L’Oréal opens its second community salon in Milan
Near the Central Station, within Hub 126 – a centre run by the Fondazione Progetto Arca – which supports vulnerable women
One year on from the opening of the first ‘Beauty for a Better Life’ Social Salon at the Enzo Jannacci Welcome Centre run by the City of Milan, L’Oréal is expanding the project by opening a second Social Salon, near the Central Station within Hub 126 – a centre run by the Fondazione Progetto Arca at 126 Via Sammartini in Milan, which provides support, care and guidance to vulnerable people in the local area – aimed at vulnerable women.
The project was set up with the aim of creating shared value in a place where beauty becomes a tool for empowerment and social change. These salons offer a welcoming and supportive space for people facing difficult circumstances, who can avail themselves of free haircuts and styling services and receive essential personal hygiene and beauty products.
Hub 126 occupies 336 square metres provided by the City of Milan and managed by the Fondazione Progetto Arca. Inside, there is a charity shop where people in financial difficulty can shop for free, and a charity clothing bank where they can find clothes, shoes and accessories. Initially opened as a reception centre for Ukrainian refugees, run in collaboration with the Civil Protection Agency, Hub 126 has become a centre dedicated to supporting vulnerable and homeless people, as well as families facing financial hardship.
In the space of a year, the Casa Jannacci salon has already carried out over 1,000 treatments, serving 700 people, and has donated 2,500 essential hygiene and beauty products. L’Oréal Italia, through Hub 126, aims to offer a further 150 haircuts, colour treatments and styling sessions over the next 12 months.
Treatments at Hub 126 will be carried out twice a month – by appointment arranged by the centre’s staff – by highly qualified professionals, who have been trained at the L’Oréal Italia Beauty HUB in Milan by the training team of L’Oréal’s Professional Products Division on the use of L’Oréal Professionnel products and accessories – the professional brand for hair colouring, treatment and styling. In addition, they have also received socio-aesthetic training from the L’Oréal Foundation. The training programmes developed by the L’Oréal Foundation aim to train professionals who are able to combine technical expertise with the ability to understand and address the specific needs of vulnerable people. The aim is to help people regain their self-esteem, develop self-confidence and improve their well-being.
