Beyoncé Gives $500K To Cosmetology Schools & Salons Because They're 'Sacred Spaces'
She's giving back in a way that will create lasting change.
DFree / Shutterstock With the launch of her haircare brand Cécred, Beyoncé is doing so much more than offering a collection of shampoos and scalp scrubs, deep conditioners, masks, and hair oil. She’s connecting the past to the present and future, while providing financial opportunities for hair care professionals.
Beyoncé is giving away $500,000 for scholarships and grants to cosmetology schools and salons, because they’re ‘sacred spaces.’
In conjunction with her philanthropic venture, BeyGOOD, Beyoncé is establishing the Cécred x BeyGOOD Fund, which will award $500,000 annually to fund cosmetology school scholarships and salon business grants in 5 specific cities: Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, and New Jersey.
With this funding, Beyoncé is giving back to the community that shaped her life in so many ways.
The importance of hair in Beyoncé’s life traces back to her childhood. Her mother, Tina Knowles, was a hairdresser who owned her own salon, a place where Beyoncé came into her own.
In an interview with Essence Magazine, Knowles discussed the deep cultural resonance in the connection between hair care and community care, saying, “In the culture of Black folks, all the way from the beginning: If you could do some hair, you’ll never be broke. I told my kids that. My mama told me that. So it’s just our legacy, and this full-circle moment feels amazing.”
Beyoncé spoke about the value of seeing her mother take care of other women’s hair, explaining, “I saw her shampooing and trimming hair, transforming women, leaving them feeling really good. Looking back, it was more than just a hair appointment — it was therapy.”
Beyoncé described her mother’s salon as ‘a sacred space,’ touching on the existence of salons as ‘a sanctuary.’
“The conversations and debates in the salons and barbershops create a sense of community,” she told Essence. “It’s a place to feel beautiful and vent, laugh, share secrets and pass down wisdom. It’s the most consistent community gathering we have. It’s so important that it’s a sanctuary.”
Beyoncé recognizes the impact hair stylists have and the revered role they hold in helping people formulate their style and sense of self-expression.
Giving money to people learning that work and establishing their own businesses is a tangible way to create lasting change.
For Beyoncé, the creation of Cécred has to do with practicing self-care and creating beauty, yet it holds more meaning than solely that. The brand’s existence is a continuation of her personal, familial story within a larger cultural history.
The eight-piece collection is an extension of the deepest form of ritual and care, a way to share the products that Beyoncé, designed to keep hair healthy, nurtured, and beautiful.
“Cécred is a legacy project for me, one that’s probably the most rooted in my ancestry,” she said. “It’s so far beyond business. Hair is our lineage; it’s our family story.”
Beyoncé knows that hair holds meaning.
She exclaimed, “There’s power in self-expression and in feeling free to show up as we choose, in whatever hair we choose. For me, joy comes from making myself a priority and making my hair a priority.”
Her generous and ongoing donations will keep salons and cosmetology schools thriving, which is, in itself, a thing of beauty.
Alexandra Blogier is a writer on YourTango's news and entertainment team. She covers celebrity gossip, pop culture analysis and all things to do with the entertainment industry.