Nestled into a quiet section of Hollywood Blvd in the heart of hipster Los Feliz sits Primrose Organics Salon, an eco-friendly full-service space focused on sustainability. With its pretty light blue low VOC paint and funky, vintage furniture, Primrose Organics seems more like your peaceful neighborhood coffee house than an upscale salon. But upscale they are, as Primrose Organics offers up everything from full hair, facials, nail care, waxing, and even headshot services. And it’s all done with Mother Earth’s best interests in mind.
 

Opened in April of 2009, the salon is the brainchild of both Melissa Tornay and Felicia Howe. Felicia, a longtime celebrity stylist, began to notice that she was developing physical reactions to the strong chemicals used in standard hair care. And so, she switched to organic products. Seeing immediate improvement in her own symptoms, she began to use them on her clients as well. Together with Melissa, Felicia looked for some of the healthiest products on the market. And Primrose Organics Salon was born.

Upon entering the salon, you are struck by two thoughts – wow, it’s pretty, and awesome, there are eco products! When I visited, Melissa proudly pointed out the array of products from John Masters Organics, The Body Deli, Priti, Hamadi, and Simply Organic. Best of all, there’s a basket of samples from the various product lines, so you can take them home to try for yourself.

Further, Melissa talked me through the various services offered. Eco manicure are performed with Priti polish, which are free of contain toluene, formaldehyde, and Dibutyl Phthalate. Hair color is done with the eco-friendly Davines or Ecocolors, depending on client preferences. As one client wrote about Davines, “the dye used actually smelled good, which I've never encountered at a salon before.”

And the greenness doesn’t stop at the products. The drywall is secured with formaldehyde-free compound; the walls are painted with VOC-free paint. The blow dryers used for styling are energy efficient. Even the hair foils used for color treatments are made from recycled foil. As Melissa informed me, all furniture was purchased used from Craigslist, donated, or otherwise recycled. Further, the building was also outfitted with energy-efficient hot water heating and lighting.

Primrose Organics Salon is open Tuesday through Saturday, 11am-7pm. 4616 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles. You can reach them at 323.664.5446.