Liz Taw describes herself as “eco-anxious” – the hair stylist and groomer is a champion of sustainable beauty; her kit, which has teased the tresses of Kylie Minogue, Jessie Ware, Brian Cox (!) and St Vincent, is filled with sustainable products, many of which she concocts herself in her east London home.
What was the last thing you recycled?
I reluctantly put some glass jars in the recycling this week. I use them for everything, but my collection was getting hoarder worthy. I try to avoid opening the recycling bin because it often leads to angry emails, berating my neighbours for not properly rinsing out and sorting their recycling. Reminding them food waste goes in the compost bin and organic matter rotting in landfill is responsible for huge methane omissions.
I’m not sure if this happens everywhere, but Hackney council throw “contaminated recycling bins” ie the ones that haven’t been sorted properly, straight into landfill. And not all things that can be recycled, will necessarily be recyclable through your local authority. It’s important to check what your council has the facilities for, especially plastics, and what needs to be taken to a specialist facility. Terracycle has lots of bins popping up for beauty containers which are generally too small for the regular domestic recycling. But it’s always better to look for refillable/compostable packaging to avoid worrying about whether or not things actually get recycled.
How consciously do you travel?
This is a tough one that keeps me up at night. My job requires travel and my family live on the other side of the world. I was “carbon offsetting” for a while, but have since realised it’s often not what it seems and, well… environmentally racist at its core. So now I try to keep long hauls to a minimum, and use trains when I can.
What's in your day-to-day sustainability practice?
I try to buy local, refillable (hence hoarding of jars), and from people who’s values align with mine. I’m lucky to live in an area of east London that has a street market for everything, an active growers community, and a ton of artisanal offerings. (Cringing at how much that sounds like a meme on @therealhouswivesofclapton page haha!)
But I also try to remind myself on the regular, the importance of a more public form of activism. That I shouldn’t rest easy in the cushy comfort of doing the small things. But more importantly, to join the movements that are pushing for policy change. The real, structural change needed to secure a sustainable future won’t happen unless we all take a broader outlook.
Trying to reconcile my career choices with a growing understanding of how my chosen industries contribute massively to excessive ecological damage, led me to look for the most sustainable practices.
Second-hand or new?
Second hand, obvs
What is your favourite second-hand fashion purchase?
Probably a delicate glass beaded slip from Annie’s Antiques. The beads are graded from bronze to midnight blue and black. I think it’s from the 20’s and I’ve managed to keep it in tact for years. But it’s currently in a bag on my coffee table to remind me to find a specialist to repair the tear I made drunk dancing at a wedding reception.
Do you have any tips for repairing and reusing?
I try not to leave things for too long in piles for repair. Deal with the small things as they happen. I’m a regular with the seamstress at my local laundromat. And Mr Mandala on South Molton street is my go to if a piece needs special care and attention.
When was the last time you connected with nature?
Last night when I took a handful of worms from my balcony compost, and set them free under some new saplings on Hackney marshes. I know it sounds mad, but my reasoning is they might want to try a life outside of my little wormery? Also, they procreate like mad in the warmer months.
I take my shoes off and get some grounding in while I wait for them to settle into their new home. The late night dog walkers definitely think I’m mad. But it’s become my little (eccentric) ritual when the weather warms up.
Do you have a favourite upcycled item in your home?
Probably my bedside table. It’s simple but I love waking up to it. Picked it up at Kempton park like the majority of my furniture (they have a great vintage market, first Tuesday of every month). I mixed a calming shade from some sample pots of Earthborne clay paint I had laying about, and layered it up thick to create a soft pleasing texture. I’m obsessed with clay paint at the moment because as well as the beautiful finish, it’s water based and it has air purifying and humidity regulating properties.
What do you reuse in an unlikely manner?
I saw Chef Tom Hunt take the skins off boiled beetroot, dehydrate and grind them into a powder to sprinkled over dishes to add colour and nutritional value. I made the powder and I use it to add a bitten lip tint and some sweetness to my lip balms.
What is your most eco-friendly purchase?
I’ll resist the urge to go into a rant about “conscious consumerism in a disaster capitalist hellscape”.. and say my wormery.
And your least (we won't judge)
Plane tickets to Australia
Is there anything that have / use that you wish you could recycle? (ie beauty products)
Some of the linings of aluminium containers are a bugger.
Do you buy any fast fashion items or do you avoid totally?
Very rarely these days, but still have some Zara and Other Stories items purchased years ago in heavy rotation.
Where do you prefer to buy your second-hand / upcycled / sustainable purchases?
I love a market, but a beautifully curated collection like the one my mate Karen Clarkson has at Found & Vision, is my preferred way to shop fashion these days. I love ELV denim by another genius friend Anna Foster, who takes discarded demin and turns it into the best jeans you’ll ever own.
I love vintage jewellery, but the wonderful Rosh @Aligheri makes my favourite modern heirlooms, handcrafted from recycled metals and gems in her Hatton Garden studio.
How do you keep your kit as sustainable as possible?
Trying to reconcile my career choices with a growing understanding of how my chosen industries contribute massively to excessive ecological damage, led me to look for the most sustainable practices. Which led to my carefully curating my kit the way I do [my] home. And a kit that includes more and more home made alternatives.
Coming from a long line of make your own beauty witches (common in Lebanese families), and always having a fascination with herbalism and aromatherapy, I’d intuitively make oil blends, balms, compresses at home and for friends. Lockdown gave me the time to take it to the next level by getting stuck in to reference books I’d collected, foraging ingredients, Dehydrating medicinal plants, making hydrosols in my little copper distiller, tinkering around with recipes to find more luxurious textures. Formula Botanica has great online formulating courses.
Repeated requests from friends while testing my new formulations gave me the confidence to include them in my work kit. I’ve learnt how to preserve products, but I prefer to keep them food grade and perishable and I make a lot of inaqueous blends that don’t need preservatives. I’ve decided sharing recipes and empowering people to make their own rather than putting another product range on the market and panicking about traceability/packaging etc, aligns better with my values. I seem to be growing a steady clientele who appreciate this level of eco anxiety in a hairstylist and groomer, which is nice.