There is no denying that the beauty industry produces a lot of plastic waste and is guilty of treating animals badly. Products used are often laden with environmentally harmful chemicals (relaxers and hair dyes) that get washed down the drain and pollute our water systems.
Our Damage-Free philosophy (comb-free, heat-free, braid-free, dye-free) extends beyond how we do your hair (free of traumatic hairstyling practices) to the environment. It is our vision to be environmentally responsible and to make sure the way we do business is sustainable.
Our goal is to continue to find new ways of being more greener and to make your Hairtural experience environmentally friendly. Here are 10 ways we are greener.
1. WE COMPOST HAIR
Hair is usually discarded as waste and left at landfills, or disposed of via the drainage system where it may accumulate and cause blockages. Because the products we use don’t have any toxic ingredients, we are able to compost natural hair.
Natural hair has a high nitrogen content making it a good “Green”, it also contains hydrogen, oxygen, carbon and sulphur, which is the same as bone meal. Natural hair mixed with compost is a good source of plant nutrients. Even before it has decomposed, natural hair helps the compost pile retain water 4 times as well as the soil would.
2. USE BIODEGRADABLE DISPOSABLE TOWELS We have switched to disposable towels that are 100% certified environmentally friendly, they are biodegradable and compostable. They can be recycled with cardboard or composted with other biodegradable material. No water is used in the making of the disposable towels. In addition, the supplier’s fluff pulp mills maintain SFI, FSC and PEFC Chain of Custody certifications.
3. USE REFILLABLE CONTAINERS FOR OUR IN-SALON PRODUCTS
We have a refill station in the salon for stylists to fill their treatment products into smaller containers. When these run empty they are refilled when required. This eliminates plastic waste dumped into the environment.
4. UTILIZE ENERGY SAVING PRACTICES By specializing 100% in only natural hair and being a no-heat salon, we conserve energy because we do not use heat appliances like blow driers and tongs. We have also replaced halogen bulbs with eco-friendly LEDs.
5. WE SAVE ON THE USE OF WATER
Using disposable towels has lowered our water consumption. It has also eliminated the use of detergents and harmful substances from our water supply. As a result of having to use the washing machine far less, our carbon emissions are also lowered.
6. USE PLANTS TO NEUTRALIZE THE AIR
Adding potted plants in various areas around the salon does not only add a colourful splash of decor, they also serve as a natural source of oxygen and CO2 neutralizer.
7. BEING DYE-FREE MAKES OUR SALON AMMONIA-FREE
Ammonia in dye is an alkali that penetrates the outer layer of the shaft (cuticle) by increasing the pH of the hair. This causes damage by lifting the cuticle and leaves the cortex (middle layer of the hair) exposed. The dye is extremely drying to the hair.
Hairstylists are also exposed to the toxic ammonia fumes, which when inhaled over long periods of time may cause lung problems, sinuses, throat infections and eye infections.
Ammonia is also dangerous for aquatic species when it is washed away into the ocean.
8. WE ARE REDUCING OUR PAPER USE
We have a seamless booking system that is paperless (all confirmations and reminders are via email). Migrating to a paperless system means less pens, printers, ink and more ... this includes our card payments receipts which are are also paperless, which reduces our carbon footprint. All of our communication, internally and externally, is electronic. When it is necessary to print we print on both sides (reducing our consumption by half).
9. WE USE VEGAN PRODUCTS Our products are vegan, they do not contain any animal ingredients or animal-derived ingredients, such as honey, beeswax, lanolin, collagen, albumen, carmine, cholesterol, gelatin, and many others. 10. OUR PRODUCTS ARE CRUELTY-FREE
The products we use (and the ingredients that were used in the product), were not tested on animals at any stage during their development.
There are a lot of positive effects associated with going green, but none so rewarding as saving our environment.
Visit Hairtural and go green.