Caribbean Life
August 15th, 2006

Program aimed at building teenage girls’ self-confidence

By Ruth Moyse
Gillian Garcia, an educator for Soft Sheen Carson and hairstylist, believes in giving back to her community. This year, she started a new program, The Best Me, to help young girls learn to take care of their hair, apply makeup and they also get them tips about finance.

The fourweek program which debuted this summer is showing a lot of promises for young girls who need a place where they can build confidence and explore their beauty and identity. Out of 31 girls who signed up for the program. 19 have attended the first session. “I’m all about sharing,” Garcia said. “God bless me so I know I have to give back.”

The program’s goal is to raise awareness and self-esteem in teenage girls. They each have a journal to take notes and keep track of the activities and their new-found knowledge. They are required to write about each particular session they attend. In the first week, the focus was on hair maintenance, and they used a mannequin to practice using hot iron and hair curls. Soft sheen Carson sponsored the hair products gift bags. A celebrity make-up artist will host the makeup session during the second week. “It’s more informative than I thought it would be,’ said 16yearold Tenelle Veira, one of the 31 girls who signed up for The Best Me. “It helps girls like me that don’t know how to take care of their skin and hair. It’s something that keeps you occupied and out of trouble”

The empowering program is sponsored by Gillian Garcia herself and she hopes for a bigger location and funding as the program expands in the next year. Veira wished the program was yearround and enjoy meeting new people she can connect with, A lot of the young girls during
the first week said they attended the program to educate themselves and gain selfconfidence, They
were very excited about getting beauty tips and
products.

The Best Me was advertised through newspapers and also posters were up at Perfection beauty salon on Flatbush Avenue. Most of the teenagers were referred to the program by clients from Perfection Hairstyling Team owned by Garcia. Garcia’s daughter, Gilleka, inspired her to start the program after she realized the difficulty to adjust as a teenager. “Our hair makes us feel confident and beautiful.” Garcia said. “Beauty is skin deep but when you have complimentary style, you feel much more confident on the outside and beautiful on the inside:”