Northern Irish “dementia-friendly” barber travels to care homes to pamper patients

Lenny White from Northern Ireland wants to make his customers feel cared for

Lenny White, a barber from Northern Ireland, has made it his mission to deliver the best care to dementia and Alzheimer’s patients.

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As a trained barber, White travels to some 55 nursing homes in Northern Ireland where he hosts ‘pop up’ barbershops for the patients.

Today I was back to where it all began. Edgewater Lodge care home where I worked as a kitchen porter 20 years ago. It was here that really inspired me to do what I'm doing today

Four Seasons Health Care pic.twitter.com/zxthZJOjao

— Lenny the dementia friendly barber (@dementiabarber) January 14, 2019

White only received his barber training in 2016 after a training course caught his eye. At the time, he was deep in thought as to what he should do with his life.

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Drawing on his previous experience as a member of the kitchen staff in a local nursing home, White knew he wanted to do something special for the elderly patients that lived in such homes.

After he began his project, White coordinated with the Alzheimer’s Association, who offered to provide training on how to deal with patients suffering from the disease.

“I'll maybe turn the music down,” White says, “I’ll talk to them quietly. I'll bend down to their eye level, [and] I will say, ‘This is Lenny, I'm a barber. I'm here to cut your hair.’”

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“I will show them my tools, and then touch is very important — that seems to settle them. I'll maybe even hold their hand while I'm shaving them with the other hand.”

White took his talents stateside this month, and News 12 New Jersey caught up with him when he visited a care home in Montville, NJ.

"I will try to make it a relaxed atmosphere for the men,” White said. “These guys can sometimes be agitated and feeling quite low, so my job is to make them feel good, but also to make them look good.”

Going the extra mile, White likes to decorate the room he’s using with a barbershop pole and always plays music, often classics and ‘oldies,’ for his clients.

“I give them a good haircut - Do their eyebrows, their ears, their nose hair and really have a good chat with these men to get them to open up and really enjoy the experience,” says White.

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Check out News12 New Jersey covering Lenny White and his heartwarming mission:

You can learn more about Lenny White on his website, or follow him on Facebook and Twitter!