With her inclusive haircare line, Cécred, Beyoncé isn’t just making a difference in the world of haircare, she’s also working to make a lasting impact far beyond it, by championing the professional stylist community.
When Cécred first made its debut back in February, the singer’s philanthropic foundation, BeyGOOD, announced a partnership with the brand to create the Cécred x BeyGOOD Fund. The fund, which was developed to foster talent, promote professionalism, and support entrepreneurship within the hair industry, pledged an annual $500,000 commitment that is dispersed through two different programs to aid cosmetology school students and local salon businesses nationwide: the Cécred x BeyGOOD Student Scholarships and the Cécred x BeyGood Salon Business Grant. Both the cosmetology school scholarships and salon business grants are awarded across five cities chosen for their large and diverse hairstylist communities: Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, and Clementon, New Jersey.
For the brand, it was important to give back to stylists in this manner and do so right from launch, considering the immense influence that the community has on the people that sit in their chairs.
“Cécred emphasizes inclusivity in haircare for all hair types while also committing to the preservation and support of hairstylists, who form the backbone of the beauty industry,” explains Dr. Kari Williams, Director of Education at Cécred and certified trichologist. “Cécred recognizes hairstylists as essential community pillars, providing more than haircare by creating safe communal spaces. Despite their central role, stylists have often been overlooked. The pandemic hit salons hard without support. Initiatives like Cécred x BeyGOOD address this, focusing on education and access to empower stylists. This commitment ensures salons can continue their legacy of community care and connection, reinforcing the importance of every hairstylist, barber, and customer in the beauty industry.”
Meet the Cécred x BeyGOOD Fund’s First-Ever Grant Winners
Last month, the Cécred x BeyGOOD Fund announced the first round of its scholarship and grant recipients, from the application cycle that closed back in March. The fund awarded twenty-five $10,000 financial aid student scholarships across five cosmetology schools and twenty-five $10,000 grants to qualifying salon business owners demonstrating financial need.
Per the brand’s Instagram post detailing the winners, five students were selected from Beaver Beauty Academy in Atlanta, Trenz Beauty Academy in Chicago, Universal College of Beauty in Los Angeles, Franklin Beauty Institute in Houston, and Janas Cosmetology Academy in New Jersey. The five salons that received the business grants include Kingdom Glam Beauty Depot in Atlanta, Amour Full Service Salon Inc. in Chicago, Knot’s Beauty Company LLC in Houston, Nela Beauty Salon LLC in Los Angeles, and The A Lifestyle in New Jersey.
According to Dr. Williams, Cécred aspires for these scholarships and grants to not only bring about positive change in the lives of the stylists and salon owners who receive them, but also have a significant impact on the greater professional hair industry as a whole.
“We hope the Cécred x BeyGOOD Fund will transform the lives of stylists and salon owners by providing financial support and education resources, enabling them to better serve their communities and sustain their businesses. The fund addresses the educational gap in business skills necessary for a viable career in beauty, aiming to empower stylists as entrepreneurs,” she says. “On a broader scale, by investing in the foundation of the hair industry—the stylists and salon owners—the fund seeks to protect the industry’s future, ensuring its vitality and relevance through a thriving ecosystem of knowledgeable and financially secure professionals.”
As of May 1st, the fund has opened the second round of its application for 2025 student scholarships and business grants. The application window for both of these opportunities is set to close on May 20th, and aspiring stylists as well as salon owners are encouraged to visit the fund’s website for more information on how they can apply.
The Importance of Developing Inclusive Initiatives for the Salon Community
To ensure that Cécred x BeyGOOD Fund’s programs would be able to do the most good for the stylist community, the brand consciously developed the criteria for each, with inclusivity in mind. Looking at the Cécred x BeyGOOD Student Scholarship program specifically, inclusive curriculums appeared to be one of the biggest defining factors in how cosmetology schools were selected as a partner school for the financial aid scholarships.
“We realize there are disparities that are faced in every sector, particularly education and product knowledge, as well as the understanding of the uniqueness of black haircare within the beauty industry at large,” says Ivy McGregor, BeyGOOD Executive Director. “Inclusive curriculums were important as we wanted to ensure training of all hair types were represented in the educational journey. We want students to leave their cosmetology experiences equipped to serve every client. We have heard the stories of many with natural hair who felt left out if they chose not to relax or straighten their hair, or even how to transition. So having this knowledge in schools, we found it to be the best springboard.”
McGregor shared that Cécred worked with the National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC), a non-profit organization that seeks to advance business opportunities for certified minority business enterprises and connect them to corporate members, to vet potential cosmetology school partners.
“They asked each school questions and had a rubric to grade each potential school,” she says. “Funds were given based on average program costs and disbursement amounts that we believe could allow a person to start or finish by alleviating a considerable amount of expenses. This helps the students and the schools’ enrollment and graduation rates. Assisting both students and school indirectly serves the community by empowering the workforce and creating income for household sustainability.”
Continued Efforts to Empower the Next Generation of Haircare Professionals
In the two months since launch, the Cécred x BeyGOOD Fund has remained steadfast in its commitment to give back to the stylist community and foster new talent. In addition to providing financial assistance with its inaugural fund, the Cécred and BeyGOOD teams also set out on a nationwide tour to pay a visit to the five cosmetology schools that were chosen to be recipients of the student scholarships.
Thanks to this tour, over 200 aspiring stylists and barbers had the opportunity to experience hands-on product training, intimate education, and encouragement from Dr. Williams and Cécred’s Lead Global Stylist, Neal Farinah. During their Houston stop at the Franklin Beauty Institute, attendees were paid a special visit from Cécred’s Vice-Chairwoman, Tina Knowles, who personally shared her experience as a student of the school as well as her wealth of knowledge and expertise in haircare. Additionally, each of the five schools that participated in the tour were provided with Cécred’s complete haircare collection and tools to continue opportunities for education and hands-on learning.
While the Cécred x BeyGOOD Fund has already done so much good for the stylist community in such a short time, there is a lot more work to be done, which is why the brand has no plans of slowing down its momentum.
“This is a signature initiative—and best stated by those that this program serves—we are assisting so many who are part of an important and essential community that has felt forgotten,” says McGregor. “So keeping with momentum, we have engaged a Program Administrator, NMSDC, who has a list of established successful educational tools that help recipients sharpen their business skills. We are also excited to share that through this partnership we offer FREE business certifications for all Small Business Grant Salon Owner recipients. This opens the door to new opportunities and corporate partnerships to help create diversified business sustainability. As well, we know that people learn through connectivity and community, so we have curated viral meet-ups for recipients to meet, hear, celebrate, and learn from their fellow cohort community.”
For the most up-to-date information surrounding Cécred and the Cécred x BeyGOOD Fund, be sure to follow @cecred and @beygood on Instagram or visit beygood.org/cecred/. If you’re an aspiring stylist or a salon business owner that would like to be a part of the Cécred x BeyGOOD Fund’s second round, additional information and links to apply can be found here. The deadline to get your application in is May 20th. Good luck!
