Here's How These Inspiring Women Are Empowering Other Women In The Beauty Industry
They are part of Fondation L'Oréal's Beauty For A Better Life (BFBL) programme.
Published for Fondation L'Oréal, 02 Jan 2025, 10:33 AM
Over the past eight years, Fondation L'Oréal's Beauty For A Better Life (BFBL) programme — in partnership with WOMEN:girls — has uplifted and empowered Malaysian women from underprivileged backgrounds
Established in 2016, the BFBL programme supports underprivileged Malaysian women with hairdressing and make-up training, achieving a 90% employment rate among graduates. To date, the programme in Malaysia has successfully nurtured 249 graduates.
At a recent graduation ceremony, Tomas Hruska, Managing Director of L'Oréal Malaysia shared how the programme represents the brand's long-term mission to help individuals make meaningful breakthroughs in their lives.
"We started Beauty for a Better Life as a hairdressing programme where we trained underprivileged Malaysian women with hair artistry skills, so they could improve their lives and employment prospects.
"Leveraging on 115 years of global expertise in personal care, we also tailored the programme to local needs by including make-up course and digital beauty skills from last year onwards. We are constantly improving our curriculum to ensure that our beneficiaries learn relevant skills that are needed to stay ahead of industry trends.
"Together with our partner WOMEN:girls, we take a comprehensive approach by addressing participants' broader needs. Beyond technical skills in hairdressing and makeup, we focus on building confidence and enhancing employability to prepare participants for long-term success," he said.
For Nursyasya Afina, or Syasya, her journey has come full circle, first starting as a student of the BFBL programme and now giving back as an educator
Founder of WOMEN:girls, Low Ngai Yuen (right), honouring Syasya for her dedication as the Hair Educator for BFBL 2024.
Image via Fondation L'OréalSyasya put her career journey on hold once she became a mother. But back in 2022, she decided to take part in the BFBL hairdressing course, despite having no prior experience.
After graduating from the programme, she continued upskilling herself via other hair courses, participated in hair competitions, and even attended hair masterclasses with various hair experts.
Now, she's a proud owner of two hair salons in Melaka: R50 Hair Lounge and Hit Stylista. She also recently started her own hair academy: Akademi Syasya Suhaimi.
Beauty For a Better Life has transformed my life from ordinary to extraordinary.
Driven by her desire to empower and support other women, Syasya chose to give back to the very programme that launched her career. As the Hair Educator for the BFBL 2024 (Hairdressing) course, she travelled tirelessly between Melaka and Kuala Lumpur to conduct training sessions — this just goes to show her commitment and passion for uplifting others.
Another woman who has benefited from the BFBL programme is Cheong Yi Wen, one of this year's graduates
For Yi Wen, she wanted to venture into something different, having recently quit her job.
According to the 31-year-old, she experienced severe burnout and anxiety throughout her time at previous jobs, which took a toll on her mental health.
As she has always been a creative person, she found solace in the BFBL programme, as she was able to express her creative side through beauty and makeup.
Now that she has graduated from the programme, she's excited to take a step forward and continue building her makeup portfolio and expand her skillset in special effects (SFX) makeup.
Over the years, the BFBL programme has impacted over 249 women
According to Hruska, L'Oréal Malaysia is committed to expanding the BFBL programme to create more positive impact for women in Malaysia.
"Firstly, I am pleased to share that we are expanding the programme beyond Klang Valley to make it more accessible to participants nationwide — this will happen in stages over the next few years, but we'll kick it off in 2025.
"We will also roll out new initiatives to ensure the programme's mission in empowering women remains robust, thus creating sustainable and impactful changes in the long run," said Hruska, adding that L'Oréal Malaysia's goal is to help 5,000 new women beneficiaries in Malaysia by 2027.
