Today I thought I'd bring you some very interesting green beauty innovations courtesy of one of my favorite design and architecture blogs, Dezeen. First up is this hairdryer made out of bamboo, which was designed by Samy Rio and won top prize at the 2015 Design Parade competition. It's sleek, minimal and looks like something you'd find in a high-end eco-friendly salon or spa.
(images from dezeen.com)
From an aesthetic perspective, the design is fantastic – it would look so pretty sitting on my vanity. But from a practical perspective, I'm curious to know how a simple material like bamboo stacks up next to our fancy ionic hairdryers made of metal and plastic. Would my hair be as smooth as with a regular dryer? How loud is it? How does the drying time compare? Bamboo is a recyclable, renewable resource and I would love to see it used more in beauty gadgets, but if it doesn't perform well, forget it.
Next up are these false eyelashes fashioned from blades of grass and pine needles, while the glue is made from eggs and water. Kingston University student Mary Graham designed these eyelashes to highlight the fact that while many cosmetic companies slap the "natural" label on their products, many of them contain ingredients that have been treated with artificial chemicals. Plus, only 1% of the product actually has to be natural to be earn the label.
(images from dezeen.com)
While I don't think these lashes are practical for most people (especially those of us with grass allergies) and certainly not intended for everyday wear, Graham believes that they would eventually win over cosmetic aficionados. "With the ever-growing DIY culture infiltrating cosmetics I do believe that these lashes could catch on as a trend…people are now encouraged to go into their gardens and gather plants and mud to make face masks, so why not eyelashes?" Given how time-consuming it must be to make them and the fact that one can't re-use them as they wilt within 24 hours, I'm not sure how the average person would actually construct their own false lashes from plants. But I could definitely see them working for magazine editorials and couture shows, especially since the materials change with the seasons. "I want to create these lashes again but in the autumn so that I could use beautiful oranges and reds. These lashes have seasons and would appear differently depending on the time of year. Almost like fashion trends, they are always changing and never constant," Graham says. She also hopes to expand beyond lashes to form a full-fledged, all-natural beauty line that would feature lipsticks made from beetroot and mixtures of sand and chalk for a fake tanning solution.
Would you try out either of these new beauty innovations? I'd definitely try out the hair dryer but I'm iffy on the eyelashes. Not because I don't love how they look, but my eyes are super sensitive and might react poorly to the materials, natural though they may be.