My Beauty Camp gives young girls confidence
SANTA MONICA STUDIOS A self-proclaimed tomboy who gets a kick out of wrestling for Santa Monica High School’s freshman squad, Melanie Delia isn’t one to fuss over her hair or her clothes. A week ago, she didn’t even wear makeup.
But after spending a few days at My Beauty Camp (www.mybeautycamp.com), the 14-year-old said she is finally learning what it takes to be a well-rounded young lady. She has learned the importance of taking care of her appearance, but more importantly, she understands what it takes to be independent, successful and respected. In essence, she has learned the old adage that beauty is merely skin deep, but ugly goes deep to the bone.
“Before I wasn’t really into fashion or makeup,” said Delia, a spunky brunette with braces who attended the one-week camp on scholarship as a counselor-in-training for the Santa Monica YMCA. “I had know idea what to do with my hair except comb it in the mornings when I woke up. Now I’m learning the importance of taking care of your appearance, plus so many other things that I really hadn’t thought about before I got here.”
In only her second day at the camp, which caters to girls 11 to 16, Delia was taught how to make healthy snacks like a chicken wrap, create a resume, fill out a job application and balance a checkbook. She also did aerobics and learned about nutrition.
“I’m learning new things every day,” Delia said.
During a recent session of the camp, Delia and the rest of the girls were seated at an L-shaped table in a brightly-decorated performance space with sets of trapeze hanging overhead. The table was covered with plastic place settings that substituted for the real thing. The girls were quiet and focused as they listened to etiquette coach Constance Hoffman, president of Social & Business Graces, Inc., teach them about the do’s and don’ts of dining, which meant learning everything from which forks to use to where to place one’s napkin when they get up to use the restroom.
Now that may sound rather boring to some teens, the girls at My Beauty Camp seemed to enjoy it immensely. That’s because the camp counselors make it interesting, the girls said, interspersing more serious lessons with sessions on skin care and style. The girls are very excited about being in a fashion show at the end of camp.
“It’s really fun,” said 12-year-old Ashanti Stewart. “All the girls are very nice and everyone is starting to get to know each other. On the first day it was kind of quiet, but now everyone is more comfortable and we are starting to make some good friends.”
My Beauty Camp, which currently rents space at Santa Monica Studios, was created by skin care therapist Gabrielle Thomas three years ago as a way to help young girls get through those awkward teen years when emotions are running wild and puberty seems to be so cruel. Thomas said she was an awkward teen herself who really had no guidance on how to be a lady and really didn’t understand the true meaning of beauty.
“I really had no confidence growing up,” said Thomas, 26, a junior at UCLA.“No one was really around to give me the tools to be a lady who was beautiful inside and out.”
At a time when young women are attracting media attention for all the wrong reasons — Lindsay Lohan’s cocaine arrest in Santa Monica and Nicole Richie’s guilty plea for driving while under the influence being the latest — Thomas felt it was important for girls to have positive role models who can teach them right from wrong and how to survive the trying times that every teen experiences.
“We are trying to get them to understand that (many celebrities) are not setting a good example,” Thomas said. “But at the same time, we are not trying to judge these people. Instead, we are trying to help our young ladies to be successful and live their lives in a very positive manner.”
Girls at the camp said they don’t idolize celebrities who are known more for their run-ins with the law than their work on the big screen or in the recording studio. They said they would much rather follow in the footsteps of their camp counselors, especially Thomas, who is still a junior at UCLA but has found the time to start her own business.
“Gabrielle is so inspiring,” said Morgan Ball, a 13-year-old who lives in Culver City. “It’s like these celebrities are doing what they are doing just for claps, you know, just to get attention and that’s ridiculous … We don’t plan on doing drugs.”
The camp is open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday. The cost is $420 for one week, or $395 for those who register early online. Thomas and her team like to keep the camps small, around 10 to 15 girls, so space is limited. Thomas said they are already booked until the last week of August, which happens to be the last week camp is in session.
“We try to cater to girls from all over the area,” Thomas said.“We have kids from Brentwood and Westwood to the hood.”
Many campers come on scholarship, while others earned a free ride by winning a poetry contest sponsored by OrthoNeutrogena.
“True beauty lies within,” Thomas said. “It’s not about how you dress, but really how you treat people. This has been the most rewarding experience and it’s something I see myself doing for quite a long time.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on August 2, 2007. Read the original PDF.