Meet Kya Bilal
Kya Bilal has been a textured hairstylist for over a 20 years, and has spent the last 12 years working with celebrities and entertainers. Not only has Kya been the lead hair stylist for two Super bowls, she has been nominated for two Emmie’s, a Guild award and has been part of an Oscar- winning team for the film Mad Max. Kya currently splits her time between working with clients at her LA-based salon and working as head hair department through the entertainment industry (television and films).
In this episode, we speak to Kya about her experience building her career as a textured hairstylist and how she has seen the industry transform.
Where to find Kya: Instagram | Website
The interview
Here are all the questions we asked Kya so you can fast-forward to the best parts.
[01:47] Where did your career as a hair stylist start?
[14:04] What did you have to learn in order to level up as a stylist?
[16:22] What was it like running your first salon and teaching other stylists?
[19:10] Tell us about some of the most memorable moments of your career as a TV and film hair stylist.
[22:00] Do you feel like working on the Lip Sync battle prepared you for the Superbowl?
[24:40] Talk us through what it’s like leading a team of stylists for a Superbowl.
[31:40] What are some of the key things that you look for in stylists that you choose for your teams?
[35:10] How do you approach working with celebrity clients when they have so many different requests and requirements?
[38:10] Having been to the launch of Beyonce’s haircare line (Cecred) and tested the products, how does it compare to what you usually use with clients?
[41:23] What Black owned hair products have a permanent place on your shelf?
[43:29] What are the mistakes you see stylists making and what can they do to avoid them?
[45:08] Do you thin thinks will get better if stylists focus more on education or when they double down on customer service?
[48:42] What’s next for Kya?
Psst… want to ask one of our guests a question? Submit your questions at the bottom of the newsletter.
Who has Kya styled?
Some takeaways
For stylists 💇🏾♀️
Learning from veteran stylists is key. School will teach you how to pass a State board and understand how to chemically treat hair, but not always style textured hair. The experiences you can get in a salon in the early days of your career is immeasurable.
The money makers when it comes to stylist knowledge are: customer service, knowing the health of hair, and understanding the latest hair techniques.
If you want to venture into TV and film, you have to first believe that it’s possible and then look for other people to collaborate with and learn from.
For everyone 💛
Practice manifestation by being intentional, having faith, and creating vision boards to achieve goals.
Acknowledge that there's always room for growth and learning, both personally and professionally.
Hair Brands Kya Recommends
Listen now on Apple, Spotify, Overcast, and YouTube.
Where to find Jade: Instagram | LinkedIn
Where to find Mane Hook-Up: Website | Instagram
Join the next LIVE ‘Ask me Anything’ session with Kya
Join us on the 3rd June for our monthly ‘ask me anything’ session with Kya. In last months session, Kya answered over 20 questions about textured hair care and hair dressing in an hour, helping our community with their natural hair care, transitioning hair, understand what it means to be a TV, Film and Entertainment stylist and more. There are limited spaces so grab your spot asap! 👇🏾
🔥 Hot takes
French government backs bill to stop discrimination against textured hair
The French government has backed a bill banning discrimination based on hairstyle, colour or texture, in a bid to help penalise discrimination in any workplace.
France witnessed a case recently, in 2022 when a black Air France aircrew member won a 10-year battle for the right to work with braided hair on their flights 😱.
While hair discrimination is still rife in many countries, with cases like this still cropping up in the 2020s, we should be asking if legal changes (while positive) are enough to stop this from happening altogether. At the root of it, many textured hairstyles — regardless of how well put together they are — are viewed as ‘unprofessional’. This suggests that textured hair education is also core to changing these recurring perceptions.
Queue Dove’s campaign with LinkedIn to help pass the CROWN Act in as many US States as possible. The research study by LinkedIn and Dove uncovered some of the many pains that Black women are still experiencing, like:
Black women’s hair is 2.5x more likely to be perceived as unprofessional
54% of Black women are more likely to feel pressured to wear their hair straight to a job interview
20% of Black women have been sent home from work because of their hair
With France, the UK and 23 States in the US stepping up to make the workplace a fairer ground for people with textured hair, time will tell if legislation is enough, or if more action needs to be taken.
🧴Brand radar
Pattern Trace Ellis Ross releases a new Blow Dryer for curly & coily hair
Tiktok failed to load.Enable 3rd party cookies or use another browser
Pattern Beauty has built up a solid reputation as a hair care brand that women trust. Launched in 2018 by Tracee Ellis Ross, the brand has developed a name for itself in the hair product space. But now, they’re venturing into the realm of hair tools with the new Pattern blow dryer.
Queue our whole team looking for online reviews to see if this is really as magical as it looks, and it looks like Pattern hasn’t disappointed. We’ve all been there with brush attachments either falling off or breaking but (based on this review), it looks like the Pattern team have addressed this and offered a range of dryer attachments for our various hair needs.
If you’ve tried and tested Pattern’s Blow Dryer already, we want to hear from you in the comments! Otherwise, you can learn more by checking out Pattern website and their latest products here.
🤔 Question box
We want you to take the lead with our next set of podcasts by submitting your questions to our team.
🎧 Coming up next…
Finally, here’s the next set of episodes we have planned. Save them in your calendar…
Episode 3 – Kendall Dorsey – 29th May
Episode 4 – Sadja Monet – 12th June
Episode 5 - Anthony Dickey - 26th June
See you in the next episode!
From,
The Mane Hook-Up team
Share this post