When we talk about suicide prevention in Black communities, we often focus on schools, clinics, hospitals, and crisis hotlines. These are all critical, but there’s another space where Black people go every week to feel safe, seen, and restored: the beauty salon and the barbershop.
For generations, salons and barbershops have served as cultural cornerstones for Black communities. Stylists, barbers, and clients tell stories. They offer jokes and advice, providing an open space for both grief and joy. Salons and barbershops are healing spaces. And yet, they’re rarely included in conversations about mental health or suicide prevention.
As a Black clinical psychologist, natural hairstylist, and researcher who studies beauty, I believe it’s time to change that.
Beauty as Medicine
In my research and my lived experience, beauty spaces are therapeutic. They offer Black people a sanctuary from the world’s harshness, a place to take off the mask and be themselves. There is nothing superficial about beauty in this context. In fact, the act of grooming and being groomed can be a deeply affirming, even life-saving, ritual.
Hairstylists and barbers are often the first to notice when someone is “not themselves.” They see the signs of depression. They hear when someone is overwhelmed or hopeless. Sometimes they hear things no therapist or doctor ever will. But these professionals are rarely trained in what to do with that information or how to respond when someone may be at risk for suicide.
That’s where we come in.
Mental Health First Aid in the Barber and Stylists Chair
What if every stylist and barber had the tools to recognize warning signs of suicide and respond with care, confidence, and clarity?
PsychoHairapy is a nationally recognized training program that teaches hair care professionals how to identify, understand, and respond to signs of mental health crises. It doesn’t turn someone into a therapist, but it equips them to listen without judgment, respond effectively, and connect people to the help they need.
Imagine how powerful it would be if beauty professionals, already trusted and embedded in the community, were trained in culturally-affirming mental health first aid. They could be the bridge between silence and support. Between despair and hope.
A Call for Collaboration: Psychologists & Beauty Professionals
I believe that Black psychologists have a special responsibility to work in partnership with beauty professionals. We speak the language of mental health. They speak the language of community. Together, we can co-create spaces of healing and prevention that don’t require someone to immediately walk into a clinic or call a hotline.
Psychologists, like Dr. Evan Auguste, have already led the way in engaging Black communities in mental health work through virtual spaces. His work with Sawubona Healing Circles, which brings together Black individuals to discuss anxiety and coping, takes place in a virtual setting. His work reminds us that healing doesn’t have to be in a clinical setting to be effective.
Similarly, Black Psychology pioneer Dr. Joseph White, one of the fathers of Black Psychology, long emphasized the need for culturally grounded, community-based approaches to wellness. He intentionally published his work in Ebony magazine so that Black people could access mental health content in popular publications and even read it while getting their hair done.
These thinkers challenge us to go beyond Eurocentric models and instead root our interventions in the lived experiences, values, and strengths of Black people in spaces outside of the academy and hospital. Countless other Black psychologists recognize that our healing has always happened in spaces of collective care, from church pews to kitchen tables, from porch steps to beauty chairs.
Breaking the Silence Around Suicide
We cannot ignore the growing mental health crisis in our communities. Suicide is a leading cause of death among Black youth, and rates are rising among Black men and women across the lifespan. And yet, stigma and lack of access keep many of us from getting the help we need.
Part of the solution lies in meeting people where they are and where they feel most comfortable.
Barbers and stylists already play the role of counselor, elder, big sister, big brother, life coach, and best friend. They are trusted. They are present. They are listening.
But they cannot, and should not, do this alone. They need support, training, and partnerships with mental health professionals who respect their role and understand the cultural nuances of Black life.
A Vision for the Future
Imagine a program where Black psychologists regularly visit salons and barbershops to offer workshops, consultations, or just a listening ear. Imagine every stylist having a card they can hand a client in crisis with resources tailored to Black mental health. Imagine a world where suicide prevention doesn’t only happen in hospitals, but also in the rhythm of clippers and the scent of shea butter.
This isn’t a fantasy. It’s a culturally responsive, evidence-informed, and deeply loving approach to saving lives.
If we’re serious about preventing suicide in the Black community, we need to expand our vision of what care looks like and where it happens.
Suicide prevention isn’t just about crisis; it’s about connection. And connection is something Black folks have always known how to do.
Dr. Afiya Mbilishaka
Dr. Afiya Mbilishaka is a licensed clinical psychologist, hairstylist, professor, and the founder of PsychoHairapy, an innovative approach that uses hair care as an entry point into mental health. As an Ivy League and HBCU-educated scholar, she served as a subject matter expert for the CROWN Act, and is actively working to regulate toxic ingredients in beauty products marketed to Black consumers. Dr. Mbilishaka has trained stylists around the world to be mental health advocates. Her work boldly bridges beauty, science, and soul.
Learn more about the Association of Black Psychologists and mental health resources here.
