These five Philadelphia salons are turning a new leaf with organic treatments and products.
SELECTION Philadelphia-area spas and salons are turning to the kitchen to source organic ingredients for your next beauty treatment.
What’s more Instagram-worthy than an 11-foot-tall living plant wall for impromptu posing? Aside from an 11-foot-tall floral wall, probably nothing. But you might not expect to find this leafy photo focal point inside a suburban salon. At Tribe Style Bar (882 Baltimore Pike, Chadds Ford, 484.732.8499, tribebeauty.com), husband-and-wife duo Emily and Andrew De Stefano found all the inspiration they needed at nearby Longwood Gardens when creating their dream salon.
As one of only two certified Green Circle salons in the Philadelphia area (Green Circle is a membership-based organization that offers sustainable solutions for salons throughout North America), Tribe’s mission is to create of-themoment looks while maintaining a green lifestyle by “recycling all paper, plastic, foils and even unused color all while being energy efficient,” says Andrew. Tribe’s featured brands OSEA skincare and Kevin.murphy hair products reflect that green mission. In particular, the Kevin.murphy Treat.me hair facial might be your best bet when it comes to adding some life back into your strands after those long days at the beach.
Green City Beauty (1036 Pine St., 267.908.4148, greencitybeauty.com) also promotes ingredient-conscious products and services. Its most buzzed-about treatment is the sugaring wax. “Unlike waxing, there are no sticks or strips, and the sugar paste does not adhere to live skin cells,” says owner and founder Ashley Richardson. “We use an organic paste that’s comprised of just sugar, water and lemon juice so, in general, it’s a lot more gentle on the skin.”
While Green City Beauty was cultivating its signature sugaring services, Naturale Salon (1606 Locust St., 267.559.0951, naturalesalon.com) was busy building a better manicure by eliminating artificial enhancements for more natural-looking nails. Featured services like the Repair & Renew Manicure, which uses rice water, volcanic silt and milk to draw out impurities, mimics that of their other treatments, which all use similar natural, organic ingredients to bring your nails back to life.
If your nails aren’t the only thing that could use some rejuvenation, then head over to Le Reve Rittenhouse Spa (255 S. 17th St., 215.701.6272, lereverittenhousespa.com). For an instant face-lift, try the hydrating Organic Mineral Skin treatment mask that uses a combination of ingredients, including fruit and plant extracts, mineral mud and seaweed for a glowing visage. The “fingertip face-lift” technique used for this treatment incorporates Eastern and Western philosophies like Chinese acupressure, ayurveda and reiki.
Fishtown’s Parlour Hair + Skin (1339 Frankford Ave., 215.278.7613, parlourhairandskin.com) traces the origins of many of its services back to ancient techniques like ayurveda and organic ingredients. The Acne Balancing treatment, which includes neem, tulsi, comfrey, peppermint and Fullers Earth & Rose Hip Seed, is ideal for skin that’s acting up from seasonal products like sunscreen or spray-tan solutions. The decision to focus on natural products was an easy one for Parlour owner Kelly Hughes. “We should all be able to read and understand [the product ingredients] we use on our skin,” she says.