KX

Age: 30-64 years

Occupation: Registered Nurse

KX loves her braids.

“I wear braids all the time for the convenience and the style. I love being able to choose whatever I want to do with my braids and style it,” she said. “Always been a braid girl.”

Now that she has found a style that is comfortable and works for her, KX likes her hair — but it has been a difficult journey. When she was younger, she did not like her hair at all. Her former dislike for her hair came from not knowing how to properly take care of it and struggling with not matching with mainstream beauty standards.

KX said, “it was extremely frustrating to me that I didn’t fit the description: shape, how I look, skin color, how dark my skin color was… a lot of conflicting self-identity, self-love issues that I had growing up.”

She went from originally wearing her hair all-natural to later chopping it off, relaxing it regularly, and styling it in a pixie cut. Later, she decided to grow it back out, and that’s when she developed her love for braids. Reflecting on her personal growth, she explained that being older, she has a deeper appreciation for herself and everything that comes with herself.

Growing into self-appreciation informs KX’s approach to guiding her daughter through her own hair journey. Her daughter is still an infant, but KX hopes to still have confidence in every aspect of herself, including her hair. Her daughter is biracial, so KX does not know what her daughter’s hair type will be like and recognizes that what works for her might not work for her daughter.

She says, “it’s about being able to love yourself and what you’re working with.”

“I hope as a mom, I can help her navigate being comfortable with who she is, whether her hair is more curly or more straight,” KX says, “because when you’re secure in yourself, everything falls into place.”