The noise of the hair dryer echoes in the corridors of L’Archet hospital in Nice. That day, Cyndie, socio-hairdresser, finalizes the brushing of Claudine, one of the patients of the hospital. Around them, hair and care products line the shelves.
The room is arranged around a large central mirror. Just like in any hair salon. In this atypical space, the magic operates… At this moment, Claudine is no longer a room number, nor a patient.
She forgets the gaze of others, her neurodegenerative pathology, her wheelchair and her daily life punctuated by medical care and treatment.
A parenthesis of “normality” made possible thanks to the “mini-lounge” of the Nice University Hospital. Created in March 2019, it offers – within L’Archet hospital itself – free hairdressing and aesthetic services to patients of the “physical medicine and functional rehabilitation” (MPR) department.
“People who are admitted are very often severely disabled. Some have partially or completely lost the use of their arms or legs, which leads to the cessation of all professional activity, often putting them in a situation of financial difficulty. D Others have cognitive disorders making their socialization difficult, introduces Dr. Patricia Panaia-Ferrari, hospital practitioner at the University Hospital of Nice, at the initiative of the show project. In the department, the average age is around 45 years old. There are teenagers, young people in their thirties… All of them need to have a place of exchange outside the treatment rooms.
Free and open to women and men
Photo S. W..
Patricia Panaia-Ferrari knows what she is talking regarding… For several years, she was – herself – a patient of the MPR service.
“I was born with a congenital anomaly and I had to undergo a major operation on the vertebrae in 2017. I spent three months in day hospitalization. I was one of the only patients to have both of my good hands. I might still wear makeup, unlike others. And thanks to hairdresser friends, who came to my home, I might still take care of myself.relate-t-elle. I thought it was unfair that other patients might not benefit from the same services as me. This is where the idea of offering free care in the premises of the MPR service was born.”
In 2018, she benefited from the Aveni fund, the purpose of which is to carry out solidarity projects carried out at the Nice University Hospital. In the process, she created her own association, “Estheti’soins”.
Many financial aids (1) allow him to realize his project. 4 years ago, the hairdressing and beauty salon was inaugurated with the help of Pr Manuela Fournier, head of the MPR department.
The space is free and open to all patients, women and men alike: “ They also need to take care of themselves.”
Need donations
After a year at full speed, and more than 300 services over the year, the hairdressing salon of the CHU de Nice suffered the Covid-19 crisis.
“With a double impact: less attendance and especially less donations. For the past year, Patricia has relaunched the activity of the salon, every two weeks, with two certified employees: Cyndie, socio-hairdresser and Prescilla, socio-esthetician.
“Our space is always full. I would like to open it once a week and offer this care to other CHU departments. But for that, we badly need donations and patronage (2)”, emphasizes Patricia Panaia-Ferrari.
For the time being, the team opens the doors of the living room punctually for caregivers and relatives of the sick.
“Because they too need comfort. Often they put their lives aside. Once out of the hospital, they give strength to the sick to continue to take care of them.“Thus, on June 4 and 18, on the occasion of Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, the salon will offer duo treatments.
“The goal will be to offer a moment different from the one that takes place in the hospital room.” Over the course of the appointments, the salon team not only promotes the restoration of the patient’s identity: they also prepare their return to everyday life. “Our treatments allow the patient to regain a positive image of their body. They represent the first step towards social reintegration.”
1. The salon has benefited, in particular, from the “Beauty for a better life” prize from the L’Oréal Foundation, a prize from the GMF, a subsidy from the town hall of Nice, support from the Kennedy Coiffure salons, donations collected during a golf competition organized by JC Pellegrino and Nice Energies…
2. If you wish to make a donation, you can write to the association by email: asso.esthetisoins@ gmail.com
“Helping patients achieve well-being”
Cyndie Imami, socio-hairdresser
At the salon, Cyndie does her hair for many hair loss patients. “My role is to help them become familiar with hair prostheses. I can also help them maintain hair regrowth. Through my care, I try not to make the disease visible to others. The socio-coiffure helps the patient to reclaim his body and promotes the healing process. »
Prescilla Eccles, socio-esthéticienne
On the aesthetic side, Prescilla uses care to relieve the undesirable effects of treatments. “Some medications dry out the skin and loosen the nails. I try to soothe the pain with manicures or massages. Sometimes it’s just a pat on the hand. The idea is that the patient rediscovers the notion of pleasure and soothes the suffering that the body may have endured. »
“At the salon, he is no longer a patient”
Since November, Serge, victim of a stroke, comes to have his hair and shave at the salon of the MPR service. A parenthesis for him and his wife Brigitte, who accompanies him to each appointment. ” My husband always took care of himself, he regularly went to the beautician and the hairdresser, relate-t-elle.Since his accident, he has suffered from his image, he no longer recognizes himself and he feels diminished by his accident. At the salon, he is no longer a patient. » And to add that her place as a “helping” woman is not always obvious in the hospital universe. “Serge can no longer speak, so I am very often at his side. But, at the hospital, you never know if you are too present or if you are not doing enough. The role of the loved one is often forgotten in history. » In the living room, Brigitte relaxes for a few moments. “It does me good to see Serge relaxed. It calms me down too. »
