Style

This Program Lets Celebs Donate Beauty Products To The Trans Community & Kylie Jenner Is Already Joining In

by Kali Borovic

Hairstylist Andrew Fitzsimons has over 100,000 Instagram followers, and is trusted with the hair of Kylie Jenner, Shay Mitchell, and Ashley Graham. But he's not only using his platform to care for the beauty needs of celebrities. According to Teen Vogue, Andrew Fitzsimons created a beauty program for celebrities to give back to the trans community.

Let's just say if he's not a name you know already, you will now— and not just for his amazing styles.

There's nothing better than celebrities coming together for a good cause, and Fitzsimons is here to give them the charitable push they need. Through the program, the hairstylist reaches out to his celebrity friends and clients, asking them to donate their surplus of unused beauty items to trans and gender non-conforming people.

Those donations then are delivered to clients of the Trans Economic Empowerment Program (TEEP) and the Los Angeles' LGBT Center. TEEP helps to fight trans discrimination in the workplace, while the LA LGBT Center supports the general needs of LGBTQ people in the city.

Currently, the program is only available in L.A., but the hairstylist has plan to expand all across the country.

"The beauty industry is such a vibrant community," Fitzsimons tells Teen Vogue. "To me, beauty can be empowering. What's most important to me is people being their most empowered selves, and if self-care or beauty products can help someone walk out into the world with confidence, then I want to help them do that."

According to the publication, many of his clients, including Jenner, Mitchell, and Graham, have already donated to the cause.

But you don't have to be a celebrity to positively impact the trans community. Anyone can donate to their local LGBTQ Center or take the time to volunteer, Fitzsimons says.

"After years of receiving beauty and self-care products and not knowing what to do with them, I decided to set up a program where we could pool our resources and give back," Fitzsimons tells Teen Vogue. "I really think this program will not only provide access to much-needed resources, but also shed a light on the need for outreach and support."

Though giving beauty products to the trans community may seem like a small contribution, supporting trans people's right to gender affirming self-expression makes more of an impact than you think. That's especially true for a community that struggles with high rates of unemployment, meaning the financial freedom to drop dollars on beauty products often isn't possible.

"I hope people will understand that there is something that they can do to help," Fitzsimons says. "Small acts of service add up to big changes."