Caroline Hirons is calling on consumers and fellow members of the beauty industry to help struggling aestheticians, make-up artists and therapists.
The influencer and aesthetician launched the Beauty Backed campaign in partnership with industry bodies BABTAC and the British Beauty Council.
The petition and charity appeal is in response to the U-turn on reopening the professional beauty sector and 'close contact services' by the British government on Friday, which ministers deemed to be too unsafe to start up again.
Hairdressers and barbers, who are allowed to trim beards, reopened on 4 July.
The change.org petition has so far been signed by more than 20,000 people and the Beauty Backed GoFundMe page has raised £154,000 in less than 48 hours, exceeding the initial £100,000 goal.
Hirons announced the campaign via Instagram to her 498,000 followers. The beauty veteran described how she has industry friends “who are going bust".
"We cannot keep letting our industry be left behind when so many people have fallen through the cracks," she said while streaming on IGTV on Tuesday.
"The aim is just to get beauty up and working again. I would hope that we can get rid of this campaign in a month. My fear is that they're not going to open and we are going into a second lockdown and, in which case, most of our industry is completely screwed."
The money raised will be donated to Hair & Beauty Charity, an UK-based NGO that offers financial support to industry professionals and their children due to unforeseen circumstances such as illness and bereavement.
Beauty salons were allowed to reopen on 13 July in England, but the majority of treatments involving the face were forbidden, leading beauticians to lose a large portion of their revenue.
In a press conference on 31 July, British Prime Minister said that until 15 August "at the earliest" close contact services must remain closed.
In response, Hirons added: "I strongly suspect that when they [the UK government] come back on the 15th they are not going to open. And if they do not open, I promise you there will be World War Three if the barbers stay open. I'm just saying that now, I do not care if I get arrested."
