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Beauty Beyond Bars was first envisioned by Lea Nepomuceno, who recognized the need for beauty and hygiene accessibility in correctional facilities during her interviews with formerly incarcerated people as part of Youth for Juvenile Justice Reform.

Lea was shocked by people’s accounts of making DIY toiletries, including many stories of people exchanging food for components needed to create shampoo, makeup, and soap. The more interviews she conducted, the more evident it became that action was needed.

While the large majority of criminal justice reform organizations approach reform through re-entry and legal reform, Beauty Beyond Bars focuses on improving the everyday living conditions of people behind bars — understanding reform through the lens of public health.

At Beauty Beyond Bars, Lea is meeting incarcerated people where they are — detention centers, jails, and prisons — to deliver essential beauty and hygiene products. These are items that incarcerated people would not receive unless they purchase them via a commissary, a store only a few incarcerated people can afford. While bringing beauty behind bars, Lea is taking the conversation beyond by advocating for legislation that improves living conditions behind bars.

We believe that beauty goes beyond that of appearances. It is about restoring human dignity in the criminal justice system. Prisons have the potential to be spaces of rehabilitation, and it is up to us to make that a reality — one conversation, one donation at a time.