Joyful Photos of Barbershops Across the Middle East

Photographer Tamara Abdul Hadi captures grooming rituals throughout the Middle East, documenting burgeoning trends driven by creative barbers and hair artists.

Hadi’s latest series, The People’s Salon, is an appreciation of personal style and self-expression. And though the photographer—who is a founding member of the RAWIYA collective, a co-operative of female photographers in the Middle East—is based primarily in Beirut, Lebanon, she also traveled to barbershops all over the Middle East to take these photos.

In Beirut, she went to Salon Al Raqui, which roughly translates to “Elegant Salon.” The owner is Abdel Atheem, who specializes in a beard trim and black-dye combination. He’s originally from Raqqa, Syria, and is displaced in Beirut.

She also shot Tamer Shehadeh, whose career as a hair artist also has its roots in the refugee crisis. The salon he owns, Salon Tamer in Ramallah, Palestine, began as a small shop in the Qalandia refugee camp and has grown into a much larger shop on a main street in the city. His specialties include facial treatments, gold masks, and waxes. He longs to expand Palestinian hairdressing worldwide.

Another subject Hadi photographed was Mohamad Bakir, who lives in the city of Gaza and runs Salon Rimal. Bakir inherited his barbershop from his father. Today, Salon Rimal grooms most of the city’s football players. Bakir also released a historical encyclopedia of hairdressing in Gaza in 2016.

Hadi gave VICE a first look at her new series, and it’s full of tender portraits of masculinity and personal grooming. Check out more shots below:

Check out more of Tamara Abdul Hadi’s work here.