Tips & Tricks on Creating a More Sustainable Salon
More and more, we are learning new ways to live a more sustainable lifestyle, but have you ever considered methods of creating a more sustainable salon? It can often be as easy as implementing some of the eco-friendly tactics you use at home–but there are also special considerations to consider in terms of helping to make the beauty industry green.
Here are a few tips and tricks to help you start your sustainable salon journey.
COMMIT TO REUSING, REDUCING, AND RECYCLING
Stock your salon with products that use recycled packaging. When possible, purchase larger sizes of the products you frequently use to reduce plastic consumption. Can any of your product packaging be refilled? Or re-imagined to serve another purpose, such as a flower vase or tray to catch hairpins? These are just a few of the easy, creative ways you can implement reducing, reusing, and recycling in your salon.
BE SMART ABOUT INGREDIENTS
Of course, it isn’t just the packaging used in certain beauty products that have a detrimental impact on the environment–the ingredients in the products we use can have negative effects on our planet, too.
When sourcing new products to use at your chair and stock your salon with, search for all-natural, sustainable ingredients such as phyto-extracts and phyto-oils. In efforts to promote sustainable practices even further and protect the creatures of our planet, seek out vegan products and companies that refrain from animal testing. In the same vein, avoid products with harsh chemicals such as petrolatum, silicone, parabens, synthetics, and other harmful ingredients.
THINK ABOUT YOUR WASTE
It’s only natural that waste will pile up in a salon setting–it is thinking about how you dispose of your waste and what you waste at large that matters.
Develop a technique to separate waste that can be recycled, composted, or sent to the landfill. Switch to eco-friendly versions of the items that tend to build up waste, such as recycled aluminum foil, biodegradable trash bags, and bamboo-based paper towels. Conserve water everywhere you can. Switch to reusable materials when sanitary and possible. The opportunities for reducing waste in your salon are countless.
SAVE ENERGY, SAVE THE PLANET
Conservation is key. There are dozens of methods to save energy in your salon, which in turn protects the planet. Consider switching to a clean energy provider if possible at your salon. Invest in energy-saving lighting methods, turn down your heat or limit AC use when possible, and always unplug the hair tools and appliances you aren’t using.
EDUCATE
Lastly, educate your clients about sustainability when it comes to the hair care industry. Explain how the ingredients in the products you are using benefit them, their hair, and the environment. Discuss how the packaging of the products you carry can be recycled and reused. Walk them through how to spot eco-friendly hair care and beauty products outside of the salon. The more people know about sustainability, the more we can all make changes to our businesses, homes, and lifestyles to protect the planet.