Enhancing Wellbeing Through Beauty Care

<< Background >>The project was originally sparked by the spread of COVID in 2020 by one of the partners of this project Confartigianto di Vicenza and its devastating effects not both on the physical health of many individuals but also on the mental health of all individuals. Through various discussions with the partners and other entities which eventually did not participate, the discussion evolved around the mental health and wellbeing of customers and what hair and beauty professionals (HBP) encounter on everyday life. It was noticed that though COVID has drastically affected the mental health of individuals, however certain mental health-related issues in clients of HBP were already existent prior to COVID. This expanded the project aims in bringing awareness and the necessary skills that HBP need in order to support their clients. It is a known fact that during HBP offer services, clients feel comfortable to speak about their personal lifes on what they are passing through and though hairdressing or beauty services are not counselling or mental health services, however, this space services as a venting out space for clients. Thus it was established that HBP should be equipped with more skills to deal with this issues in the best manner.<< Objectives >>With this project we wanted bring awareness with HBPs and provide the necessary skills on two levels: 1. that they becomre more aware of the mental health and wellbeing of their clients and 2. how to support them more professionally and in the correct manner. Moreover as a collateral effect, we wanted also to bring awareness about the mental health and wellbeing of the HBP themselves. The partners envisaged that these aims are to be achieved through creating an online course which could be accessed at international level and that HBP across Europe and the world would be able to follow this course at their own pace. << Implementation >>The project included a number of activities as follows:1. Kick of Meeting in Vicenza where planning of the project was discussed and further clarfication on the project2. Needs Analysis of the theme of the project through questionnaire and also focus groups in every country of the partners - finally a report on the needs identified3. Development of a draft course and the pilot training spread on 4.5 days in Malta with participants from every country partner attending for the course and providing the feedback on the materials, content and also approach including discussiion of case studies.4. Course Evaluation Report and upon the feedback of the pilot training, the full writing of the course to be sent for accrediation.5. Course accreditation process by MFHEA at MQF Level 4. This was done through one of the partners - LCTS Ltd/Malta Leadership Institute.6. Development of the project website including the courses materials, vidoes, registration and translation of the course in Serbian, Italian, Slovenia apart from English. 7. Finally a dissemination activity in Slovenia with an online mini-conference where the participants from across the partner organisations were invited.8. Dissemination of the course in various countries.<< Results >>The main result of the project was two self-paced online accredited short courses (at MQF Level 4) that will help and support HBPs in their everyday life when they encounter clients having mental-health and wellbeing issues: Award in Basic Helping Skills for the Hair and Beauty Sector and Award in Understanding Mental Health Difficulties of Clients. These two courses were also translated in three different languages apart from the English version in order to make it more accessible at least across the countries of the partners. This project also brought some collateral outputs mainly:1. A research on the perceptions and issues encountered by HBPs;2. Awareness about the wellbeing of the HBPs and how they feel with issues that clients bring to the salon during the service provision3. Awareness how amongst HBPs of mental Health issues that clients might be passing through and how to offer continuous professionalism even if certain clients are perceived as difficult and not be overburdened by the clients' issues. 4. This project will be promoted by Coiffure EU in order to further dessiminate the project across more European countries.