Free hairdressing course helps 30 young women achieve their dream

Since it was launched in Malaysia in 2016, Beauty for a Better Life has helped over 120 women in the country achieve their dream of becoming a professional hairdresser. Photo: L'Oreal Foundation

Thirty women from disadvantaged backgrounds have been given the opportunity to take a fully-sponsored hairdressing course through the Beauty for a Better Life vocational programme.

Spearheaded by L’Oreal Malaysia, in collaboration with non-profit organisation Women:Girls, the programme empowers women to change their future for the better through a career in the hairdressing industry.

“Everyone deserves to take charge of their future and we believe it’s our responsibility as an industry leader to help our communities, especially women and girls, who make up half of the population, and also a large part of the consumer market,” says L’Oreal Malaysia managing director Tomas Hruska.

Beauty for a Better Life provides education and new skillsets, so that these aspiring women can earn a sustainable income for a better livelihood, says Hruska.

“The programme, which is available in over 20 countries, has trained about 4,500 women globally, in partnerships with local NGOs. Since it was launched in Malaysia in 2016, it has helped over 120 women in the country achieve their dream of becoming a professional hairdresser,” he says.

After a two-year hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the programme has been recently relaunched, and the 30 women will go through three months of intensive hairdressing training with L’Oreal Academy and Bambang Soteto’s Faculty of Hairtistry Academy.

Participants having classes at Bambang Soteto's Faculty of Hairtistry. Photo: L'Oreal Foundation

“The programme prioritises women from disadvantaged backgrounds: 72% of them come from B40 families, 17% do not have access to pursue higher education, and 11% are currently unemployed,” explains Women: Girls executive director Izza Izelan.

Through the screening process, Women: Girls interviewed women from various facets of life – women with limited access to formal education, homemakers, mothers and single mothers.

“Even though these women all have the courage within them to go after their dreams in the beauty and hairdressing world, what they face is a lack of opportunity.

“They just need someone to believe in them enough to give them a life-changing opportunity and that is where the Beauty for a Better Life programme which allows women to learn a skillset, earn a sustainable income and contribute to the hair/beauty industry, comes in,” says Izza.

Izza says that the programme will help these women become agents of change in their own communities.

“We believe in empowering women to empower others. Our aim as an NGO is to improve the social conditions of women through programmes that encourage and empower them to become role models and agents of change in their own communities,” she says.

Women:girls founding partner Lau Ngai Yuen believes that the programme will help “change lives, one hairstyle at a time”.

“We’re coming together as a community to empower these young women to ‘change lives’ as they go out into the world after being trained,” she says.

(from left) Izza from Women: Girls, participants Gunasundari and Annies, Finas from L'Oreal Foundation, at the Beauty for a Better Life launch. Photo: The Star/Yap Chee Hong

Paying it forward

Participant Annies Ismail, 26, from Seri Kembangan, Selangor, says she desires to use what she learns through the programme to give back to the community.

“I’m grateful for this opportunity and I desire to pay it forward, and give back to the community,” says the housewife, who has two children aged three and one.

“My classmates and I plan to provide free haircuts to the homeless, old folks’ homes, orphanages, etc. Often, these people don’t have the chance to be well-groomed or even get a good haircut, so we want to help them,” she says.

The former physiotherapist, who became a full-time housewife after getting married, aims to work part-time as a hairdresser when she graduates, and might start her own business later. She says that her husband is very supportive and has encouraged her to pursue her dream.

Annies reveals that the programme has helped her gain confidence and improve her communication skills.

“I’m more confident speaking and dealing with people now, especially strangers,” she says. “I’ve also made a lot of new friends from different backgrounds, and we’ve learnt from one another,” she says.

The Beauty for a Better Life programme by L'Oreal Foundation provides disadvantaged young women with professional hair dressing tuition-free training in partnership with NGO Women: Girls, to help them build a sustainable career. Photo: The Star/Yap Chee Hong

Gunasundari Vengidasalam, 38, from Kuala Lumpur says that she plans to work as a hairdresser at one of the L’Oreal salons after she graduates and will later open her own salon.

The beautician says that hairdressing is an additional skill that she wants to pick up.

“Life is always about self-improvement, and beauty and hair go hand-in-hand,” she says.

“As a beautician, I do hairstyling for brides. So this is a great opportunity to level up my skills.”

“It can be rather challenging because the topics are scientific and technical, but the teachers teach in a way that’s easy to understand and follow.

“There’s both theory and practical, and we learn about hair structure, texture, type, and all the ‘how to’s’ in hairdressing,” she explains.

Gunasundari is married and has an eight-year-old son who is impressed that his “mum is learning to be a hairdresser”.