When camping, especially boondocking or dispersed camping where you may or may not have access to showers and tiled bathrooms, cleanliness often takes a backseat (well, it does for us, anyway). But just because you’re sleeping in the dirt or planning long road trips with lots of exploratory stops at state or national parks doesn’t mean you have to neglect your clean routine. On the contrary, we’ve found and tested plenty of sustainable, eco-friendly personal care products that make it easy to stay healthy, happy, and squeaky clean no matter where you roam: backcountry, frontcountry or anywhere in between. So if you’re wondering how to stay clean while camping, here are our favorite zero waste camp hygiene products and tips.
Our Favorite Zero Waste Camp Hygiene Products
Canary
Taking care of oral health is just as important when camping or backpacking as it is at home (obviously). But when space or weight is limited (like when backpacking or flying to camp), we start looking for the lightest, smallest solutions for every little thing. And for plastic free oral care, Canary takes the cake. Not only is the brand zero waste (they package in glass jars or biodegradable paper packaging), but products are vegan, too.
We love their toothpaste tabs because we can bring exactly as much toothpaste as we need for any given trip (which reduces weight when backpacking) and their vegan floss is the best we’ve ever tried. It doesn’t fray despite being made of biodegradable materials, is sturdy, and glides well between your teeth compared to other brands of vegan floss (conventional floss is often coated with beeswax, which most vegans avoid). Bonus: it’s packaged in a compact cardboard box for easy transport. Pair it with a bamboo toothbrush.
HiBar Zero Waste Shampoo, Conditioner and Face Wash
When we plan to be out and about for days or weeks and know showers will be available, we pack travel/sample sizes of HiBar’s zero waste shampoo and conditioner. The little pucks of solid product are lightweight, take up minimal room in our dopp kit, and frankly work. The travel sizes are small, so can be tricky to use if you have larger hands, but we are happy to make the trade off in exchange for serious portability. That said, HiBar has full-size versions, too, if you prefer something a bit more robust in the size department.
HiBar also makes tiny sample/travel-size solid face wash, but since skincare can be super personal, we recommend trying them out before you leave on a big trip so you can determine which is your favorite. We’re obsessed with the Solid Oil Cleanser, which doesn’t come in travel size, but is small and moisturizing enough we don’t mind packing it. There’s even zero waste eco friendly deodorant that we love (and works).
Dr. Bronner’s Castile Soap
If there’s one cleaning product we never leave home without whether camping or backpacking, it’s a tiny bottle of Dr. Bronner’s Castile Soap, a great biodegradable soap for camping. Mostly because it’s amazingly multi-functional and a little goes a long way, so we never have to worry about running out. Indeed, just a few drops of this eco friendly soap is enough to do a tub of dishes, shampoo your hair, wash your hands, wash your body, do a small load of laundry, even function as toothpaste (though those who’ve tried it wouldn’t necessarily recommend it).
It’s about the most versatile product you can keep in your car/backpack/tent/kitchen setup. So pack one bottle instead of three or four different products and enjoy the functionality and space savings. Yes, it’s sold in a plastic bottle (it’s also available in plastic-free bar form), but if you use liquid Castile soap at home like we do, you can just refill and reuse the bottle over and over again. Remember, though: biodegradable soap doesn’t biodegrade in water, so do your washing 200 feet from a body of water.
J.R.Liggett’s Body Oil Bar
An essential part of a plastic free camping hygiene kit, especially in the desert, especially when traveling, is body lotion. we know we’re gonna go through some lotion as our skin dries out. And we’re not fans of traditional options that are mostly water and have to be reapplied every 20 minutes to feel like they’re doing anything (and all come in single-use plastic bottles). No, we prefer a solid lotion, which has the dual benefit of being plastic-free and is guaranteed not to squeeze out or spill all over our bags. Enter the J.R.Liggett’s Solid Body Oil Bar. It’s zero waste, a solid not a liquid, goes on smooth, and hydrates well, especially when it comes to dry legs and arms. Just apply it to damp skin (or get the bar wet and then apply) and rub it in. No mess, no fuss.
It is better suited for adventures where you have access to water like showers or campground spigots, not necessarily adventures where you’re constantly on the move like backpacking or long days in the car, but we love it just the same. The brand also makes compact zero waste shampoo and conditioner bars.
Attitude Facial Skincare
Another zero waste hygiene brand we love for home and camping is Attitude. They make everything from vegan, zero-waste, clean and eco-friendly body wash bars and deodorant to solid shampoo and conditioner. But our new favorite–and a necessity in any camp hygiene kit–is their Oceanly Phyto-Sun face sunscreen.
It’s plastic-free (comes in a cardboard push-up tube), is tinted so doesn’t leave a white cast on your face, is reef-safe, and in addition to sun protection, offers serious moisturization, making it an easy addition to your skincare routine. It’s perfect for days you won’t be sweating through your clothes so don’t need a super heavy sweat proof sunscreen (here are our favorite adventure-ready sunscreens) but still want moisturizing protection (which is a must at all times to protect yourself from sun damage, premature aging, and skin cancer). They even come in travel sizes!
Bottom Line
While camp hygiene may be a highly personal thing, these are some helpful and sustainable tools we’ve found to stay happy, (relatively) clean, and healthy at campsites near and far. Just remember that biodegradable soap doesn’t biodegrade in water, so no doing dishes or washing up in lakes, creeks or streams, and use products at least 200 feet away from natural water sources per Leave No Trace Principles. Then stay clean, keep it earth-friendly, ditch single-use plastic, and wander on.
