Every October, the UK marks Black History Month, a time to honour history, achievement and the people who shaped the world we live in. At Paradisefold, we want to use this month to celebrate something close to our hearts: hair, and specifically the beauty, resilience and creativity of Black women's hair.
Hair Has Always Told a Story
Hair has never been just hair. For generations of Black women, braids, twists, coils, locs and afros have carried culture, community and identity. They have been acts of care, of celebration and, at times, of quiet resistance.
Plenty of us learned young that our hair was something to manage rather than enjoy. Many Black girls grew up being told to tame it, straighten it or hide it. Being the only girl in your school or village with curls can make you feel on show for all the wrong reasons. The good news is that so many women are now rewriting that story, and wearing their natural texture with pride.
Celebrate With Us
This Black History Month, we hope you wear your hair exactly as it grows, and that you share a little of that joy with someone else.
Watch the short below to hear one woman's story of growing up as the only Black girl in her village and school with curly hair. She was raised by her white British mother, who loved her fiercely but had never been taught how to care for textured hair. Nobody in the house had the same texture, so there was no one to show her how to detangle, what her curls needed or why they behaved the way they did. At school and in the village, she looked different from everyone around her. At home, she was learning to look after her hair on her own.
That is a quiet struggle that many Black and mixed-heritage children will recognise, and it is rarely anyone's fault. Love does not come with a manual for hair you have never had. Many mothers in this position work hard to learn, and many daughters carry the gentle kind of sadness that comes from feeling a little unseen. Those two things can both be true.
What makes her story so moving is where it ends up: a woman who now celebrates her hair with pride. She found her own way to the joy in her curls, and she hopes that others who grew up feeling the same way will find it too.
Who Gets to Decide What "Good Hair" Means?
The phrase "good hair" has done a lot of damage. It suggested there was a right kind of hair and a wrong kind, and that one deserved applause while the other deserved a second look. Organisations like the Halo Collective are campaigning against hair discrimination in the UK, and their work reminds us that this is about fairness at school and at work as well as about beauty.
Are we seeing real, lasting change? That was one of the big questions we put to our guest this month.
Our Conversation With Mrs Universe Juanita Ingram
We sat down with Juanita Ingram, Mrs Universe 2022 and founder and chairwoman of Dress for Success Greater London, for a wonderful, wide-ranging chat. Watch the full conversation here.
Juanita started out as a lawyer before moving into philanthropy, and she shares a huge amount in this one conversation. We covered:
- Her work as a lawyer and her shift into philanthropy
- How economic crises affect women in particular
- The link between hair, identity and confidence, and how you can bring your whole self into work
- The representation of Black and textured hair in society, and whether we are seeing sustainable shifts in the idea of "good hair" and inclusion
- Tips for balancing a mission or charitable cause with work
- How you can support the social causes you care about, and the mission of Dress for Success
Her answers are thoughtful, funny and full of heart. It's the kind of conversation you'll want to send to a friend.
Caring for Curls and Coils
Celebrating your hair also means looking after it, and textured hair thrives on gentleness. Cotton can rough up curls and pull moisture from strands, while silk lets hair glide, which means less friction, less frizz and fewer tangles.
Here are the small habits we swear by:
- Protect your style overnight. A silk Fold wraps your hair up safely while you sleep, so you wake up to curls that still look like curls. Explore our Folds.
- Swap the cotton. A silk Pillowcase is a lovely backup for the nights your head wrap slips off.
- Wrap with intention. A Turban protects freshly washed hair and makes a beautiful, polished statement for daytime.
- Make rest a ritual. Our silk Clouds soften the end of a long day, and your skin and hair both benefit from good sleep.
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