Can you briefly introduce yourself?
I am a chemical engineer and work in a municipal environmental department. Personally, I am very engaged in environmental issues, such as how we can reduce our resource consumption, ensure cleaner oceans, and lessen the chemical burden on people and nature.
What inspired you to start Grøn Salon?
I became aware that many hairdressers suffer from skin and respiratory problems or experience headaches due to their work. We are talking about nearly half of all hairdressers—many apprentices even develop such severe damage during their training that they have to leave the profession. After discussions with labor unions in the Nordic countries, it became clear that many of these health issues were directly caused by exposure to strong chemicals in cosmetics —chemicals that are legal but very harsh. At the same time, many of these chemicals are environmentally harmful, which highlighted the need for an initiative that could raise awareness in the hairdressing industry and within salons. Today, Grøn Salon has been adapted to also include cosmetic clinics.
What is the overall vision for Grøn Salon?
We aim to reduce the environmental impact in hair salons, both by using fewer chemicals in customer treatments and by promoting organic products and reducing resource consumption. Salons voluntarily join Grøn Salon and commit to following its criteria. Each year, Grøn Salon conducts inspections to ensure member salons comply with the regulations, which is essential for maintaining their certification as a Grøn Salon. A key requirement of Grøn Salon is that hairdressers must be able to perform all types of treatments using environmentally friendly and health-conscious products. The success of this is evident in the numerous awards Grøn Salon hairdressers have won—just look at Grøn Salon's Hall of Fame.
What criteria must products meet to be certified by Grøn Salon?
No products used in a Grøn Salon may contain substances listed on Grøn Salon's Prohibited Substances List. This list includes approximately eighty substances that are legal in the EU and therefore throughout the Nordic region. These substances are commonly used in cosmetics but have been scientifically proven to be highly or extremely allergenic or to pose other significant risks to the user, the hairdresser, or the environment. This simple list makes it easy to identify
which products may and may not be used in Grøn Salon.
Who was Grøn Salon created for?
Grøn Salon is designed for both hairdressers, who are exposed to these chemicals daily, and for the customers who have these chemicals applied to their hair and skin. We have conducted several surveys on the working conditions in Grøn Salon salons. The results consistently indicate that many hairdressers who have suffered chemical damage from their jobs seek employment in Grøn Salon to have a safer working environment. Approximately 80% of these hairdressers report that their symptoms and injuries have disappeared or significantly decreased after joining Grøn Salon. We hope that the Danish Working Environment Authority will one day take a closer look at how we have achieved this.
What have been the biggest challenges in establishing and maintaining Grøn Salon?
I can’t deny that there has been a lot of resistance from many of the major manufacturers and some suppliers. On the other hand, we see that 80% of all hairdressers who are not themselves members of Grøn Salon are aware of what Grøn Salon is.
Here you can view Grøn Salon's list of products they approved:
https://groensalon.com/pdf/pos.pdf
