Tālem Salon & Wellness Collective

Since its launch as Blush Company Salon in 2005, tālem Salon, rebranded in 2017 to appeal to a larger audience, has primarily focused on being a sustainable salon. The owner, Brianne Bustamante, has a love of the earth and its beauty that strongly influences how she runs her business.

Salons can be brutal on the environment. Hair and color chemicals are very toxic once disposed of, usually down the drain or thrown away. Most people don’t realize how many greenhouse gases come from hair and chemicals being thrown away daily!

“Tālem Salon didn’t stop there! We restored beautiful vintage furniture, windows, fabrics and lighting for our décor. Not only is sustainability one of our top missions, but the salon carries only plant-based products for both retail and backbar. We want to be the difference. We use only plant-based products on our guests to make sure the environment within tālem remains clean and healthy. We also diffuse oils all around the salon to keep the air pure and burn only soy-based candles,” explains Sara, the salon team coordinator. All of these products can be found in the salon market.

As an ever-evolving company, tālem Salon is always looking for ways to become even more sustainable. “We really look at the industry as a whole. Our most recent focus has been looking into our hiring process, realistic work hours and environment for our team,” says Brianne. “Our mission has really evolved into building a team of individual business owners under the tālem Salon umbrella.”

Brianne’s hope for the future of the industry is to encourage and partner with young salon professionals and guide them to not only care for their physical, mental and emotional health but their guests’ experience as well. “In essence, I want to be a part of their future. I want to educate them about the sustainable impact they can have on the industry and the community as a whole. My hope for our current and future team is to find a life work balance,” Brianne says.