November 10th, 2021

Have you considered how your wedding hair & makeup could be sustainable? We took the time to ask the questions so that our future brides can have use this knowledge to their advantage when it comes to being green within the beauty industry. We had the privilege of speaking with Elana Darrus Hair & Makeup as well as The Bridal Beauty Team who opened up about this topic and explained how they strive to help the environment in their own ways.

Questions to ask your stylist/artist:

• Are your products cruelty free?
• What reusable or biodegradable tools do you use?
• Are there certain ingredients that you avoid in order to stay green?

Use PETA friendly products

The Bridal Beauty Team explained to us that in general, any type of professional makeup is going to be PETA friendly. She said that it has been this way for the last 10 years. It often is difficult to use trendy makeup as an artist because the products won’t be cruelty free.  

Why should you use cruelty free products? Not only are you saving the lives of animals, but you are preventing yourself from using products that are likely filled with many chemicals. Some products fall under parent companies who are not cruelty free. What this does to the product is lose it’s cruelty free status even though it is PETA friendly. PETA and Leaping Bunny will no longer certify the brand due to the parent companies reputation. For example, The Bridal Beauty Team explained to us that Estee Lauder is a parent company who has purchased other brands. So while the brands may still be PETA friendly and are manufactured that way, the parent company is not, so PETA and Leaping Bunny will no longer certify them.

Consider reusable or biodegradable tools

“Bamboo brushes don’t work well for professional use. But everyday .. sure! Prosthetic brushes and natural hair ones are each used for different things. They achieve totally different looks. An example of ethical brushes are ESUM brushes. About half of them are goat hair etc but they are very strict on how that hair is shaved etc. You won’t find any cuticles in the hairs because it was long hair that was cut.” – The Bridal Beauty Team

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Fun Fact! 

“Did you know that the red dye that was used up until the 90s often gave people major allergies? You hear people say…”I can’t use pinks!”. This problem was combated by taking the Carmine found in beetle shells to produce a red color because people didn’t have reactions. This worked so well that companies started killing around 70k bugs a year to fix the problem. This backfired so the commercial companies went back to the original dye and professional companies found a way to upgrade (while charging more) with something that would work for everyone.” – The Bridal Beauty Team

Athina Darrus from Elana Darrus Makeup & Hair answered a few of our questions:

Do you use any reusable or biodegradable tools? 

“When it comes to hair products we go through so much during the wedding season. I make the joke whenever I do an updo for someone that they now have a lifetime supply of Bobby pins. And although it’s a light hearted comment, it is something that I’ve started to make serious note of. I encourage the brides to hold onto their Bobby pins and use them for future occasions instead of letting them end up in a landfill. I also try to buy in bulk and recycle all my plastic bottles. I use a redken heat protectant that can either come in a 8oz spray bottle or a liter jug. I always buy the jug as it creates a lot less plastic waste.”

Has covid had an impact on green practices? 

“I think this is an important topic to bring up. Reusable is a term we like to use a lot when it comes to being green. However, reusable is not a word you want to hear when we talk about covid and being sanitary. Our team uses single use applicators for makeup application, such as lips and mascara. These single use applicators are definitely not sustainable so we are happy to use the client’s products instead of having to dispose of anything after.”

What is one way that a stylist or artist can do to become more sustainable?

“Something we can all do to make a positive impact when it comes to beauty products is buy the reusable washing machine eye makeup remover pads instead of wipes, buy bigger jugs of our hair products instead of multiple tiny plastic bottles in.” 

One last quick tip about lipstick!

There are some companies that provide a lipstick (to keep) for the bride on her wedding day. If you are a bride who KNOWS you will not touch up your lips and/or are not a huge lipstick person so you know you’ll end up throwing it away, you can politely decline the lipstick so there is less waste. We’re sure that the makeup company would love to save some products and use on future brides. But if you know you definitely want to keep the take-home lipstick “gift” then go for it!

If you have other suggestions as to how makeup artists & hair stylists can be more green, let us know in the comments! We are happy to add more content to help our readers think of sustainable ideas.

Photo Credit: Hanna Walkowaik, AJ Abelman

– Ohana Events