclable packaging and do not test on animals. GREEN FLAGS!

I have used so many of their products, as they have a lot to choose from, with a range of the most delicious scents. These are a few of my favorite products from Earthsap:

• Body wash: Tea-Tree & Peppermint
• Shampoo: Lavendar and Sugar-beet
• Conditioner: Tea Tree
• Deodorant: Lavendar and Rosemary Roll-on – I love this product so much. This specific one literally takes away any body odor on hot, sweaty days and makes me not smell when I am hiking for days! It really works so well.
• Pine forest men’s Body Care Bundle – my partner recently bought this and he LOVES using the Pine Forest products.

BOTALIFE:

Botalife have a really lovely, high quality range of cold pressed oils made completely naturally of clean, plant-based ingredients. They started as a small family business in Turkey. And then expanded across the world to places like the USA and South Africa. Their products are herbicide and pesticide free, contain no heavy metals and are both sustainable and traceable.

My favorite product from Botalife is their Apricot Kernel Oil. Which I still use today to moisturize and nourish my skin, especially my legs. Whenever I do an oil hair mask, I add some of this oil into the mixture as well. I feel like this product has become such an essential to my toiletry bag because it feels so healing and so rejuvenating for my skin every single time I use it.

LE NATURAL:

If there was ever a brand that was created out of pure love, care and intention, it is Le Naturel. They are a South African brand that has formulated eco-friendly body care products using locally grown plants and flowers that are indigenous to the land, called Fynbos.

Le Naturel’s products are natural and simple. And this is exactly what your hair and skin needs to thrive on nature’s medicines. Your skin is able to absorb what it needs to from their products because there are no unnecessary ingredients in them. This allows your skin and hair to be balanced and naturally vibrant.

I have genuinely struggled over the years to find a product for my face that I feel is the perfect fit for me and my skin. I have found short-term products here and there. But never something that I felt I could use for a long time and that works for me throughout all the different extreme weathers and conditions I constantly travel in. And then, in 2025, I was introduced to the Vitamin C Serum from Le Naturel. It is safe to say that I will not be searching for another face product ever again. My skin genuinely feels so much more moisturized and radiant now. I also do not experience any break outs or little pimples popping up from using this serum like I have in the past with other products.

I have used a range of their products now and I do not have a single bad review about them. This comes from a genuine experience over a couple of months of using them.

These are a few of my other favorite products from Le Naturel:

• Fynbos Lip Balm
• Natural Shampoo and Conditioner
• Natural Lotion – LOVE this one!

To see the full range from Le Naturel, you can also visit their website here.

“The power of organic ingredients is in their purity”

– Unknown

PRIMAL LIFE ORGANICS:

This one is mostly for my readers in the USA! I honestly don’t remember how I even discovered Primal Life Organics. But I was so impressed by their dedication to clean ingredients and eco-friendly packaging that I couldn’t help but try a few of their products. Luckily for me as a South African, my partner’s family lives in the US so I can always get some goodies from Primal Life sent to them to give to me.

They use healthy, eco-friendly plant-based ingredients and minerals in their dental and body care products that really focus on your body’s overall health and wellness. I absolutely love the ingredients they use for the dental products which you can read deeper into here.

Something amazing about Primal Life Organics is that their products are really affordable for the quality you are purchasing. It makes using healthy, natural products accessible to more people which I love!

• Powdered Mineral Toothpaste – this makes my teeth feel so clean and my breath so fresh!
• Stick Up Deodorant – okay, this is literally one of my all-time favorite natural products ever. Two of these are in my toiletry bag at all times and they last for months! I always buy the White Lavender. Lavender is so good for any body odor and neutralizes your under arms. I will never not travel or adventure without this on me. If I put this on right after showering and massage it into my underarm skin, I do not need to use it again until my next shower. Even if I sweat, I have no odor and I stay fresh all day. It is the best underarm deodorant I’ve ever used.

You can shop their entire range on their website here.

NATURALMENTE:

If you are looking for luxuriously natural hair care, then Naturalmente is the way to go. I have personally used their shampoo, conditioner and their clarifying shampoo. It made my hair feel so soft and beautiful. I even bought these hair care products for my granny to try and she ended up buying them again for herself.

Their products are free from petroleum, parabens and synthetic fragrances. Their ingredients are plant-based, sourced from pure organic sources. They have also put so much effort into ensuring their packaging is environmentally friendly by using a plant-based polymer instead of using PET bottles that release an unsustainable amount of emissions into the atmosphere each year.

Product recommendations from Naturalmente:

• Lavender and Rosemary Purifying Shampoo – this is so good for getting rid of build up on your scalp and growing your hair.
• Multivitamin Shampoo, Aloe & Sandalwood
• Vitamin Repair Conditioner

GAIA ORGANICS:

I think I have been using the Gaia Organics Sun Screen for about 8 years now! This is another natural product that comes everywhere with me. It is one of very few natural suncreams that don’t leave my skin feeling oily and uncomfortable. I actually love the way it smells and it works really well in protecting my skin.

Gaia Organics has a wide range of eco-friendly body products that are all plant-based and completely cruelty-free. They have mastered the natural power of using Organic Green Tea and wild Kelp (seaweed) from the Atlantic Ocean in South Africa. They choose their ingredients carefully and intentionally to prioritize skin health and aligning health and wellness as closely to nature’s medicines as possible.

Other products that my friends and I use from them are:

• Derma Optimist Hydrating Mist – spraying this on my face before heading out for the day feels so soothing! I know it is a facial mist but I actually started to use it on my body too as it has such healing ingredients inside.
• Bio Shampoo Rosemary & Bergamot
• Hair Conditioner, Dry Scalp – quite a few of my friends use the shampoo & conditioner from Gaia Organics and have seen amazing softening and strengthening results from it.

Even though Gaia Organics is based in South Africa, they do ship their products internationally. You can find all the information on how to do this here.

MENSTRUAL CUPS & PERIOD UNDERWEAR:

Eco-friendly body products are not only limited to the hair and lotions. They are also what we wear and put inside our bodies. When it comes to menstruation, there is a massive movement in bringing awareness to the toxicity of mainstream period products. And how they are causing immense harm to women’s bodies and disrupting our hormones.

This is another topics that deserves a whole post on its own. So I will break it down simply for now. It is known and tested that mainstream pads and tampons contain chemicals such as Parabens, Bisphenols and Phthalates that are Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals. This means that they disturb the body’s natural hormone balance and functions and cause long-term health issues with fertility, reproduction, ovary and uterus health and endometriosis.

Most pads and tampons contain synthetics, fragrances, micro plastics and carcinogens that are linked to cancer and interfere with a woman’s vaginal biome. We were never meant to wear these toxins on the most intimate part of our bodies. And as you can imagine, these products are just as terrible for the environment. They are not biodegradable, release toxins, chemicals and micro plastics into the Earth and cause massive amounts of single-use plastic waste.

THANKFULLY there are much more sustainable and healthy alternatives for women these days! The 2 options that I personally use are menstrual cups and period underwear.

MENSTRUAL CUPS:

Menstrual Cups are a more sustainable and healthier option than using mainstream pads and tampons. They are generally made from medical grade silicone that is biocompatible with a woman’s body. Medical grade silicone is unfortunately not biodegradable. But the upside of using a cup is that it can last you up to 5 years! Where as the alternative is throwing 100s of toxic tampons and pads per woman into landfills and waterways a year that do not decompose either.

A Menstrual Cup is so convenient to use as you can keep it in for up to 12 hours. I usually don’t keep mine in for more than 6 hours at a time. Once you learn how to insert them correctly, they are so easy to use.

Faithful To Nature has their own brand of menstrual cups that I personally love using. You can choose a size that is suitable for you and your flow.

PERIOD UNDERWEAR:

Not every woman feels comfortable to use a menstrual cup, which is completely understandable. So the other option is period underwear. They are super comfortable and work so well for all flows. I usually use my menstrual cup during the day and sleep in my period underwear at night. I have a few pairs of these so that I can wash them in the morning after each use and use a fresh one the next evening while the other dries.

My period underwear from Bodhi B. They make theirs from 100% cotton and Merino Wool. They also have different styles and sizes to choose from. Their products are anti-microbial, super-absorbent, leak-proof. I have never had a leak when wearing them.

I would highly recommend trying their underwear as a healthy, re-usable and eco-friendly option for your period.

SHIFTING TO NATURAL, ECO-FRIENDLY BODY PRODUCTS CAN REALLY TRANSFORM OUR HEALTH….

There really are so many wonderful and carefully curated products in existence today. Businesses in the natural health and wellness world are so knowledgable about the healing properties of plants and animal-based ingredients that there is always something suitable for everyone.

We have been conditioned for a very, very long time to follow what mainstream marketing and Big Pharma has told us to do when it comes to our health and well-being. And I believe that nature is so full of beneficial medicines that most people don’t take advantage of enough. We don’t turn to nature enough when it comes to taking care of our bodies and giving our bodies exactly what they need. Not only to survive but to live a long and happy life.

When we do this, we are taking our health back into our own hands. We are choosing to be conscious consumers that care about who and what we are supporting. And how that ecologically affects this beautiful planet that we call Home.

If you have any of your own favorite eco-friendly body products or brands that you would like to share with us and our like-minded readers, please let us know in the comments! We would love to be introduced to more amazing brands like this from across the world so we can continue choosing a greener way of living.