November 17th has become a special day for me personally.

In 2013, I got my cosmetology license and was working at my dream salon.

In 2023, I went to the Professional Beauty Association Executive Summit for the first time.

I’ve told my story a few times - I was behind the chair for 7 years and quit because I wanted to do more for my industry and the planet.

However, something I don't talk much about is how many changes my company has gone through in the 3 years since it’s started.

I started with recycling in the salon I worked in, to working on doing it for other salons, researching other recycling options beyond the recycling center, creating educational materials, attending all of the zoom webinars, casually studying material science, studying global logistics, researching business practices, finding/figuring out financial incentives, learning about policy/lobbying, rabbit hole studying systematic issues, networking with sustainable business professionals, networking with beauty professionals… and it goes on and on and on

I didn’t have a blueprint of where to start, how to start, where to go, or what my biggest impact could be as one person. But what I did know was that I wanted to protect the environment and the living beings that live in it.

I left my salon job in October 2020 and started paving a path - a path that led me to three other professionals who were working on the same problem I was. That’s where The Green Beauty Community came together!

As a team of people who have worked behind the scenes as coaches, repairmen, educators, product designers, hair stylists, activists - I can say none of us thought we would be in the same room as the same people we’ve known as professionals a year ago at the Professional Beauty Association Executive Summit.

We knew working with people one-on-one was so rewarding, but knew it didn’t have the same impact as working with brands, organizations, and other companies that are involved in the beauty industry itself. We can push for a movement that is hard to accomplish from inside a business or from inside a salon.

Not many in the beauty industry understand their impact on the climate.
Not many in the environmental industry understand the impact the beauty industry has.

We were so honored to meet with these attendants in the industry and humbled that they love what we’re doing.
We’re excited for the next steps to making these changes more in place with policy, business practices, and helping the individual beauty professional not have to work so hard just to have a sustainable business. It feels like things can actually change.

Some days are harder than others. When you read the news about another deadly fire, a bill that wasn’t passed because of oil lobbyists, not everyone will have accessible drinking water in a year; sometimes it feels like a lost cause.

“Am I making a difference?”
“Is this worth it?”

I look back to the last 3 years and the changes that have already been progressing.
People standing up for environmental justice, creating activist resources for social media, talking to their government, planting trees, using less, companies listening to the public, living more intentionally and helping others who need guidance:

The answer will always be, “Yes".

How I Ended Up At The PBA Executive Summit

National & Global Petitions We’ve Followed - You Should Too

A New Twist on Salonvironment’s Recycling Pop-Up Program