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2	Salon Hasblady Guzman and the basis of beauty. read more...
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GREENGORGEOUS

California beauty guru Hasblady Guzman and her squad of
stylists prove that getting glam can be eco fabulous.

The beauty of nature and the benefits of nurturing have always been intrinsic to Hasblady Guzman. As a salon owner, celebrity hair and makeup stylist and eco enthusiast, Guzman has built a growing beauty institution on the basis that glowing health is the best beautician.
It’s the perfect mission and message in her adopted home of California, where being environmentally conscious and beautiful naturally go hand in hand.
“I am here to promote the link between health and physical beauty,” says Guzman who spoke to Hispanic via telephone at the beginning of a busy day.
Guzman’s Hollywood clientele list reads like a veritable who’s who. She counts among the A-list celebs she has styled Ana Ortiz of Ugly Betty, Eva LaRue of CSI:Miami, Daveigh Chase of Big Love, Monique Coleman of High School Musical, Gerard Butler of 300, Kate Flannery of The Office and socialite Paris Hilton, among others.
Beauty begins on the inside, and that means caring for one’s health first, before applying products or purchasing treatments. “I ask [my clients] to think if they are sleeping well and even if they are working too much.”
Her approach is one of whole health, for the client and for the earth. Clients are taken off shampoos with animal products, are invited to undergo sensory experiences, and are encouraged to become better hydrated, to get proper amount of
vitamins and otherwise be well nourished.
It’s no surprise that Guzman has funneled her energies into the salon world. Born in Colombia, her parents dubbed her Hasblady, a Spanish variation of an Arabic name that means a very quiet sound or the female leader of a tribe, she says. As a child her family relocated to the U.S., where her mother would continue her business. Her mother was also a salon owner, with three salons to her name, and Guzman remembers spending time in those salons from the time she was 4 years old.
By the time she was 21, a time when most young people are just beginning to realize who they want to be, Guzman had enjoyed years behind a chair and had apprenticed under her mother. Spurred by the idea of having her own salon, she approached a financial institution about acquiring a business loan only to be turned down.
Unfazed, she sought other sources of support for her dream.
“I was 21 and I wanted to make my family proud,” she says. “I was in a country where I had to prove myself. My dad said ‘It’s a man’s world; you have to be twice as hard and be twice as smart to be equal.’ ”
In just a short time she had garnered the support she needed and opened the doors of her first salon, Renaissance, in Los Angeles in 1991. An avid fan of Renaissance-era art, Guzman was as inspired by the period as she was by the new direction she was taking her life.
“Renaissance means a rebirth. That spoke to me,” she says. “I was creating something new: I was going green, I wasn’t eating meat, no petrochemicals in anything we put on our clients. I found out how lethal petrochemicals are to our climate. I found it was time for a rebirth. I felt we needed to start over.”
Her philosophy on beauty has found an eager following. After finding success with Renaissance in L.A., she opened Bokaos in Pasadena. The salon’s name means beautiful chaos and represents Guzman’s hectic but rewarding life as a mother and businesswoman, she says. She is in the process of opening a third green salon to be called Bokaos Americana.
Guzman approached her industry with the same strict, wholesome lifestyle that she adopted for herself. With an eye toward changing the perception of hairdressers, she started with herself and demanded of herself that she refrain from drugs, most alcohol and promiscuity. In the salons, she chose to use only Aveda’s natural hair products, made from real oil and real plants and packaged in post-consumer recycled bottles—all in line with her Earth-conscious philosophy.
“I don’t want to put hazardous waste down the drain,” she says. “I use recycled items. I try to have things refurbished. I don’t want to create a large carbon footprint. I turn off lights, [and] our light bulbs are energy saving. I think we lead by example.”
When Guzman is around, her employees know that no recyclable materials are to go in the trash bins. Under Hasblady’s rule, everyone is to do their part and take a little responsibility for others. If someone else chooses not to recycle, choose to recycle three times as often to make up for it, she says.
Guzman recently took her green savvy all the way to Boston for an appearance on the TV show Split Ends, which appears on the Style Network. On the program she swapped places with a punky hairstylist from a rock ’n roll salon for a week to see what each could learn from a new environment and what the new environment could gain from the stylists.
With her California ease and sophistication, Hasblady’s style of management and hairdressing didn’t always gel perfectly with the edgy salon’s stylings, but one of the things she was sure to accomplish was getting big green bins for recycling, though it was to the dismay of a few of the Bostonians. No matter; she imposed her tough recycling rules even on her temporary salon.
Once you understand the impact even small actions can have on the Earth, making a difference is just a question of commitment, she explains.
“Being environmental is a discipline like brushing your teeth and being responsible for everything you do,” she says. “Recycle, definitely eat and purchase products without synthetic smells and colors, and stay away from heavy scented candles and heavy foods.
“Be green by utilizing energy-saving builds. Not everything is trash; see if there art things you can reuse. Conserve and be less wasteful. We could stand to eat a little less, buy a little less, use a little less. Teach that to your children and make your family aware.”

BEWELL

Hasblady recommends three steps sure to make you radiate health and beauty.

1. Moisture: People need to moisturize. I recommend an all-sensitive moisturizer and I think women should bathe in it.

2. Cleanse: The rose mint hair and body wash is really light and has rosemary and mint. It’s light and clean and good for the environment. And it’s made with wind power and has real oils from real plants.

3. Sun Protection: SPF is imperative. I see clients who have had skin cancer and I am concerned with the ozone.