As May Mental Health Awareness Month draws to a close, a West Hollywood barbershop is pairing haircuts with on-site mental health support, calling the program Hairapy. It’s not just a cut. It’s a cut with a conversation.
Spike Eldib cuts hair at Entourage on Sunset Plaza. The conversations in his chair have always gone deeper than haircuts. He decided to formalize what’s been happening for years. Sound familar? Angelo at Varon Hair in West Hollywood has listened to my woes for years. It’s what stylists do. We talk, they listen. The twist here — Entourage pairs you with a “hairapist.”
Barbers at Entourage are being trained in intentional listening and supportive conversation as part of the program. Eldib said it’s a challenge when questions get too difficult to handle alone. “Whatever they have on their mind, an issue that they can’t tell mom, dad, friend, anything they can say it here in the barber shop,” Eldib said.
That’s where Neal Tobisman comes in. He’s a licensed marriage and family therapist who’s now partnering with Entourage.
“Sometimes there are barriers in terms of people just not even knowing who to speak to about it or there might be financial or insurance issues,” Tobisman told CBS News. He said barbers can spot red flags and connect clients with resources on the spot.
“There is a lot of stigma, and it’s resulted in a lot of people just kind of trying to manage these things on their own and just feeling kind of increasingly isolated and unsupported,” Tobisman said.
The National Institutes of Health reports that men are significantly less likely than women to seek mental health help. Societal norms and the expectation that they’ll handle problems on their own are part of it, the NIH says.
One Entourage regular, Matthew Berdin, said it’s a setup that’s worked for him. He’s an emergency room nurse. He said the job’s physically and emotionally demanding.
“Holding all that inside is not very good for you overall, just not even like your mental health, but like your overall health,” Berdin said.
Hairapy isn’t alone. The Confess Project, a national movement focused on connecting Black men with mental health care through barbershops, has spread to thousands of locations nationwide over the past decade.
If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health
Help is available around the clock. The 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline can be reached anytime by calling or texting 988. The Crisis Text Line is available 24/7 by texting HOME to 741741. The Trevor Project, which provides crisis intervention and suicide prevention support specifically for LGBTQ+ young people, can be reached at 1-866-488-7386 or by texting START to 678-678.
Shout out to Angelo, and the rest of the guys, at Varon!