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Confession time: I highlight my hair about once every 2-3 months to maintain my beloved blonde hair. I've been doing so since I was about 17 or 18, so as you can imagine, hair color and care are big parts of my life. I got my hair colored yesterday during and am excited to write this post about why I personally choose to use organic hair treatments and why I think the topic matters to you.

The short of it is that organic hair treatments are better for you, your stylist, and the environment. They are more expensive than traditional hair treatments, but are well worth the cost in my opinion.

The difference between an organic and traditional hair coloring products is that they're made with environmentally-friendly ingredients and are free of harmful chemicals or pesticides. That's not to say that organic hair color is made without chemicals (most are not), but they are typically made with fewer chemicals and no ammonia.

Ammonia is considered a toxic chemical by many and is most often behind the pungent "fumes" you might smell when getting your hair colored in a typical salon treatment. It's used to open up the hair cuticle and make color penetrate, but is said by some experts to be toxic and corrosive when inhaled. That's of course worrisome for you if you're concerned about chemicals in your system, but may be even more so for your colorist who is exposed to these fumes on a daily basis. That's why I made the personal choice to switch to organic color.

Organic color is not cheap and the costs of my hair treatments did go up when my stylist and I made this choice together. To me, the cost was worth it, but I by no means intend to disparage or shame anyone who cannot afford or does not have access to organic color. If you are interested in learning more, chat with your stylist about trying out organic color for your next session or check with organic hair product companies who might be already working with stylists in your area. I found out about organic hair color because I was fortunate enough to work with the amazing Kristine L. Hartman in the SF Bay Area who uses O Way Organic Color.