HEAVENS ABOVE! How we use 216 hair care bottles a year

Vertigo vicar climbs his church spire to raise repair cash... and beat fear of heights

You’d think with so many of us working from home we have fewer reasons to look our best.

But it seems we are still shelling out the cash on making an effort with our appearance.

Indeed, the average family is getting through 216 plastic bottles of hair care products such as shampoo and conditioner every year, a study has found.

A typical household also gets through 24 bottles of shower gel, 24 tubes of toothpaste, 12 bottles of moisturiser and 108 loo rolls each year.

However only an estimated 60 per cent of this plastic waste is recycled – leaving the rest to go to landfill – with a third of people admitting they don’t consider the environmental impact of their haircare and beauty regime.

The study of 2,000 Britons, by Swiss beauty company Reduit, found 11 per cent simply ‘can’t be bothered’ to make more sustainable changes to their hair and beauty routine.

While one in ten admitted they ‘don’t care’, nearly a fifth said they don’t know how to make their habits more eco-friendly. Paul Peros, CEo of Reduit, said: ‘Taking care of our hair and appearance is just part of our routine and we often forget about the impact it can have.

‘our study has shown how people will mindlessly use and bin plastic products, and not think about how they could make small switches which have a huge impact.’

The study also found that 41 per cent didn’t know that chemicals from hair products, which go down the drain, as well as hairsprays, are bad for the environment.

In fact a fifth of Britons will even flush items such as cotton buds, face wipes or sanitary products down the toilet. And a further 38 per cent didn’t know that most face and baby wipes contain plastics.

While 13 per cent refuse to make more sustainable hair care regime changes because they are afraid that switching products might damage their locks.

Nearly three in four admitted they don’t really know the true impact of their hair and beauty routine on the planet.

Yet 61 per cent feel guilty about how many plastic bottles of hair products they get through, according to the onePoll data.

But just three in ten have looked to switch to ecofriendly beauty products. one in five wouldn’t even consider buying products which are kinder to the planet.

With our Turn The Tide on Plastic campaign, the daily Mail has long battled to curb the waste that pollutes the seas and countryside and has a disastrous impact on wildlife.

Mr Peros added: ‘Many of the eco-friendly hair and beauty products out there... often last longer because of the way they are designed.’

EVEN after becoming a man of the cloth, this vicar with vertigo found a higher calling. Reverend Sam Leach conquered his fears to climb his church’s 165ft spire in a fundraising feat to pay for repairs. The 44-year-old is normally so afraid of heights that ‘going up an escalator, I have to hang on to the rail’. But yesterday, along with three others, the vicar got a little closer to God by scaling St Mary Magdalene Church in Torquay. ‘I was really nervous beforehand, but it was actually really exhilarating,’ he said. ‘I would do it again. The view was so amazing looking out over the town centre and offering a prayer for our town and our bay.’ He admitted it was ‘unnerving’ to approach a ladder propped on top of ten flights of scaffolding. The Devon church is currently undergoing external repairs funded by the National Lottery – but a further £7,000 is needed for the building’s kitchen. ‘Interior repairs are not covered in the lottery grant,’ Rev Faithful supporters: Crowds cheer the vicar on at St Mary Magdalene Church Leach said. ‘Plaster is falling off because of a previous damp issue and we are worried that if we do not act now we may fail health and hygiene standards. That would be a shame because our kitchen and sitting area is vital to our work in the community.’ In order to raise the money, the vicar committed to a sponsored climb along with church warden Ed Williams, pastor Petrina Jones and verger Gary Clarke. ‘I wasn’t worried about my safety as I was attached to a rope,’ Rev Leach said. ‘I was worried about whether I’d freeze on the rungs and not be able to go up or down.’ Thankfully, he held his nerve, making it up and down in an hour. ‘Maybe it was people praying or something... I just looked straight ahead and focused on one step at a time.’

Closer to God: Rev Leach climbs the spire (above)