Hair Care and a Cup of Green Tea

It was a busy Wednesday morning at Salon Aponte. A woman with her hair in rollers sat under a dryer in the back of the room, while three chairs situated along a row of mirrors were occupied in the front.

Mickey Ingrassia, a stylist, dipped a brush into a glass bowl filled with blond hair dye and touched up a customer's roots.

At another chair, Nancy Aponte, the salon's owner, ran a comb across a man's salt and pepper hair with one hand and snipped away with a pair of scissors with the other.

"Clients walk in and immediately comment on not smelling the chemicals they usually smell in a hair salon," Aponte said of her 838 Main St. salon. "They sit down, we give them a green tea, then we start our new friendship."

Aponte worked at the same salon under two different owners for five years each, before buying it herself. Before it was Salon Aponte, the business was Hair Farm and MK Hair Design.

"After being the owner for 10 years, I became concerned and uncomfortable working with chemicals, especially ammonia," she recalled.

Aponte said stylists are constantly breathing in fumes with ammonia in traditional hair dyes. Some people have had to leave the profession because hair products adversely affected their skin or their lungs, she added.

"I started researching and found a company I'm now working with that has organic color," she said, "Organic Color Systems out of the U.K., where the guidelines are more stringent."

Shelves in one corner of the salon are stocked with bottles of Kettle Care and Organic Care Systems' products. The selection includes shampoos, conditioners and sculpting gels.

"They're made in Montana," Aponte said of Kettle Care. "No herbicides or pesticides, so it's the next best thing to organic."

A table is covered with Gellite candles.

"We have a gel candle line that doesn't have any led in the wicks," Aponte said. "They're American made and last five times longer than regular candles."

At the Monroe Farmers Market, Aponte met Adrienne Roberts of Danbury. Roberts sells soaps and creams in a line of natural beauty products Aponte said her salon will soon carry.

Educating clients

Aponte developed a love of the outdoors at an early age. She remembers playing with in the woods with other neighborhood children, while growing up in Stratford. Aponte has enjoyed hiking, camping and running over the years.

She bristles at the thought of all the chemicals that constantly flow into waterways.

"I do feel guilty about all of the unnatural things that are used in this type of business," Aponte said. "Slowly but surely, I'm finding alternatives."

Salon Aponte is saving hair clippings to send to Matter of Trust, a San Francisco based non-profit, that makes mats from hair to soak up oil during the BP oil spill cleanup.

Aponte's environmental activism has not gone unnoticed.

The Monroe Conservation Commission named her Conservationist of the Month in April.

Aponte tries to live green at home and at work.

"I'm a big recycler. I can be anal about it," Aponte said with a chuckle. "I try to save as much as I can, and I'm trying to impress that upon my son."

Aponte lives in Shelton with her son, Gabriel, 11.

She also strives to educate her clients.

"We have a small library where we lend out books for people on natural alternatives for hair care," Aponte said.

On the cutting edge

Salon Aponte advertises in Natural Awakenings, a free publication that can be found at health food stores, Monroe Town Hall, gyms, doctors' offices and eco-friendly eateries.

One ad features a beautiful woman wearing an oxygen mask with the slogan: "Tired of Exposing Yourself to Harsh Chemicals & Fumes? The best thing about our products is what we leave out!"

Going green has not slowed her business down. In fact, Aponte said her salon routinely attracts clients who are allergic to beauty products used at most salons.

"We were very successful in growing the business because of this," Aponte said of the impact of her decision to use natural and organic products a decade ago.

But that's not all Aponte is about, according to Ingrassia.

"She's very conscientious about what people are eating, breathing and putting on their skin," he said. "She's a very caring soul. It's not just, 'Get them in here and make a buck.' She's very much about showing them how great they can feel and how great they can look without the damage.

"One thing I love about Nancy is she's always on the cutting edge of technology, the new stuff, the latest and the greatest."