Lets talk about men

old_time_girl

So, DH is all about me going EF, but when it comes to him, he digs his heels in.

He uses AXE shower gel and Gillete Shaving cream. And Old Spice deoderant. He's a red head and has very sensitive skin. He's willing to give up the shower gel but won't budge on his shaving cream or deodorant. He's tried other brands and his face breaks out or his under arms peel.

What do your men use and were they on board from the start, or did it take some convincing on your part?

susangilchrist

I choose my battles.  DH is AWESOME about cloth diapering, and has developed a love for our "paper towel-less" kitchen.  However, he refuses to use cloth wipes.  It doesn't make any sense, and after lots of demos and arguments, I gave up.  He rarely changes the diapers anyway, so it's not worth the arguing.  I use Dr. Bronners, he refuses.  I figure I can only do what I can do, you know what I mean?  I'm doing MY part to be EF, but I can't do it all.

Dobie_Mama

I also chose my battles. It's his body, so ultimately his decision what he puts on it. I'd be p!ssed if he told me to change my personal care items. He uses the same products as your H, except he uses Gillette body wash, and the Old Spice deo he uses is at least the alum. free deo only (no antiperspirant).

rowanleaves

I just used up the disposable stuff around the house, and now hubby has to use cloth wipes and rags. I also gave him some info about phlates and parabens and gave him some alternatives, and he switched over by himself. There are a few things we are still looking for as alternatives, but we are always on the lookout.

We use Arm and Hammer deodorant, Yardley's bar soap, Kiss my Face shampoo, Toms toothpaste. We are still looking for a good lotion we both like and shaving cream.

DreadLoc

He's with me on everything except deodorant.   He's only using his bar soap because I bought a huge value pack before I switched to eco-friendly soap and he's almost out of it.  But he's a faithful Old Spice deodorant user and I don't mind because it's so small when compared to how eco friendly we are the rest of the time.

LilyMonster2010

It's been a gradual process, but hes coming around. First the toothpaste, and now we both cant stand how sweet crest is! Yuck. And as he runs out of stuff and were getting new stuff I ask him if he wanted to try something more ecofriendly / healthy option.. He found every man jack and seems to like some of those products. Do what you want, and if it works he will likely follow suit!

PeonyPumps

I am slowly turning my H too.  He still uses Gillette shampoo and deodorant and shave products, but he CD's now independently of me and agreed to get another can for our recycling (changing from 2 trash and 1 recycle cans to 2 recycle and 1 trash).  He still has a hard time with my personal care routines (he doesn't like that I constantly smell like coconuts now, haha), and me trying to paper-free our kitchen.  I think we'll get there eventually.

Twirple

DH has just started asking more questions.  He knows that I switched to homemade cleaners, and he uses those, and likes them.  He's happy with our cloth diapers.  When I switched from Tide to Charlies Soap Powder for our laundry (and stopped using Bounce dryer sheets) he commented on how soft our laundry was (without knowing I had made the switch.)  He told our entire family about my homemade deodorant.  He loves that I use Coconut oil as a diaper rash ointment and will use it as well.  We also use it as a lotion on DS.  I use it for myself, but DH hasn't used it yet.

I've been using Dr Bonners peppermint soap in my showers for two years now.  DH is just starting to make the switch last week after using mine to help him wake up after a particularly rough night with DS.

Yesterday he found my gallon jug of White Vinegar and asked what it was for.  I told him cleaning, mostly, but that it has a LOT of uses.  

He's coming around.

cfisher2008

Well, when I first started my quest to be EF, some of my ideas DH thought were too weird, like no-pooing. But overall he was on board. It did take him awhile to let go of cleaning products. He'd call me at work and say announce he was going to clean the house. Great! Then I'd get home and see that he spent $15 at the dollar store on cleaning products. He figured since he bought it at the dollar store I wouldn't mind. 

He is now pretty much used to my vinegar fascination. I make his deodorant and cleaning supplies, and he uses the Dr Bronners and Burt Bee's toothpaste, helps make laundry and CD detergent, uses CD, hangs our laundry, etc. Right now he is putting together my composter and rain barrel that he used his GC to Lowe's to buy me.

We just got a diaper sprayer, and I joked he could use it as a bidet and get rid of TP. He wasn't much amused He told me he draws the line at giving up TP!

dosafyre

My DH is the same way on the personal items. I really don't mind, it's his business (he stops using the smelly stuff when I'm pregnant if it bothers me, which is nice).

He's fully on board with all the EFF decisions I've made for our household otherwise, and definitely where DD's health is concerned. (cleaning products, organic/natural foods, safe toys, cloth diapers, glass storage and food containers, gardening, composting, etc)

CDMay2006

Mine uses Dr. Bronner's shaving cream.  He ran out of his and i had this; he tried it and liked it.  Shower gel varies; he'll pretty much use anything but bar soap.  His deodorant is gross, but he has a ton of it, so he's still using it (for a while he'd forget to put it on before work, then would go to the store and buy a new full size one, bring it home and then end up doing it again a couple weeks later.).  Not sure what he'll switch to later, but my guess is Tom's of Main.

Google83

DH has been great about everything so far.  I think he kind of gets a kick out of it when he comes home and finds me using a new homemade cleaner or something.  He was even on board with the no-poo thing for as long as I was.  We'll have to try that again soon.

 We're TTC and rolling around the idea of CD, but he's not quite sold yet due to the inconvenience and gross factor.  He really likes the chemical-free cleaners when he considers a kiddo being around though.

Mamasaurus

I back up PP's on choosing your battles. We compromised on a lot of things--I dust with rags but we clean up kitchen spills with paper towels, we use Method on the floors instead of the vinegar recipe that's my first choice or the spray can stuff my husband would blindly grab off the shelf if he was choosing, and we use a thyme oil antibacterial for really nasty cleaning instead of bleach, but it isn't one I make myself. I choose all my own body care stuff (Dr. Bronners!) and my husband chooses his, and we let it be. If, however, our LO has any irritation from coming into contact with this products, I feel I have a very good reason to ask him to change them. I think seeing our baby with a rash would be all the convincing he would need to change.

nonoemily

My guy wasn't very EFF when I met him, but he converted easily because of how his parents raised him.

So EFF mommas, take heart! Your H may not always understand, but your children will learn from you and hopefully save your future EFF DIL a lot of work. 

lizzymo19

I'm not on this board a lot but I can relate to your DH on the deodorant front. When I first became pregnant I tried to switch all my products to be more natural but Tom's deodorant made me have a really bad rash under my arms and it burned after using it a couple of days! Since then I am also afraid to switch my deodorant...under the arms is one of the worst places to have that kind of discomfort. Maybe if there is a way you could get him some samples of different products or get him to try small amounts of things you've made? Then he could see if it would work for his sensitive skin or not.