Would you love to switch to zero waste body care & cosmetic products, enjoying a mix of both homemade creations and safe beauty products from trusted brands?
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Zero Waste Body Care & Cosmetics
This class is for you if…
You want to take the red pill and learn about the ecological and health impacts of cosmetic products on the market… even those that are seemingly harmless and ‘green’.
You are excited for a total routine makeover and to discover how to easily make over 50 of your own DIY body care products with local, zero waste ingredients.
You’re eager to learn about the zero waste cosmetic companies out there that are getting things right… and how to detect greenwashing!
Why we created this class…
Hey, there! We’re Christelle & Cristina, a.k.a. the Permacrafters. We developed this master course as a response to the dangerous ingredients that are found in our personal care products and to the unsustainable plastic packaging that is so pervasive in our lives. All we wanted was gorgeous skin, hair and makeup without trashing the planet and being exposed to endocrine disrupters, neurotoxins, and carcinogens… so we made it happen!
When we were starting out, we had a gazillion questions: How many tries will it take me to get this recipe right? What if I only want to use local ingredients (skip the shea, coconut and cocoa)? How do I know if such and such ingredient is even sustainable? How do I begin to find my ingredients or products package-free? What if I don’t have time to make my own recipes? How do I know what companies or ingredients are to be trusted? How in the world will I afford all these products? What if I just want a simple routine minus the bells and whistles?
Our goal in developing this class was to give you all the answers you’re craving for in a simple, user-friendly platform. This class is our largest course to date and it’s jam-packed with recipes & beauty tricks. We share how to easily make your own body care products with few local ingredients and how to scope out zero waste cosmetic companies that are getting things right. (Note that we are not sponsored by any of these companies.)
In this complete course, we have gathered all the most valuable information for you about safe, zero waste skin care, body care, hair care, dental care and makeup. If you’re ready to transition to safe eco-friendly beauty products, you’re in exactly the right spot!
Imagine if…
… you had the peace of mind that the body care and cosmetics products you were using weren’t harming your health or the environment.
… you could easily and confidently make your own quality zero waste body care products right at home.
… you had full support to achieve your goals through video tutorials, an e-workbook, and a helpful online community.
Zero Waste Body Care & Cosmetics
Course Outline
PART 1: Toxic Chemicals & Safe Eco-Friendly Ingredients
Module 1: Introduction
We want you to be successful on your journey to using zero waste body care & cosmetic products! What are your goals, concerns, or questions?
Module 2: Philosophy of the Class
We adopt a zero waste mindset, minimizing packaging & choosing local and low carbon ingredients when we can.
Module 3: Toxic Chemicals in Cosmetics
Common cosmetic products on the market contain toxic chemicals from carcinogens, to neurotoxins and hormone disrupters. Let’s look at the facts.
Module 4: Associated Health Risks
How does our skin absorb these toxic chemicals? What are the risks when it comes to using conventional personal care products?
Module 5: Finding Safe Products with the EWG Database
How can we safely navigate product labels without getting overwhelmed? Learn about the Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep Database.
Module 6: Safe Ingredients with Lower Ecological Impact
These are the ingredients we focus on using, as they can be found relatively easily zero waste, locally, and have lower eco-footprints.
Module 7: Safe Ingredients with Higher Ecological Impact
While some ingredients are great choices for use in cosmetics, we avoid them due to their destructive production & distribution methods.
Module 8: Safety Briefing
While our ingredients are generally considered safe, anyone can develop an allergic reaction to a product. Here’s what you need to know.
PART 2: Face Care
Module 1: Skin Care
We share basic skin care practices you can implement to avoid daily damage to your skin.
Module 2: Skin Types
Determine what your skin type is in order to best choose the body care products that will be suited to you.
Module 3: The Role of Diet in Skin Health
How diet can affect skin, and how the Permacrafters both found that a plant-based diet was the key to getting rid of their acne.
Module 4: Face wash & Face Cleanser
Learn the difference between face wash and face cleanser, and whether you need either. Discover our favorite zero waste brand options.
Module 5: Face Exfoliator
Learn about the pros and cons of facial exfoliation. Discover how to make your exfoliator and which zero waste exfoliator we liked most.
Module 6: Face Serum
Learn about the benefits of face serums, and where to find them zero waste.
Module 7: Pimple Paste
Learn how to make your own pimple paste to help speed along healing for spots on your face.
Module 8: Toner
Learn when and how to use a toner. We’ll walk you through how to make your own and the best zero waste toner products.
Module 9: Face Moisturizer
We delve into whether moisturizer is necessary, how to make your own at home, and which zero waste face moisturizer brands we most like.
Module 10: Facial Steams
Discover the benefits of facial steams and how to make your own blend at home.
Module 11: Face Mask
Get ready to make a ton of easy zero waste facemasks with us. No matter your skin type, you’ll find one you adore.
Module 12: Lip Balm
Learn about what to avoid in typical lip balms and how to make your own with some simple local ingredients.
PART 3: Body Care
Module 1: Over-Cleaning
Is there such a thing as being too clean? What happens when we wash our bodies with hot water and soap too often?
Module 2: Bar Soap
How to find an ethical bar soap that’s unpackaged and how to choose the appropriate accessories to get the most out of your bar.
Module 3: Body Wash
Learn about solid gels, bulk body washes, and refillable soaps and how to ensure they are free from unwanted substances.
Module 4: Body Moisturizer
Make your own luxurious body moisturizers with a few simple ingredients.
Module 5: Bath Treatments
Make your own bath salts, bath bombs, and bath teas to fully enjoy a relaxing bathing experience.
Module 6: Foot Scrubs
Make your own foot scrubs and learn how to treat calluses. Learn what ingredients to avoid in conventional scrubs.
Module 7: Massage Oils
How to make or purchase zero waste massage oils for a pleasurable massage.
Module 8: Deodorant
Learn about ingredients to avoid in conventional deodorants. Make your own deodorants and learn about zero waste brands, including baking soda-free options.
Module 9: Ear Care
The best way to clean your ears is to not intervene. For those intent on breaking the rules, we introduce zero waste cotton swabs and ear picks.
PART 4: Hair Care
Module 1: Basic Hair Care Practices
Delve into how to best care for the health of your locks with some simple techniques.
Module 2: Liquid Shampoo
Learn how to make a variety of homemade liquid shampoos and which brands offer refillable shampoo options.
Module 3: Shampoo Bar
How to choose & use your shampoo bar and troubleshoot sticky-hair issues.
Module 4: No Poo Method and Dry Shampoo
Learn about the various no poo methods as well as dry shampoo options (and the difference between the 2!)
Module 5: Conditioner
Make your own liquid conditioner and learn about the numerous zero waste conditioner options available to you.
Module 6: Hair Masks
Discover how to make your own zero waste hair masks based the issue you wish to address and the benefits of deep conditioning.
Module 7: Hair Serums & Hair Tea
Learn when and how you would want to use hair serums, and the various benefits of hair tea.
Module 8: Natural Hair Coloring
Learn how to naturally highlight or color your hair with daily hair teas or henna coloring.
Module 9: Hair Accessories
Learn where to find zero waste hair ties, hairbrushes, combs and more to keep your locks and the planet healthy.
Module 10: Hair Removal
Hold on tight as we delve into zero waste razors & shaving creams, laser treatments, zero waste waxing, and threading.
PART 5: Dental Care
Module 1: Three Toothbrush Alternatives
Surely you’ve heard of the bamboo toothbrush. How about the natural miswak brush, or the zero waste electronic toothbrush alternative?
Module 2: Biodegradable Floss
Many seemingly zero waste floss options are made from plastic. Learn about silk floss and vegan biodegradable floss options.
Module 3: Three Toothpaste Alternatives
Learn about the alternatives to your typical plastic-packaged toothpaste: toothpaste tabs, toothpaste in metallic tubes and toothpaste on a stick!
Module 4: Mouthwash Alternatives
Learn about zero waste tongue scrapers, mouthwash tabs, how to make your own mouthwash, and the benefits of oil pulling.
PART 6: Makeup & Nail Polish
Module 1: DIY Mascara
Learn how to make your own mascara with some simple ingredients right at home.
Module 2: Our Zero Waste Makeup Choices
We present the zero waste makeup products we most like and personally use.
Module 3: Top Zero Waste Makeup Brands
Discover the top zero waste makeup brands in the United States, Canada, Europe and Australia.
Module 4: Low Waste Nail Polish
Discover nail polish companies that are not only safe, their containers are also recyclable and the polish is biodegradable.
Module 5: Makeup Remover & Cotton Rounds
Learn how to make your own makeup remover and how to select your cotton rounds to remove makeup.
PART 7: Herbal Treatments for Skin Problems
Module 1: Salves
Learn how to make salves for insect bites, rashes, dry skin, and for anti-septic purposes.
Module 2: Poultice & Compress
Discover how to make a poultice for insect bites and a compress for dry skin.
Lifetime access to the video tutorials
for all 50 modules (3 hours)
A 330-page PDF workbook
that contains all the information from modules 1-50, helpful checklists and guidelines.
Review questions
to help you assimilate the class information
Access to an exclusive student forum
You will have access to a supportive online community hosted on Facebook to submit your questions and share your successes or difficulties. It’s a wonderful opportunity to get feedback and motivate one another.
Access to workshop updates
As we add content to our workshop over time, you will have access to all updated information.
Watch the videos on any device.
Meet your instructor
Christelle is a bubbly environmental educator and permaculture instructor who infuses optimism in her classes and laughs at her own jokes. Originally from Geneva, Switzerland, her studies and career have focused on environmental protection. She’s multilingual, a mama (or “Permamacita”), a beekeeper, and a foraging enthusiast with an insatiable curiosity for life. Christelle and Cristina developed this course together, with Christelle bringing her environmental expertise to the table, and Cristina bringing her passion for body care, makeup art, and developing beauty recipes.
Still have questions? Send us a message!
Still have questions? Send us a message!
Frequently Asked Questions
How long do I have access to the course for?
How does FOREVER sound? You keep the courses as long as the internet exists.
Do you offer refunds or exchanges?
Permacrafters does not offer refunds, as stated in our Terms of Use. All sales are final (unless you accidentally purchased the course multiple times). We are a mission-based business that offers accessible pricing, therefore our profit margins are low. In the digital content world, where courses are immediately downloadable, there’s unfortunately a high prominence of content theft through illegitimate refund requests. Our two-person team can’t allocate the time required to keep up with this regrettable trend.
However, we want to assure you that if there are any updates you wish to see to the course or any additional modules or plant profiles, we will immediately seek to make these improvements. Do not hesitate to ask, because we create new content every week and are constantly updating our courses and adding new video lessons.
To give you further peace of mind, in some cases we can offer exchanges. We are so confident that you will love this course, that if by day 7 you aren’t delighted, you can exchange the course for any of our other courses of equal value.
What do you mean by local ingredients?
In our class, we use ingredients that are harvested either in Europe or the States. Depending on where you live, you can modify the ingredients you are using. If you live in Australia, Latin America, Africa, or Asia (or anywhere else!), there’s nothing stopping you from taking this class.
Are we sponsored by any of these zero waste brands?
No. It was crucial for us to share honest opinions about all of the body care products we tested. In fact, you’ll notice when there’s a product we don’t like, because we’ll always say when a product didn’t work for us.
We did receive free bamboo toothbrushes from Leafico; they are shown in this class. We were not paid to give a review about the product.
In the future, we may share affiliate links of our favorite products, but for the time being, we are not doing so.
Is this a vegan class?
No. The only animal products you will see us use in this class are beeswax and honey from local beekeepers. As a former beekeeper, it’s critical for me to purchase bee products only from sources that I trust. The beeswax was from abandoned hives, and the honey that was collected was surplus honey. If you do not wish to use bee products, this class may not be for you. However, the majority of our recipes do not call for bee products.