Tuesday, October 28, 2014

My Vegan experience at Cheeky Strut Salon

It's been years since I last went to a hair salon. To be honest I'm no fan of having people do my hair. I know that partially stems from some bad experiences I've had with hair dressers. Regardless, I decided I needed something professionally done with the color of my hair. 

Before I took a step further I knew I had to see what my options were as far as salons which catered to those searching out cruelty free options.  I discovered a while back that Paul Mitchell Salon and beauty products are 100% cruelty free. I thought this would be a great place to get my hair done because Paul Mitchell has an excellent reputation. Shortly after probing for other possible options it was suggested to me to look into a Salon called, "Cheeky Strut" located in Grand Rapids, MI. According to some online reviews they are regarded as one of the best salons in town and offered a cruelty free line of hair dye. Awesome! I called them up and arranged my appointment having confirmed they did offer cruelty free hair dye to which I was also informed was vegan! I was off to a good start.

I arrived at the salon and discussed what I was hoping to achieve with the sweet lady who was to do my hair. I kindly made aware to her that I wanted my hair done with the cruelty free vegan line to which she told me the brand name was called, "Professional Color". She then proceeded to formulate the dye and begin her magic. 

Casually we made conversation to which she asked me what dye I had been using on my hair. I mentioned I had originally been dying my hair with poor quality drug store L'Oreal dyes for many years and was seeking out cruelty free options. I then asked her a question I should have asked her two minutes earlier, "So who owns the Vegan Professional Color brand line?". As she put the next stroke of dye on my hair she replied, "L'Oreal". 

L'Oreal! This cosmetic company is at every turn! It almost seemes a mock to me that an animal testing company could have a vegan line of hair dyes. While one could argue that it's a positive option for L'Oreal to provide such, profits made are replenished back into the company keeping it alive and thriving. This reenforces other brand lines owned by L'Oreal to continue cruel animal experimentations. 

All said and done, here's how my hair turned out. Although I'm a little overwhelmed at having lost my brunette locks to an ombre color with and abundance of blonde, it turned out quite nice. 
Let me add that Cheeky Strut Salon came with a Cheeky price to pay. $190.00 + 15 to 20 percent tip! Total cost $210.00. I guess that's what they're charging these days. I think they should have thrown in a mani and pedi freebee! 





On my way out the door they had a buy 2 get one free deal on hair care products. A nice lady made aware to me the products I could choose from not tested on animals. Though it made me smile to note that salons are offering these options, I didn't purchase anything as I would like to further investigate into these products. Many products are labelled as, "Not experimented on animals", but ingredients contained with in are often experimented on innocent creatures. In such cases it would not make for a true cruelty free product on the market in my opinion.  

Though I appreciate Cheeky Strut for their kind customer service, next time... a Paul Mitchell one hundred percent cruelty free Salon it will be!

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