The ultimate goal of Green Salon is to ban the use of any kind of harmful chemicals. Specifically, we help hairdressers to avoid products with harmful chemicals.
Starting in Copenhagen in 2006, the Green Salon concept has spread to more than 70 salons in Scandinavia and Holland, Peru and Australia.
Being a certified Green Salon is voluntary. Being a certified Green Salon means that the salon as a minimum must follow the compulsory rules of Green Salon, see our criteria.
Among others this means that
– a number of specially harmful hairdressing chemicals are not allowed in the salon
– the salon must pay attention to energy and water savings and environmental hazards
In Green Salon we realize that we can not fight all harmful chemicals at once, so we have selected a list of cosmetic chemicals, which we consider to be the most problematic. We consider that useful alternatives are at hand. In this way we have succeeded in avoiding parabens, oxidizing hair colours and a number of other chemicals.
Our principle is that chemicals are never allowed if is scientifically proven that they are
– strongly or extremely sensitizing (like PTD and PPD)
– endocrine disruptive or under suspicion of being this (like resorcinol)
– dangerous to unborn children or under suspicion of being this
– carcinogenic or under suspicion of being this (like formaldehyde and DMDM hydantoin)
Products with chemicals from the Green Salons List of Banned Chemicals are never allowed in a Green Salon, neither in products used at the salon, nor in retail products including make-up and detergents for cleaning the salon.
Green Salon is funded by the annual fee paid by the salons for the annual inspection. Green Salon is non-profit and mostly based on unpaid work by volunteers.
Green Salon
– is independent of commercial interests
– does not sell or recommend specific products
– has not the financial basis for fancy advertising or homepages