Another major industry accolade has landed for Sam Villa: the 2026 Legacy Award from Beauty Changes Lives.
With the honor, the nonprofit organization recognized that Villa’s body of work is defined not just by artistry and technical mastery, but by a passion for education and mentorship and an ongoing commitment to lifting and supporting others in the industry.
Villa won the Legacy Award for Hair, along with fellow honorees Jan Arnold, co-founder of CND (Nails) and Marti Morenings, Chair and CIO of Universal Companies (Wellness).
“When you begin your journey in this industry you don’t think about legacy, you think about survival!” Villa joked when accepting the award. “About how to hold the shears without cutting yourself, how to meet other people’s expectations, and how to get through fully booked back-to-back days with no lunch break!
“Yet somehow, year after year, haircut after haircut, class after class, stage after stage … all those little moments became a life,” he said. “A life dedicated to people. Because that is what this industry has been for me — not just hair, but people.”
Beauty Changes Lives is dedicated to empowering and equipping the next generation of beauty and wellness professionals through scholarships, mentorship, and career resources.
“Sam Villa represents everything Beauty Changes Lives believes about the power of education to transform lives,” said Lisa Roeberg, its president and executive director. “Sam has helped countless professionals build not only their technical skills, but also the confidence, purpose, and passion needed to create lasting careers in beauty.”
The latest honor for the stylist, educator, and co-founder of the Sam Villa Company joins a formidable list of industry awards that places him in rare company.
They include: the American Beauty Vision Awards Lifetime Achievement Award (2025); the Intercoiffure America/Canada Leo Passage Award (2025); NAHA Educator of the Year (2021); the International Hairdressing Awards’ International Hair Influencer of the Year (2020) and the NAHA Lifetime Achievement Award (2017), to name just a few.
Villa acknowledged his success came from unyielding support from many sources: his 34-year partnership with Redken, for whom he served as its Global Artistic Ambassador, to his decades-long friendship with Sam Villa Company co-founders Beth Carson and Kurt Garehime, and to his wife Lisa and son Mateo who made countless sacrifices to support his dream.
Villa is ushering his brand into its next chapter alongside Kevin Cameron, the new President and CEO of the Sam Villa Company and former executive at Pivot Point International.
Cameron will lead the brand's digital-first evolution. He succeeds Carson, who served as CEO for nine years, and is transitioning to a role as Strategic Advisor to support the company's long-term vision and growth.