Women's Barbershop Wins Award in Tenerife After 13 Years of Overcoming Barriers

In Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain, barber Laura Morales recently won the title of "Best Barbershop in Tenerife." The recognition was awarded by the prizes organized by the Commerce of Tenerife and the Association of Hairdressers and Barbers of the Canary Islands (Aspebecan), with the support of the Cabildo de Tenerife. For those working in the industry, the professional's journey is an example of resilience in a field historically dominated by men.

Morales opened her first establishment in 2014, at age 24, alone and in a space of only 17 square meters. At the time, she knew only one other female barber on the island. Today, her team consists of six employees, all male, although her dream has always been to have a team composed of women. She admits that finding qualified female professionals has been difficult.

The choice of the company name was strategic to overcome initial resistance. Morales reports that she discarded the name "Barbearia Laura" because she feared that male clients would not enter knowing that a woman would be cutting their hair. Thus, she opted to use her surname as the commercial identity. She remembers hearing the phrase: "No, I don't want a woman," in the early years of work.

Despite the award and accumulated experience, prejudices have not completely disappeared. The barber states that there are still clients who hesitate to be served by her, although the number has decreased. Additionally, she faces challenges related to professional boundaries, such as personal messages received on the store's phone, where some clients confuse courtesy with intimacy.

To deal with these situations, Morales says she developed an emotional "armor," even if it came at the cost of losing some clients over time. As a businesswoman, she also highlights the importance of keeping her entire team hired according to the law and participates in sector initiatives to defend compliance with labor obligations.

The professional emphasizes that maintaining a business has become increasingly challenging due to costs and fees. For her, pride lies not only in the award but in creating formal jobs. Her journey is summarized by persistence: "Many times you get down and want to give up everything. But we keep going."