MILWAUKEE — The beauty industry is a big business, and so is the amount of waste that goes with it.
Nice Hair is a salon in Milwaukee’s Historic Third Ward neighborhood that recycles about 95% of the waste it creates.
Kate Kent is the owner. She said the environment is a priority and she partners with a recycling company to repurpose everything she can.
“Extra color, foils covered in chemicals, plastics that have questionable materials inside them and even hair, is sent out to be professionally recycled,” said Kent.
She said through her business she hopes to inspire others to be eco-friendly.
“I want to try and influence other salons hopefully, or other hairdressers, to be able to think about their waste and where it goes and how we can change our trajectory of our whole world in our industry,” she said.
Kent said she also focuses on transparency in her pricing, and the salon does not accept gratuity.
“We charge by time, so we charge in hourly blocks of time and all of the artists here have an hourly rate that they charge for their services,” said Kent.
It’s a business model she hopes will both help her clients and the environment.