Mental Health Monday: Local salon promotes beauty on the outside and inside

REXBURG, Idaho (KIFI) – True beauty starts on the inside; Something one local salon stands behind.

Last week we introduced you to a new mental health program called InUPowers. That program is teaching local stylist to help people feel beautiful from the inside out improving their mindset and how they can care for others.

Beautifulness has a deeper meaning at Tami's Salon in Rexburg.

Instead, they break it down to 4 words: be, you (U), to, fullness. Each with their own definition.

• Be: "Your aliveness."
• U: "Your unique beauty formula combination that makes you, U!"
• To: "Moving forward (emotional health)."
• Fullness: "Who you really are and what you do."

"Our 'BeUtofullness' program teaches stylists how to honor themselves and understand the client in their chair, and then also be able to handle the emotional spew that we tend to get when somebody sits in a chair and is getting services done," Founder and CEO of InUPowers and Tami's Salon Tami Hymas said.

They do all this, to help enhance client services.

"As a hairdresser," Hymas said. "I was behind the chair and I would feel and hear emotion and hurt and pain from people over and over again. And it didn't matter if they were homeless or the former Dean of Harvard Business College. The emotions were the same."

These stylists, or "Investment Touch Professionals" as they are called at Tami's Salon, are learning how to understand others, each other and themselves with help from InUPowers.

Tami's Salon General Manager Nicole Abbey said, "When you come in, you're not just getting a service. We're not just doing your hair and sending you on your way. We practice a lot of things to help you feel comfortable and help you feel safe, and help you feel beautiful."

"Everyone has emotions and things that lead up to the way that they are in their life. And so by being able to recognize maybe why they might be feeling this way or that they are feeling this way, I can adapt," Investment Touch Professional Jessica Carter said.

Each week their Investment Touch Professionals meet to build on their knowledge about InUPowers and BeUtofullness to provide a comforting, uplifting experience, which is something that we're told can be hard to find in the industry.

"The industry does a lot of good, but it has a lot of unhealthy habits," Hymas said. "There's just things we've seen, I've seen in the industry that makes people look so beautiful, that doesn't always make everybody feel so beautiful."

Tying together beauty services and mental health can seem confusing for those on the outside looking in, but for these Investment Touch Professionals it makes so much sense.

"You as a stylist, BeUtofullness helps you as well. And they care about your mental health and how you take care of yourself and you've got to be 100% to help take care of others," Investment Touch Professional Paige Dye said.

InUPowers launches nationwide for schools, businesses and homes on April 5.