THE BEAUTY PROJECT HISTORY

Since 2015 Jillian has researched perceptions of  “beauty” creating an ever evolving project called The Beauty Project. Asking Questions like: What is beauty? What is beauty to you? What is beauty to the individual and us as a collective? Utilizing these questions to inspire growth and understanding of the Self, other people, and the big picture, The Beauty Project’s intention is to bring heightened curiosity out of the beauty of human beings and the world around us. The Beauty Project is an exploration of different people’s relationships with beauty. 

The Beauty Project was born from a dissatisfaction with a one-dimensional societal view of beauty. As Jillian’s heart career is fully involved with the beauty industry doing hair, she often finds herself frustrated with the way many people view themselves because she often finds herself frustrated with how she views herself from time to time. Her intention is to change conversations around beauty and make a positive impact on the beauty industry. In the 2017-2018 version of The Beauty Project, Jillian interviewed fifty people from the general public about beauty. During this time, she developed the structure and understanding of the project while connecting with her community. It was a meaningful and impactful experience exploring her own relationship to beauty and listening to others!

Jillian then went on to explore The Beauty Industry itself after the first shutdown of 2020 began. Jillian's intention was to use a similar structure to the one she used before to connect with her community.  However, instead of interviewing the general public, the interviews are with people that work in the beauty industry: people that work behind the chair, people that are nail techs, estheticians, salon owners, managers, and instructors. The Beauty Project: Exploring Beauty 2020's invitation was to explore their own perceptions of beauty, to celebrate them, look at how they have evolved, question them, express them, and, perhaps, even shift them. During this conversation we celebrate, explore, and take a step back to see where they stand in their views of themselves, beauty and how they got to where they are now. We talk about the things that inspired them to start working in the beauty industry, why they choose to stay, how they impact it, and how it has impacted them especially with current events. It was an amazing opportunity to connect over our experiences and journey of who we are as humans and stylists. 

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In 2021 The Beauty Project was all about exploring the harmony of beauty and being a hairstylist without hair. What is it like to take a step away from being fully focused on your beauty routine? What’s it like to strip it away and focus on how we show up for ourselves and others without hiding behind our precious, beautiful hair.