Beauty is of paramount importance to the residents of Sint Willebrord. They particularly excel in grooming. It is not without reason that most hair salons and nail studios in Brabant can be found in the church village. With no fewer than 84 hairdressers and 46 nail stylists, the municipality of Rucphen has been leading in Brabant for years.
To put it into perspective: according to the Chamber of Commerce, there are 36 hairdressers and 20 nail stylists per 10,000 inhabitants in the West Brabant municipality. Compared to villages of the same size, this is a third to a half more. And cities such as Breda and Eindhoven have to make do with only 17 hairdressers and about 6 nail salons per 10,000 inhabitants.
“We are not vain here, but we just want to look well-groomed,” says Zoë Buijsen of nail studio NailObsession in Sint Willebrord. The stylist is extremely busy. She now even has a customer stop. “I get calls every week but I just don’t have a place. I specialize in nail art and hand-painted nail decorations and that takes a lot of time.”
Mariëtte Suijkerbuijk from the My Hair hair salon in Sint Willebrord has no shortage of customers. “People don’t like to be inferior to each other here, most of them come by every week. They work hard but they also like to spend money to look good. Beautiful clothes, well-groomed hairstyles and nails. It is part of our identity and lifestyle because we are proud people here.”
Folk expert William van Peer in Sint Willebrord recognizes this emphasis on external care: “It has always been true here that you can be poor, but this does not mean that you have to look unkempt. My grandmother always said that you should make sure that you wear clean underwear because you never know when you’re going to have an accident.”
Mariëtte has to laugh: “Someone who looks unkempt here actually stands out. I’ll give that my business card.”
“I knew that there was a hair salon or nail studio on every street corner here,” says Zoë Buijsen. “But that is very normal for us. It was only when I was on maternity leave that I heard from my customers that they had nowhere to go because everyone was full. We are not competitors here, but colleagues. We always help each other.”
Mariette Suijkerbuijk: “We are enterprising people here and we like to tackle things. We also have plenty of work here. I’m even eager to have more hairdressers.”
Would you like to share your story about Sint Willebrord with us? Which can. Reporters Erik Peeters and Raoul Cartens and editor Robert te Veele will be in Sint Willebrord from Monday September 11 to Friday September 15. You are welcome in De Lanteern Community House. You can also email us at [email protected] or app us on 040-2949492