Key Takeaways:
Beauty professionals see their clients 48% more often than physicians do. Stylists, barbers, nail technicians, and makeup artists are among the most consistent points of connection in people’s everyday lives.
Beauticians are trusted not only with their clients’ appearances but also with their stories, insecurities, and even secrets. They balance these emotional responsibilities alongside the demands of running a successful business. On top of all this, the workforce behind beauty remains structurally undervalued in its education, compensation, and perception.
Often, society frames beauty as a trade rather than the profession it truly is. LEAD | ROLFS Global Institute, in partnership with L’Oréal USA Professional Products Division (PPD), is working to close that perception gap.
The institute’s new documentary Does Beauty Matter? explores the industry through three guiding lenses: education, innovation, and cultural influence. The film positions beauty as a serious economic and cultural force, while spotlighting LEAD’s broader goal of transforming beauty education through accredited higher learning and redefining what long-term success can look like for both aspiring and veteran professionals.
“We built the narrative around the people who carry beauty’s responsibility—professionals who impact external expression and inner well-being—and revealed what happens when we finally invest in them,” Francis Tesmer, founder and CEO of LEAD | ROLFS Global Institute powered by L’Oréal, said to BeautyMatter. “The documentary lets viewers feel the human stakes: the pride, the resilience, and the lived impact in every beauty experience, in beauty businesses, and in communities. It was a personal and emotional mission to change the image and perception of the beauty industry and its workforce collectively.”
Fewer than 5% of beauty professionals, more than 90% of whom are women, hold a college degree. Education is largely limited to cosmetology school, which is essential for licensure but often insufficient for career sustainability, leadership development, or financial literacy.
That gap is reflected in the roughly 120,000 students who enter cosmetology school each year in the US, with only about 40,000 remaining in the industry after graduation. The issue isn’t about a lack of talent or passion, but rather preparation.
Throughout the film, street interviews reveal how deeply people value their relationships with beauty professionals. For Tesmer, the contrast between society’s reliance on beauty and the limited investment in its workforce reinforces the importance of LEAD’s mission.
“Society already knows beauty matters in our lives. Now, we need to align our systems, education, and respect for the beauty profession with this reality,” she said. “This film unveils the most radical reinvention in beauty education—transforming the beauty industry worldwide from the inside out. Until now, the beauty industry has not had a higher-education program exclusively designed for them.”
LEAD offers the first accredited college and university degree programs created specifically for beauty professionals, allowing students to earn associate and bachelor’s degrees while receiving credit for existing licenses.
Through partnerships with institutions including Mesa Community College, where students can pursue a first-of-its-kind Associate in Applied Science in Beauty and Wellness, and Arizona State University, along with globally accessible online programs, LEAD expands beauty education. The curriculum highlights the intersectionality of the industry with courses that range from ingredient testing to psychology.
Most students receive scholarships from LEAD, and licensed professionals can earn up to one year of free college credit. Programs are also customized to accommodate different financial, academic, and geographic needs.
“We’re proving through education that beauty is a powerful force that integrates science, art, business, and sustainability—and that the professionals who deliver it deserve full professional stature and access to success,” said Tesmer.
This approach reflects the realities of beauty careers. As the documentary highlights, beauticians are confidence builders, entrepreneurs, and informal therapists. With client relationships rooted in trust and vulnerability, LEAD’s education equips them to navigate these roles that require more than just technical training.
Voices from across the industry reinforced these themes in the film. Beauty journalist and podcast host Olivia Hancock emphasized how “change starts with one-on-one interactions within our community” and reiterated the need for more positive language surrounding beauty careers, calling them “aspirational, worthy, and affluent” professions. Filip Spacek, President of PPD, North America at L'Oréal, highlighted the unseen labor behind the chair—the strategy, creativity, and risk involved in running a beauty business that’s rarely recognized by outsiders.
As LEAD hopes to inspire the next generation, Tesmer argues future beauty leaders will be defined not just by skill, but by interdisciplinary fluency.
Professionals need an “innovative education that matches the industry’s complexity and economic reach,” she said. They must have the mindset to “reinvent systems, not just work within them.”
Ultimately, Does Beauty Matter? illuminates LEAD’s work in creating career pathways for beauty professionals that were not available to them just a few years ago. By expanding higher-education access, the institute is helping shape long and respected careers.
“This film is a mirror,” Tesmer said. “It tells beauty professionals: you are essential, you are powerful, and you deserve more.”
Watch the documentary to learn how LEAD is redefining the professional landscape of beauty at https://leadinstitute.degree/#film.