Visit to the ‘Hair & Health’ institute: Dianne te Mebel’s Instituut Haar en Gezondheid

      During the Amsterdam conference we made a visit to a Green Salon. The Mebels's Institute. For the owner Dianne Mebels sustainability is not a trend, but a matter of obviousness. Dianne’s background: Dianne as a child wanted to be veterinarian. She was always very fond of animals and nature. She finished the VET school of agriculture and had the chance to do her school internship in a hair salon. There she was told that the agricultural college was a waste of her time. But later in her own salon it turned out that this school was not at all a waste of time. Her knowledge about nature, seeds and plants was ‘2nd nature’ to her but vital for her knowledge development in her current business. Years ago, when Dianne was working with chemical products only, a customer approached Dianne with the question if she could colour her hair with Henna.  She then started experimenting with ingredients. For example, using red wine and ground coffee. She liked working with it and she liked the smell. Moreover, she noticed that the colour result was very nice, the hair was also healthy. She always wanted to do something other than just chemical hair dyes, but she did not know what that should be. This customer did change her view on hair dyes. Dianne has been active with the use of natural hair products since 2002. 

In general there is an increasing use of natural products. There is however uncertainty about truly natural products and semi-natural products. This is very confusing for the consumer. Dianne believes that more clarity should be given. Many consumers think they use natural products, but in reality there are chemicals in it as well. Moreover, Dianne thinks it's unimaginable that women still destroy their hair with chemical hair dye. She wants to show these women that it can be different.