GULF SHORES, Ala. — Newly divorced and broke, with a job that brought her from Florida to Gulf Shores and “did not come into effect fast enough” to support her and her two children, Kristie Barba had every right to feel sorry for herself.

She also had every right to be angry.

Instead, Barba began volunteering, using her skills as a beautician to make other women feel better.

“I would volunteer at Mary’s Shelter and the Home of Grace, giving services to women before they left,” Barba said. The color and cut helped the women feel good about themselves as they stepped back into the world, and Barba began to feel better, too.

“I gave out of my need,” Barba said.

As word of her skill spread, she was able to open a salon of her own, earning enough for her to support her family.

But, she did not forget the needs that brought her some measure of security. She went with her church, Christian Life in Orange Beach, on a mission trip to Bolivia.

“I did hair,” said Barba. While it does not seem that hair would be the first priority of people who have very little, taking care of the scalp is important for health reasons.

“We would have the kids lined up,” recalled Barba. “We would really have to shave heads.” Shaving was necessary to rid their scalps of lice.

Tables were also set up so the women could receive a manicure.

“The idea was to make them feel good,” she said.

The people the church served were called “squatters,” and they often were in slums because they had been raped or their partners abandoned them when they became pregnant.

“We were doing outreach to draw them to our school and church,” Barba said.

The missionaries were able to provide toothbrushes and food. On later trips they offered medical exams, and eventually a bakery was built so the women could earn money for themselves.

“I realized that I could not work for corporate America anymore,” said Barba. “I wanted to be a vessel and reach out to other people.”

That led to the M:25 salon in the Pelican Place shopping center in Gulf Shores. The salon’s name comes from Matthew 25, a Bible passage which tells the story of the master who gave his servants talents, a measure of money.

The servants who invested the talents earned more money and were praised. The servant who hid his talents in the ground was condemned.

While there is a price list for services in the salon that Barba says is based on prices at other area salons, the fees are “sliding.” All tips received by the stylists at the salon go to support a rotating list of charities.

“If someone’s hours have been cut, they can go to the lower end of the scale,” said Barba, adding that such cases have to be discussed with the salon staff first.

“I’ve got my needs met, not my greed,” said Barba. “Everybody has a gift or a talent. Mine is hair.”

And the salon makes room for those who wish to go on missions themselves. One of the stylists, Stephanie Topilnicki, will be leaving this month on a year-long mission trip to Mozambique to do hair and help found a hairdressing school.

The salon is also a drop-off point for various charitable donations. Barba passes along the items to the charities.

And while there is a religious element to the salon’s work, Barba says the message is not “in your face.”

“We just want people to know there is a loving God who loves you,” she said.