Much-needed aid initiatives include digital education efforts, donations to relief funds and more.

As the coronavirus pandemic continues to spread across the world, government-mandated shutdowns of non-essential businesses have impacted nearly every industry. Among the many particularly hard-hit job categories are beauty and spa professionals, whose income is heavily dependent upon being able to offer in-person services. Hairstylists, makeup artists, nail technicians, massage therapists and estheticians are finding themselves out of work, with an uncertain future. What's more, many beauty professionals, especially those on set for editorial shoots or advertising campaigns, are freelancers who work on a project basis, putting them in an even more precarious situation.

To help them cope with lost income and job insecurity, a number of beauty brands and influencers have begun to rally together and undertake aid efforts. Ahead, we've outlined some of their initiatives. We will continue to update this post as we hear about additional beauty brands offering support to those in the industry.

• Hair-care brand Amika has set up an online affiliate program to help hairstylists capture commissions on client sales (as they normally might in-salon). Stylists are directed to register here on the company's website for a unique custom vanity link which will enable them to receive a 40% commission from orders their clients place. These purchases will be fulfilled through Amika's warehouse and sent directly to stylists' clients. The brand is also providing digital master classes to help stylists continue their education on the @amikapro Instagram account; pros can tune in every Tuesday and Friday at noon EST for the next three weeks to view lessons from Global Artistic Director, Naeemah LaFond and the Amika pro-education team.

• Huda Kattan of cosmetics giant Huda Beauty announced on Instagram that the company would be allocating $100,000 toward freelance makeup artists, writing, "I want to kick-start the way that we're giving back by shining a spotlight on some amazing makeup artists and giving cash to some MUAs who may be struggling right now. So we'll be giving away $1,000 USD to 100 of you amazing freelance makeup artists!"

• Dome Beauty has partnered with the Professional Beauty Association (PBA) and The Makeup Show to launch Dome Beauty Cares, a fundraising effort to support freelance beauty workers. On Instagram, the brand wrote, "We are calling on everyone who depend[s] on the services of these individuals including beauty enthusiasts, beauty industry professionals, corporate executives, those in the TV-Film-Magazine Industries, Bloggers and Influencers to dig deep and donate at dome BEAUTY CARES Go Fund Me or buy a product from dome BEAUTY and we'll donate for you to support those in need in the beauty industry. We also ask large corporations in the Beauty Industry to join us in this effort. Beauty brands are nothing without the professionals that support us so let's unite and change someone's life." The funds raised will support independent and freelance workers in the beauty industry, including makeup artists, hairstylists, nail technicians and estheticians. Additioanlly, $5 from every purchase made on Dome Beauty's website will be put toward the fund. Those who wish to donate directly can go to their GoFundMe.

• Persons of Interest, a barbershop chain, has started a GoFundMe to raise money for barbers who have lost most of their income. 
  
  

• Wellness and nail brand Sundays, which also has two New York-based spa locations, is dedicating 100% of revenue from e-gift card purchases to its employees and started a GoFundMe campaign to support its nail artists. Sundays is also offering customers 20% off the e-gift cards with the code Sundays20.
  

• Luxury hair-care brand In Common and hair salon Nine Zero One have collaborated to create a program that allows customers to support hairstylists carrying In Common products by using the brand's commission referral link. Hairstylists will receive 35% commission for every purchase made through their personalized links. Clients can use the brand's Artist Locator page to find social links, where In Common encourages stylists to put their personalized referral links. To ensure hairstylists receive their commissions as soon as possible, In Common is making payouts weekly via ACH or PayPal and streamlining the sign-up process. Stylists looking to participate can sign up here.

• New York city nail salon and spa Chillhouse announced a GoFundMe for its retail staff, service providers, baristas and hosts. Those looking to donate can contribute here.
  

UPDATE, Friday, March 27: 

• Pape PR has launched a GoFundMe to help hairstylists and estheticians who are out of work during this time. The goal is to raise $100,000 to help pay for basics like rent, utilities and food. Stipends will be given in a one-time amount of either $500 or $1,000 depending on the number of applicants and the amount of money raised. If they raise more than their goal amount, they will provide relief to any additional stylists and estheticians in need. 100% of funds contributed (minus GoFundMe processing fees) will go directly to help out-of-work hairstylists and estheticians; no additional overhead or administrative costs will be applied.

UPDATE, Monday, March 30: 

• Hair-care brand R+Co is doing its part to help support salons by launching a custom home-delivery program for salons and their clients. Each R+Co salon will have a unique link to share, with each product sale earning a 40% commission. R+Co is also covering all costs associated with the program and has made sure salons are paid weekly. The brand's goal for the month is to pay out more than $500,000 in salon commissions.
  
  Tev Finger, the co-founder of R+Co, shared, "Now, more than ever, it is critical to keep revenue coming into small businesses. We wanted to leverage our warehouses and technology to provide salons the ability to do home-delivery of products. Our teams will handle all the packing, shipping and fees — all a salon has to do is send their customers a custom link. It won't replace the service revenue in this downturn, but it will still allow salons and stylists to keep their retail businesses going, especially when their customers are looking to stock up on their favorite products and support their favorite salon." To support your local salon, please visit the R+Co salon locator to connect with them by finding their code on their social platforms and website.

UPDATE, Tuesday, March 31:

• Nail brand CND has partnered with nonprofit Beauty Changes Lives to donate $100,000 in financial grants to nail professionals that have been out of work because of the pandemic. The funds will be split amongst 100 applicants and will be distributed throughout May, June and July 2020.

UPDATE, Wednesday, April 1:

• Khairpep has launched #HairArtistsUnite, an initiative to ignite a 'Support Fund' for the hairstylist community, in an effort to support the struggling beauty community. The initiative will run from March 23 – April 24 on the brand's Instagram, where they'll receive nominations from clients, artists and salons for an artist or salon of their choice to receive a support fund paired with Sam Villa tools each week. The support fund will be derived from 50% of sales of the Khairpep's K18Peptide Masque. To nominate a stylist or salon, consumers can create their own Instagram post and use the hashtag #HairArtistsUnite, or comment on @Khairpep's Instagram post regarding the support fund. All recipients of the fund must be a hairstylist and validate with a cosmetology license, as well as reside in the U.S. or Australia.

• Hairstory is running an affiliate program that pays stylists income from the sales they drive on an ongoing basis. This means that a hairdresser could be out of work and still be able to earn a sizable commission from their client's product sales.

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