Come for haircut at Wilmington barbershop, stay for health advice

In between talking sports and weekend plans, Derrick Reed's client confessed a secret. 

A few weeks ago, a former fling accused the man of giving her a sexually transmitted disease. He told his barber he wasn't sure what to do. 

"We got to get that checked out right now," replied Reed, owner of His Image Barber Lounge in Wilmington. "And we have condoms, too."

Reed showed his client the basket of gold-wrapped Magnum condoms in the back of the shop, right next to the sink and cologne bottles. He also told the client where he can get screened for an STD. 

This is not a unique experience for Reed, and he now considers these conversations as a part of his job description. Many black barbers and beauticians in Wilmington do, too. They do more that style hair — they're health counselors. 

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Barber shop and beauty salon owners have a finger on the pulse of the black community and have become an influential voice to clients about having safe sex and getting necessary health screenings. 

"We’re going to give you the real. Uncut," Reed said. "Some politically correct and some not politically correct. And we’re able to bring up these topics.

"That’s the beauty of the barbershop. We know what people are really saying and what they really think.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has found that enlisting the help of "popular opinion leaders," or people who have clout in their community, has been an effective tool when educating the public about HIV prevention and addressing misconceptions about the disease. 

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Studies by the North Carolina BEAUTY and Health Project, run by researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Public Health, have found that beauty salons are an effective way to inform African American women about health disparities since they regularly attend their salon and their visits can last a couple of hours. 

Reed's barbershop has worked with AIDS Delaware for almost 10 years. Frank Hawkins, director of advocacy and community engagement, routinely drops off condoms and brochures about HIV.

He started the program, called Do The Right Thing For Life, in 2000 because the Delaware organization wanted to engage the African American community in a different way. In 2015, there were 3,477 people living with HIV/AIDS in Delaware, according to the state health department. Almost 60 percent of those people were black.

For the 32 barbershop and beauty salons that are part of the program, Hawkins drops off a plastic grocery bag filled with Magnum condoms — a brand people have told him they prefer — and brochures about once a month. He’ll also talk to the owners about the disease and will occasionally hold educational forums.

At one time, AIDS Delaware conducted HIV testing in the salons and barbershops.

The organization doesn’t give the barbers or beauticians a script or talking points. Hawkins wants the conversation to be as organic as possible.

It is difficult to measure how successful these programs are in influencing healthy behavior. Hawkins typically relies on how frequently he refills the businesses' condom basket and the anecdotes from its owners to assure himself the program is getting traction.

He's not alone in having trouble tracking effectiveness.

The Division of Public Health's Screening for Life Program, which offers free cancer screenings for eligible Delawareans, started working with 45 beauty salons throughout the state this summer. The state gave the salons floor mats, banners and other materials from its Love Yourself campaign, focusing on breast and cervical cancer education.

Lisa Henry, division of public health's chronic disease bureau chief, said the Love Yourself promotional information included a unique website and phone number, which helps the state track how effective the materials are in beauty salons. 

From July to September, the state program didn't get any responses, she said.

It is possible women saw this information and contacted Screening for Life or another organization in a different way, Henry said. It could have even reminded them to bring up screenings with their doctor. 

The state will try again in January, with the hopes of getting a better response.

The program is constantly looking and changing how it sends out its messaging to make sure it's done in the most effective way, she said. 

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Joyce Woodlen, owner of Joyce Hair Boutique in Wilmington, said she never thought her beauty salon would take on the role of health educator. Like Reed, she has a basket of condoms for her clients. She’s noticed older women often take a couple for their children or grandchildren.

In the 30 years of owning her business, she’s come to realize the cultural role these salons have and how owners have an opportunity to help their clients in ways other than looking good.

“People are always talking, always talking,” she said. “We have a chance to help a lot of people. They listen to us. For some reason they listen to us, they look up to us in a bit. They might listen to us more.”

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Jo Lavette Pressey, owner of Salon Ollae in Wilmington, said beauty salons don’t have the same stigmas that influential institutions, like churches, can have. Women don’t have to be careful of what they’re saying when they’re in the salon, she said. 

“You be surprised the conversations we have, it can go from A to Z,” she said. “If we can’t start it here in a beauty salon, where else can a person in a community go?”

Pressey was one of the first beauty salon owners to work with AIDS Delaware in 2000. She agreed to have Hawkins run safe sex seminars after learning a friend’s niece was diagnosed with HIV.

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If it could happen to that girl, it could happen to one of her clients, Pressey remembers thinking at the time.

In recent years, Pressey has talked to her clients about changes women face when going through menopause. The owner said most of her clients didn’t know how their bodies change during this period, especially the anxiety and depression that can come with it.

She also encourages her clients to maintain a healthy diet, since high blood pressure and diabetes can be life-threatening health issues. Pressey, who has lost 50 pounds since 2012, hopes she can serve as a role model for how her clients can take control of their health.

“If I have to be the person to help a person change and protect them, then I’ll do it.”

Contact Meredith Newman at (302) 324-2386 or at mnewman@delawareonline.com. Follow her on Twitter at @merenewman.