Making waves interview series: carolyn from Earth + crown
For our first spotlight in our Making Waves Series, we knew we wanted to interview Carolyn from Earth + Crown Eco Salon. Nadia (MWC Team Member), a long time client of the salon, has been excitedly raving about Carolyn and all the extra effort she expends taking a low-waste approach - from hair products and hair clippings, to comb and cloak and water usage. After diving in and learning more about Earth + Crown, we were thrilled to be able to share more of an insight into Carolyn and the why behind her passions of running a fully environmentally conscious salon. She is certainly making waves in the beauty industry, and celebrating 7 years in business at that! Check out her full interview below.
Can you share how you define an eco salon? Were there others in your industry doing this that inspired you to open an eco-friendly salon?
Earth + Crown is an eco-friendly, vegan and low-tox salon with hair services in a calm setting. Our mission is to avoid negative impact. My business is inspired by the idea that success is not solely defined on profits, but the impact that you make.
There was no one else doing this so I wasn’t inspired by a specific person. What I was more inspired by was the people around me throughout my career who weren’t in any position to make changes. Many of them accepted the way salons run; I think they deserve better. Some letting it compromise their values or health or they would quit the industry. It’s sad because these are the professionals that really embody the saying “work is love made visible.”
Salons produce hundreds of thousands of pounds of garbage daily. It really bothered me that I was throwing out giant garbage bags every day. Salons promote the need to “push sales” rather than conserve. The greed of the beauty industry is toxic both figuratively and literally. I didn’t see what any of that had to do with beauty, it was unnecessary. I wanted better.
“Salons produce hundreds of thousands of pounds of garbage daily. It really bothered me that I was throwing out giant garbage bags every day. Salons promote the need to “push sales” rather than conserve. The greed of the beauty industry is toxic both figuratively and literally. I didn’t see what any of that had to do with beauty, it was unnecessary. I wanted better.”
When did you decide you wanted to open an eco-salon? What were your main driving factors, and was it difficult to get started? (Were you nervous there might not be a clientele for this type of eco-friendly service? Price for all the extra effort?)
The process started in 2017, I was looking for a salon that didn’t seem to exist, looking at what people and stylists seem to need. I began to take business classes, explore concepts and a brand. The motivation felt like a call-to-action. It wasn’t difficult to get started because when you’re driven by purpose the energy just keeps going, sometimes it’s a sink or swim situation. Every decision was easy it just required a lot of research and looking through the greenwashing and misleading labels. My beliefs are simple - the environment, animals - there is no reason we need animal byproduct in hair products, no reason hair should cost a forest or pollute the ocean- there never will be a good enough reason to justify an animal or habitat being harmed for hair. At first I was nervous about the cost of having an eco-friendly salon, but the way I viewed it- I would rather lose profits and monetary things and fail- than keep doing what I’ve been doing, complaining and never changing anything. Luckily it wound up working out. 7 years ago I started charging one dollar environmental fee that would help offset the costs of shipping and whatnot. I hate fees like everyone else so I was nervous people would complain. The entire time I’ve been open, I’ve never had a single person complain about the fee. To me, this shows how awesome my clients are and also recognizes that society can come together for the responsibility to clean up after itself. IMO it’s funny because if us “small” hairstylists and our clients don’t bat an eye and are responsible for the mess we make, there is no reason those with lots of power and money can’t.Can you see the industry shifting towards greener practices? What are your hopes for the future of the hair industry?
I’ve been noticing a growing number of salons participating in eco-friendly practices such as recycling programs and going vegan, which is so exciting! At Earth + Crown we take the mission as far as we can. It’s really touching because in this 14 billion dollar industry it can hopefully show how something seemingly small can make a big change. We have the power to change trends and to make mullets come back into style and so we have the power to collectively change anything.I think that as people are becoming more intentional about the way they spend their money, companies and businesses are going to be held to higher standards. It’s not going to be good enough to put a picture of a tree on it, people are wanting more. If your business contaminates water or cuts down a forest, then people are going to call you out on it. Showing that you care about sustainability is a small way to show that you, yourself are a confident business. Cutting corners using AI or creating cheap garbage just screams insecurity. A good business should be able to execute all practices ethically and be able to stand on its own two feet.My hopes are that the beauty industry will shift away from this need to sell things, this fallacy that natural aging bodies are a problem and there is a solution to be purchased. I would like to see beauty routines, hair, cosmetics- as a form of self-love, exploration and expression, about identity and not a standard that’s depleting our wellbeing and being destructive to our planet.Can you share a day in your life at the salon? Specifically, the steps you take to lessen your environmental footprint? (Can you share more about your recycling/ refill programs).
There is no one single action that I’m taking. There are tons of little steps to make it more eco-friendly. I am a part of a recycling program where the hair is made into other materials like plastic alternative or oil-absorbing booms. Hair foils, color containers, and other metals are shipped out to be cleaned and made into new materials. Our excess color is recycled rather than poured down the sink or thrown in the trash. Outside of the program we have our own practices such as using cloth rags over paper towels. Cleaning supplies are all bulk and diluted in reusable glass bottles. The shampoo bowls reduce water consumption by circulating and filtering the water used during washes. Most of our products are in refillable glass containers. It’s important to me that all the products involved in our services have the least harmful environmental impact possible when they go down the drain. To me being cruelty-free and environmentally kind doesn’t have an end so we avoid ingredients such as such as phthalates, dimethicone, and parabens that are known to contaminate the waterways and the ocean. Before we sell anything to a client we ask them what they have already at home and teach them the multiple ways they can use our products. I throw out one garbage bag about once a month and I intend to keep it that way as I grow. 
Hair clippings, hair foils, color containers, and other metals all set aside to be shipped out to specific recycling programs.
“I throw out one garbage bag about once a month and I intend to keep it that way as I grow.”
When do your best ideas come to you? What are you usually doing?
I think like many people, looking out at the ocean, spending time walking with my dog. Time in nature reminds me that the world is so much bigger than outside my own head. **Interview continues under the photo gallery.
Is there a moment of gathering or community that has stayed with you, whether you created it or just experienced it? And what kinds of shared experiences are you craving more of right now?
My friend, Kate organized a festival Moon Sister Rising which is about empowering women and communing with nature. I was so touched that she asked me to speak. Being around supportive women is a very powerful thing especially as I am terrified of public speaking. In general, I like seeing small businesses and women in a community coming together, embracing differences, supporting each other, rather than this idea that we are all each other’s competition. I’m hoping that connecting with others will be status quo rather than this brutal fight to the top. That is key with sustainability, with isolation everything feels like a “drop in the bucket” but when there is more support and more community, small changes create a huge impact. One of our favorite questions, can you share an unforgettable moment you’ve experienced in nature (whether alone or in a group)?
My dog has given me many excuses to go to NY state, where he’s from. Thinking of one particular time would be a summer night in the Catskills with just me, the flashlight, and Pepe. I would let him sniff around in some woods, clicking on and off the flashlight. I could see every star in the sky. Mundane seeming memories are so meaningful to me when they can’t be purchased or captured. Nature is a gift for this reason, I can’t imagine having a memory like that with light pollution. Similar to why I picked the location of my salon. I deliberately found a place tucked away, with some bushes and trees. What would be some tips you could share for others who would want to open an eco-friendly salon?
I would recommend to any salon to start small with the things that are easy, make wiser choices with the products that you purchase- learning to conserve and not waste, training your team on conserving, don’t use AI- small things like replacing some paper products, you can throw some cloth napkins in your break room- be strategic about placing your orders and let your suppliers know you don’t need paper flyers or samples- then move towards changes like not forcing stylist to sell products, do a refill program, join a salon recycling program. It all just kind of falls into place when you start with small changes.“My beliefs are simple - the environment, animals - there is no reason we need animal byproduct in hair products, no reason hair should cost a forest or pollute the ocean- there never will be a good enough reason to justify an animal or habitat being harmed for hair.”
Lastly, any tips you can share on small shifts we can make in our daily beauty routine that can lessen our environmental impact?
I tell my clients that whenever they are shopping for beauty products, regardless of whether or not it is vegan, organic, etc. to just reflect on if it is really something you want, because chances are you don’t. It’s more eco-friendly to buy one single common drugstore shampoo rather than four fancy organic shampoos. Ask yourself why you’re making the purchase. If marketing did a good job at convincing you you’re not good enough, maybe find a way to challenge that to build an unshakable confidence. I think of the women I admire and what it is about them that I admire. I usually advise people to consider all that before they make their purchases. The tip is buy thoughtfully and less often.“We have the power to change trends and to make mullets come back into style and so we have the power to collectively change anything.”
A BIG thank you to Caroline for sharing her story and passion for sustainable beauty. If you're in or near Eatontown, NJ, be sure to visit her eco-friendly salon and experience firsthand the incredible work she's doing.
