Stories from the Beauty Parlor

In our sixth episode, we take a trip to Istanbul and explore how women navigate their “aesthetic citizenship” and escalating economic crisis in one of the fastest-growing metropolises in the world. As the beauty industry continues to feed the neoliberal Turkish economy, learn about how the country’s insanely profitable beauty sector needed to be reframed to fit the traditional Islamic values of Er...

In this special live episode recorded at Podfest Berlin, we had the honor of learning from and with Charissa Chioccarelli, the iconic founder of isla berlin. Charissa’s trailblazing company not only revolutionized nail art but crafted a space where women could build, create, and connect in an alternative atmosphere outside of patriarchal restraints, beautifying Berlin in every sense of the word. W...

In this special podcast episode we take you on a journey to Kyiv and Bucharest, exploring what commitment to beauty means when your country is at war. The young journalists Mariia Krychevska and Ina Constantin from Ukraine and Romania invite us into hair salons that also act as bomb shelters and queer home salons in exile where mohawks and colourful nails are a way of fighting for freedom while ca...

Our Morocco episode takes us into the communal care world of hammams, a centuries old tradition. We get naked, bathed and scrubbed in the breath taking Atlas Mountains as well as the glitzy capital of Rabat. We explore topics like intergenerational care, female financial empowerment, Moroccan beauty secrets, and divorce. With insightful interviews from Meryem Naji and owner Fatima Zahra Faskhi of...

This is Stories from the Beauty Parlor, an intimate journey around the world, one beauty parlor at a time. Coming Spring 2025!

In this episode the team travels to Georgia, weaving local creatives’ narratives with the complex history of the country. We first meet Not-So-Virgin-Mari, one of Tbilisi’s drag artists, resisting the country’s escalating homophobia. In their classy, high-demand tattoo parlor, we then talk to Pito Seturi, an internationally known Georgian artist, who reflects on Russia’s interference in their demo...

In our debut episode, we visit Linda at Serpent Claws Salon in the Kosovo capital of Pristina, and Elvira at Beauty Line, located in a Bosnian village on the border of North Macedonia. In their respective salons, we learn more about the tension of and opportunities for advocating for change while retaining important cultural traditions. Our episode questions how migration plays a role in Kosovo, a...