When Reuben Carranza, CEO of Wella, the Salon Professional Division of P&G North America, accepted the invitation to receive the City of Hope’s Spirit of Life Award, he decided to make the campaign ongoing and personal. Carranza is planning to keep the message of his campaign front and center for all segments of the industry beyond the City of Hope gala on July 13, 2013 during PBA Beauty Week in Las Vegas.

We talked with Carranza during the recent America’s Beauty Show to learn the ways in which he is making his Sprit of Life campaign unique.

MODERN SALON: YOU HAVE CHOSEN DIABETES RESEARCH AS YOUR SPIRIT OF LIFE INIATIVE. TELL US ABOUT THAT.

REUBEN CARRANZA: Diabetes is a near-epidemic disease with far-reaching health consequences and it is estimated that several million people have the disease and do not even know it. Diabetes is often linked to lifestyle choices and, rightly or wrongly, that association attaches a stigma to diabetes that often keeps people from acknowledging their condition. Diabetes affects circulation, making it difficult to stand for long periods of time. It also affects circulation and feeling in the hands and can cause severe vision problems or blindness. These are all consequences that really hit home for salon professionals who depend entirely on their hands and eyes for their craft. The long and often irregular hours in the salon also can make it difficult for salon professionals to manage the disease with regular meal times and needed breaks. My mother and aunt were hairdressers and suffered from diabetes and I know how difficult it is to deal with this disease. I want to make the campaign for diabetes research an ongoing effort.

MS: HOW ARE YOU GETTING THE WORD OUT AND INVOLVING THE INDUSTRY?

RC: First of all, we are making the diabetes campaign an industry-wide initiative that will extend beyond the Spirit of Life ceremony in July until November, which is Diabetes Awareness Month. We want to make it easy for all segments of the industry to get involved. At Wella, we are creating a campaign called “Hope is in Style,” which will feature a particular shade of blue as the official color of the campaign. Blue is a color that symbolizes optimism and it will be the color of diabetes awareness. Wella has developed a special hairstyle for the “Hope is in Style” campaign materials and Wella Illumina has developed a hair color in that shade, which will appear as a streak in the “Hope is in Style” model’s hair.  This will be a campaign of education and support that will live on after the Spirit of Life event.

MS: WHAT STEPS CAN WE TAKE TO HELP PROMOTE THIS CAMPAIGN

 Anyone can go to cityofhope.org/hopeisinstyle to find a turn key tool kit for donating and getting involved in making a difference in diabetes awareness. Salons will be able to contact City of Hope for information and materials. City of Hope and the salon industry have a lot in common as entities devoted to caring and making life better for others, patients or clients. They share attributes of listening, empathy and a culture of caring. We are reaching out to students and schools and have support from Pivot Point’s Robert Passage and Lynell Lynch of Beauty Changes Lives. We are also getting the word out through the vast network of Wella salons and our distribution partners. We will all come together in July for a great party and auction that will be exciting and entertaining, but our goal is keep the fight against diabetes going far beyond that. We want everyone, especially salons, to recognize the “Hope is in Style” campaign and to develop their own awareness and fund raising activities.

Carranza launched “Hope is in Style” at a reception March 9 during America’s Beauty Show in Chicago where he and City of Hope’s Britta Bucholz, senior director of development, discussed the threat of diabetes and how the “Hope is in Style” campaign will inform salons about awareness and participation in the campaign.

To make a donation or register for The Spirit of Life Hope is in Style gala, visit cityofhope.org/hopeisinstyle.