MODERN SALON is pleased to bring you inspiring news from our "Giving Guide."


On April 10, 2022, the professional beauty community will celebrate the 10th anniversary of Beauty Changes Lives during the Beauty Changes Lives Experience in suburban Chicago. Since the initial scholarships were established in 2012, brands representing the salon, skin, barbering, spa, nails, and esthetic sectors have funded scholarships, mentorships, and countless acts of generosity to nurture next-generation talent and support licensed professionals seeking to advance their careers. Stakeholders representing all facets of the industry, from product brands and artists to salons and spas, have united to support the Beauty Changes Lives mission of equipping and empowering the future of professional beauty.

Courage. Confidence. Freedom.

While no single word or phrase can define the more than 700 career journeys supported by Beauty Changes Lives, "courage," "confidence," and "freedom" come up frequently when scholarship recipients reflect on what they have found within the beauty industry and thank Beauty Changes Lives for the impact on their individual career journeys. The Beauty Changes Lives Experience will celebrate the next generation of artists and look back on 10 years of transforming lives.

Past winners include:

  • Lauralyn McClelland (@lululockssmith), 2021 winner of the Sydell and Arnold Miller Foundation Art of Hairdressing Scholarship. When Broadway went dark in spring 2021, a new career path was illuminated. The accomplished dancer and actress who spent 20 years on the stage discovered hairstyling as a stable craft after two decades of uncertain work. “While I love performing, I never had the security of knowing what my next job would be," McClelland says. "I love having a secure skill, and I love cutting hair.”
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  • Ismenia Olavarria (@alljazzedupx3), 2021 winner of JCS Nourish & Shine. While society often tells women they must be “more” to be beautiful, for cosmetology student Olavarria "being Black is enough.” Like many busy moms, Olavarria looks online to simplify her life—and her hair. That’s where she discovered @mshairandhumor, created by 2016 Beauty Changes Lives winner (Vidal Sassoon) Kamilah Gerestant. “Like Kamilah, I want people to know you are beautiful as you are,” Olavarria says.
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  • Kadee Brown @hotpinkzebrapolish, 2014 CND Tippi Hedren Nail Scholarship Winner. “Everyone has a time, and this is my time to do what I’m made to do, if you’ll take a chance on me,” Kadee said in her application video. Among the top four professionals in Season 7 of the Nails Next Top Nail Artist competition, Kadee lives up to the “artist” designation as she applies her immense creativity to the tiniest of canvases.
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Big-Picture Data

These individual stories are representative of the beautiful career paths facilitated by Beauty Changes Lives. Over the past decade:

  • Beauty Changes has awarded more than 700 scholarships.
  • 95% of Beauty Changes Lives scholarship awardees complete their programs.
  • 90% of awardees are now licensed professionals.
  • 92% of awardees are working in the beauty industry.
  • 30% of awardees are business owners.
  • 54% of those beauty owners are people of color.

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