For Aveda Arts & Sciences Institute Arlington graduate Victor Anthony Jr., working in beauty has always been about more than changing how someone looks. It is about helping people feel seen, cared for and like themselves again.
Today, Victor is the founder and practitioner behind The Donna Jean Hair Restoration Clinic in Arlington, Virginia. The clinic brings artistry and science together through specialized color services, scalp care and custom cranial prostheses, also commonly known as medical wigs, for people experiencing hair loss.
Named in honor of Victor’s late mother, the clinic provides the kind of personalized hair-restoration experience he once wished had been available to her.
What Is The Donna Jean Hair Restoration Clinic?
Victor describes his practice as “one room with two kinds of care.”
The first is The Color Work, which includes precision short-hair color, silver and grey transitions, and gender-affirming color services.
The second is The Restoration Work: trichological assessments, scalp therapy and custom cranial prostheses for people experiencing hair loss related to chemotherapy, alopecia and other causes.
As a Certified Cranial Prosthesis Engineer, trichology student and TRICARE-authorized practitioner, Victor combines technical knowledge with an understanding of how personal hair loss can be.
His work also reaches beyond Arlington. Through Shipped Sanctuary, Victor serves patients nationwide, helping make specialized hair-restoration care accessible to those who may not have an experienced provider nearby.
How Did Aveda Arts Prepare Victor for His Career?
When Victor reflects on his time at Aveda Arts Arlington, one of the things he remembers most is the joy.
“I remember laughing every day. I credit Aveda with showing me the joy of being in this industry.”
That experience helped shape the way he now approaches his own work. Victor believes beauty professionals have the opportunity to be “daymakers”—but that they should also make space for their own fulfillment and joy.
“We are daymakers to other people—and the lesson I carry is that we are allowed to let our own day be made, too,” he said. “It is a privilege to do this work, and we should sit in that privilege as often as we can.”
His education also showed him the importance of creating an environment where people feel they belong.
Victor remembers feeling seen, supported and encouraged from his first visit to the Institute. His educators helped him recognize his talent and believe there was a place for him in the beauty industry exactly as he was.
Today, he brings that same intention to every client interaction.
“Before anything else, they feel they belong in the chair, exactly as they are.”
Why Did Victor Choose Hair Restoration?
The Donna Jean Hair Restoration Clinic is deeply personal to Victor. He created its restoration services to provide the kind of care he could not find for his mother.
“When I built the restoration side, I was building the option Donna Jean did not have,” he said.
The purpose behind the work became especially clear when one of his first patients saw herself in her custom cranial prosthesis.
“The first time a woman left my chair with a prosthesis that looked like her own hair—not a wig she tolerated, but her—I knew the whole pivot was worth it.”
Victor has since received recognition for his work, including being named a Face of Sola Studios for 2026. But for him, helping someone recognize themselves again remains the accomplishment that matters most.
Building a Career That Reflects Who You Are
Victor’s journey shows that a beauty education can lead to many different career opportunities, including highly specialized work that blends creativity, science and compassionate care.
Early in his career, Victor felt the instinct to offer a little of everything to everyone. His most meaningful work emerged when he instead became more specific about who he wanted to serve and what he could offer them.
His advice to current students and aspiring beauty professionals is simple:
“Build the practice only you can build.”
“Your difference is not a liability to manage; it is the entire offer,” he said. “Learn the science underneath the art, because that is what lets you care for the clients other chairs turn away.”
He also encourages professionals to protect the joy that brought them into the industry.
“You cannot make anyone’s day from an empty place.”
What’s Next for Victor Anthony?
Victor is currently focused on expanding Shipped Sanctuary so that patients are not limited by geography when looking for someone who understands their hair and hair-loss needs.
In the future, he also hopes to teach.
The educators at Aveda Arts helped Victor believe he belonged in the beauty industry. One day, he wants to offer that same encouragement to the next generation of Black, Brown and Queer professionals who want to build clinical, sustainable and purpose-driven practices of their own.
“That feels like the way to close the circle,” he said.
From finding his own sense of belonging at Aveda Arts Arlington to creating that feeling for every person who enters his clinic, Victor has built a career rooted in care, purpose and possibility.
And he has done it by following the advice he now shares with future professionals: building the practice only he could build.