How to Build a Zero Waste Skincare Routine (Starting With Your Moisturizer)

The average person uses somewhere between 7 and 12 personal care products every day. Almost all of them come in single-use plastic. If you’ve ever stood in front of your bathroom counter and felt a little overwhelmed by the amount of plastic looking back at you, you aren’t alone. The bathroom is often the quietest but most consistent source of packaging waste in our homes, and it can start to feel like a lot to manage.

It's also one of the easiest places to change. Unlike food or household products, beauty items get used up and replaced regularly. That means every time a product runs out, you have a natural opportunity to replace it differently — no dramatic overhaul required.

This guide covers practical, tested swaps for the most common plastic-packaged skincare products in a daily routine. I’m starting with moisturizer because it's the highest-impact first step, and the one where the zero waste skincare swap genuinely performs better — not just equally well.

 

Why Moisturizer Is the Best First Swap

Body lotion is one of the most frequently purchased products in any skincare routine, and it almost always comes in a plastic pump bottle or squeeze tube. It's also the category where the zero waste alternative — a solid lotion bar or body butter bar — tends to outperform its plastic-packaged equivalent, especially on dry skin.

The Nourish Body Lotion Bar generates zero packaging waste. No bottle, no pump, no lid. Because it's a concentrated, waterless moisturizer formula, it lasts significantly longer than a standard bottle of lotion and doesn't require preservatives to stay stable. Fewer ingredients, simpler formula, nothing unnecessary.

That's the swap we're starting with. Everything else follows naturally from there.

 

The Zero Waste Skincare Routine — Step by Step

Step 1 — Body Cleanser

Conventional liquid body wash is typically 60–80% water in a plastic bottle. The zero waste swap is a solid body wash bar or soap bar with minimal or compostable packaging. Look for a simple ingredient list, no synthetic fragrance, and no SLS if you have sensitive skin. Most people find the transition easier than expected — a good bar lathers well and lasts longer than a bottle.

Step 2 — Moisturizer

Conventional body lotion comes in a plastic pump or squeeze bottle and is mostly water, which evaporates if not locked into place with appropriate ingredients. The swap is a body lotion bar stored in a reusable and recyclable aluminum tin. 

The Nourish Body Lotion Bar is a concentrated blend of cocoa butter and plant derived oils — no water, no preservatives, and no plastic packaging. It works on the whole body including hands, heels, cuticles, and lips, so you don’t need multiple products to cover different areas. It’s zero waste skincare by design, not as an afterthought. If you only make one swap from this list, make it this one.

Step 3 — Lip Balm

Most conventional lip balms come in plastic tubes that eventually end up in a landfill. The swap is a lip balm in a cardboard push-up tube or a small, reusable tin.

If you’re looking for a dedicated treatment, our CocoVanil Lip Conditioner is a perfect example—formulated with simple, effective ingredients and housed in a plastic-free, 100% biodegradable cardboard tube. Or, as I cover in the dry skin remedy post, simply using a body lotion bar on your lips works beautifully in a pinch. 

Step 4 — Facial Moisturizer

Face moisturizer is a trickier swap because facial skin sensitivity varies, but glass or aluminum packaging is a great place to start. We intentionally chose glass bottles for our Hydrate Moisture Accelerator and Restore Intensive Night Cream so they can be easily repurposed or recycled once empty. While these formulas are sophisticated, their packaging remains simple and plastic-free. Just a reminder: body lotion bars are typically too rich for most facial skin types, so it’s best to keep those separate.

Step 5 — Sunscreen

Sunscreen is a notoriously difficult category to find in plastic-free packaging, so the goal is to look for the most sustainable option available. For example, we house our Radiant Tinted Moisturizer with SPF 15 in a glass bottle to help reduce the amount of plastic in your morning routine. Whether you're using a face or body SPF, look for zinc oxide as the active ingredient and avoid oxybenzone, which is both a skin sensitizer and an environmental concern. Sustainable skincare isn't about finding a perfect solution overnight; it's about choosing glass or mineral-based options where we can make a meaningful shift in the right direction. 

The Plastic Math — How Much Does One Swap Actually Save?

The average person goes through approximately 4-6 bottles of body lotion per year. Each plastic pump bottle takes an estimated 400–500 years to break down. Switching to a body lotion bar eliminates that plastic entirely by using an infinitely recyclable aluminum tin instead of a single-use bottle.

When you extend that across a full routine—swapping body wash, moisturizer, and lip balm to plastic-free alternatives—you can eliminate roughly 8-10 plastic containers per year. The point isn't to make you feel the weight of every plastic bottle you've ever used. It's to show that the math on these one-for-one swaps is genuinely meaningful, and it compounds every time you reach the bottom of a tin, bottle or a jar.

Common Questions About Zero Waste Skincare

Does zero waste skincare actually work as well as conventional products?

For most categories, yes — and in some cases better. Solid lotion bars are a good example. Because the formula is concentrated rather than water-diluted, it often outperforms conventional lotion on dry skin. The swap isn't a compromise; it's usually an upgrade.

Is zero waste skincare more expensive?

The upfront cost is often higher, but the cost per use is usually lower because concentrated solid formats last longer. A body lotion bar that replaces two bottles of lotion isn't more expensive overall — it just feels that way at the point of purchase. Most people find their spending evens out or decreases once they've made the switch.

Do I have to switch everything at once?

No — and honestly, trying to do it all at once is the fastest way to feel overwhelmed and give up. The most practical approach is to replace products one at a time as they run out. Start with moisturizer. It's the easiest swap, the most impactful, and the one where you'll notice the difference immediately.

Will solid bars feel different on my skin?

They can feel different at first, mostly because you're used to the slip of a water-based formula. Give it a week. Most people find that once their skin adjusts to a more concentrated formula, they don't want to go back.

Your Zero Waste Skincare Swap List

One Swap at a Time

You don't have to overhaul your entire routine to make a real difference. Start with the moisturizer swap — it's the easiest, the most impactful, and the one where the zero waste alternative genuinely performs better than what you're replacing.

Everything else can follow at its own pace. When your body wash runs out, swap it. When your lip balm runs out, swap it. That's the whole strategy. When we prioritize simple, gradual shifts, we create a routine that is genuinely sustainable—one that lasts far beyond a single bottle.

Shop the Nourish Body Lotion Bar, the zero waste moisturizer.

What's Actually In a Lotion Bar? The Ingredients That Make It Work