September 2, 2016, by The Ingenuity Lab
Kohl Kreatives: Empowering transgender teens
Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past year, you will have all heard of Caitlyn Jenner and her emotional journey to discovering her transgender identity. Since her history-making interview with Vanity Fair, awareness of and support for the trans community has risen dramatically.
In the UK alone, there are over 650,000 transgender people on their own personal journey of self-discovery – many of whom have to face transphobia on a regular basis.
An example of Kohl Kreatives’ editorial work
University of Nottingham Alumni and The Ingenuity Lab’s very own Trishna Daswaney (Management, 2014) runs Kohl Kreatives, a successful business offering make-up artists and products for editorials, weddings and workshops.
When her team are not busy working on the shoots with the likes of Bally and Abercrombie & Fitch, they offer support to the trans community in Nottingham and further afield, and works to help them feel good about themselves on a daily basis.
One of the organisations that Kohl Kreatives support is Worksop Out On Wednesdays (WOW), who run confidential one-to-one and weekly group sessions to give young LGBTQ people a safe and non-judgemental place to be themselves.
Trishna recently attended two of the group sessions and has supported several of the trans young people accessing the WOW service to learn make-up tips to enhance their features of their identified gender. Claire Bradley from WOW shared her feedback on the sessions with us, saying,
Just one of the many young people Kohl Kreatives are helping feel more empowered
“The young people fed back that they found the session beneficial and now feel more confident in applying make-up to make them feel more comfortable in their identified gender.
One of them, who has transitioned from male to female, had not used skin care products before and needed guidance as to how to start using them and care for their skin after shaving as a female. They found the session very productive and were able to reiterate all of the tips and information Trishna had provided them with.
She was very approachable and everyone who attended the sessions said how comfortable they had felt during the session.”
Trishna has also been involved in offering support for similar organisations, such as OutBurst. She recently got in touch with them to offer free skincare and make-up sessions aimed at reaching their trans young people.
OutBurst is a support group run by Base 51 for people aged 11-19 who are Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans* or are questioning their sexual or gender identity. Youth Support Worker, Jess Ternet, said,
Trishna running a Kohl Kreatives make-up tutorial
“Although LGBTQ work is inclusive of people exploring their gender identities, trans* people are often forgotton about as many organisations focus on working with the people who are exploring their sexual identities.
In June, Trishna came to run her first session and has been back a few times since. These sessions have been very successful: the feedback from our young people is great and they have expressed their excitement to continue working with Kohl Kreatives in to the future.
Trishna has enabled our young people to explore their personal identities in a safe space. This has allowed them to experiement with make-up, hairstyles and skincare techniques in a friendly, non-judgemental environment. Overall, these sessions have left many of our young people empowered.”
It is fantastic to see Kohl Kreatives working to give young trans people greater confidence and allow them to face everyday situations feeling empowered. We look forward to hearing more inspiring testimonials as Trishna and her team continue to raise awareness for and support the trans community.
If you are interested in finding out more about the workshops run by Kohl Kreatives, please visit their website.
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