amika, the Brooklyn-based, B Corp-certified hair care brand, is pleased to announce its second year of partnership with Beauty Changes Lives, a non-profit organization dedicated to empowering and equipping the next generation of beauty professionals, to continue its “Friend to Hair” scholarship program—donating scholarships to BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ aspiring hair stylists and beauty professionals.
Following the success of its inaugural “Friend to Hair” scholarship program, the 2024 program will award eight students with a full-ride scholarship (up to $20,000 per winner) to cosmetology school. The brand launched this program with funding $100,000 worth of partial and full-ride scholarships to aspiring hair stylists and beauty professionals in 2023, but will expand its efforts with a commitment of up to $160,000 in 2024, covering full tuition to all recipients. The second year of the "Friend to Hair” scholarship, launched on March 1, makes amika the first brand to offer a full-ride cosmetology school scholarship through Beauty Changes Lives.
“As a brand, we strive to cultivate a workplace where all hair and humans are truly welcome. Having grown up in salons, we know how important stylists are in fulfilling this vision — they are our confidantes and our community. We are thrilled to be supporting the future of our industry through the second year of our ‘Friend to Hair’ stylist scholarship program," said Chelsea Riggs, amika CEO. “In 2024, we'll be deepening our impact by not only increasing the funding of our program to offer full ride scholarships, but also doubling down on relationship building with our winners and opportunities to integrate them into our highly engaged stylist community.”
amika’s continued success is in large part attributed to the stylist and salon community that believe in the brand’s ethos and have trust in the products’ performance. As part of its longstanding commitment to professionals, amika recently introduced Stylist Collective, a team of visionary hairstylists to represent amika’s artistry and education program, as well as launched its first salon-only smoothing service, pro smooth over frizz-fighting treatment. To further confirm its support for salon professionals, in 2024, amika will increase its investment in salon education, host multiple professional education events and more.
“We are ecstatic to be entering our second year of partnership with amika. To have them not only recognize the potential in our industry, but to support the next generation is so powerful,” said Lynelle Lynch, Co-Founder and President of Beauty Changes Lives. ”This year, they are raising the stakes and offering the first-ever full-ride cosmetology scholarship through Beauty Changes Lives. We are proud to partner with amika and are excited to see the impact we can make together.”
For more information about amika's DEI & Giving Back partnerships with Beauty Changes Lives, please visit loveamika.com/pages/giving-back.
