Sallyanne Clarke ...

her heartfelt weekly take on beauty, fashion, food and family...

FEELING anxious, or depressed? Talk to your barber. Derry has become a big supporter of this initiative by the Lions Barber Collective. It was started by Tom Chapman, owner of Chapman Hair Design in Torquay, England, and a pioneering band of British barbers.

In the space of just one week, he had 21 fellow barbers on board in an event that started to mark World Suicide Preventation Day (which next year will be on September 10). The barber collective has now spread to Holland and Ireland.

Utilising the very special bond between a trusted, friendly barber and client, The Lions’ aim is for men to turn their barbershops into safe spaces for men to discuss their feelings.

As we all know, suicide is the biggest killer of men aged 45 and under. The barbers are offering customers who feel down and may have no one else to talk to a service they do not have to make a specific appointment for. Men can open up about their problems while having their hair cut in a familiar ‘manly’ atmosphere. Barbers and hairdressers spend a lot of time talking to their customers and I have always felt ‘safe’ having conversations in the ‘beauty parlour’.

So it is great that men are being actively encouraged to seek help and remove the taboo around suicide and mental illness in general. Lions Barbers are being trained in how to spot early signs of depression, which they are all very keen to do.

Women have been doing this for years and I am delighted the men have joined us.

Well done to the Lions.