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August 31 2018

Is It Really Cruelty Free ?

Deroc your salon Cape Coral, cruelty free hair products, no animal testing 0

Is It Really Cruelty Free?

Cruelty Free. No Animal Testing. Vegan. This Product is Not Tested on Animals.

I’m sure you have seen these labels on many products in the beauty industry. They all sound good, right? Well, labels can be deceiving. I am going to help you decipher what these labels mean, and what you need to know when buying beauty products.

The Rules

First we need to understand the rules of animal testing in the the beauty industry. Let me point out that there are rules regarding animal testing, which means animal testing is completely legal, and still a common practice. There is only one Federal law that applies to animals in research. While there have been amendments over the years since it was enacted in 1966, it still provides only minimal protection for certain species. It excludes species such as rats, mice, and birds bred for research—who together constitute an estimated 90-95% of animals in laboratories. You can read the entire Animal Welfare act along with it’s history here.

It’s Personal

It’s hard to think about, but dogs are the main animal used for cosmetic testing. There are plenty of heart wrenching stories showing the very ugly side of the beauty industry. I am not here to show you horrifying pictures to make my case, so rest easy. Deciding to go cruelty free in your personal shopping is a personal decision that everyone has to make on their own. I have personally made the choice to no longer buy from companies that still test on animals. For multiple reasons, but honestly, I just can’t look at my own dogs while doing my hair and make up knowing what other dogs have gone through just for my beautification.

Come on, look at those faces!

As a salon owner I knew that I could be a big contributor to animal testing in the beauty industry. I didn’t want that! It’s a bit of a balancing act trying to stick to my own convictions while not pushing them on to everyone. Owning a salon while trying to avoid animal testing can be a bit of a challenge because most main stream product companies do not regulate animal testing. It is extra work and extra money, I get it… However, there are cruelty free professional hair care products out there, and we found one!

We are proud to carry a product line that has PETA’s cruelty free logo and the Leaping Bunny logo. Healium Hair is a Florida based company, with everything being made in the US, and went through the rigorous processes of getting verified by these organizations. In addition to all of this, the products themselves are high quality and work great!

All Labels Are Not Created Equal

There are no specific laws that exist regarding cruelty-free labeling of products. So companies can take liberties. It is unlikely that a company would put blatantly false information regarding its animal-testing practices on its products. However, be aware that statements on labels may be misleading and not fully informative. It turns out that “Not tested on animals” and “Cruelty free” may only mean that the finished products aren’t tested on animals. However, animal testing could have been done on the ingredients used in the products. It also does not mean the product is free from animal products. Same goes for those that say “Certified Vegan” but could still have been tested on animals. Why all the loopholes? Well, the FDA has not approved a legal definition that binds these terms to a certain set of criteria, making it difficult to define.

Then There’s China

One more thing to make all this more confusing, China. China is one of the last major countries that requires animal testing on hair, skin and cosmetic goods. Salons and manufacturers want their products to be recognized as cruelty-free because the demand for such products is on the rise, especially among millennials. So, if companies wish to sell their products in China, they must submit to the animal-testing rule. While companies might not perform animal tests themselves, they’re obliged to provide samples and pay the government to conduct them. On the bright side, China has started to work with U.S. non profits to train Chinese scientists in tests using reconstructed cells. This will put them on track to eliminate animal testing all together. Yay!

Confused? Keep Reading!

While laws, or lack there of, are not very helpful if you’re looking to avoid animal testing, there are other organizations out there to help. I will tell you about some of them, and what their logos and stamps of approval mean. However, I encourage you to do your own research to make informed purchasing decisions. Each of the organizations below also have lists of their approved companies.

Not Tested on Animals Verified by CCF (Choose Cruelty Free)

None of its products and ingredients have ever been tested on animals by it, by anyone on its behalf, by its suppliers or anyone on their behalf and must not contain any ingredients derived specifically from killing an animal or provided as a by-product from killed animals. CCF also will not accredit companies unless all parent and subsidiaries are also accredited

Learn more about this organization.

Cruelty Free Verified by PETA

Companies listed either signed PETA’s statement of assurance or provided a statement verifying that they do not conduct or commission any animal tests on ingredients, formulations, or finished products and that they pledge not to do so in the future.

Learn more about this organization.

Not Tested on Animals Verified by The Leaping Bunny

The company and their ingredient suppliers do not conduct or commission animal testing of their products. An independent assessor must audit the company once every three years. Or, in the case of smaller companies, a “spot-check,” commissioned by the CCIC and performed by an accredited auditor.

Learn more about this organization.

Vegan and Not Tested on Animals Verified by The Vegan Society

This product and ingredients do not contain any animal product, by-product or derivative and must not involve testing of any sort on animals by the manufacturers or on its behalf, or by any third parties.

Learn more about this organization.

Being environmentally friendly and opposing animal cruelty is not as simple to follow through as it should be. It is an admiral decision that requires a little extra effort in day to day purchasing. So, I hope this article helps, and remember to do your own research! There are so many sources out there to help guide you in your quest to abolish animal testing.

Have any questions? Comment, email, DM or just call us. We love to talk about this stuff 🙂

– Rebecca J Hebert

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March 14 2018

Giving to Local Nonprofit Organizations

Deroc your salon Cape Coral 0

Learning & Loving to Give

There are many local nonprofit organizations out there, and they are all addressing a need in the world and local communities. That’s a good thing, right? But can one person or even one small business make a difference? Not everyone has hundreds, thousands, or millions of dollars to give away to make a big impact, and that can make us feel powerless.

Don’t’ despair! It is easy to forget just how many people there are in the community, and how powerful our pocket change can become when pooled together. Think how effective Jonas Salk was one year before he found the cure for polio. He wasn’t at that point, but that doesn’t mean you would have not wanted to invest in him.

Why Give?

As a business, charitable contributions have numerous benefits such as tax deductions, employee morale, & marketing. However, the most important one is obvious: you should give back to your community.

Local nonprofit organizations help strengthen entire communities, by encouraging local economic activity and creating jobs.

Research has revealed that spending money on others actually makes us happier than spending it on ourselves. In addition, giving to others can actually make us healthier.

So what are we waiting for?

How do you chose a local non-profit to give to?

It is wonderful that there are so many local nonprofit organizations out there helping communities. However, that can make choosing one to give to a daunting task. For some, it is due to being personally impacted by something like cancer, or having a passion for rescuing animals. Within my own family the causes are diverse. Our lives have been touched by breast cancer, Alzheimer’s, veterans with PTSD, domestic violence, diabetes, autism, rescuing dogs and more! We are all passionate about supporting the causes that have impacted our lives.

So how do we choose?!

Give the people what they want

At our hair salon in Cape Coral, done by Dēroc, we have set out to donate a portion of our sales to local nonprofit organizations. With so many out there, and so many causes near and dear to all our hearts, we have decided not to decide. Seriously, how can we make a decision on behalf of the whole community? We can’t. So, we are letting the community decide how we donate our money.

Starting April 1st, done by Dēroc will be donating a portion of our sales to local nonprofit organizations suggested by our guests. We will choose 3 local nonprofit organizations each quarter to be displayed in the salon. Each time a guest makes a transaction at the salon, he or she has an opportunity to vote for 1 of the 3 non-profits we are showcasing. We then allocate a portion of our sales based on the number of votes each organization receives during. That’s it. We won’t solicit money from anyone, just their input.

Stop by the studio, email, call, Facebook, DM, text, write or just shout at us to suggest a local nonprofit organization you’d like us to support!

-Rebecca

P.S. The first 3 charities have been chosen! Head over here to see who they are, and learn more about the amazing work each of them do.

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August 24 2016

New Clients New City

Deroc your salon Cape Coral, hair salon, new salon 10

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The Search is On – New Hair Salon Cape Coral

Trying to find new clients, after moving to a new city, is impossible! Not really, but it feels that way. New Hair Salon Cape Coral

I recently made a move to Cape Coral, Fl and it has been wonderful, for the most part. Don’t get me wrong. The weather and time off were much needed. However, when the search for work began, I found myself a little lost. This is pretty new to me.

Working at Jade Salon has been wonderful for the last sixteen years. Everyone there became my extended family and support system. The salon owner, John Donofrio, is my first mentor and he encouraged me to get into our industry. The salon kept me in a steady flow of new clientele for the beginning of my career. As my clientele grew so did the word of mouth referrals and before long I was sitting pretty as one of the salon’s top earners. Now I find myself without a salon and without the resources I am familiar with. So what should I do?

Ideally there was a salon to be purchased and I would walk in as a new owner. Confident and optimistic, I would raise the bar by providing education and quality control to the existing stylists and clientele. That would increase retention and sales, bringing my salon to the apex of the city’s elite salons. Well… my original plans didn’t work out. I’m okay with that. Things don’t often go exactly to plan and I enjoy the challenge of thinking on my feet and problem solving. I have some money to live off of, rent is cheap, and my family is supportive and wise. So let’s figure this out!

The Plan

Here is what I’ve come up with:

1. Get a business card – the rest of my family/business partners believed this was a must. How do I network without one? Makes sense. Check!

2. Get involved with the city – I joined the Cape Coral Chamber of Commerce Leadership 2016 program to get a better working knowledge of the city, make influential friends, and discover ways to give back to the community. So far so good, with eleven weeks to go. Check!

3. Offer complimentary and concierge haircutting/hairstyling services – This is some of what I did at the start of my career. Free haircuts are a great way to show your working knowledge and start word of mouth advertising. Just don’t go all willy-nilly (whats that even mean?) be selective. Usually you’ll be looking for influencers within your core demographic. Check!

4. Keep looking – This is where I am right now in my “new” plan. I still look for salons to buy and places to work. I am even trying to see if I can put together an educational aspect to my website and offer those services to salons in the area. Ahem… coming soon, pinky swear.

5. Don’t go it alone – Unless you have all the time, money, and positive attitude in the world. Without the support I am getting I wouldn’t have made this move. It’s scary but accomplishable. My mentor/boss gave me great support as I left, increasing my confidence. My family gives me constant reassurances and provide me the ability to take my time to do things right. Maybe this point should have gone first? Oh well, check!

First Cut

So I did connect with a fitness instructor (influencer) and offered my services. A complimentary haircut later and Gael couldn’t be happier! Soon her husband will be looking to get his haircut next. We all know how hard it is for a guy to leave his barber. I just made some recommendations that were in line with how he was already feeling about his hair. When Scott realized I could see what he needed, the switch was easy.

I explained to Gael that the difference in her naturally curly texture existed from a lack of layering. I added some layers to give a uniform curl from the base line up when worn natural. The layering will also cut down on drying time (less hair) and lighten the shape adding body and bounce when styled.

Gael-8

I finished her hair by blow drying with my hands, then giving a round brush feel by adding wave with a flat iron. A little bit of a light silicone sheen and some hairspray to complete her look.

Gael-9

The smile and confident look in her pictures says enough. Gael-7

What’s Next?

I am open to ideas, comments, and suggestions. This is a new space for me and I would appreciate any input I can get. Please share this if you know someone who could help or may need a place to start. Check back for future posts to keep up with my growth in my city and the growth of my new hair salon Cape Coral.

Or contact us for an appointment!

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