Earth Organic Hair Salon believes that beautiful hair can be achieved without the use of harmful chemicals or animal cruetly. Cityscape caught up with Traci Aylmer from Earth Organic to chat about what's possible with plant-based products.

What are your hair dyes made of?

Our hair colours are botanical based, the product is 100% biodegradable, and the packaging is recyclable. They incorporate certified organic herbs, plants, fruit acids, vitamins, vegetable oils and phytoprotein complex. They do have chemicals in them like all hair dyes do without which they wouldn’t work, but our colours have substituted the more toxic for alternatives that are better for us and our planet.

Are there any limitations in colour when using plant-based dyes?

There are no limitations at all when using plant based colour. This is absolutely the biggest misconception. I worked with L’Oreal and taught L’Oreal for many years and there is nothing I cannot do now using plant-based, organic and cruelty-free vegan colour. In fact I’d say it’s better all round.

Which ingredients in non-plant-based dyes are bad? Are they bad for your hair, for the planet, or both?

I’d say that the answer to this is holistic. Whatever is bad for us is bad for the planet and vice versa. PPD or paraphenylenediamine can cause severe allergic reactions, and there is some evidence of it being carcinogenic as well. So that's not great for us, though it’s supposedly only used in safe amounts.

Next there are the petrochemical aspects of the more famous hair companies, which are clearly bad for us and our planet. Last but not least is the emotive subject of animal testing. Nothing at Earth Organic is tested on animals, either by the companies we work with or their parent companies.

What's going to be popular this season in hair?

Hair is definitely getting shorter this year. We are seeing a lot of panel colouring either with vivid or pastels. The 90s seem to be making another comeback which in hairdressing terms is great as this was a decade of fun hair - lazy shag type cuts and pixie mullets all with colour pops. Freehand painting/balayage on hair is still ever popular and probably our biggest request.

earthorganichairdressing.co.nz