KRAMATORSK, Ukraine, May 20, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Even with Russian bombs raining down on her town in eastern Ukraine, nothing will stop Olena Sologub from taking care of her appearance.

Her hometown of Kramatorsk lies less than 20 kilometres (12 miles) from advancing Russian troops, and is regularly hit by drones and missiles that have torn through buildings and left many dead and wounded.

But for Olena and other Ukrainians near the front, beauty offers an escape that prevents the war from engulfing their lives.

"We are now in a state where tomorrow may not come. Let me be beautiful, even if they find me under the rubble," the 50-year-old crane operator told AFP.

After Russia's invasion in 2022, which she described as a "kick in the teeth", Olena started getting Botox injections for wrinkles and permanent eyeliner to frame her eyes.

She entrusts 47-year-old beautician Ganna Zemliak with her face.

Zemliak said she had as many clients now as before the conflict, some of whom feel the war has made them age faster.

At the very beginning of the invasion, "everyone was stressed, of course" -- no one had time to pamper themselves.

"But then, gradually, people realised that life goes on, and that sitting around waiting for it all to end is pointless," she said.

"You have to go on with your life somehow."

- 'My body, my choice' -
Beauty salons are common in Ukraine, even near the front line, while cosmetic surgery clinics are also popular.

Kateryna Seledtsova, an energetic 33-year-old business owner, is a regular visitor.

She goes to the hairdresser once a month, and has a manicure, pedicure, and visits the beautician every three weeks.

Sometimes she gets Botox and lip injections.

"In short, very expensive. It's all very expensive," she joked.

"I have the right to do that. It's my body, my choice."

In some clinics, Botox injections cost around $50, a big amount in a region whose economy has been devastated by war.

But Kateryna said she liked going to places with "female energy".

This was particularly important at the start of the invasion, when many women fled Kramatorsk and soldiers flooded in to defend the area.

"Maybe it's just a coincidence, but since the beginning of the war, I've started to pay more attention and time to myself than before," she told AFP.

Several of her friends have recently got breast implants, while Kateryna got her tongue pierced.

The 33-year-old runs a cafe, a burger restaurant and a photography studio. Local women come to the studio sometimes for engagement or pregnancy photos -- but often just to feel beautiful.

Dressing up and having your picture taken is like "psychotherapy", she said.

- 'Forget about everything' -
In Bigudi, a small salon in the town of Druzhkivka near Kramatorsk, hairdresser Yevgenia Gotavtsova agreed.

Officially, her job is to cut and dye her clients' hair.

But in reality, she is there to help them unwind, she said, noting with a laugh that some only come to have an inch of hair cut off.

"They come here and they forget about everything," she said, adding she was proud to be "booked up a month in advance".

The region has been at the heart of the fighting since 2014, when Moscow-backed separatists launched an offensive against Ukrainian government forces.

She said the salon was thriving, even though she was only working with half her regular staff.

Several hairdressers have left, frightened by the advance of the Russian army. The war has complicated logistics as well.

Long-standing suppliers have left the region or the country entirely, while others have increased their prices, forcing the salon to do the same.

But Yevgenia said she had no reason to be ashamed of her prices.

She is offended to see competitors charging more than $6 for a simple fringe cut, which she considers "too much".

The fair price? Around $1.50, the hairdresser said.

And as for the latest trends in Druzhkivka? Blondes "never fall out of fashion," Yevgenia said.

The same goes for Bigudi's own range of products which Yevgenia boasts will make your hair look "just like in the pictures".