Sustainable Hair Care Using Fat & The Moon

by Otherwild LA November 15, 2021

Here at The Spill, we're stoked to bring you the latest Otherwild news, thoughts, and all that. Today, we'll highlight one of our favorite sustainable hair and body care product lines!

We have so many seriously incredible makers and love everything we carry (that's why we carry them). With The Spill, we'll give you a deeper look into many of our makers, products, and just general vibing with Otherwild goods.

~~~

Today, we're talking about sustainable hair care.

If you've been to the shop lately, you may have met our new shop member, Bree, and their mullet.

While their cut is super low maintenance and doesn't require much, you can get everything they use (or very similar products) to style and care for their hair here at Otherwild. They were even using these things pre-working with us.

Let's dive into their routine and one of their favorite care brands, Fat & The Moon.

I've been using ranges of vegan/natural/organic/non-toxic/sustainable/low-waste products for over a decade.

I've leaned too far into it in some ways, using only pink clay bar soap and jojoba oil on my face (that level of simplicity works for some, not for me).

But in other ways, I wouldn't make the sustainable switch - namely, with my hair. I had the vegan and non-toxic ingredients down but kept buying shampoo and conditioner in single-use, not easily-reusable or recyclable plastic bottles.

In 2020, as many of us did, I let a lot of my lo-waste lifestyle go to the side as we all figured out what was going on, and things like bringing your own cups, bulk options, and compost drop-offs were halted.

Well, I've leaned very much back into it this year, including making swaps for things I hadn't before.

For example, my favorite tissues are upcycled from a retired pair of sleep shorts (don't knock it til you try it - they're SO soft). I tried out some bar haircare (not FATM) that just didn't work for my needs, so I thought I was just out on more sustainable hair care.

Then came Fat & The Moon!

I've seen and been intrigued by Fat & The Moon products for awhile. I was always drawn in by the branding, and I don't know why I didn't try them sooner. Now that I have, they are an integral part of my routine.

These are just a few of the reasons why FATM has basically become my body care soulmate:

Highly recyclable and reusable!

Whereas most bottled hair products come in plastic, FATM carries a variety in glass and even aluminum - which is ideal if you're clumsy like me.

We’ve all seen the stats about plastic and how plastic recycling is not what industries led us to believe all those years. Something like less than 10% of all plastic produced actually get’s recycled. Not to mention, what is and isn’t taken is different everywhere.

On the other hand, aluminum recycling is more of a “closed-loop” system and is far more recyclable, accepted much more widely, and has wider recycled usage.

Plus, you can get their products without pumps!

The smaller/more complicated something is, the less recyclable it is. So, things like spray and pump tops are going to landfill. With FATM, you have the option to buy their bottled products with metal screw tops, and you just reuse the spray/pump top you already have! (Psst.. that’s how Otherwild sells many of the FATM products like the Day to Day Shampoo and Conditioner).

Herbalist formulated = performance!!!

Even though my hair type is pretty easy to manage, I’m often wary of one-size-fits-all hair care. My hair has a bit of a wave, but because it’s pretty fine, it falls flat easily, especially when clean or if I use too much conditioner. As such, I always go for volumizing products.

That being said, I’ve been shocked by how well the Day to Day Conditioner works for my hair! It’s honestly the first time I’ve used something not designed for volume that does what I like my hair to do: makes it nice and soft but doesn’t take away body!

FATM’s Spirit and Salt Mist is the best salt spray I have ever used… and I’ve used A LOT. It works so nicely on my hair wet or and dry, smells incredible, and has the perfect amount of grit; no matter how much I use, my hair never gets grody. It supports all my styling: scrunching, twirling, and zhuzhing.

Being herbalist-created clearly makes all the difference. The amount of care and understanding in how these products work with our bodies is palpable in everything FATM makes.

The Best Scents (and sensitive-friendly!)

I am super sensitive and picky when it comes to smell. I avoid artificial fragrance or anything marked as just “fragrance” as much as possible.

Instead, I prefer products that are subtly scented by their core ingredients or some essential oils. The scent profiles I lean towards are earthy/herby smells like rosemary, pine, and frankincense.

It just so happens; these are the types of scents in FATM products!

Plus, when they do contain other smells - even ones I can sometimes be more sensitive to like citrus or florals - the way they use it doesn’t irritate me at all. On the contrary, I love it.

For example, the Day to Day Conditioner has orange and yuzu in addition to frankincense, and it smells incredible. Even better, it compliments the other scents I use, like clary sage in both their salt mist and their Moon Fat Bod Oil.

A bottle of Day to Day Conditioner laying on top of a zine with a salt lamp and jasper stone.

My hair care routine with Fat & the Moon

Wash days:

I wash my hair about once a week. Currently, I use the Day to Day Conditioner.

I towel dry my hair, and once it’s damp but not soaking, I use lots of Spirit and Salt Mist. I’ll flip my head upside down and spray, followed by spraying right side up.

I follow that with lots of scrunching (both upside down and not). I’ll also section the ends and twirl them in opposite directions to support more waves.

*Guess what y'all, I finally used up my old shampoo and tried FATM’s Shampoo Bar yesterday and I'm blown away. It genuinely felt better than the bottled shampoo I was using.

Plus, it was nice to rinse out and didn't leave any waxy residue which was a huge problem I experienced with previous bar shampoos. It's the next day and my hair and feels great. It's clean but not overly so and has lots of body and nice texture to it still.

Non-wash days:

I used to never brush or comb my hair because I was so focused on keeping its body. Now, I like to regularly brush it to distribute oils and get out any tangles, especially since I don’t wash often. I generally give it a little comb through before bed using a super wide-tooth bamboo comb.

However, I’ve been thinking about getting a more malleable brush or incorporating a scalp gua sha comb to better support and stimulate my scalp. We love natural oil distribution.

While my ends are on the dryer side, my roots - mainly my bangs - can get pretty oily. So on days when it’s feeling a little gnarly or flat, I use a cocoa-based dry shampoo to add back some life.

If your hair is anything but platinum and you’re using a dry shampoo that leaves a white cast - you have to try a cocoa-based one. Uh you know what else is great about cocoa?

It smells like cocoa.

Some bonus Fat & The Moon tips

I'm truly obsessed with the Moon Fat Bod Oil. My skin is really sensitive, and my hands have been perpetually bummed from the extra washing and sanitizing these days.

My newly discovered, full-body moisturizing dream team is the Moon Fat Bod Oil paired with an unscented lotion. I'll sometimes put a teeny bit of the Bod Oil on the ends of my hair if they're looking really dry.

If I could live in the bathtub, I would. FATM's Soothe Bath Soak is so soothing (obvi) and leaves me silky smooth after my very long unwind sessions. It's perfect for decompressing before bed.

Don't be surprised if soon all of my body care is from FATM - I wouldn't be.

From tooth care to post-partum, Fat & The Moon carries effective and beautiful products for so many needs. Otherwild's and FATM's missions & values align very deeply with one another, which is why we carry such a large array from them.

So, if you're looking for non-toxic, sustainable, and ethical products - we couldn't recommend them more.