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Farouk Systems, Inc. and the City of Port Arthur teamed up to donate dozens of CHI Hair Care Products Thursday to the Port Arthur Independent School District’s cosmetology program.

Farouk Systems recently donated a $1 million worth of BioSilk Moisturizing Hand Sanitizer and CHI Hair Care Products to Port Arthur residents. The event left behind excess boxes full of dry shampoo, shining serum and hairspray.

Port Arthur Mayor Thurman Bartie and the Houston-based company teamed up to give the leftover items to Memorial High School.

“There was a surplus,” Bartie said. “So I asked to give it to the CATE program, more specifically the cosmetology program. I think it’s going to be beneficial to the students as they learn this trade.”

The directors and students of the cosmetology program were excited to hear the news.

Cosmetology Instructor Yvonne Wesley said the donation allows the students to work with name-brand products.

“At first we were just using the basics, but we take in customers and so now the students can see the difference between brand product and non-brand products,” Wesley said.

She intends to use the products to elevate the student experience.

“When they get ready to go into the salon, they will know that this product will help do this, to this type of hair,” she said. “That’s the difference.”

The pallets brought in by the truckload include dry conditioner, oil sheens, hairspray, creams, gels, silk elixir’s and more.

“It’s amazing,” Wesley said. “The students all have different stations and so I’m going to make a pack for every student, so that when they come in they will be able to set their station up with their different products to use every day. We weren’t doing that at first. Before it was just ‘bring something in if you’ve got it.’ Now, everyone will have their own setup. It’s crazy. I am so super excited.”

The senior class is getting ready to go to the State Board, so Wesley is demonstrating what’s what every day on Zoom.

Opening each box of product with excitement, Wesley said she couldn’t say “thank you” enough to Farouk Systems and CEO Farouk Shami.

“It’s unbelievable that a person would want to donate this to a city and not just that, but to our school,” she said. “To pick us, I just want to say thank you Mr. Farouk. I always knew about him, and I always used his products, now I just want to say thank you and it means a lot for you to do this for us.”