Hair salons are places that exist to make us feel good. They improve how we look, and with it our self-esteem, and they are somewhere all of us end up at some point.
But we have reached the stage of looking for alternatives to plastic straws, turning down single-use plastic and taking reusable bags to the shops. Is it not also time to rethink the environmental impact of our beauty routines?
I know, and I will admit, that investing in environmentally friendly make-up and cruelty-free skincare is easier than doing the same for your hair. By default, salons are not exactly the most sustainable places, think of the water going down the drain, and the sheer quantity of chemicals in hair dye.
Even so, it is possible for salons to put measures in place that make their processes and their spaces greener and kinder to the environment. And it is our responsibility too, as customers, to choose salons that take the planet seriously, and even to encourage that change. But how?
Good practice for a more sustainable salon
There are a few things salons can pay attention to. Here are three I think are simple enough to put in place:
1. Use ecological or environmentally friendly brands
There are now several brands using natural, organic ingredients and packaging made from recycled plastic. Some have even moved to refills, topping up the bottles you already have.
2. Use less plastic
Single-use plastics need swapping for metal or fabric, and where plastic is unavoidable, for recycled plastic. Just as essential is that the materials used actually get recycled, by the staff and by the customers.
3. Energy: less of it, and green
We all know a salon gets through a lot of energy, so it is worth optimising what it uses. One route is solar panels (how much they generate depends on the building and how much sun it gets), but there are also suppliers who buy and sell sustainable energy and can supply salons directly.
Beyond that, there are small things: making use of the natural light in the space, switching to LED bulbs, which use less energy, and managing the washing machines sensibly.
And one that is more or less common knowledge by now: when the place is closed, everything should be off, not on standby.
A salon on its way to being more sustainable
There is one place that surprised me, in the best way, on my very first visit. And if you do not know Barcelos, you are about to know at least one spot in it: Marlene Miranda Cabeleireiros.
I want every visit to feel like the first.
Marlene Miranda
Marlene made her dream real in December 2006, and this new space opened in November 2019. It has been thought through in detail, and every area has its purpose, from reception through to the treatment and massage rooms and, inevitably, a corner set aside for the little ones.
The main services are about treating and transforming our hair, but there are also treatments in beauty, manicure and pedicure.
What sets this place apart for me are the values holding it up: a salon that respects the environment and works, every day, at making more conscious and more sustainable choices, in all sorts of ways.
It is clearly a path being walked rather than a destination reached, and Marlene knows there are further measures that could make the space more sustainable still.
What the salon is after is bringing beauty and body care to each customer in a more natural, more conscious way, reducing its environmental impact through the products it chooses. One of its practices is using products with organic ingredients, the shampoos and the gel polish, for instance. The shampoos are also vegan and cruelty-free, meaning they are not tested on animals.
There is no better way to show you the place than a video, where you can see everything I have described, and the warmth of the welcome.
The treatment in the video is a deep conditioning one using the CBD Infused line from I.C.O.N., an organic line built on aloe vera and CBD oils, known for their healing properties, along with almond, sunflower, mint and aloe vera. It is a treatment full of essential oils, minerals and amino acids, delivering the nutrients hair needs to be healthy.
You are genuinely well looked after there, too. On the day of my treatment I even got a few drops of CBD oil in my tea. Another detail I find interesting: the packaging is PCR, post-consumer recycled material, made from PET bottles among other things, which cuts both resource use and environmental impact.
As for the results, they were immediate. And yes: my hair felt softer, shinier and healthier.
A place that treats each of us individually, consciously, with the environment in mind, and that makes you feel as though you have travelled back in time.
Does our self-esteem not come out even better after somewhere like that?
