Founder and CEO of HairitEd
My Journey to Natural Hair: Finding Confidence Through Representation
My journey to embracing my natural hair didn’t start with personal confidence. It started with seeing women of power and importance around me who were rocking their natural hair too. Representation, I learned, changes what feels possible.
Growing up, I was surrounded by a single standard of beauty. The Hispanic girls had long straight hair. The Black girls had permed hair. Everyone around me seemed to be straightening or perming theirs, so that’s what I did too. Every week, I’d straighten mine, convinced that was the only way to be beautiful. I didn’t question it, it was just what we all did.
That changed in my late high school years. I started watching videos of women wearing their natural hair, and I saw something I’d never seen before: beauty that looked like possibility. But the real turning point came when a mentor and friend from church decided to go natural herself. She cut off her dead ends and committed to the journey. Seeing her do it made me believe I could too.
So I started trying. There was trial and error, consistency that wavered, and plenty of learning along the way. I remember posting a cute braided hairstyle on Facebook, proud of how beautiful it looked. Then a boy in my class commented: “You need to get a perm already.” That moment hit hard. I doubted myself. But because my mentor had shown me it was possible, I didn’t give up.
Fifteen years later, I always choose to wear my natural hair. For everyday moments and special occasions alike. Because wearing my natural hair isn’t just a choice, it’s a statement about who I am and who I’m becoming. Every time I show up with my natural hair, I’m showing up as my most authentic self. It’s boosted my confidence in a way I didn’t expect. My natural hair has transformed how I move through the world. It’s given me a kind of self-esteem that comes from acceptance—accepting myself fully, celebrating what’s mine, and refusing to dim that for anyone else. My natural hair is enough for it all. And so am I.
This is why I created HairitEd—a company dedicated to creating resources that highlight the natural beauty of Black and Brown children. Because I know what representation does. I lived it. While children are learning their letters and letter sounds, they’re also seeing themselves reflected back. They’re seeing beauty that looks like them. And that shifts the narratives we create inside our brains about who we are and how we can show up in the world. Representation changes everything.