Hair! How I Grew It

On today’s show, I interview Tanya Wright. Tanya is an actor who for the past 25 years has been on some of the most iconic shows on television. Shows that include NYPD Blue, True Blood and Orange is the New Black. The New York City native started acting on the Cosby show. That’s where I first saw her. Tanya’s character, named Tanya, was Theo’s girlfriend. Now the actor is a children’s book author. Her series, Hairiette of Harlem, gets kids excited about reading while celebrating their natural hair — all thanks to the star of the books named Hairiette, spelled like the hair on your head: H‑A‑I‑R‑I‑E‑T‑T‑E. More on that later inthe show. We started our hair talk talking about Tanya’s hair texture.

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 is honored to be ranked on Feedspot’s and MillionPodcasts’s best lists.25 Best Natural Hair Podcast Best 10 Natural Hair Podcasts Best 10 Black Beauty PodcastsBest 50 Hair Podcasts 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 is honored to be ranked on Feedspot's and MillionPodcasts's Best Natural Hair Podcasts' lists. 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.

Hair! How I Grew It trailer

Hair! How I Grew It is honored to be ranked on Feedspot’s 25 Best Natural Hair Podcasts's list on the web. 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 Heather Dolland Tamam. She is an author, lifestyle content creator and model based in New York City. Heather typically wears her soft, coily and pillowy Afro in a wash and go. She prefers the easy style because it’s not a lot of fuss. Also, this queen is still getting to know her crown. You see, she’s a natural hair newbie. The author did the big chop on December 15, 2020. She remembers the exact date because not only was it a big deal, her big chop was during the height of COVID when salons were closed. More on that later in the show. Let’s start with Heather’s hair beginnings in Saint George’s Grenada in the West Indies.