“The good man is the friend of all living things.”- Gandhi

Underneath the deep blue sea is a magical world of undiscovered and unique forms of life. A part of the appeal of our oceans lies in its mystery and magnetizing mixture of colorful aquatic creatures and organisms that ignite our hair color imaginations.

Not only is the ocean one of the natural wonders of the world, it makes up most of the Earth’s surface. That is why it is now more important than ever that we focus our efforts on protecting it, to ensure we leave a legacy and world well preserved for generations to come.

The first step to conserving our marine resources is to understand the Earth’s system and the effects of our activities on the environment. We are considered an ocean planet by NASA.

The ocean covers 70% of the Earth’s surface and contains about 97% of the Earth’s surface water.

Deep in the heart of that magical world lies many intrinsic parts of nature, where each species plays a special role, all intertwined in the web of life.

The salon industry is one of the biggest offenders of the environment, being responsible for nearly 150 million pounds of trash produced each year. Most of this trash end up in our oceans and harm marine life. This figure is frightening, but it should motivate us to help resolve the growing crisis.

As Holistic Hair Stylists, we have the power and platform to inspire beauty beyond the chair. Oway’s recent collaboration and thoughtful tribute to aquatic life with Blue Tit London reflects our shared commitment to sustainability and beauty.

As industry professionals, we don’t have the opportunity to save marine life at the forefront but small changes in the salon can make a huge impact. Here are a few ways to be an eco-friendly salon.

1. Reuse your foils. Did you know that foil takes four hundred years (minimum) to break down if sent to a landfill, yet 1% of salons recycle their foil? If you want a more sustainable option, choose paper. If you prefer aluminum, no worries! Just rinse and reuse them instead of tossing them in the trash. This is also more cost-effective for your salon.

2. Choose amber glass. One of the benefits of amber glass is that it never loses its quality regardless of how many times they are recycled. Plus, they also make for beautiful decor! Reuse the jars as plant pots or storage for clips and bobby pins.

3. Bring in food from home for your lunch break! Save yourself some money and pack up your lunch in a reusable container. This also helps the environment as a lot of restaurants use plastic straws and plastic items that harm marine life.

4. Use cotton capes. Regen Cotton Capes are a great replacement for your plastic capes. The Oway Regenerated Collection is made of 100% cotton. Plastic doesn’t break down and it’s loaded with harmful chemicals. This also ends up in the water and hurts marine life by either strangling them or worse, they may ingest the material.

5. Use old fabric like t-shirts, socks or damaged salon towels for cleaning instead of paper towels. Also chemicals end up in our precious oceans so try a more natural approach by using Simply Organic Beauty Essential Oils  and dilute with vinegar and baking soda to create a safer cleaning formula!

These are some of the changes you can do in the salon to help the environment. Always remember that no effort – no matter how small – is ever wasted. Our hope is that through these eco-initiatives, we can spark a movement to change salons for the better.