04/20/2026
I got to be a hair-model for , founder of during while she demonstrated a textured, curly-cut on my hair in front of an audience.
As a mental health therapist, I spend a lot of time talking about confidence, self-image, and the pressure people feel to make themselves “easier” for others to “deal with”.
A lot of people with textured hair (including myself) grow up learning to fight their hair before they ever really learn how to care for it. We flatten it, hide it, throw it up, over-control it, or convince ourselves our hair is the problem.
We as people often do that in other areas of our lives.
We become so focused on making ourselves easier, smaller, quieter, or more digestible for others that we forget to ask ourselves, “What would happen if I just had the right support instead?”.
Janine did not look at my hair like it was a difficult mess. She talked about my curls as if each on hair its own personality, life, and beauty in every turn.
There is something really powerful about being seen and accepted by others in that way.
Confidence isn’t built by becoming someone else, although we often wish it were that simple. Confidence blossoms and flourishes when the right people, tools/resources, experiences, and/or environment helps you see yourself in a new perspective.
