Possible at Salon Aponte

onroe’s Salon Aponte celebrated 33 years in business in February of this year. Led by salon owner Nancy Aponte, Salon Aponte has long been an eco-minded beauty leader in the region. The salon’s conversion to more organic and healthy products began as a direct result of Aponte’s personal experience. She remembers the day she realized her occupation could be harming her health. “I was applying color and the ammonia went straight into my lungs,” she recalls. “I coughed and coughed. It was awful and I remember thinking, ‘There’s no way this can be good for me.’”

Her overhaul of the product line was gradual in some respects, starting with the refilling of containers and using low VOC sprays. Over the years, the inventory of healthier products being offered is continually growing, recently expanding to even include organic, pharmaceutical grade CBD products, including gummies for humans as well as for pets. Aponte says the evolution of the salon has allowed her to provide not only a valuable, healthier service for her clients, but also a healthier work environment for the stylists who work there.

“The toxins surrounding us are almost unavoidable. But they’re some things we can do something about. We’re not going to stop coloring our hair, doing our nails and wearing makeup, so the idea is to find new companies doing good things and bring those healthier products to the store,” explains Aponte. “Our products are cruelty-free and vegan as much as possible. And we research what goes into the products so we can serve the needs of even highly sensitive individuals. I do a lot of research before we take on a product, so I can tell people what we have and don’t have in the products we carry.”

The salon now carries safer hair color options, allowing stylists and clients to be creative and still have great results with all forms of coloring, highlighting and grey coverage. That includes products such as Beautycounter skin care and makeup, a California company known for producing high quality products without the use of more than 1,500 harmful or questionable ingredients (BeautyCounter.com/NancyAponte). “What I always strive to do is provide safer alternatives for beauty and self-care in a friendly and relaxing environment,” Aponte says.

To that end, Aponte has joined forces with RPM (Relief, Protection, Moisture), a line of organic, pharmaceutical-grade CBD oil products, including a thickening shampoo and revitalizing spray that provides the nutrients needed for thicker, fuller hair. Other RPM products are available, ranging from muscle and joint relief cream, treatment and thickening shampoos and conditioners, body lotion, shower gel, lip balm and gummies for relieving anxiety and pain while supporting immune function.

To further help clients stay healthy, Salon Aponte offers the ability to shop online for safer hair care alternatives through their online store, at Shop.SalonInteractive.com/store/ salonaponte. New clients can also expect a goody bag to take home, which includes discount rebooking incentives and other gifts.

For more information or to make an appointment, call 203-261-2838 or visit SalonAponte.com. Location: 838 Main St, Tollgate Plaza, Monroe. See ad, page 16.

Cover artist Lisa “LaLa” Agababian, born and raised in New York City, is mostly a self-taught ceramic artist currently creating purposeful art full-time in Tucson.

Although her fascination with clay started at a very early age, it was decades later that this medium proved to be a lifesaver for her as well. Her ”Ceramic heART Wall Sculptures" are colorful expressions of her authentic, raw, naked, vulnerable strength, as she experiences this fabulous, wondrous, and sometimes very scary, and painful, precious, human life. Although she continues to create fine, functional, whimsical wares, her Ceramic Heart Wall Sculptures give a true voice to the whole spectrum of being human and shines with more than a modicum of timelessness and humor as well.

Fleeting moments of intimacy in nature; her experience with the depths of her own being; as well as her great love, compassion, and connection with other sentient beings is what inspires her art today. She states, "The mysterious kiln gods always have a hand in my work which undoubtedly adds to the magic of every piece," although all are designed, hand-formed, and painted by her, with low fire colorful glazes, crystal glazes, under-glazes, metallic/luster overgrazes, and anything else she can embellish a piece with, to add to the depth, beauty, and uniqueness desiring to be expressed. Her hearts have taken on a life of their own and also draw attention to concerns affecting the greater whole, as well as inspire, uplift, and awaken others to the magnificence within and all around us.

Connect at FuchsiaDesigns.com.