While beauty standards vary, those of Eastern European countries stand out – designer clothing, perfectly manicured hands, sleek hair, and makeup that looks like it has come straight from the red carpet. The high level of beauty standards is felt deeply in the culture of the people of Ukraine. Beauty is a form of self-expression – a way to show the world the way Ukrainians feel on the inside. But, when Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February, salons closed throughout the country, and beauty maintenance stopped being a priority. In its place came terror, death, missile launches, and a refugee crisis that has caused over six million people to flee Ukraine. The number includes beauty industry workers, which Ukraine refers to as beauty "masters" who have sought refuge in countries throughout Europe and the UK in recent months.
After processing the realities of the war in Ukraine, and gaining some stability in a foreign country, dozens of beauty masters have begun to once again offer their services, using Facebook, Instagram, and the encrypted messaging app, Telegram, to find new clients and carry on the work that they are passionate about. The masters operate in stores, studios, and from their homes, working with locals and Ukrainian refugees, hoping to help the latter attain some normality and comfort, something they can control and look forward to after fleeing the grasp of the Russian invasion.
They are also working to develop a sense of security and job comfort in a foreign country. The masters use their creative outlet in their work to build bonds with new clients and feel good about themselves in the process. The masters work to bring Ukraine's high beauty standards to the communities around them, which they say go above and beyond the means of some, and Ukrainian women will always look their best, despite the circumstances surrounding them.
Getting one's eyebrows done can change a face's entire appearance. From straying away unwanted hair to lifting the brow line entirely, threading, waxing, or micro-needling eyebrows has long been a staple in many people's beauty process. However, the quality of eyebrow beauty services can change drastically depending on the person and the beauty master they have trusted in the process. In Ukraine, many women have perfectly shaped, natural-appearing eyebrows, and the term "the eyes are the window to the soul" reigns true in their brows, which seemingly never have a hair out of place.
Many clients build a close relationship with the eyebrow and lashes master they regularly visit in the process. Reflecting on her past relationships with clients, Oleksandra Vikhliaieva, a Ukrainian eyebrow master, said she had "Very close relationships with clients, many of which grew into friendships. Usually, when clients came to me for procedures, we talked, drank coffee…for a Ukrainian girl, it is important not only to receive a beauty service, but also to experience positive emotions, laugh, feel her beauty and become more self-confident, I tried to give this to everyone."
But Vikhliaieva's life changed drastically at 5 am on 24 February, when she was awoken at her apartment in Kyiv, Ukraine's capital, to the sound of explosions and a loud siren, signalling that Russia had invaded Ukraine. In the immediate aftermath of the invasion, Vikhliaieva felt afraid for the safety of her three daughters, ranging from three to twelve years old, and for of herself and her husband. The family sheltered in their basement, where Vikhliaieva said it was "cold, scary, the children were crying," and she was fearful she would lose her children to the war.
"We didn't understand at all what to do because it was scary to stay at home, and it was even scarier to leave Kyiv in an unknown direction," said Vikhliaieva.
However, two weeks after the war began, Vikhliaieva, her husband, and their children decided to flee Ukraine. First, they travelled to the Polish and Ukrainian border, leaving behind their entire lives and entering a new and foreign country. The family lived in Kraków, a city that is a 12-hour train that offered a fleeting place of refuge and recovery – Vikhliaieva and her family only lived in Poland for a few weeks before housing became harder to find and rent became more expensive.
In an attempt to find somewhere safe with accommodations for refugees, Vikhliaieva and her family fled to Berlin, Germany, where they received aid from the German government. Still, they felt uncertain living in a country far different from Ukraine, with an unfamiliar language that might make it harder for the young daughters to adapt. With one last attempt, Vikhliaieva and her husband decided to make a third trip to relocate – the family moved to London in early April, taking advantage of the Homes for Ukraine visa scheme, which lets citizens of the UK host Ukrainian refugees.
Vikhliaieva said that the decisive factor in moving to the UK was "the knowledge of the English language at an intermediate level" and that it helped them adapt to life in London. The family arrived in London on April 8, and after Vikhliaieva enrolled her daughters in school, she began to look for a job, which, according to the mother, was not a challenging task.
"The beauty industry in the UK is in demand as in Ukraine. I found a job in a beauty salon not far from my home," said Vikhliaieva.
The salon is in Kingston Upon Thames, and since she was hired, Vikhliaieva has begun to perform the services that are so familiar to her and that she is passionate about. Vikhliaieva does eyebrow shaping and colouring, lash lifts, eyebrow lamination, and permanent eyebrow makeup for clients each day, in addition to travelling to the home of others. Her family lives in a sponsor's home but must move out in October. Vikhliaieva said that she has adapted to life in London because she had "No choice not to adapt. We went to the UK realising that our life would start from scratch."
"Of course, this is not easy; we have to readjust, study local laws, rules, customs, speech patterns, and people's behaviour, and much more to better understand the culture and feel comfortable. During [this] half a year, we got used to our new life, many things became clear and not as complicated as it seemed at first glance. But of course, any change takes time," said Vikhliaieva.
Now that the family is settled, Vikhliaieva said that while she misses Ukraine, her parents, relatives, and everyone else who chose to stay. However, she has no plans of returning home until the war is over and said, "The children have just got used to school. It is difficult for them to take them back and forth. It is not safe in Ukraine. We will wait for the end of the war."
For Halina Stepansova, a professional makeup stylist from Kharkov in Northeast Ukraine, work was a constant stream of styling for fashion brands, magazines, and films. Stepansova had worked in the beauty industry for over ten years and was in high demand throughout Ukraine. However, when the war started, Stepansova's work completely halted, and the reality that war was real became impossible to hide from. Stepansova recalls that "the first few days of the war was very, very scary, and it was impossible to believe it: this is really happening. I was afraid for the life of my family and friends, and every day, it got worse."
"The first time a fighter jet flew over my head, I thought it was the end. It was psychologically unbearable. It was getting harder and harder to get food. The explosions were getting closer and more frequent," she added.
Just eight days after the war began, Stepansova decided to leave Ukraine as soon as she could. So at six in the morning, Stepansova packed a suitcase, and her cat, who she had to hand over to a friend who chose to stay in Ukraine and left to wait for an evacuation train at the Kharkov station to take her to Berlin, Germany. Stepansova, who was fleeing Ukraine with a friend, said that she spent the entire day and night at the train station, waiting for a train with no timetable or tickets in the cold air. When the train did arrive late on March 3, the station went into a panic, and people began "pushing everyone away, [trying] to get in. We drove for 19 hours, sitting and standing in the aisles, sitting on our own suitcases. It was terrible."
Germany has been a source of safety for Ukrainian refugees since the war began. Many have fled to Berlin, the country's capital, which offers services such as monthly stipends, access to health insurance, as help applying for a residence permit for all war refugees who have sought refuge in the city and offered Stepansova a chance to seek refuge, while also continuing her work in the fashion and film industries.
Two weeks after fleeing her home, Stepansova began to receive job offers from former clients she had in Ukraine. But, following Germany's guidelines for working as a refugee, Stepansova could not start legally working until two months after she arrived. While preparing to start working, Stepansova said she had no makeup or tools because they had all been left in Ukraine. However, a makeup salon in Berlin gave Stepansova a "large box of testers, and I was able to somehow start doing what I love so much," meaning makeup. Now, Stepansova has received work in Berlin. Some of her clients include well-known fashion brands, like Flaconi, and make-up for Berlin Fashion week. The beauty master also recently did makeup for Michal Herzog, the wife of Isaac Herzog, the president of Israel, what she said is her "most memorable work."
Now, seven months later, Stepansova has remained in high demand and often discusses with her Ukrainian clients the beauty industry and how their lives have changed since arriving in Berlin. They discuss the war and how to process their "new reality" of being refugees of a war that has upended their lives. But, Stepansova has found some comfort in her work in Berlin and says that regardless of being refugees, "Ukrainian girls love to take care of themselves, and as life has shown, no extreme conditions can stop us from doing beauty procedures."
"The war and the whole situation in Ukraine made me understand that I need to use every minute of my life to the maximum. Now I have big plans for my career, and I am sure I will succeed," said Stepansova.
"It is impossible to live in peace while there is war in my country. My heart hurts every day for my Ukraine. I hope the war ends soon," she added.
Often refugees have driven from Ukraine, through neighbouring Moldova, and into Romania, where the country has become a temporary home for over 86,000 Ukrainians. The trip takes hours; some drive straight through with no breaks, with young children, and without knowing anyone in the country.
Many refugees have chosen Bucharest to set up their new lives, one of which is Lesyka Khairutdinova, a nail technician from Makarov, a city 50 km from Kyiv, Ukraine's capital. Khairutdinova had her own beauty salon in Kyiv before the war and employed hairdressers, manicurists, cosmetologists, and massage therapists. Khairutdinova said that she "became very good friends with my clients, many of whom I still maintain relationships with." But when the war started, Khairutdinova said she was forced to stop working entirely and, in her town, there were "terrible battles" and "explosions."
To protect herself and her two children, Khairutdinova hid in the basement of her house, sheltering from Russia's constant attack, until she was forced to evacuate her town on 10 March. From there, Khairutdinova was forced to move to Western Ukraine, where she was housed by the family of one of her regular clients, before making the decision to flee Ukraine with her children in May. The family took a train from Western Ukraine to Bucharest, Romania, where Khairutdinova did not know anyone or had any plans for making money. Khairutdinova decided to open up a nail salon in her home that she said: "Is work for the soul, it is an income when there are no other options." However, so far, Khairutdinova has been able to make enough money to support her family each month and is in high demand because she said that her work reaches a higher standard than her Romanian counterparts, who do not sharpen their manicure tools.
"Since the tool for trimming the cuticle is dull and does not sharpen anywhere, the cuticle will not cut evenly, and there will be scratches around the nail. Ukrainian masters apply varnish evenly and under the cuticle, lifting it using a special technology. Ukrainian women apply gel that is worn three weeks a month, without chipping or flaking," said Khairutdinova.
For the most part, Khairutdinova's clients are fellow Ukrainian women who are also refugees of Russia's invasion. Khairutdinova said that while fleeing war and moving families to an entirely different country, for the most part, her clients kept their nails intact. But often, while Khairutdinova does a client's nails, they confide in her and tell her some of their experiences fleeing the war.
"A client told [me] how she decided to flee with her mother and two-year-old daughter from occupied Kherson. On the road between cities, which used to take 40 minutes, she spent four hours, [and] told how [Russian] soldiers set up a human shield and Ukrainian soldiers could not defend themselves," said Khairutdinova.
"Some simply left the war, leaving behind housing. Some had no apartments left intact. And some had Russian soldiers living there. I understand that they are telling me the truth. In such cases, I feel like a psychotherapist rather than a craftsman because I understand that someone came to share and somehow distract [themselves] from the horror that is unlikely to fade with time," said Khairutdinova.
Now, Khairutdinova has plans to open her own business in Bucharest. She hopes to offer courses in beauty for Ukrainian women who are hoping to get jobs in Romania and to help Romanian beauty industry workers reach a higher quality of their work. Khairutdinova also said that she is busier now than she was in Ukraine because "Most Ukrainian women try to take care of their beauty and appearance," regardless of the war.
"It is probably not for nothing that they say that Ukrainian women are the most beautiful women in the world. Regardless of beauty and fragility, Ukrainian women can be strong and courageous, especially if it concerns the safety of their family or child," she added.
For a full list of charities and organisations that you can donate to, head to the Ukrainian Institute London.
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