My family raised me to always be kind, as we never know just how much of an impact it can have on others. And it’s true – sometimes the smallest act of kindness can have a huge effect on someone’s life. For João Coelho Guimarães, a man living in Brazil, a simple makeover ended up having a big effect for the better.

At the time, Guimarães was experiencing being homeless. He had been noticed by a local businessman, Alessandro Lobo, who was the owner of a men’s clothing store and barber service called Padoo. Lobo decided to be nice and offer Guimarães some food.

Guimarães politely declined, asking instead for a beard trim. Lobo obliged but went the extra mile and gave Guimarães a full-on makeover.

Lobo welcomed Guimarães into his salon where his team of barbers trimmed his beard, cut and styled his hair, and cleaned him up. Lobo also provided Guimarães with some new clean clothes, which included three shirts, a pair of pants, a jacket, and shoes. It took about 2 hours, but the transformation was eventually complete. Guimarães looked like a whole new man.

According to Bored Panda, Lobo shared that the homeless man was extremely grateful as well as pleased with his new look. Lobo stated, “He didn’t say much, but the tears were enough. We were surprised to see that he was also beautiful on the outside, not only in.”

Guimarães had been homeless for more than 10 years. During that time he had not had any contact with his family, who had come to assume he was dead.

However, the makeover would soon lead to a long-awaited reunion, as Lobo shared before and after pictures of Guimarães’ transformation to his Instagram page. The post ended up going viral and was seen by Guimarães’ mother and sister, who instantly recognized him. That is when Guimarães’ sister, Maria Coelho, made the trip out to the city of Goiania in order to reunite with Guimarães.

While Guimarães was thrilled to be able to get in touch with his family once more, he wasn’t ready to change his life. Even though Coelho was more than happy to open up her home to him, he didn’t want to go. Guimarães shared that he felt much freer on the streets. Regardless, the makeover was one that ended up changing Guimarães’ life for the better as he and his family are now in contact once again – and it’s all thanks to Lobo’s small act of kindness.

As Lobo stated, according to Bored Panda, “A little help is always welcome in such a difficult time.”

And we couldn’t agree more! Always be kind to others.