Hair for Black women is a big part of our identity, and hairstylists help make us look and feel our best. Celebrity hairstylist and Pattern Beauty ambassador Mideyah Parker is a master at boosting her client’s confidence and encouraging women to embrace their natural hair — both texture and style. Parker’s expertise is highly sought after, from working with Naomi Campbell to Tracee Ellis Ross, she educates clients on properly managing their hair and what styles benefit their hair health.
What was your path to success like?
After hair school, I knew I wanted to be an instructor and do celebrity hair. I set myself up to do so when I moved to Atlanta and taught hair school at Aveda Institute. I moved to New York shortly after to pursue my celebrity stylist goals. I’ve since worked with Dior, Travis Scott, and many more. Now, I work with Pattern Beauty, and we’ve worked on the new Heat campaign together after building a genuine relationship.
How can Black women feel more comfortable and confident with their natural hair?
It’s really about what we like about our hair. People automatically assume when they see us with different styles that we woke up this way, but we have to do a lot of maintaining and training on our hair. Feeling comfortable is embracing our natural hair and doing what makes us feel good.
Can you share some tips for someone struggling with maintaining their hair?
You can watch videos of people you like who do protective styles; but also play with your hair. Find products that work for you and take all of that and make it your own. Practice makes perfect. Please pay attention to what you’re doing, and which protective styles and products work best to get your [desired] look.
