Hair! How I Grew It has lost one of our natural hair sistahs. Talented artist and entrepreneur Keturah Bobo passed away earlier this month after a long illness. As a loving tribute, we’re revisiting her inspiring episode where she shares her natural hair journey—originally released on October 21, 2019. Rest in power, queen. Your legacy lives on.
Hair How I Grew It tops Feedspot’s and MillionPodcasts’ best lists.
On today’s show, I interview business owner Joy M. Hutton. Joy has one of the most striking Afros I’ve ever seen. It’s big. It’s bold. It is beautiful. When I saw it on social media, I knew I had to interview her. The fro is so impressive, sistahs often ask her how she maintains it. Incredibly, Joy does it herself. No salon. Not even for trims. She stopped going because stylists kept jacking up her hair. More on that later in the show, and stick around until the end of the show to hear Joy’s sought-after hair care routine. Shout out to past Hair! How I Grew It guest Janel Caminos for helping to make this interview happen. Janel reached out to Joy, her mentor, to put in a good word for me, and well now here we are, and I am so grateful. Born and raised in Chicago, Joy describes herself as a serial entrepreneur. She is the founder and CEO of two businesses. One is called jmh and co. The other is on the go GLAM. When Joy is not working, you’ll probably find the wine connoisseur sipping her favorite vino, which she features on her podcast, Sip with Joy. More on that later in the show. The Windy City native embraced her natural about 14 years ago. I told you what I think about Joy’s crown. I asked her what she thinks about it.
Hair! How I Grew It tops Feedspot’s and MillionPodcasts’ Best Natural Hair Podcasts. On today’s show, I interview Kassidi Jones. Kassidi is an assistant curator at a Black research library. The Hartford, Connecticut native is also an antiracist animal advocate. Pets and racism – I’d never put those words together until I discovered Kassidi a few months ago on social media. When I heard her talk about the prejudice she and her pit bull Ginger have experienced, and how that led her to create Ginger’s Naps, I knew I had to talk to her. More on Ginger’s Naps later in the show. Kassidi said yes to my interview invite despite her very busy school schedule. The ivy leaguer has earned four degrees including a PhD – all before the age of 30. She got her bachelor's degree in Africana Studies and English from the University of Pennsylvania. At Yale, she earned her Master of Arts in African American Studies. Also at Yale, she got her Master of Philosophy and Doctor of Philosophy in African American Studies and English. Kassidi has never had a perm. She’s worn her hair in its natural state since her sophomore year in high school. We started our hair talk talking about how her busy academic life has taken a toll on her natural.
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Hair! How I Grew It tops the 25 Best Natural Hair Podcasts on the web. Thanks Feedspot for this incredible honor. On today’s show I interview curly hair influencer Janel Caminos. Her authentic voice has paid off in partnerships with multiple beauty brands. She is an ambassador for Sienna Naturals. That’s a vegan hair care line co-owned by actress and producer Issa Rae. Janel is an ambassador for FirstlineBrands. That’s a company that sells hair tools and accessories for multi-ethnic textures. The curly hair influencer is also the founder of Curly Crown Collective, which she describes as a “self-help group” for “curlfriends across cultures.” More onthat later in the show. In the corporate world, Janel is a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion professional. OnConferences recently named her one of the top 50 DEI professionals. Before we started our hair talk, I congratulated Janel on this incredible honor and asked her how she is dealing with the attacks on her job.
On today’s show, I interview Michele Joseph. I met Michele years ago at a networking event in the Washington, D.C. metro area. As the organizer, this striking sistah commandedthe room. Not surprising since she was a high fashion model during the 1980s supermodel era. You’ll want to stick around until the end of the show to hear her spill the tea on her encounter with a young Naomi Campbell and others who graced the pages of some of your favorite magazines. Born in Trinidad and raised just outside of the nation’s capital, Michele also competed in pageants. Today the two-time cancer survivor is the president of Next Generation, Inc., a business she started while fighting the big “C.” She is also the CEO of SGAP Leaders. More on her current jobs and triumph over cancer later in the show. After we met, I didn’t see Michele again. We’ve stayed connected on social media. When the former model recently praised my work on Hair! How I Grew It I thought maybe she’d like to be a guest, so I messaged her an interview request. She said yes, and I was thrilled. Hair and fashion go hand in hand, so I was dying to find out how she managed her Black crown in a white fashion industry. Turns out Michele didn’t just manage; she thrived with ingenuity. More on that later in the show. We started our hair talk talking about why she embraced her natural in two stages.
On today’s show, I interview Endia Henry. Endia, pronounced India, is a principal consultant in the healthcare technology industry. She is also an entrepreneur, who started selling bamboo wig caps out of necessity. More on that later in the show. Endia describes her hair texture as soft like cotton, airy and fluffy. She embraced her natural four years ago, and typically wears it in a twisted style pulled away from her face. Let’s go back to Endia’s hair beginnings in Decatur, Georgia.
On today’s show, I interview my Delta Soror Shannon Beasley Taitt. Shannon used to work with my Delta line sister Erin and past Hair! How I Grew It guest Sharron Fletcher at the U.S. Department of Justice. Listen to episode 30 to hear Sharron share her journey to her best natural hair life. Shannon currently works at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in the Washington, DC metro area. She is the Director of the Office of Program Analysis and Coordination in the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. The New England native is also a speaker, life coach and philanthropist. More on her work outside her nine-to-five later in the show. Shannon describes her hair texture as fluffy and bouncy. She’s been rocking her loose natural since 2001. Then about a year and a half ago, Shannon started sporting Microlocs. Before we jump into that journey, here’s a 101 Microlocs vs. Sisterlocks education courtesy of our Delta Soror Lurie Daniel Favors. I always get the styles mixed up, so Lurie, whose mom was a talented hair stylist, explained the difference when I interviewed her last year.
On today’s show I interview Dominique Kizer. She is a linkage coordinator at her alma mater Shaw High School. My cousin and other folks that I know graduated from there. The Shaw High School marching band is legendary. What does a Linkage Coordinator do?
On today’s show I interview Lori Danley. Lori is a project manager in Washington, D.C. She is also the cousin of past Hair! How I Grew It guest Sylvia Danley-Smith. When one of my podcast guests fell through, Sylvia immediately recommended her cousin because Lori makes luxury shampoo bars. Luxury because they’re made with all natural ingredients. No chemicals or detergents that are typically found in commercial brands. More on that later in the show. Born in St. Petersburg, Florida, the project manager left the Sunshine State when she was about 8 years old and moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan. She finished school there at 13 and was thrust into adulthood. More on that later in the show. Lori first embraced her natural in 1997. The only child went back to the creamy crack six years later and kept her straight hair until 2012 when she embraced her natural again. She’s been natural ever since. I asked Lori to describe her fine hair texture.
On today’s show, I interview Sylvia Danley-Smith. Sylvia is living her best natural hair life, and she’s showing it off as a content creator and social media influencer. Her target group—women over 40.
On today’s show, I interview my Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Sister Nichelle Smith. Nichelle is the enterprise editor for racism and history at USA TODAY. Saying Nichelle and enterprise in the same sentence makes me think of Star Trek and the actor, who portrayed Lieutenant Uhura in the original series. When I brought that to the Indiana native’s attention, she said she was named after actor Nichelle Nichols.
On today’s show, I interview AJ Watkins. She is the founder and CEO of All Natural Kinks, a natural hair care company based in LA. It’s inspired by AJ’s struggles to grow her natural. More on that later in the show. Let’s start with AJ’s hair beginnings. She was born and raised in Gilroy.
On today’s show, I interview St. Clair Detrick-Jules. She’s a photojournalist in Washington, D. C., her hometown. St. Clair’s love letter to her younger sister Khloe is called My Beautiful Black Hair: 101 Natural Hair Stories from the Sisterhood. More on that later in the show. First, let’s dissect St. Clair’s hair journey.
On today’s show, I interview Mercy Chikowore. Mercy is a publicist in the Washington, D.C. metro area. She is also my Delta Sigma Theta Sorority sister. I always start my Hair! How I Grew It interviews with, “Where were you born and raised?” While all the answers have been interesting, Mercy’s was the first to take my breath away.
On today’s show, I interview Bernita Cooper. Bernita is the CEO and Founder of Bernita Cooper Communications. She helps her clients alleviate the stress of creating content that informs, educates and tells a story. Bernita was born and raised in Hemingway, South Carolina, which is a small town located about two hours from Columbia. Fun fact, Sylvia Woods, the woman who founded the famous soul food restaurant Sylvia’s in Harlem, was from Hemingway. Bernita has sported a natural for about 15 years, but she did take a natural break in college. More on that later in the show.