A beauty salon for everyone in Leipzig | DW Documentary

A beauty salon for everyone in Leipzig | DW Documentary

Mara Hessa is fighting Against Racism with the help of makeup and mascara in the Intercultural grand beauty salon I think our society desperately needs people coming into contact with each other and that’s something that happens very quickly in a beauty salon but can facials and manicures really tear down barriers and help to

Overcome Prejudice Those who work in the grand beauty salon in liip are familiar with different preferences and beauty standards between cultures the international team consists nearly exclusively of people with a refugee or migrant background most are professionally trained in their craft and some self-taught but every client seems seems to appreciate their

Knowhow it’s different here than in other beauty salons I’ve only been once before to a beauty salon in Germany and then I went because of a friend many of the clients are migrants who rarely or never go to a beauty salon in Germany they feel uncomfortable and sometimes wearing a headscarf makes a

Visit to a conventional hairdresser impossible you can just close your eyes while I apply the makeup maybe try to relax a bit did you get here okay Mara wants the grand beauty salon to be a safe space a place where they like to be treated where they feel

Comfortable where they don’t get any comments about the texture of their hair or skin color but can just have a seat and share their thoughts about anything sometimes in a more critical way Mara says that a visit to The Beautician in Germany can often turn into a discriminatory experience for

People of color and she has little doubt about the reasons for this misguided beauty standards which are both extremely Western and white they can leave a person feeling inadequate if they don’t correspond to this ideal of beauty especially since they might not fit in with any other many salons only carry cosmetic

Products for lighter skin tones I’ve often tried to use makeup for white skin and it makes me feel like a clown but here it’s all very natural so I’m very grateful in the salon guests can ReDiscover their own Beauty and gain self-confidence while getting some inspiration from other cultures for

Example when it comes to the styling of Nails in venea Nails usually have various designs and they’re much longer here is here they’re more natural and the colors are also Lighter Des there may be some designs but they’re smaller and more discreet the don’t worry it doesn’t have to be perfect fra fresh is an artist and cultural educator she founded the grand beauty project for a long time grand beauty was a mobile beauty salon moving between German cities where frala and

Her team organized workshops but the permanent location here in liik has been open for a year now we often see firsttime encounters between people who otherwise wouldn’t have crossed paths in their everyday lives in places where communities simply don’t meet because people are more likely to stay in their own C

Speaking the same language grunau is one of the largest prefabricated housing Estates built in the former gdr nowadays it’s a low-income area where many residents have a negative view of foreigners the Intercultural Salon is located right here inside a park Mara wants to use her work there to

Educate people as a young Muslim woman her own experience have made it clear that this is a much needed task islamophobia is very noticeable when dealing with the German authorities and within the school system I have many nieces and nephews with whom I love spending time and it drives me crazy

When I’m told again and again wow you speak such good German and I would like to reply Yes dear I’d sure hope so I was born here and German is my native language even worse are the people who make nasty comments try to spit at me move away or leave a room as

Soon as I enter or start asking insensitive Questions as the assistant manager Mara wants the grand beauty salon to be a meeting place bringing people from different cultures together in a relaxed atmosphere and thereby erasing prejudices so you want it shorter down here and a bit longer on the top you have beautiful thin hair this is Karan Urban’s fourth time

In the salon she’s lived in liyun now for almost 30 years but she hardly knows anyone with a migrant background over here I’m there are a few ukrainians living in our building they’re nice people but it’s not easy to talk to them because of the language barrier their German isn’t that good

Yet this hits close to home for hairdresser IP Samir in 2015 itis crossed the Mediterranean Sea to flee the Civil War in Libya before arriving in Germany cutting hair has allowed her to improve her German and make new Contacts I’ve had no problems with the customers they’re all nice and friendly and so is my team team Alice good team yes it really is a great team right yeah I’ve noticed last time for example when so many were sitting outside ifum had her own hair salon in

Libya and achieving the same in Germany is her biggest professional goal I would like to open a salon of my own but it’s hard for me I have my job but in Germany you need to be certified as a master Craftsman before you can open your own

Salon and then you need a lot of money even though most of the conversation with clients is Small Talk the connections create a greater Mutual understanding there are many obstacles for Sure until she finds a permanent job in Germany itis can keep practicing and gain recognition for her craft a grand beauty the beauticians work on a donation basis and the project is funded by grants many on the grand beauty team have only been granted temporary protection as refugees and don’t have

Work permits the volunteer hours only count as an internship but they increase the chances of obtaining a residence permit since our program is part of an art project it gives people the opportunity to work on a voluntary basis you don’t necessarily need a residence permit for that and if

Everything works out well if everyone gets along and is ready to turn this into a part-time job we’ll continue down that path ideally working in a salon could be a stepping stone to getting into the German Beauty industry which could do with a lot more diversity according to

Mara in Berlin Mara teaches at the German pop Academy a training center for aspiring makeup artists and on the side she freelances as one herself the fact that she hasn’t been offered a permanent job anywhere she traces back to her headscarf I would have loved to train as a

Hairdresser but I didn’t fit in so well with the teams at the salons where I applied not even after getting my diploma as a makeup artist and hair designer so to be able to dress the way I like I had to start my own business in today’s class she doubles as

A model while teaching the German pop Academy is an international school with locations worldwide and a diverse student body but Germany’s beauty industry still mostly revolves around everything related to White bodies the fact that so many of those who train hairdressers in Germany simply know nothing about how to treat afro

Hair is a disaster it’s absolutely absurd and definitely needs to be dealt with how is it possible that this is being Incorporated in the training in England for example but here in Germany the curriculum has nothing on this Topic to change this Mara is now working with the German pop Academy to revise the curriculum afro hair Arabic coal or Asian eyeliner she wants to train for all her customers needs even if the models remain Western European for the time being if you have normal hair spray it

With something first so that it doesn’t get all fuzzy Mara is convinced that beauty salons can promote tolerance and that the grand beauty salon in liik can serve as an example I think this is exactly what we need everyday places like this to come together even if we don’t like each

Other on the street or don’t want to look at each other the best thing is when something changes inside our customers and they get a new Perspective

At the “Grand Beauty” salon in Leipzig, people with a refugee or migrant background work as hairdressers, make-up artists and manicurists on a donation basis, with the goal to uproot prejudices.

Mara Hesse is a freelance make-up artist and anti-racist activist. As a Muslim woman born in Germany, she has experienced discrimination herself time and again. That is why she works as a make-up artist in the “Grand Beauty” salon in Leipzig. Performance artist Frauke Frech founded the salon with the idea to use the body-related services to create encounters and conversations that would otherwise not take place, and to break down prejudices. After all, xenophobia is a problem in Leipzig-Grünau, where the salon is located.

#documentary #dwdocumentary #reporter #leipzig #germany
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