YYC Feature: SALON TRUE
Rolanda Anderson is the queen of clean beauty experiences for ‘women who don’t won’t to compromise’
Open Calgary’s first ‘organic’ salon? Check! Empower women to feel beautiful and stay healthy? You bet! Rolanda Anderson aspired to have a career that stayed true to her values-- she recognized that self-care, health, integrity and beauty don’t have to be mutually exclusive ideals. After 15+ years as a skilled colourist and stylist, Anderson opened Salon True. Salon True offers toxin-free hair services with biodynamic, organic and fair-trade hair colour ingredients & products. Anderson’s dedication to offering women gorgeous results without using artificial fragrance, ammonia or harmful toxins sets her apart. She’s a woman on a mission to help those who don’t want to choose beauty over health and one thing's for sure: she’s a trailblazer in the YYC hair industry.
Your company Salon True is a certified ‘green circle salon’! Can you tell us a little bit more about this means?
“Being Green Circle certified is a really great service that allows salons to eliminate 95% of salon waste from going into the landfills or water supply. Waste such as colour, foils, paper, plastic, colour tubes, aerosol cans are a few of the items that no longer wasted with green circle!”
It’s awesome that your business uses clean, organic styling products! What line do you use, and why did you choose this line over others?
“In the salon we use a product line called Oway. I decided to bring in Oway after doing a bunch of research on organic hair products. I found Oway and fell in love with their brand. They are not only have the largest amount of bio-dynamic organic ingredients, they are paraben free, petrolatum free, PEG, PPG & G free, EDTA free, synthetic fragrance free and artificial colourant free. They are also committed to being eco friendly with their packaging. They have eliminated 99% of all plastic packaging. All products are packaged in glass or aluminum tubs that are completely and infinitely reusable and recyclable. On top of all of these amazing points the products are absolutely amazing.”
When did you develop a passion for making women feel beautiful and healthy? At what point did you decide you wanted to start your own business based around this passion?
“I have always loved the world of beauty. As a young girl I would put my barbies in their outfits and style their hair to match, every doll had her own collection of looks that suited her. As a teenager I read every fashion/beauty magazine that came out. I just loved that hair, makeup and the right outfit could make a women feel like a whole new woman. After 15 years in the hair industry I was suddenly faced with a various health issues and I had no idea what was causing them. I had talked with my Dr. and she had given me some options to help but I decided to go a more natural route. I booked an appointment with my naturopath to discuss my symptoms and health problems. Through process of elimination it came down to the fact that my career was causing me an over exposure of chemicals. So, I was faced with the decision do I change my career or find a safer option. I decided to open an organic/non toxic hair salon not only for myself but for other women like myself. Women who want to look and feel amazing, but they don't want to compromise their health or the quality of the products that they use.”
Unfortunately, lots of people stay uniformed about the ingredients in the products they use. What would you tell women who’ve never thought about the products that their stylists are using on them (ie: products that may have artificial fragrances, ammonia or harmful toxins)?
“I would tell them that these ingredients all have harmful effects on our bodies. It might not happen right away and it might not be noticeable to the naked eye, you can also be experiencing symptoms internally. All harmful or carcinogenic ingredients are deemed to be safe in small doses. But, when I read so many labels on various beauty ingredients and they all have the same list of ingredients what worries me is I'm using 5-7 different beauty products and they all have these potentially harmful ingredients then I would suspect that I am no longer in the safe small dosage anymore.”
Why was it important to you that the styling products you sell come in refillable packaging?
“When I began the journey to opening Salon True, I didn't just want to be organic, I wanted it to be a clean, eco friendly salon. A salon that was doing its part in lowering their carbon foot print and eliminating the amount of waste ending up in the landfills or oceans. When I learned that Oway had a refill program it just made me so happy because it was another way that I could do my part in creating a cleaner environment.”
What was the biggest challenge you faced to become Calgary’s first ‘organic’ salon?
“I would say the biggest challenge to date is spreading the importance of using cleaner beauty products and showing people that you can still have beautiful hair colour and amazing style products that work without compromising your health.”
What is your dream for your salon over the next five years? In what ways do you see your business growing, improving, expanding?
“In the next five years I would like to be opening a second location, or expanding into a larger space. My 5-10 year goal is to franchise Salon True. I want to offer a clean, luxury beauty service for women who don't want to compromise in cities all over Canada.”
Find her at :
@rolandahairstylistyyc
@salontrueyyc
https://www.salontrue.ca/