Loving Our Earth: How the Hair & Beauty Industry can Help Our Planet Thrive
- Brad de Waal
- Mar 27
- 9 min read
Updated: Mar 30
Together with the hair & beauty industry of SA, HairNews celebrates Earth Month with a Special Mailer all about sustainable and ethically sound products, designed and produced for our professionals.
Every year in April, people around the world take time to think about our relationship with our beautiful planet.
The first Earth Day was held in the United States on April 22, 1970. It began as a grassroots movement to raise awareness about environmental issues and environmental justice. In 1990, Earth Day went worldwide as the beginning of Earth Month, is now celebrated every April. In 2009, the United Nations designated April 22 as International Mother Earth Day. Today, Earth Day is celebrated in over 190 countries.
Helping & Restoring Our World
In support of a healthier planet, the push for sustainability continues to grow, and the hairdressing and beauty industry is no exception. More than ever, clients are looking to support businesses that align with their values in their desire to actively reduce their environmental footprint and promote lifestyle choices healthier for themselves and the Earth we love.
How can the SA Hair & Beauty Industry help our Clients?
The industry has already taken huge steps in creating a safer, healthier environment for its stylists and clients with the measures taken to reduce or eliminate formaldehyde, ammonia, and other harmful, irritating chemicals from our products. We have a unique opportunity to make even more meaningful changes that positively impact the planet and meet our clients’ needs and desires by stocking products that are:
Natural and sustainable, with ethically sourced ingredients
Non-toxic, paraben and sulphate-free.
Vegan
Cruelty-free.
Eco-friendly.
Biodegradable packaging.
Zero-waste manufacturing.
Let us strive for a future where hairdressers practice their profession without harming their own, their clients’ and the planet’s health.
This month we let our suppliers come to the forefront with their earth-friendly mission statements and their product ranges that can best help the earth and your salon thrive.
CONTENTS
Keune
milk_shake
INOAR
KAO
OPI
Wella Professionals
KEUNE
Keune: For People. For Planet. For Generations to Come.
We find ourselves in the decade of action – a time that calls for acceleration of sustainable solutions to all the world’s biggest challenges, from poverty and climate change to gender inequality and other forms of injustice. Keune is a family company. This means the aim is not short-term profit, but long-term value creation. We share our sustainability strategy and ambitions, ensuring a long-term vision for areas in which we can make the biggest positive impact. Keune’s strategy focuses on three key pillars, based on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals:
PEOPLE
Keune’s corporate mission is a social mission, closely connected to increasing people’s well-being all over the world. Especially for those people we interact with directly, we have extended our ambitions.
PRODUCTION
Keune believes we can impact the challenges that our planet is facing most effectively by reducing our total energy and water consumption, reformulating our formulas, and focusing on responsible ingredients from a natural source.
PRODUCTS
Keune invests in lighter packaging and concentrated formulas. This way, less resources such as paper, water and plastic are used, and CO2 emissions are reduced when transporting our products.
To stock Keune in your salon, please contact mhb Telesales on 0860 104 109 and a sales consultant will be in touch.
milk_shake
Introducing milk_shake® Flower Vibes: Sustainable Beauty Solutions
Vibrant Colour, Naturally Protected
Salon owners, get ready to elevate your colour-care offerings with milk_shake® Flower Vibes – a professional vegan-friendly range designed to protect and nourish colour-treated hair. Infused with high-performing plant-based ingredients, this line delivers superior care while supporting a more sustainable, eco-conscious salon experience.
Why Choose Flower Vibes?
✅ Protects and Enhances Colour – Keeps hair vibrant and long-lasting.
✅ Plant-Based Ingredients – Featuring nature’s best for deep nourishment.
✅ Vegan-Friendly Formulas – The perfect solution for clients looking for ethical haircare.
✅ Gentle Yet Effective – Free from unnecessary additives for a cleaner beauty approach.
✅ Supports Sustainability – A step towards a more planet-friendly salon experience.
With the growing demand for sustainable beauty solutions, milk_shake® Flower Vibes allows your salon to cater to a broader clientele, including those seeking vegan options.
Bring Flower Vibes to Your Salon Today!
colour maintainer shampoo / flower fragrance
hydrating and protective shampoo for colour-treated hair
Gentle shampoo that hydrates and protects colour-treated hair.
colour maintainer conditioner / flower fragrance
conditioner for colour-treated hair
Formulated to hydrate and protect colour-treated hair.
whipped cream / flower fragrance
no rinse conditioning & protective creamy foam for all hair types
Formulated to condition the hair, maintaining its moisture balance.
leave-in conditioner / flower fragrance
leave-in conditioner for all hair types
Spray conditioner for normal or dry hair, it gives manageability to damaged hair, protecting and enhancing the moisture balance, leaving hair shiny and soft, with a gorgeous fragrance.
incredible milk / flower fragrance
12 effects / leave in for all hair types
Intensive spray mask for all hair types with moringa extract and soy protein with nourishing and protective properties.
Contact us to stock up and offer your clients the best in natural colour protection!
Contact milk_shake® on:
Email: marku@z-one.co.za or georg@z-one.co.za
INOAR
Beauty that aligns with YOUR values.
Inoar delivers high-performance products for both salon professionals and at-home use. Rooted in a commitment to ethical beauty, all Inoar products are 100% vegan and cruelty-free, allowing our customers to embrace self-care with confidence and integrity.
For hair salons, stocking INOAR means offering clients premium, results-driven products that align with the growing demand for ethical and sustainable beauty. With our expansive range – covering everything from smoothing treatments to hair colour and home care – salons can provide tailored solutions for every client’s needs.
Inoar continues to innovate and set new standards in professional hair care with our newest hero product UAU - available now!
UAU
The “Oooh, Wow!” Instant Anti-Frizz Serum
ICYMI: The Glass Hair Trend Is Here to Stay
From red carpets to your social feed, the “expensive glass hair” look is dominating beauty trends – and for good reason. Sleek, silky, humidity-proof hair with supernatural shine? Yes, please. But achieving this kind of shine usually means heat styling... and with that, comes damage.
Meet the Hair Hero Everyone Will Be Talking About
Introducing: UAU by Inoar – pronounced “oooh, wow!” (because that’s exactly what you’ll say after using it).
A game-changing multi-functional serum spray: powered by next-gen heat-activated polymer tech, UAU forms a feather-light, invisible matrix around each strand – sealing in shine, locking out frizz, and shielding your hair from humidity, heat, and damage.
Why You’ll Love It:
✔ Frizz Control & Humidity Shield – Keeps hair sleek all day
✔ Heat-Activated, Weightless Formula – No silicones, no buildup
✔ Long-Lasting Protection – Stays in hair for up to 3 washes
✔ More Than Just Shine – Hydrates, protects color, reduces static, and prevents damage
Proudly PETA-registered, our dedication to cruelty-free, plant-based beauty is more than a promise – it’s a core value. Inoar continues to lead with innovation, sustainability, and a passion for transformative hair care.
INSPIRED BY YOU
Vegan, Cruelty-free professional hair care for all hair types.
Beauty that aligns with YOUR values.
To stock these incredible products and more, get in touch today!
Tel: 012 346 1721
Email: info@inoar.co.za
Website: www.inoar.co.za
345 Dey Street, Nieuw Muckleneuk, Pretoria, 0181
Follow INOAR SA
KAO
Sustainability as the Only Path for Goldwell, KMS & Kerasilk Hair Care
Sustainability
We strive to create a Kirei life for people, society, and the planet through creation and innovation building a future where all life enjoys more fulfilling and enriched lives.
A Kirei Lifestyle means living a beautiful life inside and out.
Over the past 130 years, Kao has worked to improve people’s lives and help them realize more sustainable lifestyles—a Kirei Lifestyle. The Japanese word “kirei” describes something that is clean, well-ordered, and beautiful all at once. For Kao, this concept of “kirei” not only describes appearance but also attitude—a desire to create beauty for oneself, for other people, and for the natural world around us.
Aiming to realize a more sustainable way of living, in April 2019, the Kao Group established its ESG strategy known as the Kirei Lifestyle Plan. By 2030, Kao aims to empower at least 1 billion people, to enjoy more beautiful lives. Kao also strives to have 100% of its products leave a full lifecycle environmental footprint that science says our natural world can safely absorb.
Kao Salon Division ESG Strategy and Activities
With its sustainability strategy tailored specifically to the salon business, Kao Salon Division aims to create real and lasting change, and to support the group’s global sustainability goals. The aim is to reduce the organisation’s collective impact on the environment by streamlining the footprint of each brand’s product portfolio and empowering salon owners to operate their salons more sustainably. Kao Salon Division’s sustainability strategy is based on three pillars.
Products – We make life beautiful by giving salons, stylists and clients products that work with our planet in mind.
Low-impact Formulations: To reduce the ecological impact of our formulas by systematically enhancing them.
Sustainable Packaging: To develop solutions that minimise waste and promote a circular material flow.
Zero CO2 and Waste Operations: To work towards climate neutral operations and to reuse, recycle or recover all our waste.
Partners – We make life beautiful by empowering salon owners to operate more sustainably
Environmental Education: To offer environmental training for salons and stylists, supported by certification.
Support minimal impact: To provide dedicated support to help reduce the environmental impact of our partner salons.
Sustainable Communication: To empower our salon partners and their clients to make informed choices.
People – We make life beautiful for salons, stylists and their clients by doing our bit to make the world a better place.
Purpose-driven brands: To ensure that all brands in our portfolio make their own contributions to society.
Customer-led philanthropy: To support causes that are close to the hearts of our salon partners.
Eco-conscious work environments: To make sustainability a natural part of our sites and actively promote sustainable behavior.
Our Brands Deliver on that Promise:
Goldwell - Stylist-exclusive products for professional needs.
KMS - A 3-step regimen where each step benefits the next. From straight to curly, bouncy to smooth and sleek, our formulations help achieve whatever look your clients can imagine.
Kerasilk - 4 Categories of products for the best in-salon & retail care: KERASILK Specialists, Essentials, Styling and Expert Services
As one of the world's most ethical and sustainable companies*, we are committed to making our planet a better place - by developing innovative products and services that not only respect stylists' and consumers' needs, but also the environment we all share.
* In 2025, the Ethisphere Institute, a leading US think-tank, has once again named the Kao Corporation as one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies. Kao is one of only six companies to have made the list every year since Ethisphere began its ranking in 2007. The Ethisphere Institute World’s Most Ethical Companies list recognizes companies which have demonstrated outstanding performance in transparency, integrity, ethics, and compliance.
To stock any of the KAO brands in your salon, please contact Twincare on 011 305 1600 or email info@twincare.co.za
OPI
Nature Strong: Nail Lacquer Sourced in Nature & Cruelty-Free
Nature Strong: Stay On, Stay Natural
OPI’s Nature Strong range of highly pigmented, plant based, vegan nail lacquer is formulated with natural ingredients and contains no GMO’s.
Nature Strong’s quality ingredients can be sourced right to their origin in nature. You’ll find sugar cane, manioc (also known as cassava), wheat, potatoes, clay, and corn in each bottle. It’s a true feast for nails!
Vegan Society-certified Nature Strong is free of animal-derived ingredients, fillers and chemicals. All OPI products are cruelty-free and not tested on animals or sold to countries who would test it on animals.
OPI’s commitment to the environment includes sustainable packaging. Plastic caps and glass bottles are made from 20% post-consumer recycled materials and both are recyclable. Caps may be speckled or inconsistent in colour as no bleach or added colour is used to cover up any imperfections.
To stock OPI in your salon, please contact mhb Telesales on 0860 104 109 and a sales consultant will be in touch.
Wella Professionals Elements
Sustainable Hair Care Your Clients Can Trust
You can count on Wella for Sustainable Products
What's good for the planet is also good for your hair business, and the beauty industry as a whole. More than ever, clients are prioritising beauty brands that align with their eco-conscious values, including their approach to more natural ingredients and recyclable packaging.
The Elements range is a collection of vegan hair care essentials formulated with up to 99% natural origin ingredients, and without silicones, sulfates or animal-derived ingredients. All products are dermatologically tested and have an extremely low level of allergens. Ingredients include aloe vera, olive essence, vegetable glycerin and kaolin clay. Elements products are suitable for colour treated hair.
Wella’s commitment to more sustainably sourced and eco-friendly products extends to its packaging. Bottles are made from up to 80% recycled plastic and are recyclable.
To stock Wella in your salon, please contact mhb Telesales on 0860 104 109 and a sales consultant will be in touch.
*From 99% to 91% depending on product. Includes water, natural ingredients and ingredients made from natural ingredients.
To stock Wella Professionals in your salon, please contact mhb Telesales on 0860 104 109 and a sales consultant will be in touch.
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