Eco-friendly Hair

Our resident hair expert Dylan Bradshaw advises on a more sustainable way to care for your hair – better for you and better for the planet

Most of us are conscious of the impact we have on the planet. We are also a lot more aware of what we put on and into our bodies today than we might have been a few years ago. Reducing our exposure to harmful chemicals and choosing eco-friendly products that work well and feel luxurious can be a challenge. 

With that in mind, we spent some time trialling and testing new products to find what worked best for us and our clients. We found two great brands, OWAY and Modern Botany, with fantastic eco-friendly products. 

Modern Botany produce personal care products like deodorant and multipurpose nourishing oil for your hair, skin and nails. Their products are 100% natural, non-toxic, cruelty free and vegan. Using high-performing botanical extracts they have created an effective plant-based deodorant that offers 24-hour anti-perspirant protection. The team at Modern Botany have also developed a multi-use oil. It cleanses and moisturises the skin to help improve the appearance of scarring or stretch marks and is great for nourishing your hair and nails. Applying the oil on wet hair leaves a beautiful blow dry and on dry hair it helps keep it looking smooth, frizz-free and shiny.

OWAY is a great brand to work with. It can be a real struggle to find natural and organic product that doesn’t feel overly heavy or tacky in the hair. OWAY has a range of products that are sustainable and work well. The whole range is natural, organic, cruelty free, vegan, sustainable and sulphate and paraben free. I don’t think you can get much cleaner than that. OWAY have developed products for every hair type, from weak and fine hair to dry, coarse and unruly hair. All of their hair baths (shampoos) and most of their styling products come in brown glass bottles with minimal plastic making them easily recyclable or reusable. If a product comes with a plastic pump or nozzle, we ask that you hold onto the plastic and only repurchase a bottle with an aluminium screw cap. This minimises the use of plastics and reduces the impact we have on our planet.

We have been stocking another sustainable brand (exclusive to Dylan Bradshaw), Rahua, for some time. The product range takes inspiration from the beauty rituals that have been practiced by the Amazonian people for centuries, combining the most nourishing ingredients to heal and protect the hair. Rahua uses plant-based organic ingredients. 

When we reopened the salon, last year following the first lockdown we decided to use only disposable gowns and towels as this would reduce the risk of spreading infection. This could and will have an enormous effect on our planet as most disposables are made from plastics. Instead we opted for eco-friendly and biodegradable disposables that wouldn’t have a negative impact on the environment. We also make sure that all waste within the salon is separated into general, recyclable, biodegradable, chemical and metal waste. Ensuring everything is disposed of correctly helps us to reduce any negative impact on the environment.

Here are my favourite picks

Modern Botany Deodorant €15-25 as an everyday deodorant.

Modern Botany Multi-Tasking Oil €35 for use on dry dehydrated hair.

OWAY Curly Potion €38 to scrunch into towel dried curly hair to let dry natural for a defined natural curl.

OWAY Tratto Fabric Spray €44 to help freshen your home.

OWAY Smoothing Cream €38 as a blowdrying cream to soften the hair and speed up blowdrying time.

OWAY Silk ‘n Glow Serum €46 to tame the unruliest hair and keep the hair relaxed and frizz-free.

Rahua Classic Shampoo €35 as a gently cleansing shampoo to clean the hair and leave it feeling soft, silky and luminous.

Rahua Hydration Conditioner €40 to pump the hair with hydration without weighing it down.

For more visit dylanbradshaw.com.