The Salon Movement

Moving Salons Forward Sustainably

The 3 Rs Of Any Salon

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REDUCE. REUSE. RECYCLE. These are the 3 most important R’s in a Salon, especially a sustainable one. If you’re new to The Salon Movement or your salon needs a bump in the right direction, read up. We’ve got some easy but very important tips you can incorporate starting now.

REDUCE

Let’s face it, a lot of waste can come out of a salon! Tons of water and other resources can get burned up quickly. To be honest, you’ll likely never get your waste down to 0%, but you can try! It’s a fun way to see how low you can go. However, there are a few things you can do to significantly reduce it.

Buy In Bulk

Buying in bulk reduces the amount of packaging that comes into your salon. Boxes within boxes and excess plastic creates a lot of unnecessary waste.

Watch Your water

We’ve talked before about one of our amazing partners, ECOHEADS, and how their products can make your salon significantly more sustainable. You can also instill special rules to make your salon more efficient water-wise. For instance, only run washers for a full load and use eco settings whenever possible.

Be Window-Wise

Making sure your windows are properly sealed will help keep the space warm in the winter, keeping your heating bills down. And tinting your windows, especially the ones that get direct sunlight, will keep your rooms cooler in the summertime.

Be Energy Smart

Reassess your lighting and power options. Choose better bulbs and make sure to turn off all lights, computers and machines when they’re not in use. Install fans to keep the air moving.

Think Twice About Paper & Don’t Print Unless You Have To

In this age of technology, most people actually appreciate getting their appointment reminders via text or email. There’s no need to have those paper cards that usually get tossed in the bottom of bags then likely lost.

Receipts and correspondence can often be more efficiently transferred using electronic means rather than printing out on paper — using ink, paper and energy. If you must print out a memo, reuse old memos and letters by printing on the back side. This way you won’t feel quite as guilty when you must print.

REUSE

Take a look around and imagine how many things you throw out or even recycle which could be reused at least one more time before tossing it out.

Get Creative

Empty bottles can not only be recycled, but they can be reused as holders for a variety of objects like floral arrangements, pens and utensils. If you have more than you can use, pass them along to a daycare or seniors center for art projects.

Compost

If you don’t already have a compost system set up, do it now. Check with your town to get the rules of what can be included in your compost. Most food, some paper, and even occasionally hair can be included. Some communities will even offer you compost bins to get you started.

Curbside pickup is often an option as most towns will use the compost collected for their own use. You can also use it for your own flower pots or garden if you have a green thumb.

RECYCLE

You should already have a recycling system set up in your business. If you don’t, get on it. If you do, amp it up and challenge your staff to recycle even more.

Get Bins To Make It Easy

Visit your city’s main website to see what can and can’t be recycled. Much like with compost, most communities will offer you separate bins to sort your recycling into proper categories. Otherwise, set up a system for yourself.

Pick Your Plastics

If you’re not already using products with recyclable plastic, look into switching to companies that incorporate sustainability, such as Davines.

At The Salon Movement, we’re passionate about making your salon run as smoothly and sustainably as possible. Sustainable beauty and sustainable fashion are HUGE these days and this will only expand in the next few years. People will be looking for YOUR business and we can help them find you. Join us today!

Summer Hair Care Tips Everyone Should Know

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It has certainly started to warm up outside, and that means everyone’s hair needs some special care. Back in the colder months, we talked about winter hair care tips everyone should know but hair needs different care depending on the season. These are our awesome summer hair tips you need to be passing along to your clients.

 

Get Them To Start Fresh

Summer is a great time to embrace short hair, or at least shorter hair. Before the summer gets here, encourage your client to, at the very least, get a good all over trim. This will get their hair in the best shape before the heat of summer takes over. And while we’re on the subject…

Encourage Them To Be Casual

For the most part, hair doesn’t need to be “styled” every single day in the summer. It’s time to be easy and breezy. Casual loose ponytails, braids and even loose air-dried waves are perfect summer styles. They look great and don’t cause excess heat or styling damage. Suggest some of these casual hairstyles to your client or give them a wash-and-go shorter cut.

Review Their Daily Hair Care

We know, this is a repeat from the winter tips, but it’s SO important to re-evaluate and change hair products from season to season. Hair can change so much depending on the weather outside. Take a few minutes to ask your client what they’re currently using and suggest something new from the Davines line. Recommend minimizing summer humidity and taming unruly curls with the LOVE curl primer.

Remind your client how to shampoo and condition properly keeping new sustainable beauty products in mind. If they insist on using hot tools to style their hair, make sure they don’t leave the salon without a product such as Davines MELU hair shield.

Remind Them To Keep Using That Conditioner

We preached it to our clients in the wintertime and we’re going to continue throughout the summer. Hair can get dry and brittle in the summertime from sun and UV damage. Ocean salt from the beach doesn’t help either. A deep conditioner can be a lifesaver and leave-in conditioner can actually help protect hair against some of this damage.

Tell Them To Cover Up

You know that protecting hair against damaging heat and UV rays is super important. Get your clients to invest in a wide brim summer hat (using sustainable fashion materials, of course!) to cover as much of their hair and face as possible.

At the very least, direct them towards some UV protectant products for their hair such as Davines SU Milk.

Wow Them!

As you know, hair needs special attention depending on the season. Your clients will be very impressed that you care enough to take the time to give them these seasonal tips. Not to mention the fact that since their hair will be in phenomenal shape, people will be asking them “Who does your hair?”

 

Prepare yourself for a fantastic summer and be sure to keep coming back for more great information from The Salon Movement.

Interesting Hair and Beauty Facts

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Remember ALL those facts you had to memorize while you were in beauty school? It probably seemed a little tedious at the time but once you realized why you had to learn it all, it made you the beauty professional you are now. Worth it, don’t you think? And you have to admit some of those facts you learned were pretty interesting.
 
Along with having amazing skills, part of being a good hair stylist or beauty professional is to have great communication with your clients. Showing you know your stuff and sharing interesting relevant information about hair and beauty with them gains their trust and loyalty. Here’s a list of some of the more interesting facts about beauty we know which you can pass along to your clients.
 
Common Hair Colors
 
Do you know the most common (natural) hair color? It’s black. Red and Blonde are the least common hair colors coming in at 1% and 2% of the population respectively. If you have a client with naturally blonde or red hair, encourage them to embrace it and maintain it as long as they can.
 
Hair Grows Faster In Warm Weather
 
Your clients may realize they see you more often for trims in the summertime than other times of the year (unless you live in a year-round hot climate). That’s because heat stimulates the circulation of your scalp encouraging hair growth.
 
In fact, hair is the second fastest tissue that grows in the body – second only to bone marrow.
 
Hair Is Strong
 
Each strand of hair can support a LOT of weight. Your entire head of hair can support 2 tons of weight, not that we recommend trying this at home. And a wet strand of hair can stretch up to 30% longer than a dry strand without breaking.
 
The Hair Knows (Almost) All
 
A single strand of hair is almost as effective as a blood test in finding out what’s running through someone’s blood. This includes minerals, vitamins and drugs. Interestingly, one thing that hair cannot identify is gender.
 
Blondes Have More… Hair
 
You find about 100,000 strands of hair on the average head. Natural blondes often have upwards of 146,000 while redheads will come in closer to 86,000.
Nail Polish Has Thankfully Evolved
 
Nail polish was one of the first beauty products made and was found in China waaaaay back in 3000 BC. Its formulation consisted of gum, egg whites, beeswax and colored powder. Can you imagine how long that took to dry?
 
Perfume Used To Be A Drink
 
Kyphi, a perfume very popular in ancient Egyptian times, was often drank as a treatment for lung and intestinal issues. It was made from wine, flowers, honey and berries but we’re betting it still didn’t taste very good!
 
Lips Are Unique
 
Just like fingerprints all lips are different, no two humans will leave the same lip print.
 
Lips are also one of the few parts of the body which doesn’t sweat or produce any oils. Therefore, it’s important to keep them moist by drinking lots of water and applying a hydrating protective balm.
 
Lashes Are Lush
 
The average lifespan of a single eyelash is 150 days which is why they don’t grow super long. It’s common to have 1 to 5 lashes fall out every day.
 
Upper lash lines are clearly more populated with hair than the lower ones but did you know that there are more than double the number of top lashes than bottom lashes? About 100 on the bottom versus approximately 250 on the top.
 
For more intriguing tips and useful marketing hints to promote your sustainable beauty or sustainable fashion business join The Salon Movement today! We have different options depending on your level of business. Find out more information here.

Sneaky Ingredients To Watch Out For

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Anything you put on your skin absorbs into your body so don’t you want to make sure you’re putting on the best? Even some sustainable beauty products labelled “natural” aren’t as natural as they advertise. The list is long (sadly) but here are some of the most common questionable ingredients which often make their way into beauty products. If you see any of these, put that bottle back on the shelf and walk away!
 
Phthalates
 
Phthalates are all too commonly seen in beauty products yet should be avoided at all costs. Studies have shown some correlation between phthalates and endocrine disorders which can possibly lead to certain cancers.
 
Unfortunately, some manufacturers disguise their use of phthalates by using the term “fragrance”. Make sure the products you’re buying have transparent ingredient lists so you know exactly what’s in them and what that “fragrance” really is. Which brings us to our next sneaky ingredient…
 
Fragrance
 
As we’ve just told you, “fragrance” can be an evil term. Some products smell amazing and that’s because of the natural herbs or essential oils added. However, other products smell amazing due to chemicals like phthalates being added.
 
Once you use products that have a true natural scent, you’ll start to notice the difference. Until then, watch for “added fragrance” and other indecipherable names on chemical labels. Fragrance can also be an irritant so also try buying fragrance-free.
 
Alcohol
 
Alcohol is added to a lot of skin care products because it makes your skin feel cool and fresh temporarily. But after just a few uses, alcohol can lead to irritation and excess sensitivity of the skin.
 
Watch out for alcohol-based ingredients, and look for terms like methanol, isopropyl and ethanol. These are scientific names for different types of alcohol.
 
Colours
 
Other than to make it look fun, there’s no reason to add dyes or colours to any product. Colours listed with numbers such as “Red 3” and “Yellow 5” are especially dangerous and can lead to behavioural issues in kids, as well as skin irritation.
 
BPA
 
OK, so BPA (or Bisphenol-A) won’t actually be on the product’s ingredient list but it’s quite likely to be in the packaging. Even if you’re buying sustainable beauty products with only organic ingredients, if it’s packaged in plastic containing BPA, it may cause you problems anyway as the packaging can leech into the liquids.
 
BPA is linked to hormonal imbalances, not to mention the damage it can do to the earth. Look for earth-friendly packaging on everything you buy.
 
What Next?
 
Luckily, many cosmetic companies are coming around and taking unnatural, dangerous ingredients out of their products, including the sneaky ones. It may take a little research but look for transparent companies, ones who are open about what’s on their ingredient list and what those unrecognizable terms on their labels really mean.
 
We use and recommend Davines products to everyone for both home and salon use. It’s a fantastic company that cares about the earth and your body. If you’re not sure where to start, please read our previous blog post, Davines products your salon MUST carry.
 
Be part of the movement by partnering with The Salon Movement. We’ll help make sure you’re using the very best sustainable products and are a part of a committed team of professionals who make a difference. Join now.

Sustainable Spring Trends

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We’ve said it before and we’ll be saying it again (and again and again…), 2018 is THE year of sustainable beauty and fashion. Since April is Earth Month and with spring in the air, what a great time to jump on the trend — if you haven’t already, of course.

If you’re not already, follow our Spring into Sustainability tips to green up your salon and life in general. However, there are some popular trends you can jump on right now which you can start utilizing in your shop and passing along to your clients.

Help Your Hair

Natural, individualistic styles are what’s in for hair this Spring. Beachy waves, a lot of texture, and short pixie crops are what we’re already seeing everywhere. These styles are easy to maintain if you have the correct styling products.

You know by now how much we love Davines, it’s a HUGE part of what The Movement is all about. There’s a Davines product for every type of hair along with fantastic face and body care, as well. If you’re still not sure where to start, read our top recommendations here.

Getting involved with Davines during the month of April helps support Sustainable Beauty Month and Davines has decided the Fruit Tree Planting Foundation is this year’s most deserving recipient. This foundation aims to plant 5,000 trees in Peru where about 357 local families will benefit. And be sure to support the event by following #SBMONTH2018 on your favourite social media platform.

Get Beautiful

Beauty trends this Spring are fresh, clean looks with a hint of glitter. Keep it natural, except for when you want to POP!

Clean beauty products are picking up steam and becoming more popular all the time. Choosing beauty products which aren’t filled with dangerous chemicals benefits your skin as well as the earth.

A lot of popular brands are dropping the more dangerous chemicals from their products which is a huge step in the right direction, but we still prefer to support original eco-friendly companies such as Jusu. This fabulous company was started as an organic juice bar in Victoria, BC in 2014. Using the vitamin and mineral rich pulp from the juice resulted in them creating clean, organic products to nourish the skin and body. What a great way to be healthy AND eco-friendly.

Be Fashionable

Sustainable fashion is a whole lot more than just plain, flowing hemp dresses. Most designers are becoming more mindful of the fabrics they’re using, incorporating more sustainable materials while still producing on-trend garments.

Fur (mostly faux, luckily) has been spotted on boots, hats, purses, and everywhere else you can imagine for the past few seasons. Enter “denim fur” for us eco-conscious trend followers! Created by ISKO (the world’s largest producer of denim) along with “designer of nature” Fashion designer Tiziano Guardini, this “fur” is made from certified-organic cotton and pre-consumer recycled cotton. We’ve been seeing tons of reviews and praise for these sustainable cotton creations on social media. This means you can be in style while still being eco-conscious.

Join Us

The Salon Movement is devoted to filling the world full of stylists who care about the planet, culture and craft. There’s no better time to join us than now.