Salon donating 100% of takings to 'directly help Ukrainian families in Cork' on charity day

Need a haircut or a blowdry? On April 25, the price of either service will be donated to a very worthy cause

Daria Borshch is a Ukrainian hairdresser with Carbon Hair Design, South Mall

There’s a famous quote about war that says: ‘War brings out the worst and the best in people. Wars do not make men great, but they do bring out the greatness in good men.’ Certainly, this can be said of the owners of Carbon hair salon in Cork city center who have gone above and beyond to help in their own way.

It started when Daria Borshch, a Ukrainian hairdresser who recently arrived in Ireland after fleeing the war, applied for a job at the South Mall salon.

“We were looking for staff for a very long time,” salon co-owner Andy Cronin says, adding they were delighted to take the stylist on. “But she was commuting from Killarney, where she was being housed. So we found her an apartment in Cork city.

“We called in some favours with clients we know who work in property,” he says. 

People were more than happy to help out.

With the help of their clients, the Carbon team secured an apartment just a five-minute walk from the salon.

“It’s a lot better than having to get up at 5am to get to work – which is what she was doing.” 

Now, the salon is hoping to help even more Ukrainians with a special charity fundraiser on Monday, April 25.

On the day, the salon will be offering blow dries and haircuts only, with 100% of salon takings going to help Ukrainian families in Cork. 

Mr Cronin says the funds raised will go towards "school books, Santa presents, clothing, helping with deposits for housing etc. We don’t have a charity picked yet but 100% of the funds raised will be going directly to help Ukrainian families in Cork.”

The Carbon team pictured in December. They have since been joined by Ukrainian har stylist Daria Borshch and will be donating their takings on April 25 to support those displaced from Ukraine due to the war.

Daria will also be doing haircuts on the day to help spread awareness and help other Ukrainians.

“I’m grateful for the kindness and support of all the Irish people. I’m looking forward to doing haircuts on the charity day to help spread awareness and help other Ukrainians,” she says.

The salon's neighbour, The Asylum Barbershop, will also be in the salon on the day offering fresh fades and men's grooming. Again, 100% of the cost of a cut or style will go towards helping those affected by the Ukrainian war.

The salon is also accepting donations from now until their fundraising day for anyone who wants to help – and Andy says plenty of clients are donating already.

If you want to book a cut or style on the day, you can call the salon directly on [phone], or send them a message via their social media pages, @carbonhairdesign on Instagram and Facebook. You don’t need to be a client of the salon to book in on the day.