With images of silky straight tresses, big wigs, and wacky weaves flooding our timelines on a daily basis. It’s not uncommon for the everyday woman (or Hollywood starlet) to struggle with embracing her natural hair, whether kinky or curly. Among those women learning to “work what ya mama gave ya,” is singer Tinashe.
Recently, the 24-year-old brunette bombshell partnered with John Frieda Hair Care for its “Hair Talks — Make Your Statement” campaign, in an effort to empower women to take pride in their tresses. During a chat with People, the “2 On” recording artist opened up about her own journey to embracing her natural hair, revealing that as a child, she “didn’t know how to take care of it, and I didn’t have anyone to teach me how to do it, so it was pretty wild! It took years of learning what was right. It was definitely a process.”
While she “found inspiration … on blogs,” she added that “It was hard for me to find my own hair reflected in anyone, natural black hair types just weren’t that prevalent in the media.”
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On embracing her natural curl she said, it “took a long time. I definitely got some comments that probably affected my self-esteem. I remember the first time I wore my hair straight to school, this one guy told me my hair looked way better that way. So I lost a lot of confidence in my naturally curly hair. I still sometimes struggle with wearing my natural hair texture, but I’ve come a long way, as I’ve gotten older. But I’ve embraced it more.”
Nowadays, the pop star reveals she’s come into her own both in maintaining and protecting her look. “I wash it, but not like wash it. I don’t necessarily shampoo it every day — but I do condition it. I naturally have drier hair, so I always have to hydrate it. I love the Frizz Ease line from John Frieda, I feel like that works really well. And I try to avoid heat tools and over styling in general. It’s all about being gentle.”
Of partnering with the initiative, which will include a platform for women to showcase the true beauty of their ‘dos, she said, “As a woman, [and] an artist that’s very multifaceted, I have a lot of different things that go into making me who I am and I want to embody all those different sides of me.”
You go, girl!