Lower Hutt salon with a global vision
Relax, enjoy a massage and have your hair done, all while saving the planet.
Lower Hutt award-winning hairdresser Shazly Rasheed has just opened her new salon, and is determined it won’t damage the planet.
Shazly Experience Hair and Wellness opened last Thursday in the redeveloped old Central Post Office building on Lower Hutt’s High St, becoming the region’s first purpose-built environmentally sustainable hair salon.
Born and raised in the Maldives – low-lying islands in the Indian Ocean – Rasheed knows first-hand the impacts of global warming.
‘‘I’ve seen whole communities shift from the island they lived on because of the sea level rising, and I’ve seen tides coming through the streets in the Maldives, damaging people’s homes and livelihood,’’ she says.
The mother of two is motivated by a desire to protect the planet for future generations and to offer a healthier service.
‘‘It’s something really close to my heart ... Because I have two little children, I really want for their future to be the same as what we’ve got here.’’
The building was an empty shell before becoming a salon, so Rasheed was able to have her say in everything.
Hutt City Council’s eco design team gave advice on the most ecofriendly insulation and lighting. It is well insulated, has energyefficient LED lighting to reduce power demands, and water-saving devices have been installed.
As well as using organic products, the new salon recycles everything, from food scraps to tin foil to hair.
Rasheed says it has been a long, but educational experience.
‘‘We’ve gone as sustainable as we could. It was a big project, a lot of learning to find what can be recycled. I didn’t know that hair was a good compost until I started researching.’’
There are other environmentally friendly salons in the region, but this is the first purpose-built to be so, she says.
She hopes to encourage other hairdressers to follow suit and strive to become sustainable.
‘‘It is really big in Europe and increasingly so in America. It will be really nice to see the industry in New Zealand heading that way. If everyone can do a tiny little bit, such as recycling, it all helps to make a difference to the wider community.’’