Pasha Salon offers cutting and styling services along with sustainable practices and cruelty-free products in a high-end environment. (Contributed photo)

New North Chattanooga salon Pasha blends sustainable practices and cruelty-free products with a high-end salon experience.

"My No. 1 concern is animals not being harmed for us to be beautiful," said Kathryn Werk, owner and master stylist.

Therefore she only uses cruelty-free styling tools — no boar-bristle brushes — and products that haven't been tested on animals.

Werk not only looks out for animals, but for the environment as well. Pasha is the first salon in the city to receive GreenCircle certification, which requires the salon to recycle or repurpose at least 95 percent of its chemical, hair, plastic, paper and metal waste. The salon sends waste such as hair clippings, aerosol cans, foils, extensions and excess hair color to GreenCircle, which repurposes it as new metal, sources of energy and hair booms used to clean up oil spills.

Previously a stylist at another local salon, Werk said she became passionate about ethical products and practices while working as an educator for a high-end line. She found out about GreenCircle from her best friend, a fellow stylist who lives in Chicago, and knew she wanted to use the service when she opened her own salon at the end of October.

"I basically want this to be an inspirational place to go; cool, but not uptight." she said. "We have a lot of unique personalities, and everyone cares and is invested in what we're about."

Although Pasha is committed to its green and cruelty-free practices, the salon is also focused on great hair and a luxurious experience, said Werk. Pasha's quinoa-based color line, Davines, resists fading and conditions hair, and its low ammonia content — 3 percent as opposed to the typical 7-9 percent — means it has less odor than most hair dye.

The salon offers cuts, color, nontoxic straightening and conditioning treatments, waxing, makeup services, and hair and scalp analysis. The latter involves a scalp massage and evaluation of the client's hair and scalp, followed by personalized product, diet and treatment recommendations specific to their hair type, said Werk.

"We try to educate customers from the inside out," she said, adding that the salon emphasizes the importance of consultations. "Our stylists are very skilled at giving you options and making those options look cool."

Education for stylists and assistants is a focus at the salon. Every week, they learn about a different topic, such as color, sustainable practices, product knowledge, cutting and styling, said Werk.

She believes that "part of being successful is giving back," so, additionally, Pasha picks two charities to support every year. The current beneficiaries are the Humane Educational Society and the Chattanooga Area Food Bank.

Pasha is at 32 Manufacturers Road, Suite 110, and can be reached at 771-4247, or visit pashachattanooga.com to learn more.