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Sex education in the salon chair? It's a thing

Chlamydia and Gonorrhea are both on the rise in the City of St. Louis. According to the Centers for Disease Control, last year alone there were more than 22,000 cases of those two STD’s.  

Some beauty salons and barbershops in St. Louis are taking on more than just hair. Stylists are also teaching sex education and even handing out free condoms.

At the Goal Line Barber and Beauty Barbershop, one thing you won’t find on its menu of services is counseling about STD’s and STI’s.

"Well, we all like family here,” stylist Melanie Mclaughlin said.

It’s a family environment, so talking about relationships is pretty natural. But how the conversation starts is always a little bit different.

"It just depends on the vibe, what's going, whose around,” explained Goal Line owner, Cordell Edwards.
Goal Line, located on Vandeventer Avenue, is one of 11 businesses taking part in the “Fade Out” program together with the Health Department.

“When she came in to give us the proper information, we were like, ‘okay, we're going to give that to our community,’” Edwards said.

"We have conversations about it and instead of just saying what we’ve heard, we've had the classes and the knowledge so we can give them the facts,” explained Precious Styles, a stylist and cosmetologist at Goal Line.

Chlamydia and Gonorrhea are both on the rise in the City of St. Louis. According to the Centers for Disease Control, last year alone there were more than 22,000 cases of those two STD’s.

The St. Louis Health Department is taking a close look at the areas with the highest numbers of STD’s. It’s partnering with businesses in those areas. And those businesses are handing out free condoms and hosting STD testing.

“You need to know your status because the people that don’t know their status are the people that are spreading it around,” said Jonathan Hillman, a barber and stylist at Goal Line.

The Health Department said the Fade Out program is a way to stay ahead of the STD/STI trends.
“We're trying to save lives in our community,” Edwards said.

The Health Department said it’s already recruiting other businesses to the program.

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