Six months ago, a beauty salon at Havana’s National Institute of Oncology and Radiobiology was nothing more than an idea; today it is a reality.
The Artecorte community project was in charge of realizing this dream, hand in hand with the Havana City Historian’s Office and other enterprises, which donated the best of themselves in terms of social responsibility.
Across the world, hospital institutions of this kind have beauty salons because there are patients who require haircuts. Hence the idea of reusing the spaces available in the center to somehow create awareness of the importance of aesthetics in these processes, as a humane and sensitive profession.
What was once an office for security guards is today a small but comfortable space, which aims to make the lives of those battling cancer happier. Those involved in the transformation of the space were in charge of the whole process of decoration, furnishing, and gardening, both inside and outside the premises.
The salon offers its services from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday to Friday. It has a bank of wigs which can be borrowed, with a previous prescription, due to their limited availability and the care they require.
In addition, the project puts those learning the trades of hairdressing and barbering at the service of the community. Students of the Bella Caribe International Beauty School, the Artecorte School of Hairdressing and Barbering, and other stylists of the city, are joining these noble efforts to make all their aesthetic knowledge available to patients, their companions and the teaching staff of the hospital.
“There are a lot of us and we can reach out to many. Wouldn’t it be great to achieve a network of hairdressing salons in hospitals!” stated Adriana Ricardo, the director of Artecorte. “We intend for the salon to function practically on its own, to be a collaborative space in terms of aesthetics, where Artecorte is only a promoter,” she added.
The epidemiological situation we are experiencing forces maximum care, so the plan is to serve a maximum of ten clients a day, to avoid crowding and respect all the established health protocols, as well as the disinfection of the materials used.
But this is only the tip of the iceberg, because for Adriana, there are no limits when it comes to community development.
