Update: Beauty Changes Lives Event at America's Beauty Show 2013

Hundreds of students gathered around The Runway at America’s Beauty Show in Chicago recently to hear stories and advice from industry legends. This year, Beauty Changes Lives paired practicing hair stylists, educators and business visionaries with beauty school students to showcase how beauty is truly changing lives.

These mentors and mentees started out the presentation for the day. One by one, all of them took the stage and talked about what beauty meant to them, and how it has impacted their lives. After the initial presentation, Jan Arnold, co-founder of CND took the stage with her mentee, Cheyanne Birchall. “Cheyanne was a student in a CND Shellac workshop and she shared her love for cosmetology to a room full of beauty professionals. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house! After the workshop, I invited her to a couture nail event. Cheyanne’s contribution emotionally and physically was great! She decorated some of the nail designs, and her commitment and passion made her stand out from the rest.” Arnold said she looks forward to working with her in the future. “To all beauty school students, the sky is the limit in this industry! Be dedicated and you will go far!”

Celebrity Stylist Diana Schmidtke, who styles the coifs of various leading male celebrities (including Seth McFarland at the Oscars!) took the stage next with her mentee, Leonor Del Casillo. Schmidtke who gave insight into the world of celebrity grooming, also talked about how much the Beauty Changes Lives program means to her. Schmidtke said to the audience, “Your options after graduating are endless. If you feel lost after graduating, we, at Beauty Changes Lives, want to stress to you that we are here for you. There is nothing that excites me more than helping future beauty professionals find success.”

Beauty Changes Lives is offering 20 basic scholarships and 20 advanced scholarships each year to students. Beauty Changes Lives Foundation President Lynelle Lynch talked about the Beauty Changes Lives Scholarship Program and the Beauty Changes Lives Mentorship Scholarship, where a student has the opportunity to win a day with a mentor (this year it’s CND's Jan Arnold and Johnny Wright—hair stylist to Michele Obama). She also touched on the Vidal Sassoon Beauty Education Workshop where a student could win advanced education training to The Sassoon Academy, a $5,000 investment. “The generosity of leaders in our industry is truly redefining what a scholarship experience is all about. We’re not just providing funding, but connecting today’s biggest names in beauty with tomorrow’s talent through successful mentoring experiences,” she says.