It’s a story most of us can relate to: you’re getting ready for a big night out and the dress you ordered arrives on time and fits like a glove. Your make-up is the mirror image to the one from the tutorial you spent copious times rewinding. But your hair – and more specifically your natural hair – just doesn’t play ball. So what do you do, cancel the entire night?
This was a common quandary for 29-year-old Rochelle Hamilton who, like many Black women, had been conditioned into thinking her full head of lustrous coils wasn’t good enough. Or, in this instance, glamorous enough to even make the outfit. Rochelle admits: “During the critical years of finding myself as a young woman, I began to recognise that the image I saw in the mirror didn’t fit the western representation of ‘beauty’.”
As a young Black woman working in construction, Rochelle had experienced discrimination on many levels. It may come as a surprise to learn that even in a male dominated industry, her textured crown still came under scrutiny. “The lack of representation in the media of women like myself with brown skin and coily hair really played in to my insecurities at the time,” she says.
Putting in the graft
Determined to heal the psychological wounds attached to her hair, Rochelle took matters into her own hands and chose to rewrite her hair’s narrative. The first step was embarking on DIY/self-love natural hair journey. It didn’t take long before she started making her own tutorials, which have proven to be a viewing hit. “If I’m honest, the popularity and demand for my hairstyle tutorials took me by surprise,” she says. “Every hairstyle I filmed was the first time I’ve ever tried it on myself.” When it comes to self-love, Rochelle says: “I’m on a journey to better care and love my natural hair. I genuinely wanted to create and share exciting hairstyles that can be enjoyed by everyone. I think about different scenarios, events or places that I would once worry about how I could wear my natural hair and then find a style that would I feel would compliment that particular vibe.”
Healthy Hair Reset
The second step to what Rochelle refers to as her ‘Healthy Hair Reset Journey’ was to set up online platform My Mane. “I created My Mane to empower women who choose to wear their natural crowns,” she says. “The aim is to help others embrace, nurture, protect and grow healthy afro hair.” Offering four-week online hair journey courses and product recommendations, Rochelle is now on a mission to grow her platform further: “I mentor women aged between 24-27 and I aim to share my knowledge with them. I believe to be the representation we need for ourselves and the younger generation. We have to strive not to be dependant on external validation, learn our heritage and be proud of who we are.”
Sound advice
When it comes to the practicalities of going on a natural hair journey, Rochelle has some inspiring advice: “Your hair journey should be a part of your lifestyle. Rather than striving for length, aim for healthy hair. If you’ve had a bad relationship with your hair in the past, you’ll need to rebuild it. Remember the more you love and care for your hair, the more love it will show you in return.”
For more natural hair inspiration visit mymane.co.
