Today, we’re pumped to welcome our first eco-friendly wedding blogger to the GroomsAdvice blog. Katie Martin is one of the world’s leading eco-friendly wedding experts. Since 1998, she has designed over 1,000 eco-friendly events and has been honored in the US and internationally.

Read more about Katie here

Herban Lifestyle Etsy

Getting ready for the big day is not only all about getting the suit and the rings – you have to look your best and maybe change your routine a little if you are wanting to green you wedding day.  You are not only marrying the love of your life, but you will have a stupid amount of photos taken of you that will be on your mantel for the next 40 + years!  You also need to smell good and start prepping your face for the shave of your life.

Weddings are, for some, the first time a man will start looking seriously into new shaving products and cologne.  While cologne is a whole different post – organic and eco-friendly shaving creams and products are essential to greening your grooming routine for your wedding day (and beyond).

The above photo is one of my favorite companies, Herban Lifestyle, that I have found using organic ingredients.  It is incredibly important to look at the chemicals that you are putting on your face and the packaging that your products come in. Herban Lifestyle does a great job of taking care of both issues.

Dr. Bronner Shaving Gel

Another amazing company that has longevity and committed followers is Dr. Bronner’s. This company is widely known for its castille liquid soaps, but they have an amazing line of other products including organic fair trade shaving gel.  The gel comes in a few different scents.  The peppermint seems to be the most popular for men.  If you have sensitive skin, go with the organic baby shaving gel (who cares if it says “baby” – if you have sensitive skin – deal with it).  They also have organic tea tree, lavender and lemongrass – in which case you might not need to get cologne and you will need to base it on what your fiance likes!  The less products you use, the more eco-friendly you are!

Organic Grooming by Herban Cowboy

Organic Grooming by Herban Cowboy has some of the best looking packaging I have seen for organic grooming products.  Their shave cream is made of organic aloe, lavender and peppermint.  It has no dyes, alcohol, soaps or synthetics.  Their packaging is also recyclable.  Their products have been used on movie sets like All Good Things and Milk as well as TV shows such as American Gladiators and Medium.

DOVO Gold Etched Steel Blade

Now, on to the tools.  If you are a classic shaving kinda guy, a DOVO gold etched steel blade is the mother of all razors.  It is eco-friendly simply due to the fact that you never really need to throw it away!  If you maintain the blade – this baby will last for generations!!  Of course, you will have to learn the real art of shaving and be incredibly careful if you have never used one of these blades before.  This one is the top of the line and retails at $300.  In the end – you are probably paying that much in disposable razors over a 2 year period if you shave every day or every other day.  Never mind the fact the amount of trash that you are reducing by not using disposable razors!

Razor Saver

If you are married to disposable razors..then extend their lives by getting the Razor saver.  The razor saver is made from recycled razors and can extend a razor’s life to 75-130 more shaves! An amazing gadget for $15!  I recommend Recycline’s Preserve® razors that are made from 100% recycled plastics (and 65% of that coming from Stoneyfield Farm’s old yogurt cups).

You don’t have to make huge changes to green your grooming routine, you just have to made educated choices.

Green it out!

~Katie Martin
CEO & Editor-in-Chief
Elegance & Simplicity, Inc. (www.eleganceandsimplicity.com)
Eco-Beautiful Weddings Magazine (www.eco-beautifulweddings.com)

Tags: Dr. Bronner's, Green Wedding Planning, Herban Cowboy, Herban Lifestyle, Men's Skin Care, Organic Grooming Products

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 20th, 2010 at 11:34 am and is filed under Groom Style. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.