Why I Focus On Black Women And Beauty

Learn more about the beauty bulletin launching next week 〰

Apr 22, 2020

Illustration by Laci Jordan

When I was 9-years-old, I worked the snack stand as a summer job at the college my dad coached basketball, along with a few other girls my age, who were white.

“Wow, I wish I had hair as soft and straight as yours.” I pointed to my young colleague’s brown ponytail.

My mom, who happened to be around at that time, immediately pulled me over to the side and asked me why I said that. She was clearly upset. I don’t remember my explanation, but it had to do something with how much “easier” her hair looked than mine to throw into ponytails.

At the time, I was too young to not only realize what I had said, but also what I revealed about how I viewed myself. Growing up, my mom was a hair stylist. She turned our basement into a small salon, and although she mostly did Black women’s hair, all sorts of women would walk in and out of our home with a new style. Still, it was images on the Disney channel, in movies, in the different forms of pop culture I devoured, that drove my desire to want different hair.

It’s kind of heartbreaking. This idea that, at such a young age, I wanted to be different. So much so, that I expressed it out loud. That’s something I would never want anyone to go through, but most of us have. Whether it be our hair, our skin color, how much money our parents make, or what kind of house we grew up in. At one point, we all wanted to be different.

It’s much easier, at 29-years-old, to understand the profound impact of Black women embracing their own features has on music, dance, art, fashion, photography, design, tech and politics. I’m grateful that my mom did not hesitate to pull me aside that day.

Photography Nadine Ijewere for Allure, September 2018

Today, you may notice that a lot of my reporting centers around Black women or being Black in America. As a Black woman, I am of course drawn to these stories. I can relate to them. I understand our stories like running water. These stories are important to me and other women who simply want to see more of themselves in mainstream media. Matter of fact, we now demand it by speaking up in moments where we don’t feel seen — whether it be on social media, in meetings, or through initiatives we launch on our own. I think our demand to be appropriately credited for our style has been effective and is a reflection of our own persistence. I immediately think of Renegade creator Jalaiah Harmon, who spoke up for months in comment sections to get credit for the viral dance. It led to a New York Times profile and then a feature in Teen Vogue (shout out to Culture & Entertainment Director Dani Kwateng-Clark).

Photography by Peyton Fulford for Teen Vogue

However, there are socioeconomic motivations for why it’s important to understand Black livelihood through beauty — and for all beauty editors to have a deep understanding of Black women through the lens of beauty. Historically, Black women have used cosmetology to create financial independence and political mobility. Just one generation removed from slavery, African American women and men began creating businesses that served their own communities, including hair salons and barbers shops. Even examining the vulnerable space of a hair salons as a place where only gossip took place is a grave injustice deserving of counternarratives. They were places to organize, discuss politics, exchange vital information, and advice. I talk about this in ‘black women, their beauty shops and civil rights.’ Beauty has made Black entrepreneurs, founders, CEOs, and it continues today.

There is a “famous” (well, I refer to it as “famous”) Nielsen report that is often referenced when talking about Black spending in cosmetics, because it aptly lays out the impact of Black dollars in a growing industry. Black consumers spend a total of $473 million in a U.S. beauty marketplace worth $4.2 billion. Within the ethnic hair care and beauty aids category alone, Black women make up 85% of spending.

Even from a strictly financial, capitalist, green-eyed perspective, it makes sense for magazines to cater to a group of women who find themselves in the hair salon anywhere from once a week to once a month.

Beauty Director at Cosmopolitan Julee Wilson, formerly Global Beauty Director at Essence Magazine, discussed how she never felt white beauty editors needed to know the ins and outs of relaxers, installing a weave and hair grease the same way she needed to know about self tanners and achieving the perfect beach waves. Elaine Welteroth, who was previously Teen Vogue’s Beauty and Health Director and Editor-in-Chief, also expresses these sentiments in her book, More Than Enough. They needed to know everything, but that didn’t seem to be the case for their white counterparts.

I think these examples further drive the point that it's the job of all beauty editors to understand Black beauty.

In the future, my hope is to broaden the types of people I cover. As someone who is constantly seeking truths, new experiences (again, I am the friend you’d go skydiving with) there are so many other parts of the beauty world I hope to explore through race, gender, and region. Why don’t I know more about the colorism Indian women face from cosmetics brands founded in their own country? Why don’t I know more about trans women’s relationship to makeup? Why don’t I know more about eyeshadow techniques for mono-lids? Why don’t I know more about Dominican beauty traditions and secrets? I do believe it’s my responsibility as a beauty reporter to learn the answers to these questions. I have such a global vision for the work I want to do and I am thrilled to expand. I’m going to take it one step at a time. I do this in order to not overwhelm myself with shoulds. For now, it makes all the sense in the world for me to start with Black women.

Ciao!

@darian

Read time: 7-8 minutes

This newsletter is edited by Shanae Burch and Dominique Banas.

Starting next week, the ‘BEAUTY IRL’ newsletter will include a bulletin board of workshops, classes, tutorials, and talks with beauticians. My goal is to get more eyes on services they’re offering, virtually.

Share this post with a hairstylist, nail technician, barber, makeup artist, esthetician, massage therapist, beauty brand — or submit an event you’ve seen by commenting below or emailing darianharvin@gmail.com. See something on IG? Tag me at @darian. Twitter? @dariansymone. Facebook? Good luck.

This bulletin board is not restricted to the U.S.A. I am accepting submission from around the world 🌍