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 Rabat’s Hammam Marassa as well as Ghizlane el Aouni, our third episode proves that caring for the self is about more than solitary retreats and solo face-masks, but rather a complex effort to connect ourselves to the women* in our lives who make our sense of community stronger.

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 democratic elections that gave power to the conservative Georgian Dream Party. As Tbilisi enters 115+ days of continuous protesting via art, activism, and a lot of mocking, we get a poignant picture of Georgia’s Soviet history, the authoritarian playbook, and how queer-led community organizing fights for power through beauty.

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, and what we can learn about being a woman* and becoming a wife through a 6-hour long make-up ritual.