'Divine Beauty': How This Makeover Ministry Transforms Women in Need From the Inside Out

For more than 15 years, Tanisha Akinloye worked at making people beautiful. Then, she saw the light. 

"Beauty is God. That's my definition of beauty. It's the divine beauty, it's beauty that can only come from God," Tanisha said.

She realized that her calling was so much more than just giving someone a beautiful hair style, it was also about transforming them on the inside.

"What would it be like if I could make my clients whole and complete? From that point on, my mission became to help people rediscover who they truly are – and it all starts from the inside," Tanisha said.

That led her to start her foundation, Empowering Through Beauty, which took her out of the salon and into homeless shelters. 

She and her volunteers go on a mission to find and serve those in need.

"I know the difference it makes. I know the difference it makes whenever you have a job interview, but you're living in a shelter and you can't afford a haircut," she explained.

And while the makeovers happen, Tanisha is most interested in these women's hearts.

On any given day in the Bridgeport, CT area, over 1,000 people are homeless. Empowering Through Beauty offers programs to help women get back on their feet, and holds events where they receive access to services like job resources and HIV testing. 

"In one day we provided more than 300 services for women and families," Tanisha recalled.

To date, 99 percent of the women who have gone through the Empowering Through Beauty women's shelter program have also gone on to receive housing and employment.