Dominican Beauty Salon Hopes To Cut Out Domestic Violence, Inspire Salon-Related Puns

A beauty salon in the Washington Heights area of New York City is training its employees to become domestic abuse counselors. The program banks on the fact that women will tell their hairdresser anything from their hopes and dreams to the size and color of each and every mole:

At the Divas beauty salon, Spanish-language talk shows play on the TV. Blow dryers and scissors are at the ready on counters. Customers chat about everything from men to money to jobs.

But for a few weeks this fall, the women who work at the uptown salon gathered in the back of the shop to learn about domestic violence.

They had volunteered to be part of a program that hopes to build on the trust between salon workers and their clients to identify cases of domestic abuse, especially in the Latino community. It is part of a growing national effort that has gained traction based on the idea that salons and hair stylists can sometimes be a first line of defense against domestic abuse.

-Sure beats- That’s better than being asked if you’re married yet while you’re getting a flamingo airbrushed onto your acrylics.

Salon workers get lesson in violence [NY Daily News]