A Toast to the Beauty Makers, Plus A $2000 Free Beauty Treatment Contest

There’s a stigma associated with the beauty industry, and people look at it negatively sometimes – beauty as a career is considered superficial, and not necessarily thought of as a meaningful place to make your career. But I can tell you from personal experience, the beauty industry and those who work in it have impacted my life for as long as I can remember. These people are the beauty makers. 

Like most women, my life has been filled with moments influenced by the beauty industry. It started as a child, when my grandmother, addicted to the goddess that is the Gift With Purchase, passed on countless makeup bags and the occasional lip gloss to me. I relished in these moments – my glimpses at my future womanhood. 

At the age of thirteen, I needed a haircut and thought, “How hard can it be to be a stylist?” When my attempt at a minor trim turned into six unintentional inches hacked off, I knew there was more talent in this than I’d originally guessed. (One little slip!) Luckily, I met a wonderful hairstylist named Juan back in my hometown of Houston at a salon called One Hair Place before I was able to totally destroy my hair.

While I committed haphazard DIY beauty sins at home, Juan taught me the basics of color theory (“This is SCIENCE?!” I remember roaring) and how hair cutting and styling was a lot more than Scotch tape across your ends.

Along with being a studied hair professional, Juan was also obsessed with Marilyn Monroe. Her pictures surrounded his station. Inspired, I decided to become Marilyn for Halloween one year. Not dress up as her – become her. Juan helped me fashion my too-long hair into pin curls and taught me what my waterline was (Marilyn knew how to work that waterline).

In the end, Juan did more for me than making me occasionally prettier. He helped me mature into the woman I was to become, to give me the confidence to play around. Despite my tendency toward DIY disasters, Juan never discouraged me from “trying this at home”. He wanted me to learn, to grow, to have fun. He was there for every high school dance updo and every post-home dye color correction. (And there was more than one, I assure you.)

Juan was special, but there are millions of stylists out there who are special like he was, the beauty makers, who mean to their clients what he meant to me. And beyond that, there are millions more who will make beauty, confidence, and new possibilities for their future clients. He even inspired me to be a beauty maker in my own right. That’s why this video touched me so much:

It’s called Beauty Grew All Around, and I think it’s a brilliant and moving display of how beauty professionals can impact us in ways we never imagined. Share this video with your friends and family with the hashtag #ShareBeauty, and let’s all express our appreciation for the beauty makers in our lives.

This video was brought to us by the Regency Beauty Institute, one of the leading cosmetology schools in the nation, who are also running the #ShareBeautyContest in partnership with Refinery29, which runs until August 13. Each person who enters will have the opportunity to win a customized VIP beauty treatment worth $2,000 from Regency and Refinery29! That’s worth it, right?

Entering the contest is easy:

• Try a trend from the Regency Beauty Institute page
• Take a picture of it
• Share it on Instagram with the hashtag #ShareBeautyContest

Learn more about the contest here, and good luck! Who are the Beauty Makers in your life? Who’s the Juan? Share your story with me and get involved in the conversation on Twitter with hashtag #ShareBeauty.

Thanks to Regency Beauty Institute for sponsoring today’s discussion and helping me #ShareBeauty.