by Tesneem Ayoub
Enfield-born Khawla’s shopping list started undergoing a massive overhaul three years ago when she decided that she was going to swap conventional personal-care products for natural, homemade versions. A heightened sense of environmental consciousness jump-started this transformation for the 20-something-year-old. First, shop-bought disposable menstrual pads were replaced with homemade cloth ones, and soon after, branded deodorant sticks were dumped and the DIY-ing for perfect, natural deodorising concoctions began. “One thing led to another,” she says, when explaining how she went down the natural route. |
According to Khawla, the benefits of making this transition were not only environmental, but had also extended to her physical health. “I am avoiding putting aluminium on my armpits, which is in most deodorants and contributes to breast cancer,” she says, as she also states that aluminium in antiperspirant deodorants clog armpit pores.
Although Cancer Research UK says that evidence showing that the body’s intake of aluminium salts in deodorant, via the armpit. increases breast-cancer risk is weak, they also say that it is not an uncommon concern amongst the public. And logging onto an internet search engine will tell you just that, as several webpages and blogs are dedicated to the subject of making aluminium-free deodorants or the sale of them.
Khawla’s homemade concoctions also proved to be friendly for her wallet in the long-term. She only needs to spend an initial cost of £8.50 to buy coconut oil, lemon essential oil and bicarbonate of soda – her deodorants’ ingredients.
“I’m not even going to use all of those ingredients,” she says. She fills empty, recycled deodorant sticks from her former go-to £3.99 shop-bought brand with these ingredients. “To fill that £3.99 stick, I am only going to use maybe 10 (tea)spoons of coconut oil, or even less, because I kind of ‘eyeball’ it. I’m going to use eight drops of essential oil and I’m going to use four or five spoons of the bicarb,” she says.
Khawla used to buy eight to 10 bottles of deodorants a year, spending between £32 to £40 yearly. But since the then care-worker made the switch, she has saved considerably on toiletries overall, as she also uses the same ingredients to make her own toothpastes.
Khawla still continues to live a greener lifestyle even after recently moving out of London to live in Cork, Ireland.
Dr David Lewis-Hodgson, a chartered psychologist currently working with the market-research firm Mind Lab, believes that an increasing “search for authenticity” in today’s society is the reason people are likelier to pay more attention to the sources of their everyday products and to adhere to “natural” options as much as possible.
Although Cancer Research UK says that evidence showing that the body’s intake of aluminium salts in deodorant, via the armpit. increases breast-cancer risk is weak, they also say that it is not an uncommon concern amongst the public. And logging onto an internet search engine will tell you just that, as several webpages and blogs are dedicated to the subject of making aluminium-free deodorants or the sale of them.
Khawla’s homemade concoctions also proved to be friendly for her wallet in the long-term. She only needs to spend an initial cost of £8.50 to buy coconut oil, lemon essential oil and bicarbonate of soda – her deodorants’ ingredients.
“I’m not even going to use all of those ingredients,” she says. She fills empty, recycled deodorant sticks from her former go-to £3.99 shop-bought brand with these ingredients. “To fill that £3.99 stick, I am only going to use maybe 10 (tea)spoons of coconut oil, or even less, because I kind of ‘eyeball’ it. I’m going to use eight drops of essential oil and I’m going to use four or five spoons of the bicarb,” she says.
Khawla used to buy eight to 10 bottles of deodorants a year, spending between £32 to £40 yearly. But since the then care-worker made the switch, she has saved considerably on toiletries overall, as she also uses the same ingredients to make her own toothpastes.
Khawla still continues to live a greener lifestyle even after recently moving out of London to live in Cork, Ireland.
Dr David Lewis-Hodgson, a chartered psychologist currently working with the market-research firm Mind Lab, believes that an increasing “search for authenticity” in today’s society is the reason people are likelier to pay more attention to the sources of their everyday products and to adhere to “natural” options as much as possible.
I think people have very strange perceptions about the meaning of health |
This, he believes, has led people to equate the term “natural” with “good”. More people as a result search for natural alternatives to everyday products, whether homemade or shop-bought, and increasingly shun more “processed”, conventional products that are seen as “bad” because they are not as “natural”.
And it is young, urban, socially-aware consumers like Khawla, he says, who are the most likely to be on board with making these types of changes. |
“It is particularly aspiring, younger women – although not just women – particularly when they are living in a big city with a lot of people who are very concerned with preserving their health,” he says.
He considers the desire for consumers to preserve their health to be a major factor that leads to their re-thinking their choices.
Findings on Mintel market research reports on the personal-care market appear to support Mr Lewis-Hodgson’s views.
In the Beauty and Personal Care Trends 2025 report published in 2015, that set out to predict market trends for the next decade, it has been predicted that a growing number of people will make their own personal-care products.
He considers the desire for consumers to preserve their health to be a major factor that leads to their re-thinking their choices.
Findings on Mintel market research reports on the personal-care market appear to support Mr Lewis-Hodgson’s views.
In the Beauty and Personal Care Trends 2025 report published in 2015, that set out to predict market trends for the next decade, it has been predicted that a growing number of people will make their own personal-care products.
42 per cent of UK personal-care product buyers already opt for organic options because they believe they are better for the environment. This report also cited that 50 per cent of UK men, who according to Dr Lewis-Hodgson are not classically considered to pay attention to personal-care products, believe that organic facial-care products are better for the skin.
He considers the desire for consumers to preserve their health to be a major factor that leads to their re-thinking their choices.
Findings on Mintel market research reports on the personal-care market appear to support Mr Lewis-Hodgson’s views.
In the Beauty and Personal Care Trends 2025 report published in 2015, that set out to predict market trends for the next decade, it has been predicted that a growing number of people will make their own personal-care products.
He considers the desire for consumers to preserve their health to be a major factor that leads to their re-thinking their choices.
Findings on Mintel market research reports on the personal-care market appear to support Mr Lewis-Hodgson’s views.
In the Beauty and Personal Care Trends 2025 report published in 2015, that set out to predict market trends for the next decade, it has been predicted that a growing number of people will make their own personal-care products.
42 per cent of UK personal-care product buyers already opt for organic options because they believe they are better for the environment. This report also cited that 50 per cent of UK men, who according to Dr Lewis-Hodgson are not classically considered to pay attention to personal-care products, believe that organic facial-care products are better for the skin.
A December 2014 Mintel report on natural and organic toiletries in the UK had also shown that natural and organic product labelling had been changing. In the January to October 2014 period, there was a decrease in the number of labels that read that they were “free from” certain substances, witnessing a drop by 23 per cent points to 38 per cent from 61 per cent in 2013.
Nonetheless, products that had labels describing the positive outcomes that can come from using them were seen to increase. Products labelled “anti-ageing”, for example, had risen by 45 per cent in the same January to October 2014 period compared with the previous year. |
This may not just be a move by manufacturers to attract more customers, as the authors of that report said, but it may also be a response to the consumer demand of knowing what their products’ effects are. As Dr Lewis-Hodgson says that there is growing anxiety about health amongst the public, there is consequently, a growing desire to control it. This, according to him, includes the desire to know what is in the products consumers use.
He expects that conscious Londoners will make an effort switch to more “natural” products even if the scientific data on their comparative advantages is weak or inconclusive. “We want to avoid taking risks,” he says.
“I think people have very strange perceptions about the meaning of health,” he adds.
He also said that “misinformation” about health in social media and the popular press is often contradictory and confusing and that this contributes to people’s anxieties about their own health.
“Unless you feel completely unhealthy, then this means that you are somehow unhealthy,” he says about what he believes is a common, distorted all-or-nothing approach health and wellbeing.
Dr Lewis-Hodgson also says that a reason why Londoners may be keen to switch to natural products is because they want to prove their uniqueness amongst others and be noticed by the “trendy” people who are going “all-natural”. This, he says, is because richer people tend to make such lifestyle choices.
He expects that conscious Londoners will make an effort switch to more “natural” products even if the scientific data on their comparative advantages is weak or inconclusive. “We want to avoid taking risks,” he says.
“I think people have very strange perceptions about the meaning of health,” he adds.
He also said that “misinformation” about health in social media and the popular press is often contradictory and confusing and that this contributes to people’s anxieties about their own health.
“Unless you feel completely unhealthy, then this means that you are somehow unhealthy,” he says about what he believes is a common, distorted all-or-nothing approach health and wellbeing.
Dr Lewis-Hodgson also says that a reason why Londoners may be keen to switch to natural products is because they want to prove their uniqueness amongst others and be noticed by the “trendy” people who are going “all-natural”. This, he says, is because richer people tend to make such lifestyle choices.
He says that it is people with “disposable income” who tend to have interest in this lifestyle and also says: “it is people’s increasing disposable income that have made these products more available to people.” An “all-natural” lifestyle could therefore be seen as a status symbol.
Although markets are witnessing a change thanks to a growing interest in natural toiletries, Dr Joan Harvey, a chartered psychologist part-time also with an expertise in consumer psychology cautions from making the assumption that natural toiletries are revolutionising the personal-care market. |
I was amazed by how ingredients’ choice is driven by marketing rather than benefit to the use |
Dr Harvey says that it “will be a proportion of consumers who probably have the most eco or green attitudes” who are likely to be on the lookout for natural toiletries, and that these people make up for no more than 20 per cent of consumers.
“A majority (of people) will be complacent and some even motivated to buy the cheapest products to save money, and who would then make no attributions concerning healthier but more costly [sic] products,” she says.
Although many Londoners change their lifestyles and opt for natural deodorants out of choice, some do it out of need.
45-year-old Sidcup-based Lara made the transition 10 years ago when her son, then a toddler, had several food-intolerances. It was then suggested to her family that they reduced the use of household chemicals.
“Ever since, we have tried to substitute chemical products for natural alternatives,” she says.
The inspiration for using homemade, natural deodorants came from from her mother who used to use a zinc paste as a deodorant. “I tried to recreate that,” she says.
To Lara, going back to her old lifestyle is “unthinkable”.
“A majority (of people) will be complacent and some even motivated to buy the cheapest products to save money, and who would then make no attributions concerning healthier but more costly [sic] products,” she says.
Although many Londoners change their lifestyles and opt for natural deodorants out of choice, some do it out of need.
45-year-old Sidcup-based Lara made the transition 10 years ago when her son, then a toddler, had several food-intolerances. It was then suggested to her family that they reduced the use of household chemicals.
“Ever since, we have tried to substitute chemical products for natural alternatives,” she says.
The inspiration for using homemade, natural deodorants came from from her mother who used to use a zinc paste as a deodorant. “I tried to recreate that,” she says.
To Lara, going back to her old lifestyle is “unthinkable”.
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The process in Lara’s household began with research on the chemicals found in food, household, and skin care products.
“The more I learned, the more amazed I was by how much ingredients choice is driven by marketing and product appearance rather than benefit to the end user,” she says. “The more I learned, the more amazed I was by how much ingredients choice is driven by marketing and product appearance rather than benefit to the end user,” she says. At first, Lara bought natural deodorants, but as the ingredients for them became more accessible, she started to make her own. |
Unlike Khawla, Lara prefers her deodorants Zinc-based rather than bicarbonate of soda-based. Although bicarbonate of soda can help with eliminating odour, she says that it can be harsh on the skin. “It is highly alkaline. Having it on the skin constantly disturbs the skin pH and may cause painful reaction,” she says.
Today, Lara sells her deodorants online as part of her family business. But what got her thinking along entrepreneurial lines?
“I have been self-employed for quite some time but it was only last year that my husband said: ‘if all this is good enough for us, surely it’s good for others too’,” she says.
But would people who do not even, be ready to try them out? Maybe.
Maira, a 20-year-old student from Bromley, says she has not heard of natural deodorants before and did not know that you can make your own, but she would like to give them a try.
She also says that she will take the time to make the deodorants and will be happy to spend money on the ingredients needed, provided that she gets good results from them: “One thing that concerns me is the smell. I hope it (the natural deodorant) actually smells nice for me to put on my skin, like, you know, the other deodorants.”
Today, Lara sells her deodorants online as part of her family business. But what got her thinking along entrepreneurial lines?
“I have been self-employed for quite some time but it was only last year that my husband said: ‘if all this is good enough for us, surely it’s good for others too’,” she says.
But would people who do not even, be ready to try them out? Maybe.
Maira, a 20-year-old student from Bromley, says she has not heard of natural deodorants before and did not know that you can make your own, but she would like to give them a try.
She also says that she will take the time to make the deodorants and will be happy to spend money on the ingredients needed, provided that she gets good results from them: “One thing that concerns me is the smell. I hope it (the natural deodorant) actually smells nice for me to put on my skin, like, you know, the other deodorants.”