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Transcript

Switching It Up! · The Tight Curls Project

0:08
Hello and welcome to the Tight Curls Project podcast.
0:11
My name is Shadia and today we have a special guest, Amanda Dozier.
0:16
So Amanda, we're excited to have you because of who you are, what you've done, your fabulous hair.
0:21
Amanda is an entrepreneur and someone who's really passionate about developing physical products.
0:27
Amanda, I will tell you before I met you,
0:30
I was told, you know, Shadia you're really interested in hair.
0:33
You know who you need to talk to?
0:35
Amanda, because her hair is always on point, and she's always trying different things.
0:38
And I observed this about you, but I'm a little shy.
0:42
So when we connected, was like, I need to know this person, and I need to know more about her.
0:47
So we're so excited to have you here today.
0:49
Thank you for having me Shadia.
0:50
I'm honored to honestly be here.
0:52
Yes, welcome, welcome.
0:54
I'd to get started with this question.
0:56
What are you loving right now?
0:58
It could be a thing, an experience, something that just brings you joy at this moment.
1:04
feel like you know what I'm going to say, so I'm going to say it is matcha.
1:09
I've been making my own matchas at home with my own syrups and it really does bring me joy because I get a chance to create and it's like it's not that hard to make, you know, not
1:20
for me, but like I've made lavender syrup, blueberry syrup, pistachio syrup.
1:28
Yes.
1:30
Yeah.
1:31
like lavender and putting it in a...
1:36
Oh.
1:36
syrups and the mixtures and all that stuff.
1:41
Probably spending way too much money on it, but I don't care.
1:44
That's something that's bringing me joy.
1:47
Yes,
1:47
And it's so pretty, the colors too.
1:49
Yes, yes, and there's a brand, it's a Black-owned brand and it's ethically sourced and it's called Buji Matcha.
1:59
So I'm gonna send that to you because I just ordered mine.
2:02
Yeah, she actually went to Fuji to source the matcha powder and she just launched it like a week or two ago,
2:12
I love that.
2:14
That's a great thing.
2:16
Well, let's get into it.
2:17
So Amanda, let's talk about little Amanda, little Amanda and her hair.
2:22
What was your what are some of your early memories or, you know, just experiences with your own hair growing up?
2:30
With my own hair I can honestly say so my mom she was in the hair salon every two weeks she was a every two weeks type of woman and So I would be in the back then they called him
2:43
beauticians So I would be in the beauty salon with her looking at like the hair magazines and stuff and I just remember like
2:53
I remember being like, I can't wait to get grown because I'm gonna wear my hair exactly like that.
2:58
And I just thought it was so beautiful and just like whatever.
3:02
So I would get my hair done, but she would like get my hair done in the natural hairstyles.
3:06
Like I will never forget for my eighth birthday, I got my hair braided like halfway.
3:13
And then I had two big puff balls on the side.
3:16
I have to try to find that picture.
3:18
If I can find that picture, I will definitely send it but
3:21
Yes.
3:21
I had two big puff balls on each side and my hair was braided half.
3:26
And I'll never forget that because I got it done, like in the salon.
3:31
And so it was just like so luscious and so glorious, you know.
3:35
So my early days of my hair is I always loved my hair because I saw my mom taking care of her hair.
3:43
And so I always knew to take care of my hair.
3:47
So hair is a big thing, especially being a black woman.
3:51
and my family it still is a big thing because you know your hair is your crown so yeah.
3:58
Was that something you heard as a kid?
4:00
That your hair is your crown?
4:02
Yes, but not in the sense of like being vain, more so in the sense of like just take care of what you have on your head.
4:10
ah
4:11
because a lot of my family members have struggled with alopecia.
4:17
So it was just one of those things of like, it's traction alopecia.
4:22
So if you don't get these certain hairstyles and things like that, you can kind of preserve your hair a little bit more.
4:29
Some things you cannot um prevent, but just taking care of your hair and not doing all the tight styles and.
4:38
all that stuff because my grandmother was a beautician as well and she was like do not dye your hair.
4:44
Did I listen to that?
4:45
No.
4:47
She was huge on that.
4:49
She was like do not dye your hair, know straighten your hair only sometimes but you know love on your hair.
4:56
I did not listen to any of that because I thought she was old school and didn't know she was talking about but she was right.
5:03
So when you were little, usually your mom or someone, did your grandmother do your hair or who was doing your hair when you were, okay.
5:11
And then you had your eighth birthday special occasion, yes.
5:17
I'm sure it so cute because you had, did you come in with a vision or did you have an idea like I want my hair like this or they gave it to you and you just loved it.
5:27
I can't remember, but I'm pretty sure I was probably influenced by something on Disney Channel or something like that.
5:34
I would watch like The Proud Family or That's So Raven or, you know, I'm sure Tia and Tamara.
5:44
Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.
5:45
like that.
5:46
I'm sure I was influenced by something I've seen on TV.
5:49
And also, I don't know if you remember this, but getting the little fashion magazines for teens or like the clothing catalogs.
5:58
I'm pretty sure I saw someone with their hair like that.
6:00
And I was like, I want that too.
6:02
So, mm-hmm.
6:04
Yeah.
6:04
did your oh imagination or ideas about your hair change as you got older?
6:10
I'm guessing some point, were you still getting your hair done in middle school and high school?
6:14
Did you have inspirations or get ideas outside of, uh you know, your family about hair?
6:22
Yes, so I just mentioned magazines.
6:25
So I was a huge magazine person.
6:29
Huge magazine person.
6:31
And I would...
6:34
Oh yes.
6:36
yes, I have my own subscriptions.
6:38
um But I would cut out magazines and stuff and like paste them on my wall.
6:45
things like that, so I have memories of that and I have actual proof of that.
6:51
I would be so obsessed with things that I saw in media.
6:56
So watching 106 and Park was probably the pinnacle of probably all of my influences.
7:04
Yes.
7:07
Do you remember Free from 106 and Park?
7:10
Yeah, she was a huge influence of mine.
7:13
Kelis
7:14
the singer uh Solange.
7:18
Those were like, and then Corinne Bailey Ray, those are like my four big influences of my hair um and probably still to this day.
7:25
But I do have to mention one person.
7:29
My mom allowed me
7:31
to shave one side of my hair when I was in high school.
7:36
And that was actually influenced by Cassie, but
7:42
Now learning how she ended up shaving her hair is not so great, but that she influenced me.
7:48
Yes, at the time and I, my mom let me.
7:52
hmm.
7:54
Yes, and she let she let me shave it and it was so cute.
7:58
So were you I guess that you had some style at school You're bringing the looks Okay.
8:06
Oh That's so fun so you had to get permission and then you went and did it yourself or you went to salon and they did it for you
8:15
Yeah, so um there was a guy at my church who's a barber and he ended up shaving it for me.
8:24
Yeah.
8:27
Yeah.
8:27
about it has to be the certain kind of way.
8:31
No, no, I even think about now.
8:34
I kind of want to get it shaved now.
8:37
Yeah, yeah.
8:39
I love that.
8:39
So yeah, I'm seeing you were seeing people the artists you had meant that you mentioned had fros or curls.
8:46
I feel like Free wore her hair in different styles.
8:48
Pretty.
8:48
She changed it up.
8:50
Yes.
8:51
Yeah.
8:52
So that's great.
8:53
And then did you ever have a relaxer or were you always natural?
8:58
Yeah, so I actually did get a relaxer when I was maybe 10, I think 10 or 11, something like
9:07
And then all the way up until I was about 16, 17 is when I went, I guess, back natural.
9:13
Mm-hmm.
9:14
And what do you think influenced that for you at 10 and then, you know, switching back?
9:19
What was that experience like?
9:21
So I'm pretty sure, here's another artist influence.
9:24
I'm pretty sure it was probably Aaliyah.
9:26
I was gonna- I knew you were gonna say Aaliyah!
9:29
You gotta have the swoop.
9:30
The swoop.
9:32
You know, I'm pretty sure it was Aaliyah, because I actually did have her post.
9:37
I was just telling my husband over the weekend, we were doing something.
9:40
I was like, I have Aaliyah poster in my room.
9:43
I did, I did.
9:44
ah But yeah, she, wanted that swoop bang real bad.
9:49
And I'm pretty sure my mom was like, okay.
9:51
so, I love that.
9:53
how did your relationship with your hair change when you started doing your own hair?
9:57
Or did you always, did you stay with salons primarily, or did you start doing your own hair as you got older?
10:03
I would say I was still going to the salon throughout middle school and high school.
10:12
So I didn't really have to care for my hair on my own.
10:16
because frequent salon visits means that it's not really in your hands like that.
10:22
um So it really wasn't until I started transitioning to natural where I had this moment of feeling kind of overwhelmed by my own hair.
10:35
Yeah.
10:36
What was overwhelming for you?
10:38
What part?
10:39
The texture, knowing what to do.
10:42
Yes, the texture, because at that time, being natural was not a thing for, you know, black women.
10:52
And especially if you have a tighter curl pattern.
10:57
Mm-hmm.
10:57
was not like, you can just wake up and go.
11:01
A wash and go was not even heard of at that time.
11:05
And at least not in my realm of influence.
11:09
And yeah, and so having that transition from relaxed to natural and seeing your natural hair pattern come in and then you have these straight ends, that is alarming, you know?
11:24
And that's very like, what is going on?
11:32
Yeah, okay.
11:35
Yeah, what made you want to, you said you were around 16, what made you want to grow your natural hair out?
11:42
Again, see I must have been chronically online as a child.
11:46
the celebrity?
11:47
Which celebrity?
11:48
Which celebrity?
11:49
We started with Aaliyah and then...
11:53
sure I'm pretty sure I don't know who this celebrity was but I was on YouTube heavy I was on YouTube heavy and so you know the natural hair movement for tightly coiled hair started
12:07
on YouTube this is before and then that's when people had the blogs and they would detail their journeys right and you actually had to read what they were doing you know
12:21
Yeah?
12:21
in the day and I would watch those videos of like transitioning from natural from relaxed to natural and they would be like I'm going on my fifth nap-a-versary and I'll be watching
12:32
a video like my gosh look how she learned how to care for her hair she's just using three basic products and she doesn't have to worry about what her hair is going to do if it
12:42
rains and all that stuff and I just was like I'm never going to relax her again because at that point I was only getting a relax
12:51
or maybe twice a year anyways so it wasn't really like this yeah I wasn't on like a six week mm-hmm and so um yeah I remember I had bangs because I had grew the side out I have
13:05
bangs we'll say Nicki Minaj I don't know well I don't know but I have bangs and she did and then so I grew my hair out and then once it was probably
13:20
like maybe here-ish, far as length, total length, I just cut it.
13:26
And yeah, so I'm not sure who exactly my influence is, but if I went back deep into my YouTube history, I'm sure I could find it.
13:35
I'm sure I could find it.
13:36
signals and it sounds like you liked the fact that people had simplified the process.
13:41
It was kind of like discovering something about themselves that maybe they couldn't see with their relaxer.
13:47
Is that part of a discovering?
13:50
so because some of my greatest influences at that time, if I was 16, some of these women were either maybe in college or fresh out of college.
13:59
And I feel like that's like when the awakening happens.
14:03
And so I got a front row seat of someone having an awakening within themselves, which then sparked my awakening.
14:11
And there is a woman, her name is L.
14:17
Her name is Elle and she's still a content creator to this day, but this was back in the day on Twitter.
14:25
And she went natural and I was on Twitter and I just saw a bunch of women who I respected going natural and I was just like, why are they going natural?
14:37
And then they were talking about how, know, influences of, I guess, let's say,
14:43
society that deems natural hair
14:47
unruly, unprofessional, those things are anti-black.
14:52
And so maybe in 16, in the Midwest, I didn't really understand what anti-black.
15:00
those type of things where it just like you're 16, you go to high school, you're a black girl, you wear your hair straight like everybody else, in the summertime you get braids so
15:10
you can go to the pool and stuff and then wash and repeat.
15:13
But having that kind of awakening of like okay Obama is in office, I am a black woman, what does all these things mean?
15:23
There's people saying things about Obama because he's black.
15:26
I think just the culture, the time that we were in
15:31
influenced me greatly to look within and say, what does this mean?
15:37
What are these Eurocentric stereotypes that we have maybe bought into?
15:42
And so it transitioned from me and then my mom went natural.
15:49
Oh yeah, yeah she's been natural for a long time now, so yeah.
15:54
That's amazing, I think that's as interesting as it sounds like as part of your coming of age in the Obama era and seeing people just a little ahead of you, right?
16:02
You said, you know, college, late teens, early 20s doing this and being curious and trying to understand that because yeah, these are big concepts.
16:10
People weren't really saying anti-blackness that much, we didn't learn about it in school.
16:15
So, but you were seeing what was happening around you.
16:17
Of course, yeah, the tan suit,
16:20
this image and Michelle and how she was represented you know so yeah it's very interesting okay do you have any other points that really stick out on your on your natural journey or
16:31
just in your hair in general that you know made it you know made impression on you
16:37
I will say, though I went natural at 16, I did not wear my hair curly.
16:43
Okay.
16:44
Okay.
16:45
I did not, I couldn't figure out how to style it.
16:52
I couldn't figure out what I wanted my look to be.
16:55
I couldn't figure out any of those things.
16:57
And so it made it really hard for me to kind of buy in into like doing twist outs once a week and things like that because I was in high school and then eventually I went to
17:09
college and I just didn't have the...
17:13
mindset to be that serious about my natural hair.
17:16
So I would, I would wear sew-ins a lot um or braids, but primarily sew-ins.
17:23
And then I ended up moving to Pittsburgh, which has like little to no humidity.
17:29
And I became a straight natural.
17:34
And I was a straight natural for
17:36
Yeah, eight, eight, nine years.
17:39
Okay, that's a while.
17:40
So
17:40
I was thinking about this.
17:41
When did we transition to like,
17:43
a press and curl or a blowout to saying silk press, you know?
17:46
I don't know when it happened.
17:48
But at one time I was, you know, one time I tried to book an appointment and I said, I guess it's this silk press that I saw one time on Instagram is what I'm doing now.
17:56
And now we use it, what we mean, to wash, blow dry your hair and then flat iron it, generally is what it is.
18:02
Were you going to a salon or were you doing that at home sometimes too?
18:07
Or how are you taking care of your hair?
18:09
I was going right back to my roots every two weeks.
18:13
I was in that beauty salon.
18:14
Okay.
18:15
And at the time it was $40, $50 versus today it's $225 sometimes.
18:25
Girl, I just looked on somebody's booking page the other day.
18:28
It was talking about some 200.
18:31
Mm-mm.
18:33
Yeah.
18:34
So, but yeah, so that was, was, I was doing that up until I moved here.
18:40
Yeah.
18:41
Oh yeah, because there was no humidity.
18:45
Even if it got hot, I was not sweating out my hair.
18:49
So I was able to maintain it pretty well.
18:53
That's great.
18:54
And then what happened when you came here?
19:00
Oh, North Carolina.
19:02
Oh, North Carolina.
19:04
I kept trying the same thing and getting the same results, but I didn't want to learn.
19:09
Go ahead, tell us.
19:10
Tell us your experience.
19:12
my sweet little North Carolina, how you've humbled me.
19:18
I moved here in 2021 and I moved here, my hair was in these beautiful braids.
19:25
I took these beautiful braids down and I had this bright idea that I was going to dye my hair ginger.
19:31
And so I found someone.
19:33
and my hair was beautiful-y ginger and all the things and it was straight and then I was like, ooh, I'm going to get microlinks.
19:41
Nobody's doing so-ins anymore.
19:43
That's a blast from the past.
19:45
I'm going to do microlinks.
19:47
And I probably burnt my hair to a crisp trying to figure out how to keep it straight in North Carolina because the humidity was tearing me up.
19:58
Yeah.
20:00
And that is what restarted my natural hair journey because I had microlinks for about nine months total and microlinks mixed with curly hair does not mix.
20:15
because your hair is all out, right, with the microlinks.
20:17
You're just adding it to it.
20:19
all out and then the way our hair grows it's literally coiling around the bead.
20:26
Oh, okay.
20:28
So you got knots.
20:29
Oh no.
20:32
thinner and yeah, absolutely.
20:35
100%.
20:35
Yeah, mm-hmm.
20:37
Yeah.
20:37
And then I kept coloring it too, so yeah.
20:41
you're gonna, one, two.
20:43
One, two, three, you know, the humidity, the microlinks, the color, yeah,
20:49
okay.
20:49
So what happened?
20:50
Did you do a big chop or you just let it grow up slowly?
20:55
So yes, I, well, I wouldn't say it.
20:59
wasn't like this big chop, like, you know how it was like a moment because my hair was still kept under braids.
21:07
So, but I did cut it.
21:09
I cut most of the dead stuff off.
21:12
In the front, this was like, imagine all of this straight.
21:16
I just like that.
21:19
And just in the bathroom, I was like, I can't take it no more.
21:22
And just did that.
21:23
And so about a year,
21:25
um I did some braids maybe for about six months and then the rest of the time I would do like a flexi-rod set.
21:31
um And then yeah, I just grew my hair out from then.
21:35
Yeah.
21:36
So you've got a new perspective.
21:39
So what would you say your perspective is now, in a humid, environment?
21:45
and human rich and we love North Carolina but my God ah
21:51
Learned how to have ease with my hair.
21:55
I think wanting your hair to be a certain way goes against the very thing that our hair is.
22:03
I read recently that the different um cultures, the way their hair grows is...
22:10
nurtured to the environment that they are supposed to be in, well born to be in, right?
22:15
So with Black people, our hair grows up to give us shade from the sun.
22:22
So we're trying to grow put our hair down when really it's our covering.
22:27
Mm-hmm.
22:28
And it makes it even more so poetic to read statements like, your hair is your crown, and things like that, because it's literally protecting us from this North Carolina sun.
22:43
It's protecting us from this North Carolina sun or wherever sun that you're at.
22:48
then they talked about the noses.
22:49
I have to find this article.
22:50
Our noses are more widely set to when we breathe in air to cool our bodies down.
22:56
So I've just learned not to go against who God created me to be.
23:02
And this is what grows out of my scalp.
23:05
And I have ease in knowing like this is how my hair looks.
23:09
And once a week I'm washing it and
23:12
rinse repeat.
23:13
Like that's, it's easy for me.
23:15
Like I don't have to think about, oh, I have this special occasion coming up.
23:19
What am I going to do to my hair?
23:21
I'm going to figure it out, but it's probably going to look like this.
23:24
So yeah.
23:27
That's incredible.
23:28
I think also just this idea that there is actually a function to hair.
23:32
Sometimes we forget that because it's so socialized, what we're trying to symbolize or represent, which is also so loaded, right?
23:40
Because we lived in, we live in a racialized society with a history and ideas of what is good.
23:45
But it does serve a function, you know, to have this hair, the sun's not going to get to it, and then it can evaporate, right?
23:52
Because if you have straight strands, they're all going down.
23:54
It's like almost like a helmet, which is great if you're in the Arctic.
23:58
But there is, is, there is, so I think also just even regardless of how you choose to wear it, remembering
24:04
that way for purpose, it's not an accident, you know?
24:07
And appreciating that, So that's really great.
24:11
And how do you achieve your, what would you say?
24:14
Do you have a signature hairstyle or a style that you really like to wear?
24:18
Yeah, so I am not a wash and go girl because I don't have the patience for that.
24:23
So bless y'all who can.
24:27
I just think that like the true definition of a wash and go is to wash it and go off the house.
24:34
That's not what we, that's not what is done.
24:37
Exactly.
24:38
goes now are like individual coil all throughout.
24:42
I don't have that to do.
24:44
So what I do is a braid and curl.
24:48
I didn't make this up.
24:50
I don't know who made this up, but somebody made this up.
24:53
And so you just kind of, oh, you have it?
24:58
my goodness.
24:59
Okay.
24:59
tell me, I'm excited.
25:01
So I wash my hair, I detangle it, I might decondition it, whatever, depending on the week, hot oil treatment, whatever.
25:08
And so while it's still wet, I part it in four sections.
25:12
I moisturize each section.
25:15
And then I'll start on probably like back here and then so I'll maybe separate three or four braids I'll braid it down and then leave like this much out and then I'll get a flex
25:28
not a flexor out but a perm rod and Coil the end with the perm rod and then yeah, so I'll do that once a week and then normally I'll just Preserve that hairstyle for a week and
25:43
then it ends up looking like this.
25:44
This is not
25:45
this is a, it's not, okay, okay.
25:48
This is a...
25:51
I don't know.
25:52
I don't know what this is.
25:54
I don't know what this is.
25:55
This is a mixture...
25:58
I did...
26:03
Yeah, this is not a braiding curl, but that is my go-to because it lasts and it lasts a whole week.
26:11
okay, that's great.
26:12
And so when you do that, you get a different outcome when you put the perm rod curler in the end than if you just braided it.
26:20
And okay, it's just more more uniform look.
26:23
Okay, yeah, yeah.
26:25
from that curl, because this is like leftover braiding curl from some water and mousse.
26:31
But yeah, you can kind of see that.
26:32
oh
26:34
during the week, you scrunchy-ing it or doing anything else?
26:37
Just putting a tie of scarf on it?
26:39
How do you maintain it overnight?
26:41
So yeah, at night I'll get four of my uh satin hair ties and then kind of like do four sections, but I normally part my hair like this.
26:51
So it'll be like one here, one here and then two in the back.
26:54
um So yeah, that's what I do.
26:58
Yeah.
26:59
You let it air dry.
27:01
No, and I heard, well, I don't care what people say, but I heard we're supposed to be sitting under the dryer now.
27:10
I'm not doing that.
27:12
Okay.
27:12
So you just what so you just uh do you go to bed on wet hair or you just do it early and then it dries by the time the next day?
27:20
just depends if I do it at one o'clock.
27:22
mean, however I do it at whatever time, that's how I'm gonna wake up.
27:31
See, it's usually right at you take the braids out regardless when you wake up.
27:36
Okay, that's great.
27:37
That's a really easy style.
27:39
I love that.
27:40
And I do do, I have done that.
27:43
I usually sit under dry.
27:44
I just didn't know the name.
27:45
So I've done that.
27:46
I've done all kinds of different twist out forms, So I think there's something with the braiding because it gives you more stretch too than a twist.
27:54
And it's a little bit more, you know, you put, you know, and you can get the roots better.
27:59
And then the curler at the end, does give a nice finish because it's consistent.
28:03
Yeah, it also puts a little weight, not much, but just to keep them just a little something.
28:09
That's wonderful.
28:10
So Amanda, I'm curious.
28:12
You said your mom was the salon regular for her beautician, and you saw that growing up.
28:18
You have kids now.
28:20
what messages do you think your kids are getting from you about hair and seeing you do your hair?
28:25
What is that experience a mother with kids who have hair that needs to be done?
28:31
yes, okay.
28:33
uh Yeah, so I have twins, a boy and a girl, and I will say my daughter, when I was wearing my hair straight, my daughter also wanted to wear her hair straight.
28:47
And I did not like that.
28:48
I was like, no, I want her to...
28:52
I want her to find that, you know, the hair that grows out of her head is beautiful as it is.
28:59
And so I was like, well, it's one thing to say a thing, it's another thing to do a thing.
29:05
And so when I kind of like went back natural from being a straight natural, that all of that talk about her wanting to have her hair straight went out the door.
29:15
Wow.
29:16
Because as we know, representation matters and like you have to show it in your own house and not to add pressure to anyone, but you also have to understand that people see you and
29:33
that is the representation that they do see.
29:36
And so that matters for your children.
29:38
So my daughter's on the same routine that I'm on.
29:42
Aww.
29:43
wear her hair out because we have to maintain it through the week.
29:46
So I'll do the little cute little styles.
29:49
Yeah.
29:50
Yeah.
29:51
She's sick.
29:52
So I do the cute little styles.
29:54
I can't braid, but she does have braids right now that I did.
29:59
okay.
30:00
Do you get her like the balls or the beads or any kind of accessories on the hair?
30:06
Yeah, she gets all that stuff because she's so girly girl.
30:09
yeah, yeah.
30:10
she like getting her hair done or is it, I don't know, did you like getting your hair done?
30:14
Was it comfortable for you or, okay.
30:18
I love to get my hair done and she's the same way.
30:19
She loves getting her hair done.
30:24
So you just plan your schedule so you have time to wash and do her hair every about every week.
30:30
Every week we have to wash it.
30:33
It's not super, super planned.
30:34
It's on the calendar for Saturday.
30:37
But if it doesn't happen on Saturday, you know, it might happen on Friday.
30:41
It might happen on Sunday.
30:42
But yeah, once a week.
30:43
Because a lot of that product buildup, I clarify our hair with a clarifying shampoo before I do our actual...
30:51
um
30:52
Routine so we can make sure our hair is super super clean keep that scalp clean and you know These kids are playing outside putting what God knows what in their hair, so Yes, I
31:05
can't tell you all the things I've seen in our hair I'm like What's going on?
31:10
Yeah, yeah
31:12
So what would you, if you think about what, you're obviously modeling it, but what message would you hope your daughter has about her hair as she gets older?
31:23
would hope that she knows that she's beautiful with the hair that naturally comes out of her scalp.
31:30
She doesn't have to manipulate it to be a certain way.
31:33
Like this is the hair that God gave her and it is hers and it is beautiful and it really is her crown.
31:42
Yeah, that's all.
31:43
I hope she knows that she doesn't try to fit a mold of like societal pressures and things like that.
31:51
Yeah.
31:52
Well, that's beautiful.
31:53
I love that.
31:55
So wonderful.
31:56
Well, I just want to also talk to you because you're an entrepreneur.
32:00
You're someone who's busy.
32:01
You're a mom.
32:02
How have you really fit hair?
32:06
You've talked a little bit about hair in your lifestyle, but how has it played a role in how you show up in the work that you do and the things that you're passionate about?
32:15
that's such a good question.
32:18
I don't know if I've ever thought about it.
32:20
Yeah, I don't I don't know if I've ever thought about it, which is a privilege in itself.
32:25
And I think the spaces that I've been in, so even employment from Pittsburgh to here, I've been in spaces that are more progressive, I would say.
32:38
And that is a privilege within itself.
32:40
I think if I was in spaces that were more m
32:45
conservative, this would not be a conversation that I wouldn't be like, oh, I don't know.
32:52
I know that I still struggle with like, if I show up for a job interview, I gonna have my hair straight or pull back into a bun?
33:00
So I think it shows up in those ways, but those are the things that I think we'll be constantly unlearning as the world progresses or regresses, I don't know.
33:13
Mm-hmm.
33:14
But I've been pretty blessed to not have to worry about how my hair makes other people feel uh in the workplace.
33:23
So in Pittsburgh, I worked at an African-American cultural center.
33:29
So who was going to say anything about this?
33:34
Nobody.
33:34
And then I owned my own business for year or so.
33:39
I was the boss.
33:41
And then here, you know, at American Underground where I work, I do not have that pressure to look or be a certain way other than what they hired me to be.
33:57
those are, and that is speaking from a place of privilege, which I do recognize.
34:01
So.
34:02
No, that's your personal experience.
34:04
I'm curious also.
34:05
And I think we've already touched on it.
34:07
Obviously, if you're an entrepreneur and you're a mom, your time is probably limited.
34:11
So you've adapted and figured out how to work your hair into your lifestyle and not the other way around, it sounds like.
34:20
ooh, I like that question.
34:23
And the reason I say that is because when I would get my hair done every two weeks, I was fitting my life around my hair.
34:33
Like I would have a hair appointment, a standing hair appointment at seven o'clock on a Monday, seven o'clock in the morning.
34:40
Wow.
34:41
Wow.
34:41
I had this idea of who and what I wanted to be and what I wanted to look like.
34:49
And you could miss out on things like, I don't want to go to this because my hair isn't done, or I don't want to do this because of my hair.
34:56
And I just feel like that may or may not be something that we all grow out of.
35:02
Mm, yeah.
35:03
What do you think helped you grow out of that?
35:05
Because even going from a straight natural to wearing your curls it's an adjustment in how you see yourself, right?
35:13
I don't know if I can pinpoint one thing, but I will say being in spaces that are for you I think the environment in which you have community influences whether you'll do one thing
35:28
or the other.
35:29
So a lot of my friends have natural hair.
35:33
Mm-hmm.
35:34
that just is kind of like where it is.
35:37
know, I don't,
35:39
we don't have a lot of conversation about hair like we used to because people have already fought the battle of like having the Crown Act and things like that.
35:51
I am a beneficiary of someone not being discriminatory towards me in the workplace.
35:56
So it's not a conversation like it used to be.
35:59
Yeah, that's interesting.
36:01
And I do think another thing is some people like to change their hair a lot, but I think what you're getting, and kind of like we've talked a little bit around is, are you
36:10
changing it because you just want to try a different style?
36:13
do you feel it has to be this way for it to be good?
36:16
Or has to be this way for you to be able to show up professionally?
36:20
Or?
36:21
beautifully, you know, you could still, if you wanted to wear a sew-in, that doesn't mean you don't love your hair.
36:25
Maybe you change it up for another reason or because you like a different look.
36:30
I agree.
36:31
think like the early artist influences that I had, it was about creativity.
36:38
So it wasn't about fitting in a certain box or a mold.
36:42
And I think that's the way that I still perceive hair now is about creativity.
36:47
Yes.
36:48
But I just think that creativity is something that feeds me.
36:53
And if I am not expressing an art form in any kind of way, I'm not being true to myself.
37:00
And a lot of times the art is a quick dopamine fix for me is my hair.
37:07
So I mean.
37:09
In addition to my matcha because do you remember the day that I had that wig on?
37:15
Yeah, so for your audience, I had a ginger bob wig.
37:22
It was cute, but I got overstimulated and I took that wig off.
37:28
unraveled those wig braids.
37:30
I didn't have enough time the night before to wash my hair before I came to work.
37:34
And I came to work in like this, this crinkled hair and it put and it was cute, but I was just overstimulated and I could not take it anymore.
37:43
But see, those are the options that I, that we have.
37:46
Now, do I know where the wig is right now?
37:49
It's somewhere in my closet.
37:50
I have no idea.
37:51
But I will probably never wear that wig again.
37:54
But I had an opportunity to be creative.
37:56
so, yeah.
37:58
Yeah.
38:03
Yes.
38:05
Well, this has been such a great conversation.
38:08
I think just the ideas of even how you think about hair with your daughter, that's really beautiful.
38:13
And you modeling that and the ease that you found is something that I think a lot of our listeners are looking for it on their own journeys to discover.
38:22
So thank you for sharing that.
38:23
Well, this has been amazing, Amanda.
38:25
Thank you so much for joining us on the Tight Curls Project podcast.
38:30
Thank you for having me.
38:31
This was great.
38:32
After we finished recording, Amanda and I took some great photos that I wanted to share here.
38:37
They're also on the sub-stack episode post, which is linked in the show notes.
38:41
Isn't Amanda amazing?
38:43
I'm so grateful to her for joining us on this episode.
38:46
I would also love to connect with you, so leave a question or comment where you're watching or listening.
38:50
or you can go to the Tight Curls Project Instagram or Substack.
38:53
Thanks again for joining me, and until next time, take care and show your curls some love.