Save a Bundle on Bathing Accessories

Every few weeks, most Aussie consumers spend between $10 and $50 on those smelly lotions, potions, shampoos and conditioners that we use in our daily morning shower. While this may not seem like a great amount of expenditure, most daily bathers don't realize that this is money that is going down the drain – quite literally. The regular expenses that we are dedicating to soaps, scrubs and hair products to use in the bath or shower has fueled a multi-billion dollar personal care accessories industry that is bent on you spending a large chunk of change just to get clean and smell like it. You could use payday loans to help purchase the products, but there are other options.

This spending habit is not necessary for your well being or your pocketbook, not to mention that hair and body care products are increasingly formulated with harsh and unsustainably created chemicals and drying agents, and are unhealthy for your body as well as the industrial water system. Consider switching to more natural products for showering and bathing and you will do your good deed for the month, and have some money left over for a rainy day, too.

Getting Squeaky Clean the Natural Way

Luckily, there are ways to avoid that old rinse and repeat that will clean you out of your money far too soon. Natural, everyday household and kitchen items do an excellent job of cleaning your skin and hair, and are better for the environment as well. Unless you have gobs of extra cash to dedicate to natural body products, don't go searching around the aisles of your local healthy food store for shampoos and conditioners. It is far simpler and more cost effective to make your own and save big, as well as knowing exactly what is in every product you use. This is a great bonus for those who have sensitive or hypoallergenic skin and can't use certain ingredients for fear of a negative histamine reaction.

Rather than purchasing pricey shampoos, do a trial run for a week where you wash your hair only with baking soda. You can add a few drops of essential oils if you choose, such as lavender and rosemary, to kick up the scent a notch. Many peoples of the world wash their hair with water only, and find great success with this method that is healthy, natural and free.

Apple cider vinegar is no longer just for salad dressings or stirfry – in fact, it makes one of the best conditioners that your hair can get ahold of. Its pungent scent disappears moments after you rinse it out of your hair, and it leaves your locks soft, unbelievably shiny, and healthy and strengthened from the roots down. Just a few dollars will buy you a large bottle that will last as a hair rinse for many months. These are standard kitchen ingredients that you can refer to the next time your bottle of $12 shampoo or conditioner runs out. Expect the same – or better – results from these ingredients as you might from the drugstore brands, and you and your hair will not be let down.

When it comes to soap buying, you might be surprised to learn that milk, from cows or goats, is one of the best and most effective cleaning agents that you can get. Try washing your body with a small amount of milk next time you're in the shower, and see how soft, supple, and glowing your skin becomes after a few minutes. Not only is it natural, but it is full of vitamins and minerals that act like food for your skin, and will cost only pennies for each time you bathe in it instead of more pricey products.