Wisps of Green

Tasneem Hatimbhai connects with experts in the hair care industry for their opinion on some of the more frequently asked questions about green hair care.

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here is no dearth of questions related to sustainability in the hair care industry – How can we make hair care green? What shampoo is environmentally friendly? Are green products less effective? Can we style and colour hair just as well with organic products? The truth is there are no single, yes or no, or black or white answers to these questions. What is clear however, is that green washing is unfortunately as rampant as the drive to go green. Terms like sustainable, organic, chemical-free, vegan, non-animal tested are each distinct criterion to explore and understand when talking about going green; these labels, though not mutually exclusive, have some overlaps.

Soap instead of shampoo?

 Some of us might have used or heard of our grandmother having used soap and nuts to shampoo hair. Can these be part of the sustainable beauty practice?

When asked about the use of bars for both the environment and their clients, and if clients’ are open to using them, Ryan D’Rozario, Salon Director and Owner, Salon Muah,

Mumbai, says, “In terms of a sustainable future, this would be a great idea, but in India and for that matter in many parts of the world, we are in the initial stage of introducing soaps to clients in-house or even to promote them to clients. The reason being that we are spoilt for choice where liquid shampoos and conditioners are concerned.”

D’Rozario has been experimenting with a few hair soaps and shampoo bars to see if they help in real world, salon-friendly services like hair colour, straightening or Keratin services. He says, “I started off with a pre-shave soap bar and then worked my way up. So other than giving the hair thickening effect, for which shampoo bars work well, it could leave the hair dry (with the ones I have tried to date, cannot speak for all) and causes colour fading for heavily coloured and lighter hair. Many a times, the alkaline level of shampoo bars can go much higher than a liquid shampoo, thus causing these effects. You do get coconut oil-based shampoo and conditioner bars but it works well with certain type of hair textures and not all.”

Manjul Gupta, Founder and Director, Bodycraft Salon Skin n Cosmetology, says, “There is no doubt that sustainable beauty practices are the need of the hour in the beauty industry and beyond. In our industry, in particular, we are starting to see products with minimal and recyclable packaging. Hair products like shampoo and conditioner bars are a low waste alternative to regular hair products but may not replace them in salons any time soon. While we would like to incorporate more sustainable products, these products are limited in range.

While we would agree that at present, there is a bare minimal range in soap bars, the question remains: are salons open to using them – perhaps in the form of a bar per client?

D’Rozario, responds “At Salon Muah, we specialise in colour, and I do not see a shampoo bar that will be as effective as a liquid shampoo at present. Maybe if the leading hair companies get into shampoo and conditioning bar business, and create them for specific hair types then yes, why not! Imagine saving six to eight plastic bottles, that being the bare minimum per person in a year, imagine how many in a household, or just in one building society… the numbers are crazy. We could also just start with refilling the bottles like people do with a 20-litre water can.”

Citing that there are few companies that have a lot of natural ingredients into their hair soaps, D’Rozario suggests that maybe hairstylists should do a little more testing especially with the conditioning bars, in terms of how they would retain a blow dry, or if they are ok for medium or fine textured hair, and “eventually we might find the right one.”

However, Gupta adds, “On any given day in the salon, we cater to a myriad of clients with varying needs. For personalised care, we require a range of products that cater to every hair concern we see. Unfortunately, there are not too many brands in the market today that have zero-waste products with the kind of range a salon would require. Furthermore, shampoo and conditioner bars are individual use products and are not made to be exhausted in one use. By introducing these in a salon, we would ultimately create more waste by using products that cannot be fully utilised in one sitting or one-use bars that will require individual packaging. Ergo, in the long run, they would not be an economically or environmentally viable replacement for products that are specifically made to be utilised commercially. Until all these concerns are addressed, it is safe to assume that our current salon products are here to stay.”

Technology and modern science are now being used to reorient products to apply all the intrinsic values of the organic products intact while preserving the same using modern technology to make lives healthier.

Colour conundrums? 

Colouring hair whether to cover greys, enhance greys, or simply to change a look, is perhaps the most popular hair salon treatment. Over the years, ammonia-free colours and organic colours have been introduced too. But are organic hair colours as effective? And in today’s climate of chemical-free partialities, do clients have a

specific preference for them?

Shirin Ebrahim Merchant, Creative Director, Kutnmake, says, “Organic hair dyes made with botanicals and less chemicals are a good option for those with damaged hair. Although organic dyes are not completely chemical free accept Henna, which is 100 per cent natural, too contains metallic salts that are harsh on the hair. Hence natural does not always mean healthy as other additives or ingredients can still harm the hair.” Merchant adds that nowadays clients are requesting for natural dyes but the longevity and coverage of these depends on hair-to-hair. For example, weak, light coloured and fine hair may have a better colour result with organic dyes compared to course, dark and thick hair. Hence, she recommends clients to turn to a professional to make the right choice of dye.

Going green when using hair products does not always have to mean opting for the organic colour, says Rod Anker, Owner, Rod Anker Salons. “A lot of the natural colours can cause damage and in a lot of cases be hard if not impossible to remove or colour over. The term sustainable needs to be used, rather than going for large brands that predominantly use huge margins on advertising rather than product development or creating sustainable practices. If a client’s concerns are based on chemicals touching their Rod Anker, Owner, Rod Anker Salons skin or scalp,then highlights prevent that whilst still giving a colour change. Just because a product says it is ammonia free, the mixed colour that is applied to your head is what you need to be concerned with rather than just the tube of colour. Chemicals can be good and bad, and a lot has to do with the way they are used, so obviously seeking a professional is paramount.”

Organic care for hair? 

Along with being better for the planet, are organic products better for hair, scalp, and skin health?

Sidney Ho, Artistic Director, Meraki Salon, shares, “Organic products when used in conjunction with modern scientific processes can be of immense benefit and give amazing results.” He elaborates: When we go to the gym and are asked to consume protein, we do not take say eggs or any other form of raw protein in huge quantities; we rather take protein powder and justify our body’s requirement.

Similarly, all edibles we take for consumption, like rice, wheat, or even vegetables are usually processed with scientific technology and are made ready for our consumption. Similarly, beauty products which are applied to our scalp, hair, and our skin are similar. “If the 100-percent organic, natural products for such usage in our hair, skin, and scalp are combined with scientific processing and made fit for use, organic products are best; however, the affordability might pose a bit of a problem for genuine regular use .Hence, affordable products, which are scientifically organic are the best.”

Today, science has progressed to a great extent; however, with this development, the free bounties of Mother Nature have somehow been ignored. Being aware of this, technology and modern science are now being used to reorient the products to apply all the intrinsic values of the organic products intact while preserving the same using modern technology to make lives healthier. Ho adds, “Earlier we used hair colour that had an extremely heavy concentration of ammonia, but now we are using ammonia-free colour. This is just the perfect example that green products can work wonders with scientific orientation.”

As Ho says, “go green using technology to our best advantage.” We can’t agree more!