Shades Hair Studio: Beauty Sans Ammonia
Published March 23, 2008
Walk into most hair salons and you'll be greeted with a harsh chemical
smell, thanks to the ammonia and other chemicals in most hair color
products. Now, there's a salon that prides itself in its chemical-free
atmosphere: Shades Hair Studio.
Shades is a full-service Beverly Hills salon that's gone green -- or at
least much greener. Owner and salon operator Susan Henry, spurred by her own health problems due to working with conventional hair products, created a line of natural hair colors that contain no ammonia whatsoever. These products are better for the environment and for the health of the salon's clients. And because the colors don't stink up the salon, clients can enjoy their experience without inhaling noxious chemicals.
I stopped by Shades for a haircut earlier today, and loved the sunny,
chemical-free atmosphere. The salon's brightly lit and heated through
passive solar by two large skylights, giving the place an relaxing, airy, open feel.
My stylist, Tina, listened carefully to my ideas about what I wanted for her hair (I took in pictures), made some suggestions, and visually confirmed exactly how much hair I was ready to chop off. After a relaxing shampoo, I finally got my much-needed haircut -- and I'm very happy with it! And although I didn't get my hair colored, I will say the woman sitting two chairs down who got her hair colored strawberry blond looked amazing.
My one beef with Shades: The hair care products are full of parabens, a
synthetic preservative avoided by many eco-friendly personal care product companies. Back to Basics, the product line used in my shampoo, contains parabens and is ranked "medium risk" in Skin Deep, a cosmetic database put together by Environmental Working Group. Parabens also taint Susan Henry's own line of hair care products.
Hopefully Shades will green its hair care products as much as it has its hair color. If it doesn't, I may have to see if they'll let me use my own paraben-free, eco-friendly EO shampoo the next time I go in --
Beauty doesn't come cheap at Shades, with haircuts starting at $90 and hair color at $100. Then again, these prices aren't exactly high for a Beverly Hills salon.
Shades Hair Studio. 144 N. Doheny Dr. Beverly Hills. (310) 275-4882
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