Beyond The Beauty Products: Other Ways To Make Your Salon Sustainable

If you want to run a more eco-friendly salon, then one of your first steps may be to switch to a brand of products that shares your passion for the planet. There are several great beauty companies that sell their shampoos and styling products in recyclable bottles and produce them in ways that cause less environmental damage. But beyond switching to these products, what other steps can you take to make your salon's operations more sustainable? Here are a few suggestions.

Re-evaluate how many lights you have.

Salons do need to be brightly lit in order to allow clients to see their style and to allow your stylists to see the hair as they work. However, you may not need to have the whole salon lit up so brightly. Consider dimming the lights in the waiting area and at the shampoo station, since people don't need to see quite as well in these areas. You'll save more electricity than you think with this simple change.

Buy a water-efficient washing machine.

Most salons do a lot of laundry! You need your towels to be clean, but you may not need to use quite so much water to get them that way. Switch to a more water-efficient washing machine, and you'll save water with every load. Make sure you're using an eco-friendly detergent, too.

Decorate with plants.

Green plants add a lovely touch of brightness to your salon. Plants also help clean the air and release vital oxygen back into the environment. It's a lot more sustainable to decorate with plants than to decorate with painted items that release VOCs! Just make sure you select plants that your clients won't be allergic to. Various sedums, snake plants, and English ivy tend to be good choices, and they also grow well indoors.

Offer refills of smaller containers.

Sell clients smaller containers of products, and keep larger containers of those products on hand. Give customers a discount if they bring their small container back to be refilled from your larger container. Some salon product supply companies make this easy by providing pump-style and refillable containers. This type of program can really help reduce the amount of plastic waste your salon and your clients produce.

Running a sustainable salon does take some effort, but once you make these changes, they'll become second nature before long. It feels good to know you're doing business in a way that helps the planet.

For more information on becoming a sustainable salon, contact a business like She's a Head Case.  

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