A few months ago, I was running some errands in my neighborhood and saw a sign for Nori’s Eco Salon. I made a note to Google search as soon as I got home. Much to my surprise and satisfaction, turns out I live five minutes away from “LA’s first full service green Hair Salon.” What a treat! I poked around the website, and was rather impressed with the story.
The owners, Nori and her two daughters, created a green hair salon in order to promote wellness for their clients and our planet. They do their best to create an environment that is toxic free. They not only evaluate their products, looking for quality products that have the least impact on the planet’s resources, but have made sustainable choices for their building materials and office supplies. These choices include:
* 0 VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds) paint on the walls
* Floors covered with the natural linoleum made from linseed oil with jute baking
* Compact fluorescent light bulbs
* Insulation made out of recycled denim
* Dry walls are non toxic, sustainable building materials
* Brochure and business cards printed with soy ink on 100% post consumer recycled paper
* Office supplies are recycled materials
Nori’s also offers organic facials, make-up services using mineral, non-toxic products, and organic foot massages. Even the hair coloring products they use were created with “non-toxic in mind,” conceived by a hair dresser who became determined to create a safer, less toxic product when she was pregnant with her son and became concerned about her baby’s health.
What drew me to Nori’s is not only the fact that I am exercising sustainable choices daily, but because every time I leave a salon, I feel light-headed and nauseous from the fumes. Let’s face it-woman’s beautifying practices are not only time consuming, but hazardous to our health. Many of us put toxic goop on our scalps (next to our brains!) to get a color that makes us feel better about ourselves; that goop gets washed out with even more chemicals from the shampoos and usually an extra heavy-duty conditioner to prevent drying from the dye used on our hair; if we are getting highlights then that entails sitting under an almost unbearably hot dryer to get the color to stick; and in 4 – 6 weeks, repeat. Thinking about this chemically heavy process I have undergone for years motivated me to give Nori’s Eco Salon a chance.
After I left the salon, not only was I headache- and nausea-free (although I must admit I did not color my hair, but just had a haircut), but I was inspired by Nori and her two daughters. Nori is about 70, and her two daughters are probably in their 40s. All are immigrants from Iran, and I find it truly admirable that when establishing their American business, they chose to take a few extra steps and give their salon its own green makeover. They are not only conscious of the health of the earth, but the health of their clients and their employees. (Did you know that “hair stylists are four times more at risk for disease?!”) .
Nori and her daughters are an inspiration to all and they serve as an example of how any business no matter what kind or size can make a positive impact.