The LA Beauty community, like the larger LA community, has experienced the unimaginable since the onset of the recent LA county fires. Families, businesses, and communities have been lost, displaced, and upended to such a degree that the aftermath is still being calculated in real time.
As a collective beauty community, it is important to make space for those experiences, to understand how we can move forward in supporting each other. From beauty editors to business owners and service providers, LA beauty professionals share their experiences and how the fires have impacted their work.
Below, LA-based beauty professionals weigh in on the impact of the fires.
How the beauty community in LA is being impacted
Darian Harvin, veteran beauty editor and LA-resident describes how the onset of the fires “set everyone I know into an unshakeable fear. Even if you were not in a warning zone, knowing that people across LA are going through what is both unimaginable and predictable will leave you with an unease that you’ll spend time managing.”
Sharon Pak, founder and business owner of INH Hair, credits her safety to the first responders and firefighters who responded to the Sunset Fire that was quickly closing in on her home. “It was terrifying, surreal, and a moment I’ll never forget. As I drove away, I was certain I would return to no home.”
Already stricken with anxiety from the Palisades and Eaton Fires blazing through opposite ends of the county, she had pre-packed an evacuation bag and kept monitoring the Watch Duty app. When smoke from the Sunset Fire started to fill her home, she ran out to find Runyon Canyon engulfed, embers flying everywhere, and the Hollywood streets gridlocked in panic.
For Nicole Stephens, one half of the sister run GlamLuxxe Beauty, the harrowing events hit home. Nicole and her sister Natalie live off of Lincoln Ave in Altadena, and have for the majority of their lives. When the fires swept through Eaton Canyon they evacuated to Hotel Dena nearby out of precaution, only to find the next morning that the hotel was also engulfed in smoke and their cousin’s childhood home was displayed on the local news, burning to the ground.
How are they coping?
As the fires and devastation continue to rage on, Harvin copes through staying informed and open to the changing needs of those around her. The Stephens’ are leaning into the community that has come to their side amidst their displacement, and prioritizing keeping their families together. Pak centers the bittersweet emotions of tragedy and communal love, “The devastation is heartbreaking, but at the same time, my heart explodes seeing the outpouring of LA love and support. There’s this collective resilience and proactive energy that I’ve never witnessed before.”
This synergetic action rippling through the LA area has been uniquely touching to witness. People from all walks of life, skills, and experiences are donating their resources, time, and individual gifts to the cause in any way they can. Beauty providers are offering affirming services to those affected, business owners are supporting displaced beauticians through offering salon space to work, and beauty companies have donated products to the community who lost everything.
“I believe this moment, especially as we witness others show up for one another, will change people forever. Although I see community groups forming based on class and location, I also see people crossing these lines to give what they have—whether it be donations or support based on their skill or trade,” Harvin depicts.
“It reminded me that LA is more than a city of dreams—it’s a network of people who care deeply about one another. INH Hair has donated 500 hair essentials for those displaced,” Pak shares.
Stephens has been particularly moved by the organizations in her network. She and her sister are both members of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, and have been taken aback by the immediate warmth and generosity extended to them by sisters of Delta Sigma Theta, across town in Inglewood. In addition, after taking to Instagram to share that her professional makeup kit was destroyed by the fires, she was promptly connected with a beauty salon on the west side who came to her aid and helped replenish some of her lost products.
What’s next?
As far as their places in the beauty industry, these beauty pros have much to ponder. Harvin feels compelled to take action through her field, “It’s made me even more committed to covering what is going on in Los Angeles, not just trends and conversations that are happening online.” It has also made her more observant of the way beauty brands are showing up at the moment, be it through monetary, beauty service, or product donations.
For Pak, the fires have urged her to slow down and appreciate life. She also has a renewed outlook on her home, which is not just shelter, as she puts it, but a vessel for memories, comfort, and love. She has observed the possibility of heightened support amongst the beauty community, “LA has always been THE city of everything beauty. But it operated in siloes or smaller posses. It was so lovely to see everyone come together without a transactional bias to just help those in need.”
Stephens is taking the time to reassess her career. “I had a dream of joining the union [Make-Up Artists & Hair Stylists Guild, IATSE Local 706],” she shares, “but I realized that dream has to be on hold now because my family, both my sister’s family and my husband and child, are depending on me to hold the family together. So just realizing my place in the big scheme of things.” Stephens explains how she and her sister have combined households in the time being, to share resources and support, and how she has pivoted to being the caretaker while her sister and their husbands continue to work.
Natalie Stephens has had to pivot as she no longer has a salon space to work from, nor do much of her clientele have secure homes to frequent at the moment. Nicole has opted to temporarily pause her MUA services, as her speciality, event makeup, is not in as high of a demand given the circumstances.
Forward looking, Harvin hopes this turn of events will ignite beauty brands into engaging with their local communities, uplifting existing support efforts, and to “see themselves as more than beauty brands, but as businesses that can (and should) show up for other local businesses and people who don’t even use their product.”
How can the beauty industry show up?
When it comes to ways the beauty industry can show up to further support its community, the beauty pros have suggestions to offer. Pak reminds folks that long after the fires have subdued, affected communities will still need our support. “It’s a marathon not a sprint. While everyone is hot and heavy now, it will take YEARS to rebuild the city. Be sure to check in on your friends, family, and strangers. Continue to donate clothing and beauty essentials down the road. And of course show compassion. 12,000 homes were lost in these fires.”
Harvin believes that it will take a layered approach.“ New cosmetics should be a given. Brands often reserve a large amount of product for influencers, beauty editors, and some pro beauty artists. Now is the moment to extend this access to those who have been impacted by the LA fires. Additionally, grants and money donations serve everyone the most right now, allowing people the autonomy to spend on what they need. Even as journalists, we have a role in telling their stories and shedding light on how the LA fires have impacted the various beauty communities in LA.”
Stephens encourages established beauty professionals to help their colleagues gain easier access to the union, to secure stable work. She also urges beauty brands who are offering assistance, to lessen the barriers to access.
“I have applied to several major beauty brands that are offering relief and saying they care about the hair and makeup community and the artists in LA, however, I have yet to receive or be in the process of receiving, because they have made it a little difficult. They want you to provide your insurance claim or your insurance denial, your FEMA application number, and not everybody has that right now.” Not to mention, how lengthy of a process obtaining that information can be. She speaks about how in many cases, such as her sister’s, it has been almost impossible to even get a hold of their insurance companies right now. “That doesn’t make [these beauty providers] any less important,” she concludes.