The millions of bottles sold of hair styling products, contributes to incredibly high plastic waste. The best way to style your hair is to go zero waste, by getting a good haircut, so you don’t need so many styling products. If you do choose to use styling products, these brands are a step in the right direction. They are not all perfect (some are still packed in plastic, so recycle after use). Avoid shea butter for latex allergies.
When the times to replace your hair tools, choose bamboo combs, bamboo hairbrushes and plastic-free hair ties. Leave your hair to dry naturally, unless you really need a dryer.
Natural Hair Styling Products
- Moo Hair Hair Spray is a non-aerosol hairspray to give flexible hold, packed in a glass jar. Made with over 86% natural ingredients, it adds body without stickiness and prevents frizz and static. Also in the range are a volumising spray mist and a Sea Salt Spray (for messy texture). Aerosol sprays no longer contain CFCs, as they were creating a hole in the ozone layer. However, they still often contain hydrocarbons and compressed gases.
- I Create Waves is by natural brand Inner Sense (most items contain honey). This vegan formula creates soft beautiful waves and lived-in curls. Made with Pink Himalayan Salt.
- No Gunk’s Matte Lava Clay is sold in funky packaging, to give a textured look with no stickiness. It’s made with Moroccan Lava Clay, shea butter, cactus seed oil and organic argan oil, with notes of natural essential oils.
- O Way makes organic and biodynamic hair styling products. xVolume or BeCurly are packed with paper labels that don’t have to be removed for recycling.
- Biorganics Volumising Hold Gel is based on natural gums and maize with plant protein, rather than synthetic vinyl polymers, which most styling products contain. Fragranced with essential oils, this gives hair volume and hold.
Natural Styling for Afro-American Hair
- Flora & Curl’s Flower Garden Hair Butter is a wonderful infusion of 7 floral and herb extracts for textured hair. Good for your scalp and hair, this pink cream with freshly picked rose petals is blended to give your hair a treat, along with oils of sweet almond, camellia and coconut oil, and shea butter to care for dry hair. With 0% water, a little goes a long way. A few other items are not vegan, as they contain honey.
- Kink Alchemy is a book of DIY beauty recipes by a Caribbean vegan cookbook author. Recipes include Moringa Hair Butter, Papaya Reverse the Breakage Hair Masks, Coconut Styling Milk and Lemongrass Twist Mist.
- Dollylocks (US) makes organic products for dreadlocks. Find coconut water tightening sprays and Bee-Free Coconut Pomade.
Where To Recycle Cut Hair
If you are having long hair cut short, ask the hairdresser to give you the ponytail, then send it to Little Princess Trust, who make free wigs for children with cancer or alopecia. Put cut hair in the compost bin (untreated hair can be left in the garden, for birds’ nests).