Three women last month received makeovers at a Gayborhood salon to boost their confidence in the workplace.
To celebrate 10 years in business, Andre Richard Salon partnered with Career Wardrobe to offer hair and makeup services to the latter’s clients. Career Wardrobe is a nonprofit social enterprise that provides professional-development programs as well as clothing at no cost via referral or for a small fee. The organization assists in boosting individuals’ confidence during their job search.
Drea Richard, owner of Andre Richard Salon, said the point of these makeovers was to make the women “look good and feel good.
“Not everyone knows how good they can look because they may not know how to do it and then once they get them there, they open up,” said Richard, who is trans.
Richard noted that the three women “lit up” after receiving their makeovers.
“The girls have been through a lot and the makeovers really kind of boosted them up and Career Wardrobe is amazing. They are really helping them.”
In addition to providing the space for the makeovers, Andre Richard Salon also donated 20 percent of proceeds from the salon’s blowout services to Career Wardrobe throughout December. The final donation amount was not available by presstime.
Jackie Schrauger, Career Wardrobe’s program director, said most of the organization’s clients are single moms who “don’t really get a chance to focus on themselves.”
“Taking time to go to a salon and spend money and time there on themselves instead of on their children is often something that they don’t get to do. It was really exciting that someone extended that kind of service to our clients and gave them that chance to feel special.”
The three clients — Nicole Brinson, Melissa McDermott and Tyiraeen Propst-Heath — were not available for comment but Schrauger said she thinks the makeovers on Dec. 19 “helped immensely.”
“From knowing these three clients pretty well, they have definitely faced some adversity in their lives — whether it’s personal or struggling to find a job that’s a good fit with a family-sustaining wage. I think having someone take the time to make them feel beautiful and focus on themselves for a little while instead of worrying about their kids or other things like that, I think was a huge boost.
“If you’ve ever gotten your hair done or gotten a really great new outfit, you leave feeling like a new person. I think all of them definitely got a boost of feeling a little more polished, a little more professional while feeling like they’ve been fussed over for a little while. All of those things definitely go a long way toward making someone feel a lot more confident and ready to get back out there.”
Almost a month after the makeover, the women are starting to see results. Schrauger said one of the clients is continuing to attend job-fair readiness workshops at Career Wardrobe and is continuing to network at various fairs.
Additionally, Career Wardrobe ultimately hired McDermott as a sales assistant.
“She’s part-time for now but hopefully in the future, we’ll be able to expand her hours. She certainly was confident in her interview with us,” Schrauger said. “I think having a boost from having had a makeover and a positive experience with us definitely gave her the confidence to help nail that job interview.”
For more information, visit careerwardrobe.org or andrerichardsalon.com.