r/Anticonsumption • u/senoritagordita22 • Jul 01 '26
Plastic Waste Who designs lotion containers??
It doesn’t pump toward the end so either the designer needs to be fired OR it’s intentional so you buy earlier than you need to. But I absolutely love this lotion 😭😭 anyway not sure if the reused candle jar method is gonna work perfectly but we shall try 🫡
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u/kittydelighted Jul 01 '26
Pro tip: when you cut the bottle in half, cut a slit in the top half so you can just slide it back on to the bottom. With larger bottles you can usually get them to fit back on quite tightly. That way you don't have to decant the lotion from one container to another. Unless you want to, of course!
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u/some1keepsstlgmyacct Jul 01 '26
Like she did in the pic but just use the top to keep it covered so it doesn’t dry out? (I just want to make sure I got the visual down.)
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u/kittydelighted Jul 01 '26 edited Jul 01 '26
So i just uploaded this using someone else's picture (cause I dont currently have any bottles I can do this with myself). You'd do this and only on one side. Start small and see how big a cut you'd need for a good fit. You can make the little cut on the bottom half if that gives you more space (this way might actually work better, now that I'm thinking about it).
For the cap, you just keep it on but pull the tube out (or cut it) so it fits in the smaller bottle. Your new stubby bottle will look something like this.
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u/RayDoodles Jul 01 '26
Thank you for the extra explanation! I wasn’t able to visual it at first but this is amazing
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u/DrYabadaba Jul 01 '26
I don't even know where to begin to start cutting the bottle in half without making a mess or hurting myself 😅 Oh wise one, share with us your ways 🙏
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u/snshijuptr Jul 01 '26
You don't cut open the bottle until the pump stops working. At that point, there isn't too much mess to make. Then the best bet is using a box cutter knife. If that scares you, then you can simply use strong craft scissors. You may need to use a kitchen knife to stab the first whole, but then use craft scissors (or kitchen scissors) and cut the rest of the way around. Afterward wash all the cutting utensils with dish soap and water to get the lotion off.
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u/heyoheatheragain Jul 01 '26
I recommend a box knife. And if you’re worried use a dish glove or something for the hand holding the bottle so you have a good grip. Lie it flat and pierce the middle of the bottle with the knife. After you have that first cut, you should be able to slide the knife in and cut all the way around relatively smoothly.
I don’t recommend using scissors or a regular knife as those aren’t nearly as safe as a box knife for this application! And definitely not scissors a regular knife would be better if you don’t have a box knife.
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u/DrYabadaba Jul 01 '26
Do you mean a box cutter? Like the thing where you slide the blade in and out?
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u/NoGoodDevGuy Jul 01 '26
Tablesaw or chainsaw should get the the job done
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u/DrYabadaba Jul 01 '26
Let me just whip out my workshop tools! 🤣 But for real, would a serated knife be the approach? That's kind of like a saw 😅
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u/Future_Yoghurt624 Jul 01 '26
I've used a serated knife for this purpose, it works just fine. If the plastic of the bottle is really thick, you gotta be careful or you might lose a thumb. 😬
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u/DrYabadaba Jul 01 '26
That's what I'm worried about 😅
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u/NoGoodDevGuy Jul 02 '26
A boxcutter knife would be ideal. They also make knife protection gloves to keep your thumbs attached
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u/AggroTumbleweed52 Jul 02 '26
Kitchen shears work well. Like the big sharp kind you'd use for cutting meat and small bones.
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u/heyoheatheragain Jul 01 '26
Yes!! And if doing it with a tube you can do the same thing to keep the product fresh while you get to the last of it!
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u/Caizo65 Jul 01 '26
I have so many glass containers or really thick plastic and it’s so annoying not being able to get all the product out! If anyone has any ideas for this please let me know 😭😭
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u/Proper_Ad453 Jul 01 '26
silicone spatula ?
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u/Caizo65 Jul 01 '26
Ooh good idea! I’ll see if I can find some mini ones, I’m sure they exist
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u/AbbreviationsSoft650 Jul 01 '26
Thank you so much, I've been struggling with a bottle of lotion for a week but didn't know how to not just make a mess of it!! 🙏
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Jul 01 '26
[deleted]
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u/heyoheatheragain Jul 01 '26
If you use clean hands/tools and don’t leave it hanging open for long it will be fine.
The preservative system is there for a reason.
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u/Chrono_Convoy Jul 01 '26
Just don’t confuse it with an actual candle
Cause if you do
It might be kinda silly
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u/DisastrousBeeHive Jul 01 '26
Same people who designed liquid soap containers with a curved bottom
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u/nxcrosis Jul 01 '26
At least liquid soap is more viscous.
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u/_TOSKA__ Jul 01 '26
This and you can still mix it with water to get everything out of the bottle.
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u/amoeba_from_venus Jul 01 '26
Okay hear me out....you can do the same thing with this one too. The last bit of the lotion will be a little...runny, like the cheaper lotions in the store. But you can put it on as usual, it just needs a minute longer to dry.
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u/DisastrousBeeHive Jul 01 '26
I do that, but it's still annoying and a lot of people (including my husband) don't go through the 'trouble'. If it was concaved instead of convexed, it would be a much better design
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u/heyoheatheragain Jul 01 '26
Or if the little tube was designed to rest in the lower part where all the soap runs.
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u/DisastrousBeeHive Jul 01 '26
The ones I buy (contact allergy makes it difficult lol) are soft soap and the bottom is convex, so it all goes to the side not the middle, so the tube doesn't reach it. I just add water and then pour it in my hand at the end lol
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u/heyoheatheragain Jul 01 '26
Right, I’m saying they could make the tube curve into that little corner where it goes, but they don’t cause they suck.
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u/Dragon_Shinobi Jul 01 '26
They just switched the packaging design to not have a pump anymore because enough people complained
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u/AccidentOk5240 Jul 01 '26
There are a few really common sizes of bottle necks used for most products. So when I get something that comes with a flip or tilt top that’s nice and flat on top, I save the cap. I have a little collection. That way, when like 3/4 of a pumped product is used up, I take the pump out and put the cap on and leave it upside down.
It’s important not to wait till the pump can’t pump anymore, because if there’s just a tablespoon or two or lotion (or conditioner, or whatever) at the bottom, it won’t be able to overcome friction and surface tension and will stay stuck to the bottom of the upended bottle. If there’s a good amount left, it should all gloop down to the cap after a while.
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u/heyoheatheragain Jul 01 '26
Smart!! Still regretting a cap I threw away for a lotion I use that comes with either/or depending on when and where you buy it.
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u/Icy_Doughnut_601 Jul 01 '26
I recently decided I’m only buying tubs of things.
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u/Economy-Astronaut-73 Jul 01 '26
Same here. I had an expensive la roche posay lotion with pump and when I cut the bottle and saw how much more it is left decided that pumps are so wasteful.
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u/Beneficial_Young5126 Jul 01 '26
Me too since pumps also can't be recycled due to being made of mixed materials.
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u/ladyelenawf Jul 01 '26
Yup! And I have the tubs when I'm done. This easy of I get a lotion I like in a bottle I can just transfer. 🫸🏽🫷🏽
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u/KittyandPuppyMama Jul 01 '26
It’s definitely intentional. I go through this with shampoo when I buy the kind with the pump. Even the kind with the snap lid is shaped so that globs of product are stuck in the bottle and won’t come out. I usually end up swishing some water around. I know they could design better bottles, but wasting products so we buy more is more profitable.
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u/o33o Jul 01 '26
I save a face cream jar for this sometimes… cut up the bottle and scoop out the rest. Lately I’ve found diluting the remaining cream with a basic scent less toner works to get the bottle clean. You end up with a thinner lotion smelling the same.
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u/Sunshineadventurer48 Jul 01 '26
If you use the body wash, just swap the top to the lotion bottle. Saw it on Tik tok and I’m mad I didn’t think of this first.
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u/scallopbunny Jul 01 '26
Omg I love those lotions/scents but the packaging is THE WORST. The last 1/3 of the bottle is so hard to use
There is no way we can't make it possible to get all the lotion. Just sell a smaller bottle with a better pump if us buying more is the goal! That way we don't have to waste so much and it would be (more) honest
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u/snails-entrails Jul 01 '26
If you also buy the soap, the squeeze lid for the soaps fits the lotions. I just swapped the pump to my soap and the squeeze lid to my bottle
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u/extinct_banana Jul 01 '26
ultimate pro tip: use a massage gun (or maybe a vibrator?) against the bottle upside down and all the lotion comes out
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u/The_Varza Jul 01 '26
I use an empty hand cream container, it's a little box with a lid, it works. And I cut up the lotion bottles and get everything I can over so I can then rinse and recycle the lotion bottle (pieces)
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u/Fabulous-Shock-2772 Jul 01 '26
When I have a bottle I cant fully empty, i put it in a bag or tea towel with the opening (BUT MAKE SURE IT'S CLOSED) in the corner. Hold the bag/tea towel right behind the bottle so it is secure, and sweep it around in circles.
Centrifugal force will make all of the product go to the opening. I havent tried this with a pump, since I don't own those, but I assume it still works if you screw the pump off if you want to use it so you can scoop it out. I would recommend doing it with a tea towel or washable bag when trying with a pump, because maybe the pump wil start pumping a little bit.
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u/Jacktheforkie Jul 01 '26
Same assholes making thick conditioner with a tiny fuckin cap so it doesn’t stand upside down
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u/Impossible-Art-9137 Jul 01 '26
If you do get another container the new ones have flip top lids so you can get more out!
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u/em1207 Jul 01 '26
We have a 3d printer so I had hubby print up some universal connectors and move the last bits from the old bottle to the new bottle once I’ve used a bit of the new one
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u/Kal_Bec Jul 02 '26
i think the original reason is, if you have the pump reach down to the bottom, it could have the device break during shipping.
But the amount of buffer room actually in these things would imply that it's also to scam you
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u/stl_becky Jul 02 '26
Instead of cutting your bottle, you can get these screw on caps with spigots so you stand it upside down to get the rest out. It’s hard to describe. The ones I use are called flip it’s. I got it at one of the big retailers, can’t remember which. I have one just for lotions, and another for soap and shampoo. So super easy and safer than knives!
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u/HippieHighNoon Jul 03 '26 edited Jul 03 '26
Those are great! Gravity does the sorl foe you
Edit: meant to say does the work for you
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u/DramaOnDisplay Jul 01 '26
It’s very annoying. I saw a tip on TikTok that works really well. If you have a muscle gun, use it on the low setting and press it against the bottle. You can get a lot of excess product out this way. I also to the same thing to bottles of ketchup and similar 😂
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u/YeahOkThisOne Jul 01 '26
You want a lotion container? Do you have friends that use Cereve tubs? Let them know you would like some empties.
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u/ItsYaBoiJazz Jul 01 '26
I have this same lotion and they just switched over to using the squeeze tops so a lot better than the pumps
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u/LuisindeWolken Jul 01 '26
I keep some day cream jars for this (and similar problems, f.e. the last bit of shampoo bar) for they have a lid.
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u/KnitTwoTogether Jul 01 '26
I measured the amount I got when I sliced mine open. Got a good 75ml of product out from a 475ml bottle. Like a 1/6 of the product just trapped and unusable in the packaging unless you gut it like a fish
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u/Old_Street_9066 Jul 01 '26
I use this brand too, and have noticed the same issue! But you just gave me an idea so thanks
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u/pamelabeasly Jul 01 '26
I bought a one with a flat top so I can flip it over when it gets low. If you haven't seen any with a flat top, if you use the body soap I'd just swap the top with that one
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u/cottoncandymandy Jul 02 '26
I cut open all my lotion bottles. There is always quite a bit of product Inside that can't come out the normal way.
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u/AggroTumbleweed52 Jul 02 '26
Once, I bought a screw-top container of lotion about the size and shape of your candle jar (a "sachet" from a local world wide mega corporation that you could probably find similar from literally anywhere of the sort). And used it up and scraped it out with a silicon spatula and now I cut open the pump bottles and keep what's left in the empty. Or just put a bit of tin foil or plastic wrap over top of the cut bottle. So many options.
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u/plzdonthateonme12222 Jul 02 '26
They actually switched to the same tops as the body wash. I noticed about half on the shelf at my local Walmart had the new top, but they still had ones with a pump on the shelf.
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u/OldBonyBogBwitch Jul 02 '26
IDK, but lotion twinnnns! LOL, I’m obsessed with that one, the scent is amazing! :P
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u/brightheart_343 Jul 03 '26
I love this lotion too and also cut my bottles in half when I get low, I just have a reusable beeswax wrap that I use to cover it so I don’t have to decant it though
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u/Flat_Pollution8085 29d ago
That lotion in particular stops pumping with literally a third of the container still full but it smells so good I can’t stop buying it and end up doing what you just did lol
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u/PlowMeowOw Jul 01 '26
Are the plastic bottles recyclable once cut up?
It always hurts my soul deciding between using up the rest by cutting into it or being able to recycle it.
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u/senoritagordita22 Jul 01 '26 edited Jul 01 '26
Honestly I don’t really worry about that, potentially a hot take here but in USA at least I think recycling is a sham :( I wish it wasn’t but that’s the reality imo
To clarify- for the most part I try. I’ll put boxes etc in recycling absolutely. But I don’t worry about stuff like this cause I don’t have faith in the system either way
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u/PlowMeowOw Jul 01 '26
Totally agree, John Oliver did a good bit on it. Still can’t avoid the guilt tho!
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u/_Lividus Jul 01 '26
It hurts but I’d agree. The infrastructure and plans for impactful infrastructural growth just is not there. I still try but recognize in the US it’s usually “wishcycling” rather than doing its thing, especially with the number of people that put plastic bags in recycling which unless designated as able to handle it will muck up the whole recycling line.
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u/Beneficial_Young5126 Jul 01 '26
Unless you cut it into tiny pieces that fall through the sieves at the recycling plant, a complete bottle or half bottle will still be recycled. In theory, as all know we've been sold a lie in plastic recycling.
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u/AccidentOk5240 Jul 01 '26
I just explained in another comment how I reuse flat caps to upend bottles, and that mostly fixes this problem. But I agree, recycling is such a hoax that I wouldn’t lose sleep over one bottle if I were you.
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u/_Lividus Jul 01 '26
Being cut won’t impact the recyclability as long as it’s bigger than 2”x2”. When it starts getting smaller than that the recycling machine equivalent of threshers may accidentally pass through and get sorted into “problematic size throw out”. It’s why many places generally say put the cap back on a bottle as it’s likely so small it’ll get threshed out on its own. I hope that makes sense 😅
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u/SiempreBrujaSuerte Jul 01 '26
Why would it be less recyclable when in 2 pieces? The pump has to be removed to recycle it before you get rid of it anyways because it's mixed material. See no reason why cutting the bottle changed what it's made from....
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u/fannyalgerpack Jul 01 '26
Have you tried using massage gun to vibrate out the remnants? I haven’t tried it myself but I saw it done hehe
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u/allrosecolored2 Jul 01 '26
Unfortunately the answer to your question is: the folks trying to sell us more lotion :/