Eklà Beauté: Your Getaway Beauty Salon

On October 1st, I was invited to the soft opening of a new hair salon called “Eklà Beauté” located on Rue Rebecca. Stepping inside the small salon, I was greeted by a calm and relaxing music, along with a soothing and zen decor: wooden furniture and accent pieces, candles, and Buddha heads, designed by owner Christina Fils-Aimé. I was instantly filled with an overwhelming peaceful sensation, which I thought was very odd for a hair salon.

But that was exactly her goal. To create a small place where her clients can leave their worries and workload outside while getting pampered. A place where her clients can be fully attended to without being rushed and without the crowdedness of typical hair salons. A place that works by appointment only because one on one is extremely important. “I want it to be 100% about my clients. I want them to walk out feeling good about themselves and with a smile on their faces. That’s what I enjoy most of my job, to be able to put a smile on my clients’ faces”. 

For us women, getting our hair and nails done is a weekly obligation. Be it to get a wash and blow dry, a hair coloring, or simply a mani-pedi, us women spend a minimum of 2 hours getting dolled-up at the hair salon on week-ends. Needless to say that hair salons have become a meeting point, or better yet a social encounter where the latest gossips travel under the boisterous sound of hair dryers.

If you are looking to escape the cacophony of hair salons, then Eklà Beauté is the “getaway” salon for you. While her specialty is hair coloring and hair treatment, Tina also offers various other salon services such as blow dries, hairdos, mani-pedi, and makeup with also a selection of hair products available for sale.

Christina, “Tina” left Haiti at the age of 18 and moved to New York. There, she became a hair colorist and makeup artist and worked in many hair salons before eventually working for Kérastase and L’Oréal. At 30 years old, she moved back to Haiti and left the hair and makeup business. However her love for fashion and hair care pushed her to go back to the hair business. “Everybody has their own beauty, and as long as I can bring that out for them, to me is priceless.”

Eklà Beauté is open Monday-Saturday from 8AM-5PM by appointments only. To get your special treatment, call 4700-1212.

Haiti Needs You

On Friday I had the opportunity to fly to Jeremie, one of the many towns that was severely hit by hurricane Matthew. I got to see for myself what remains of this town after the passage of Matthew and for as much as I try to share my quick visit there, words fall short to describe what I saw.

It was as if the angel of desolation had passed through the town. Houses, schools and hospitals are completely destroyed, plantations are devasted, and what’s left of the roads are covered in sludge and full of debris. In other words, the town is entirely washed out.

I am not going to fill this article with heart wrenching pictures and videos nor am I going to continue describing the desolate state in which these people are left. I am however, going to ask for each and every one of your help. The storm may have passed but tough times are only beginning. Thousands of people were left homeless and infections and contaminations are just starting. While many charitable organizations, NGOs, and foreign aids are collecting donations and are preparing relief missions to help the affected areas, I strongly suggest to do research before donating to the organization of your choice. Jeremie is only one of the towns that was harshly affected. Let’s not forget Les Cayes, Aquin, Port-Salut, Miragoanes, Anse d’Hainault, Dame-Marie, île à Vache to name just a few. A little bit can do so much and during these harsh times, let us keep in mind our nation’s motto: “l’union fait la force“.

Sow a Seed organization preparing hurricane relief mission for the South

Fondation Rose et Blanc giving out shelters to the South

Haiti is a country that has suffered enough. From a devastating earthquake, to numerous hurricanes and flooding, to dangerous and unstable political turmoils, the Haitian people always manage to come through and overcome these hard times by always holding on to one thing: faith.