This is how salons in Portsmouth, Gosport and Havant are raising mental health awareness

#BeKind has trended on Twitter in the fortnight after news broke that the 40-year-old took her own life on Saturday, February 15.

She had stepped down from ITV2 dating show Love Island after an alleged assault on her boyfriend, Lewis Burton.

During a court hearing in December she pleaded not guilty and a trial was set for March.

Salons up and down the country started a campaign to ditch the gossip magazines regularly found in beauty establishments for those enjoying a treatment to flick through.

Businesses across Portsmouth, Fareham, Havant and Gosport have joined in and want to spread positive messages for their customers.

On the High Street in Old Portsmouth, the team at The Beauty Retreat is following its own slogan and making sure the salon is a ‘place to escape’.

Staff member Lucy Elliott-Hunt said: ‘When you come to our salon it is about feeling positive and getting pampered but gossip magazines go against that positivity.

‘We have replaced them with lifestyle magazines and books as well so instead of reading negative and shaming articles, people can pick up a new recipe or enjoy a new book.’

The 34-year-old added: ‘Mental health is a topic that is very close to all our hearts in the salon and so we think it is so important that people talk about it and our salon is a relaxing environment.’

Tania Collins runs Tania Collins Hair salon in Havant and chose to replace the gossip magazines with lifestyle features.

The 36-year-old said: ‘People come to the salon to get pampered and feel better about themselves.

‘Reading about body shaming is not positive and it seemed the right thing to do after Caroline Flack’s death.

‘I also think that everyone is different and it is unhealthy for people to be compared.’

Stereotypically hairdressers and beauticians are known for being ‘part-time therapists’ as customers open up during their treatments but Tania says it is true.

Tania, who opened her business in August last year, added: ‘For me I am the only hairdresser in the salon so when clients come along to get their hair done, it is just me and them and people do open up and talk about their lives.

‘Iit is so important to get things off your chest and it can help you to feel better about a situation.’

The Gentry, a barbershop in Bridgemary in Gosport, also removed all magazines the team considered to be negative and is hosting an event to raise cash for mental health charity Mind.

Shop manager Julie James told The News: ‘I think those types of magazines tend to drag people down rather than build people up and that is a very negative message.

‘Our main customer base is men so we don’t have too many gossip magazines but I think social media is a really big problem as well because people can be really cruel but they don’t think about their actions

‘We have younger boys who come in and want to get the latest trim so they can take a photo for social media.

‘But you just want to say to them that they are perfect as they are and they can have whatever haircut they want not what they think everyone else will say looks cool.’

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The barbershop is hosting a Men’s Minds Matter event on April 26 for the first time and all donations for treatments will go to Mind.

Barber Ashley Caisley has experienced anxiety and depression himself and is keen to make sure other men know they are not alone.

The 28-year-old from Gosport said: ‘I think when people come in and get their hair done, they do open up about problems and we see it day in and day out.

‘We wanted to put an event on to show that it is important to talk and that the shop is a safe place to do that. The team has also done some mental health training so we can spot warning signs and hopefully help people.’

There will also be a raffle at the event with a chance to win a bike, go-karting experience and a gym membership among other prizes.

Julie added: ‘When people come in and tell us about their issues, it stays with us and I think men in particular find it hard to open up about family pressures. I have friends who have lost sons to suicide and it shows you that it does and can affect everyone.’

Ashley added: ‘If we help just one person then that would be amazing.’

The event will be held at The Gentry, Gregson Avenue, PO13 0UR on Sunday April 26 between 10am and 2pm.

For information on Mind or to contact the charity call 0300 123 3393 or [email protected]