7 Easy Ways Beauty Professionals Can Help the Environment

As Earth Day approaches, we can’t help but think of how amazingly rad the Earth is. It’s a great reminder that we need to do our part to help protect the world we live in. As a student at Aveda Idaho, you can help the environment while preparing to work in the beauty industry. Here are our seven ways we as beauty professionals can do our part to help the environment!

1. Go for Reusable

Single-use plastic is such a harmful factor to our environment, but what’s awesome is that there’s a way we can do our part to help the Earth. When it comes to single-use plastics, choose reusables!

Single-use plastic is any plastic that is used one time and then tossed. Instead of going away, it only breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces called microplastics that never go away. On top of that, only 9% of plastic is actually recycled.

So, where does all the plastic go? It goes to landfills, oceans, and the environment, which hurts everyone and everything in its path. This includes the Earth and its natural beauty, the planet’s animals, and us, human beings.

The easiest way to do our part is to eliminate single-use plastics from our lives the best that we can. As a hairstylist, we come in contact with single-use plastics every single day. Here are some examples of easy ways we can cut back on our use of plastic:

• Trade plastic drinking bottles for a reusable water bottle.
• Trade plastic shopping bags for reusable shopping bags (made out of cotton, canvas, etc), whether we’re at the grocery store or beauty supply store.
• Trade plastic forks, knives, and straws for metal, bamboo, or wood ones for home, work, or eating places.

2. Save Electricity

Electricity has a direct effect on the environment that most people don’t realize. One way we can help is by being aware of our energy use. By consuming less power, you can decrease greenhouse gasses, pollution, and fossil fuels while protecting animals, wildlife, and our water!

As a hairstylist, it can be a little more difficult to save electricity with how much we use our straighteners, curling irons, and blow dryers on a daily basis. However, there are some minor changes we can make that can have a positive impact on the environment, such as:

• Using natural light in a salon.
• Choosing LED lights.
• Turning off hair tools when we aren’t using them.
• Increasing laundry load size and decreasing the amount of loads done.

3. Think Beyond Shopping

Have you ever looked at a product or company and wondered what it’s doing to help the environment? With more and more people living sustainable lives, more companies are striving to do their part to help the environment, too! Those are the companies we want to support!

Being conscientious about what we buy and the companies who we buy from can definitely help us live more sustainably. Here are some questions you can ask to ensure you’ve found the right place to shop:

• What are their clothes or beauty products made out of?
• How are they made?
• Where are they made?
• Is it high-quality and made to last a long time?
• What are they doing to help the environment?
• Do they support any causes?
• Do I need it or just want it?

Knowing what our clothes and beauty products are made out of can let us know if it’s quality material or natural ingredients. Having a high-quality shirt can sometimes cost more but high-quality products tend to last longer (in the long run, this can help the environment and save us money).

How they are made helps us get a glimpse of how ethical a business is, and knowing if they support any causes let’s us know that by purchasing their product, we can also support a great cause!

Always remember to think beyond just shopping and really understand everything involved with purchasing a product or service from a business.

One of the original beauty companies that was founded on helping the environment is Aveda. Check out their history, their mission, and why they choose to create products that help the Earth!

4. Thrift It

As beauty professionals, we want to look good for work. It’s great to look and feel amazing at work, but there’s a way to look trendy and help the environment — it’s called thrifting!

Thrift stores are popping up all over the place. In Idaho, here are some of our favorite places to find gnarly clothing that can help any of us feel and look even more amazing while doing our part to help the environment:

• Deseret Industries
• Uptown Cheapskate
• Idaho Youth Ranch
• Re-style Animal Rescue Thrift Store
• Poshmark
• ThredUp

If you have some clothes that you don’t wear anymore, try reselling them or donating them to these thrift stores and/or a local shelter!

5. Use What You Have

Sometimes there isn’t a way to get around using plastics. However, there’s a way we can be smart when we do have to use them. A couple ways we can be smart is by using up what we have and using at all before buying more! By doing so, you can limit the amount of plastics you actually use by creating less waste.

6. Get Outside

There are some pretty amazing benefits for us and for the environment when we get outside to get some fresh air. Whether it’s a walk around the neighborhood or a hike in the mountains, getting out can de-stress and give the immune system a boost! It’s a great way to forget about work for a time and focus on mental, physical, and emotional health.

When you choose to go outside, you choose to turn off your lights and unplug our hairdryers. Those actions alone can have a positive effect on the earth by saving energy, so get outside and explore!

7. Choose Clean Beauty Products Like Aveda

With so many people wanting to adapt sustainability into their lifestyle, beauty brands are starting to listen. One brand that has been ahead of everyone else for years is Aveda.

Aveda has been committed to environmental sustainability and caring for the planet since its founding, and taking care of the earth is one of its core values. Some of the accomplishments Aveda showcases are:

• Cruelty-free and only test on willing human participants.
• The first beauty company to have more than 85% of their skin care and hair styling PET bottles and jars contain 100% post-consumer recycled materials.
• The first beauty company to manufacture all products with 100% wind power.
• They don’t use any harsh chemicals in their products and their formulas are 90% naturally derived.
• Raised around $65M to help fund environmental initiatives.
• Involved with clean water organizations.

Support Aveda and the environment by trying some of the amazing products Aveda offers!

Get Involved at Aveda Institutes Idaho

Searching for a career where you can unleash your creativity while doing good for other humans and the earth as a whole? Cosmetology could be for you!

Our founder, Nate Shaw chose to own two Aveda schools – Aveda Institute Boise and Aveda Institute Twin Falls because they love the value and quality of the Aveda brand. It’s so important to get an education where you can grow and develop skills along while maintaining your values. Aveda Institute Idaho is here to support you! Contact us today to learn more about how you can turn your passion for sustainability and beauty into a meaningful career.