Green + Anchor Brings Holistic Hair Care to Bankers Hill
Briana McDonald, owner
First it was ethical fashion, then came clean makeup. Now the shift toward eco-friendly style has entered the salon world. Just look to the newest full-service salon in Bankers Hill.
Green + Anchor is all about holistic hair care, using only nontoxic products free of unnecessary chemicals. Staple brands include Simply Organic’s Original & Mineral and Oway shampoos, conditioners, and styling products.
“We’re here to provide a professional service, the same as you would receive in a regular salon,” says owner and stylist Briana McDonald, “just using way healthier options.”
Between a decade of styling in Portland and three years in San Diego—where she’s made a name for herself with vivid coloring and extensions—McDonald recalls, “I had many times in my career where I’d ask myself, ‘How can I be around these chemicals all of the time?’ You get to a point where you realize they’re going into our bloodstream and you’re not able to thrive.”
She once contemplated quitting styling altogether because of the exposure: Fumes from blowouts would affect her eyes and she would read up on the cancer-causing effects of the chemicals surrounding her. Then she came across Simply Organics, the “game changer” that she began using on clients.
Green + Anchor Brings Holistic Hair Care to Bankers Hill
Oway shampoos and conditioners reside by the wash station
The Green + Anchor space itself is intimate and, from the outside, inconspicuous. Entry requires a dial-in, then an elevator ride to the second floor, where the salon door opens to an industrial flat. Natural lighting pours through floor-to-ceiling windows onto five styling stations, two wash bowls, and a plush waiting area with retail shelves—they also stock dry shampoo, fragrances, and candles from San Diego–based Let’s Put a Bird On It. Plants for sale from Craftmossphere adorn the space, a subtle hint to the salon’s greater eco-ethos.
As a GreenCircle Certified salon, Green + Anchor recycles 90 to 95 percent of its materials. Soiled foils, color tubes, gloves, excess hair color, cut hair, and more are shipped off to GreenCircle for safe disposal or repurposing. (Cut hair is used for cleaning up oil spills!)
McDonald’s dream of a holistic salon was a long time coming, as she personally lives out a nontoxic lifestyle with her nutrition and beauty routines. “My personal and work worlds have finally collided.”
440 Upas Street #202, Bankers Hill greenandanchorsalon
Green + Anchor Brings Holistic Hair Care to Bankers Hill
Photos by Jessie Taft
