Not much about soap is exciting. Some are interesting, but you can’t really say it’s provocative. Unless you’re talking about the naughty & nice collections from Villainess Soaps.

Villainess is a bit naughty because they have scents named after deadly deeds like Pyromania, which gives off a sweet, smoky odor and uses poppy seeds as a mild abrasive. I bought my younger sister a bar of Silk & Cyanide for Christmas, which gives off the scents and flavors one experiences while slowly being poisoned. She cautiously thanked me for my trouble.

Villainess is a bit nice because all their products are cruelty-free, and they operate through a full-disclosure policy about all materials used in manufacture. It’s kind of like how the arch-enemy details all her nefarious plans to the hero before she engages the unnecessarily slow-moving crane toward the shark tank.

Villainess Soaps and cosmetic products are hand-made in Waverly, TN by people who are truly passionate (and a bit evil) about their ideals. The soaps are nicely priced and arrive in un-sculpted hunks of glorious texture, color and odor. Ask your local beauty biz if they’ll stock some, or just visit their website at www.villainess.net to see what devilishly clever new things they’ve devised.

Photo: Villainess Soaps

“Going green” is becoming more and more popular, and people from all walks of life are finding ways to make their lives more eco-friendly. As a beauty professional, you’re in a position to make a huge difference right in your very own salon. Think about it. Plastic product containers tossed in the garbage, incredibly high water and energy usage, and chemicals being washed into water supplies are not doing the planet any favors. So try a few of our suggestions to make your salon a “green” salon! (more…)

Synchronicity was in the air today. There’s quite a buzz in the architectural and construction industries about the evolving LEED standards. We noticed that U.S. College Search had recommended architectural school students to begin investigating the LEED standards more closely and perhaps specialize in LEED compliance for a career boost. Then we noticed that the very first LEED certified salon and spa just went into business in Atlanta! Someone was paying attention.

The Brookhaven location of Atlanta’s Natural Body Spa & Shop has just been awarded a LEED Platinum certification, which is the highest environmentally-conscious building standard. The location features beauty and cosmetology services from both a Natural Body Spa & Shop and a 10TEN Nail Bar. But the buzz about LEED standards means that they’re doing it with the lightest environmental footprint possible, and that keeps their karma in line with their community.

Natural Body dedicated themselves to boosting their environmental responsibility by using regional building materials in the design of the salon, and incorporating up to 50% post-industrial material and low-energy lighting sources for the finishing touches.

The Natural Body location is especially noteworthy because it’s in a high-density, mixed-business development with mass transit, trendy shops and green space side by side. Awesome! Natural Body gets it, and we love it!

Do you know any LEED standards building projects being planned in your area? If any of them are eco-friendly spas, salons or resorts, we want to hear about it.

Paul Mitchell – The School in Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis beauty schools are teaching much more than just hair techniques, including community outreach, multiculturalism, and thinking “green.” Paul Mitchell – The School in Memphis is a perfect example of a philanthropic community school, and they even participate in the Hair for Oil Spills program we blogged about recently!

Read the full article here.
More about Paul Mitchell – The School in Memphis

Empire Beauty Schools in Arizona
Empire Beauty Schools cosmetologists in training have teamed up to fight domestic violence, like participants in the Cut It Out program we blogged about recently! The Arizona Coalition Against Domestic Violence has been working with Empire Beauty Schools in Arizonato train current beauty school students how to recognize signs of abuse, and find ways to help their clients.

Read the full article here.
More about Empire Beauty Schools in Arizona

The package says “organic,” but how do you know for sure?

In the world of beauty schools, beauty products and beyond, “organic” has become one of today’s hottest buzz words. As more and more consumers learn about the importance of Earth-friendliness, an “organic” label can make or break many people’s purchasing decisions.

But who decides what exactly makes a product “organic?” In Europe and the United States, consumers are still trying to decode the organic certifications they find on the labels of their favorite brands.

Amarjit Sahota, the managing director of Organic Monitor, explains that the one word that defines the organic certification process in Europe and the United States is “confusion.”

Companies and manufacturers that produce organic beauty products want their customers to feel confident in the product’s organic certification. But with three different organic certifications in the United States and two different certifications in Europe, many companies don’t know which standard to choose.

Unfortunately for consumers, beauty schools and salons, this means confusion for them as well. Each beauty product on the shelf may carry a different certification logo, and many consumers are torn between trusting that logo, or trusting a brand name.

Like many professionals in the organic product industries and the beauty industry, Sahota would like to see one global organic standard. He believes that uniformity and cohesion within the industry will benefit everyone involved – not to mention, planet Earth!

What are your thoughts on the organic issue? Do you work at a salon or beauty school going green? How do you choose your organic beauty products when you’re standing in front of that shelf in the beauty aisle?

It’s no surprise to this green beauty girl that Aveda has won the Cradle 2 Cradle’s Gold certification for 7 products. The award-winning news was out faster than the latest hair trends and Aveda garnered the endorsement through their dedication to the environment for the last 30 years. I guess you can say they had a jump-start on things.

Since the new trend sweeping the beauty industry is going green – and with Aveda setting the bar high for not only salons but also beauty and cosmetology schools and engage in this new trend – most of them are stepping up to the plate and going green. And, we have found some salons are making the commitment to go green as seriously as Aveda has.

More and more, we are seeing beauty products change from the old school, chemical-laden concoction that our mothers used in the ‘70s and ‘80s into more organic, preservative-free products. While the movement is still gaining steam, some salons are making a commitment to the environment and their bodies through green products. Not only do people want to see more variety on shelves and in their salons, they want to make sure they don’t carry the laundry list of harmful beauty product ingredients that are bad for them and Mother Earth.

The salons that are changing their ways, including Aveda, range from big chains to locally-owned shops. The public has spoken, and they want green, eco-friendly products and practices. In addition to adding all natural or organic beauty products, some salons and beauty schools are also using water sensors, energy-efficient light bulbs and hair styling tools, and setting up recycling bins.

Only time will tell if Aveda will be the Michael Phelps of the Cradle 2 Cradle certifications for beauty products.

With all of the rage and pressure to go green, there are some places that are taking that to heart. I ran across this great article about greening your schools. The article I’m referring to is Do Colleges Need Green Czars?  And I found out that colleges and universities are hiring people dedicated to making their schools more eco-friendly.

The ‘campus sustainability coordinators’ are people hired to help make the changes to an old school. Or they are brought in at the developmental stages of the new buildings to make them green.

This topic piqued my interests because some schools use more energy than others. I wanted to know which of these schools are turning over a new leaf. When you think of it – a cosmetology school might use more electricity and energy than a standard college. My thoughts about this were from the fact that cosmetology schools use a lot of water and energy for their styling tools. So I wanted to know if beauty schools were following suit in hiring Green Czars to transform their schools into eco-friendly ones.

After some digging – I found that some cosmetology schools were taking the initiative in going green. Some Aveda schools use energy-efficient light bulbs and water sensors to help control the use of water. Some have even set-up a recycling program to help curb the waste that is piling up in the trashcans.

It is good to know that some schools are taking responsibility and learning of the impacts that they have on the planet. Now, it is up to you to research the beauty school you want to go to and find out if they are helping the problem. And if they’re not doing all they could, you can become your own kind of “Green Czar” and help out once you’re a student!