Tag Archive for "beauty charity events" - Beauty Schools Directory Blog

5 Ways to Use Your Salon Powers for Good

Posted on: July 13th, 2012 by Heather 1 Comment

Cosmetologists, salons and spas have tremendous opportunities to give back to the community through charitable work – and much of it is right in line with what you’re already doing! Whether a stylist decides to become a mentor or donate his or her own hair to Locks for Love, a salon stylist can take proactive steps in bettering his or her local community. The ways that a salon can give back to the community are endless, but here are just a few examples to get you started. 5 ways to use your salon’s powers for good:

Locks of Love

Locks of Love began in 2007 and provides wigs to children under the age of 18 who have lost their hair due to severe illnesses. The children may have lost their hair due to cancer, alpocia, being involved in a fire or for other medical reasons. The mission of the charity is to provide wigs made of real hair to these children so that they can restore their confidence and self-esteem. A hair stylist can become involved in this organization by donating his or her own hair. Hair must be at least 10 inches long before it can be cut and mailed to the organization. Hair stylists can also make their clients aware of the organization and encourage them to become involved. Other charities do similar things, like Pantene Beautiful Lengths.

Cut It Out

Cut It Out is a charity organization comprised of salons that are dedicated to fighting domestic violence in inner cities throughout the United States. The organization trains salon stylists so that they can notice signs of abuse on victims. Stylists are able to recognize when a woman is being beaten in a relationship and can then refer her to local organizations in the community that assist domestic violence victims. The organization also provides educational materials that can be distributed to clients in salons.

Look Good… Feel Better

Look Good Feel Better is an organization that is dedicated to providing beauty tips to women who have cancer or who have survived cancer. Cosmetologists can volunteer for this organization and provide coaching for women on how to do makeup, manage hair loss and treat damaged skin. This organization also provides online tutorials that can help cancer patients learn how to apply makeup in a flattering way to hide the effects of chemotherapy.

Kiva Loans

Deciding to donate money toward the purchase of a Kiva loan is another way that salon stylists can benefit women who are struggling abroad but want to improve their lives for the long-term. Kiva loans provide funds to small business owners in impoverished countries and help them cover their business expenses. A hairstylist can even take up a collection of donations from his or her co-workers and clients to support a particular business through the Kiva loan program.

Donating Hair for Oil Booms

The other effective way that salon stylists can give back to the community is by donating hair to businesses that make hair booms. Hair booms absorb oil in oil spill cleanups. After the BP oil spill, salons came to the rescue in providing massive amounts of hair to create hair booms that could absorb oil. You’re just cutting it off and sweeping it into the trash anyway – why not box it up and ship it out to help the environment?

These are some of the most effective ways that a hair stylist can have an impact on the local community. A hairstylist can definitely use his or her salon powers for good with a bit of resourcefulness and determination. This list of 5 charities your salon can take part in is just the beginning. There is a whole world of charitable opportunity out there to make an impact, boost salon morale and represent your salon well in the community.

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Beauty gives back during New York Fashion Week

Posted on: February 17th, 2012 by Beauty Schools Directory No Comments

When most of us think about fashion week, we think about A-list designers, flashbulbs and unyielding glamor. However, a new trend within the industry may change our view of fashion week forever. With all eyes trained on fashion industry insiders, the country’s top designers are tapping into the excitement and glamour of fashion week to help provide fundraising opportunities for non-profit organizations for women and children.

This year, several designers have partnered with non-profit groups like the Bottomless Closet to produce fashion show fundraisers. The Bottomless Closet is a non-profit organization based in New York City that helps disadvantaged women learn how to dress for success. As the economy wanes and federal and state grant funding remains sparse, non-profit organizations like the Bottomless Closet have gotten more creative in their fundraising efforts as they try to supplement their straining budgets.

One such creative partnering resulted in the development of Real Fashion Real Women, a fashion show event produced by celebrity stylist Derek Warburton. While Warburton is best known for styling some of Hollywood’s leading talent, including Beyonce Knowles and Miranda Kerr, few realize that the stylist himself was once homeless for a few months during his youth and relied on the kindness of strangers to help him get back on his feet. This experience, along with his general desire to help others, resulted in the idea that eventually became the Real Fashion Real Women fundraising event.

The Real Fashion Real Women fashion show was held Thursday at New York’s Empire Hotel and featured 24 real New Yorkers who walked the runway in some of fashion’s most recognizable names. Funds were raised through tickets sales ($50 per ticket) and via personal donations. The women, who were all New York residents, wore garments from a handful of A-list designers including Nicole Miller, Nanette Lepore, Betsey Johnson, Rachel Comey and Raul Penaranda.

While Thursday’s fashion show event was a celebration of what can happen when fashion and non-profit come together, the event also helped to boost the self-esteem of the 24 women who were selected to walk the runway based on their inspiring life stories. Many of the women who participated in the event came from difficult backgrounds which included poverty, domestic violence, homelessness and incarceration. Not only did the fashion show provide critical funding to the Bottomless Closet, but it also helped the models to recognize their own beauty and learn to be comfortable in their own skin.

If you are a hairstylist or make-up artist who would like to become more involved in your community, there are many ways you can help. Use your skill set to help women and children by getting involved with women’s organizations like the Bottomless Closet. Or, gather a team of hairstylists and make-up artists to assist with a fundraising fashion show in your city or provide makeovers for women’s organizations that help unemployed mothers find work. For more information about how you can make a difference in your community, contact your city’s women’s center or your local office of Health and Human Services.