Easy and affordable cruelty-free shower swaps

As I touched on in this post, I’ve been trying to buy only cruelty-free products since the beginning of 2017 (I say ‘trying’ because it’s such a minefield of a topic, but I’m pretty sure I haven’t slipped up yet).

There are loads of articles, blog posts and directories on the world wide web about the products that are and aren’t tested on animals, which is great, but it can also be very complicated and frustrating. I don’t know how many times now I’ve found a brand I like the look of, only to find it’s not available in the UK, or it’s something obscure that is super difficult to get hold of.

Even when a cruelty-free product is readily available, it can sometimes be on the pricey side. Now, if you’re into this that’s fine but I’m not the type to spend a pretty penny on shower gel, for instance. I would much rather save my pretty pennies for holidays and shoes and seeing how much cake I can eat and hopefully one day buying some sunglasses that aren’t from Primark.

However, through much searching and a couple of unexpected discoveries, I’ve found some lovely things that are completely certified cruelty-free, so I thought I would share my favourite easy and affordable shower swaps. They’re all great, they’re all bunny-friendly and none of them are going to break the bank, leaving more funds for whatever else your heart desires. Like shoes.

1) Swap the Radox for Sainsburys own-brand shower gel

That’s right – Sainsburys. Guys, it’s shower gel. As long as it stops you smelling and doesn’t cause any sort of nasty skin irritation does it even matter? Nope (not to me, anyway). At the moment I’m using the Nourish Shower Creme (with Shea Butter and Jojoba) and the Soften Shower Creme (with coconut and silk protein. Who knows what silk protein is, but it sounds good doesn’t it). All of the Sainsburys own brand products are cruelty free which is GREAT – you go Glen Coco – and there are some delicious-smelling fruity body washes, but the bizarre UK weather has left me scaly like a lizard at the moment so I’m currently using these more moisturising options. According to the product page on the website they produce a ‘rich and creamy lather’, and do you know what, they’re bang on with that. These are 90p. Ninety pence. Add to that the fact that you can just pop them in your trolley with your weekly food shop and you can’t go wrong, can you really?

2) Swap Herbal Essences for Avalon Organics

Okay okay, I’m a cop out, I’m banging on about Avalon Organics again, except it’s totally different this time… because today I’m talking about the Rosemary shampoo and conditioner rather than the Lemon ones. I’ve already gone into detail about how much I like their haircare in this post, so have a little look at that if you’d like, but in summary; these are cruelty-free, vegan, contain loads of the good stuff and no harsh chemicals, and come in at £5.99 each from Holland and Barrett.

I finally used up my Clarifying Lemon shampoo and conditioner after about 3 months – which is pretty good going for a greaseball who has to wash their hair as much as I do. Granted I did take them in and out of the shower with me so that no one else would use them, but that’s just sensible. I’ve now got the Volumizing Rosemary Shampoo and Conditioner and, dare I say it, I think I like it even more. I thought rosemary would be a really weird smell for a hair product but it actually isn’t at all when you’re using it. It definitely gives my hair more volume and makes it super soft.

3) Swap FemFresh for Superdrug Feminine Wash

That’s right guys, we’re going to talk about intimate wash (even though the word intimate makes me cringe slightly) because let’s face it, it’s great to be clean and a normal soap just wont do in that area. I was a loyal purchaser of FemFresh products and I know lots of people who are, so I was really disappointed to learn that they aren’t cruelty-free.

Story time – one of my friends once received lots of FemFresh products for Christmas from her mother, they were all wrapped up in Christmas paper and she had to open them in front of her fairly new boyfriend. I love that.

Anyway, no need to panic, she can still get foo foo wash for Christmas, because Superdrug’s own brand products are cruelty-free and they do a Feminine wash that is literally the same. It’s also cheaper, at £1.99 instead of £2.99 for the same size bottle.

4) Swap your exfoliator for Lush Rub Rub Rub or M&S Nature’s Ingredients Shower Scrub

I have cheated here, I know, by including two. It’s just that I use them both and also I guess this is my blog so I can make up the rules. First up – Lush’s Rub Rub Rub. It’s a fantastic blue colour, smells divine, and is super buffing. You can pop it on in the shower or go to town by scrubbing dry skin beforehand and then hopping in to rinse it off. Goodbye lizard legs! It’s £8.95 for a 330g tub, which isn’t unreasonable, and the pot lasts a fair amount of time, so it’s an affordable option.

£8.95 isn’t properly cheap though is it, and that’s where the M&S one comes in. This little baby is £3 and smells fab. It’s quite runny hence the tube rather than tub, but it’s really packed with beads which I find quite unusual for an own brand scrub as they are usually pretty useless if they aren’t very thick – and that ensures that this product really works. I tend to use Rub Rub Rub once a week (treat myself to the pricey one, you know) and the M&S shower scrub in between.

So there we have it – my current cruelty-free shower routine. Has anyone else used any of these products? Do you have any cruelty-free recommendations for me?

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