Avalon is Going Green! We know you will be as thrilled as we are. Over the course of the next several months Avalon will be making some changes to be a more "ECO-FRIENDLY" salon!

     In national surveys one of the hottest new trends among salons is to "go green". Why? Well its not just because its eco-friendly, its because it's good for our clients as well as the salon. In recent years there has been a greater and greater move toward organic, natural and semi-natural systems of hair, body and skin care. Some of the innovators of this were Bare-minerals, Bare-Essentials, and Professional. Further innovators in the hair industry were Aveda Concepts, Paul Brown Hawaiian Systems and others. The overall problem for salons has been that most "natural products" are only semi-natural, while still combining other chemicals to their products. Further most truly Organic products are not always of a professional quality.

     The breaking point for me as a salon owner was that all of our costs kept  going up 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009 and yet the economy is in a down-slide. Karen and I Knew we were walking a fine line, yet each time the prices went up our pay went down. We were frustrated by trying to keeping our costs the same and still giving our clients the quality of products they rightly deserved.  But as these same companies raise prices they are putting cheaper and cheaper fillers in their products to keep there costs down. So the question in my mind became,

"Why should we sacrifice quality and pay more?"

    It makes no sense right? Right! So my mother, Amy and I started looking around for other alternatives. That is when we first came across the idea of a "green, eco-friendly" salon. It sounded far fetched at best. We thought only high end Spa's would be able to pull that off. We were wrong! After much digging, research and a little help from our holistic friends there have become more and more sources available at a professional level allowing small salons to go big in the "green" department. That was exciting news for us because it allows us to offer high quality services and  merchandise to our customers for little or no more cost than what they pay now. The Salon Industry has started to get smart and we are about to go green with them! Here are some of the new and exciting things you will find here at Avalon in 2009!

Hair Color ~ Date Available ~February 2009 

In 1998 a company called Organic Color Systems began developing and marketing a hair color line that is Certified Organic and completely professional. This is not your great grandmothers Henna from the old days! This is a highly scientific color system that allow us to get the same if not better results as the chemical lines without harm to the hair and scalp, and without our customers taking in additional chemicals into their bodies.

     It does all the same thing that "normal" professional lines do without the damage and strain. That makes this line great for customers who are: Organic conscious, have allergies, frequently get an itchy scalp when colored,  don't want to be exposed to chemicals, or have sensitivity to ammonia just to name a few.

     This new hair color line has:

1. No Pareben
2.  No Sodium Lauryl Sulfate
3. No additional chemicals
4. No lead
5. No Ammonia
6. No Thioglycolates
7. No Plastics

     What it does have is natural ingredients, natural processes and no harmful effects on the hairdresser or the client. That is great news for both you and I!

     So what about Cost?

     With rising costs and less jobs we know you are as concerned as we are about cost. So here is the breakdown. In 2009 our color prices for traditional color went up almost 100% from 2007. Even though most traditional color lines went up Organic Color Systems stayed the same. The cost of organic hair color vs traditional hair color is still slightly higher though not as high as you might think. With rising hair color costs across the board in our industry this hair color line is now just about equal with traditional hair color lines. The average difference our clients will see is with Organic Color is between $5-10 dollars per service vs traditional color which will be rising about $3-8 dollars per service. When you weigh the benefits to the price we know you will agree that it's worth every penny!

   What if I don't want to switch?

   You don't have to switch. This is just one of the many new options you will be receiving at Avalon in the year 2009, but you should never feel that you are being pressured to switch. If you want to remain with your old color line we will be happy to do that for you as well. Though I highly recommend at least giving it a try to see what you think for yourself! 

 Naturally Healthy Perms by Paul Brown ~ January 2009~

Paul Brown Perms also have no:

1. Ammonia
2. No Thioglycolates
3. No added chemicals

    That makes these perms ideal for those that are sensitive to chemicals and other additives normally found in perms. They are also far less damaging than traditional perms and come in the same great range of solutions as traditional perms do.

     Holistic store  ~ April 2009~

     We will be moving some things at the salon to make way for a wider range of products in 2009. We will be partnering with a new venture to create a space where clients have access to all of their hair and nail care needs but widening our range to include:

1. Bulk Herbs (for teas and baths)
2. Custom made eye masks
3. Natural Hair and Nail Products
4. Bath and body (Check out Earthen Naturals made by Kimberly)
5. Flower Essences
6. Aromatherapy oils and lotions
7. Organic Skin Care
8. Glo Minerals Professional Makeup
9. Jewelry
10. Gift Baskets
11. and lots more. . . .

     In addition to that we will still carry all of the same great hair and nail products we carried for years! We welcome you to try out some of our new lines as they come in in later this year!

More new and exciting things coming soon!