Today we’d like to introduce you to Toni Moore.
Alright, thank you for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
The Bloom Journey. This journey involves my love for Christ and building God’s kingdom. I have been called to open a Bible-based Christian beauty & finishing school in Weatherford, Texas! This is my story and I’m sticking to it! When I was in my early teens, I attended a “Modeling and Finishing School” and learned all about “outer beauty”.
Things like how to take care of hair and skin and put on makeup, dress properly and accessorize, write thank you notes, set a pretty table, and entertain guests. How to walk, talk and (not) chew gum! I have always had a love for beauty and all things beautiful but ended up in masculine, male-dominated career fields (military and law enforcement).
I believe God gives us “alternate routes” where we gain experiences that will add value and color to our lives so that we, in turn, can add value to others. After three other careers, I was in the middle of pursuing yet another career and was attending law school when I was introduced to a business opportunity in the beauty industry, and I turned the corner (or rather made a U-turn) back to where God knew I needed to be; teaching and mentoring women to be the best version of themselves.
After some years as a leader in a direct sales beauty and skincare company, I returned to school (at the age of 50) and became a licensed esthetician in Texas. In February 2020, I attended a Christian women’s silent retreat. 48 hours of silence. No talking. No devices. Unplug and be still. During this time in silence, I was given three sentences, which I wrote down in a notebook. 1) I was created for something bigger. 2) It would be bigger than I imagined and not be what I thought it might be, and 3) it would be HARD.
Six months later, (in the middle of a pandemic) I began a 500-hour Student Instructor program at my alma mater and became a licensed esthetics instructor. The story of how it all unfolded is filled with divine appointments, perfectly imperfect timing, and straight obedience in the face of fear. Fear of the unknown. Fear of the commitment. Just plain fear of change. Am I speaking to anybody out there? During this program, I saw a need for a Christian beauty school. But how? I did not know what I did not know but God knew. I had the passion, and He had my purpose.
After obtaining my Esthetic Instructor License, I began to substitute teach in esthetics. This experience opened my eyes to the need for Bible-based education in this industry, but my old friend, fear got in the way again. I had a good friend who shared this vision with me, and who was my biggest cheerleader. In September 2021, she passed away due to complications from COVID and I was devastated. Fear had taken the place of my faith. In January 2022, I attended another silent retreat, where I received an epiphany and was overflowing with God-breathed confidence to begin this journey that is now Bloom Beauty Academy.
Bloom is not just a word that indicates growth but it is an acronym that stands for… Believe… Love… Overcome Obstacles… Move (and Motivate others to do the same). I am a Christ follower, Lover of Jesus, Wife, Mother, Grandmother, Entrepreneur, Achiever, Dreamer, Believer, Servant Leader, Educator, and Life Coach. My gifting, is all about transformation, but Bloom Beauty Academy is not about me, Toni Moore.
Bloom Beauty Academy is about God and His calling for me and I assure you, He has equipped me well through education and the life experiences He has given me. You will hear me say “our school” as I refer to my partnership with Him. I am simply using the gifts and talents He has given me to pursue women and help them become the women of excellence He intends them to be.
My life and experience in the beauty industry have offered me an opportunity to give a fair assessment of a disturbing trend I see so many women (of all ages) engage in. They try to model themselves after the unscrupulous images that the world creates for them in magazines and social media; unhealthy images that result in low self-esteem, self-hatred, and destructive behavior.
Our Father does not want this for His daughters! Our mission is two-fold: Growing young women of excellence with Bloom Academy Finishing School and growing professional women of excellence with Bloom Beauty Academy Professional Esthetics and Advanced Esthetics. But first, finishing school. Just like the finishing schools of old, the focus is a positive transformation.
This is a 6-week course that meets once a week to help girls and women of all ages (9 to 19+) know and better understand their true worth in Jesus so they can bloom and grow in His light rather than succumb to the darkness of the world around us. Our finishing school focuses on inner and outer beauty, which is essential for confidence! Bloom Beauty Academy also offers programs for advanced esthetic coursework (permanent makeup, permanent hair removal, and chemical peels).
In January 2023, we will offer licensing programs for esthetics, lash extensions, and hair weaving and will expand to massage therapy, nails, and cosmetology in the years to come. I believe that as beauty professionals, we have a very special opportunity to add value to other people’s lives by helping them look beautiful on the outside, but God wants us to be beautiful on the inside as well. He has asked me to develop future beauty professionals who can help others be beautiful, and be blessed, inside and out.
Bloom Beauty Academy has a unique infusion of a Bible-based curriculum and a professional beauty industry curriculum. This “blessed blend” reminds me of Proverbs 30:31 “Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised”. I am called to do this and He was right. It has NOT been easy. But just like a butterfly that must struggle to free itself from its chrysalis to gain the strength in its wings to fly, the challenges serve their purpose to make Bloom and our mission stronger.
I have spent time praying over this and all that is involved with it: the development of the curriculum, a suitable space, staffing, and most importantly the students, and community who would benefit from this type of unique education and the services we offer. I believe this is a wonderful opportunity to build up the Kingdom of God in this fallen world and I feel beyond blessed to be part of it as His hands and feet!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Not easy at all! When I received the “vision” for Bloom Beauty Academy in 2020, God warned me that it would not be easy. He said, it would be HARD and I had no idea just how hard it would be. There were a lot of different types of struggles along the way: financial, health, personal, and legal. We struggled to find a location that was within our budget of which we had none.
My husband and I have financed Bloom from our savings. A sacrifice we were willing to make. We found the perfect location (a former beauty salon and spa) but the rent was too high. In obedience, I wrote an email to the landlord to ask for reduced rent. He not only reduced the rent but also blessed us with some interior renovations as well. During the time between February 2022 and our soft opening on August 28, 2022, I experienced major surgery, two cancer scares, and a bout of covid. Wow!
Then a person I trusted to help develop some of the structure (curriculum, business format, filing with the state for licensing, etc.) took my money and didn’t provide the promised services. It was an unfortunate experience but one that I learned a very valuable lesson from. Then there is the application process with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) to become a licensed school. The process is involved and there were required documents that needed to accompany the application which (it seemed) nobody could complete.
Lots of promises made and not kept! Seriously, you can’t make this stuff up. We were two steps forward and three steps back for what seemed like an eternity but God’s delay is not His denial. I have discovered that I can do everything within my abilities using the gifts and talents He has given me, but at some point needed to just surrender and trust in Him to bring those people who are equipped to do the rest.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I have been in the beauty industry for over 17 years and have learned a lot. A lot about people and even more about myself. The thing I guess you could say I specialize in is “transformation”. As I reflect on my experiences these past years, I see a trend. The thing that brings me the most joy is helping people transform their lives. Whether it be an “outer transformation” with a quick 60-minute facial and mini color cosmetic makeover or a complete (inner) life transformation where outlook and attitudes are changed and hope is restored.
In the esthetics world, I specialize in treating cancer survivors, those battling acne, and women struggling with aging skin and issues related to aging. I offer comprehensive and effective treatments for reducing acne, permanently removing hair (electrolysis), and restoring a youthful appearance. I am most known for offering esthetic services to people completely gratis, just because they need it and especially because I enjoy helping them.
My favorite thing to do is “silent facials” which is offering free facials during the many Christian women’s silent retreats I have attended over the past few years. I know that doing services for free doesn’t pay the bills, but sometimes it’s not about the money. I have been told that my hands are “healing” hands (something I didn’t know until I got into this industry as a professional). That being said, I honestly feel that if God has given me the gift of healing hands then I should give that gift away.
What do you think about happiness?
My true happiness comes from Jesus and all He has done for me. It is because of Him that I am the person I am today and the person I will continue to be because wouldn’t you agree we are all a bit “unfinished”? I love to help downtrodden women. Who out there has lost hope? Who doesn’t know where to turn? I especially have a heart for women who have made mistakes in the past and are ready to be made new.
The transformation of these women makes me incredibly joyful. I remember the very first time I did a makeover on someone. It was in high school. There was a classmate of mine whom I was randomly partnered up with for a project. I didn’t know her and she didn’t know me but I saw that she needed help. Although she was young, her family needed her to go get a job to help with the bills.
She was going to an interview and I suspected she didn’t have the right clothes to wear. We got together for a “girls’ day” where I showed her how to do her makeup, and her hair and let her go “shopping” in my closet. I watched her face light up and her confidence grow. She was forever changed. It didn’t take that much effort on my part to be kind and help her and it brought me such joy.
Well, she went to the interview and got the job! Cinderella stories are the absolute best, aren’t they? I heard a saying once that if you find something you would do whether you get paid for doing it or not, then you are truly working within your calling. Transforming faces and lives is my calling and I get to do that with Jesus right beside me. He brings me to the people who need me and then brings me through the process by giving me the resources as well. I pray for His guidance DAILY!
Pricing:
- Student Instructor Program $1,495
- Texas Electrolysis Certification $1,495
- Permanent Makeup Certification $1,495
- Esthetics Bridge Program for Cosmetologists $995
- Master Esthetician Program $4,795
Contact Info:
- Website: www.
bloombeautyacademy.org - Instagram: @Bloom_Beauty_
Academy2022 - Facebook: @bloombeautyacademy
- Youtube: @Bloom2020
