Meet Felicia Leatherwood
Felicia Leatherwood has been a hairstylist for over 26 years, specifically working with celebrities and entertainers. She has worked with the likes of Ava DuVernay, Issa Rae, Jill Scott and many others. But many people also know Felicia for her focus and emphasis on maintaining the integrity and health of natural hair and educating others to embrace their curls and coils. As a stylist and hair educator, Felicia has not only helped many people understand how to care for and restore their hair but she also Founded a detangling hair brush line called Brush With The Best and runs a celebrity hair management agency Texture Management.
In this episode, we speak to Felicia about her experience building her career as a stylist and how our industry needs to change to embrace natural hair.
Where to find Felicia: Instagram | Website | Detangling brush | Book
The interview
Here are all the questions we asked Felicia so you can fast-forward to the best parts.
[01:26] How did you get into hair care?
[03:13] How did you transition from doing your hair to wanting to do this for others?
[07:00] How did you get your first opportunity to work with celebrity clients?
[16:30] What were some of the decisions you and the team made when making the hairstyles for Issa on the set of Insecure?
[20:39] How do we change the narrative to ensure we’re seeing more of us with our natural hair in the media and entertainment?
[25:29] What has been your experience of hair and make-up unions for TV & film?
[31:07] Why did you decide to create the detangling hairbrush?
[43:40] What are some misconceptions about natural hair that need to be stopped?
[46:35] What advice do you have for people who are at the beginning of their natural hair journey?
[50:50] What’s next for Felicia?
Psst… want to ask one of our guests a question? Submit your questions at the bottom of the newsletter.
Who has Felicia styled?
Some takeaways
For stylists 💇🏾♀️
If you want to get into editorial styling don’t just wait for the opportunity to come along, create one. Find your own models, create your own set and start building your portfolio. Having an online presence is key, so whether you have a website, use an external booking platform or create an EPK (electronic press kit), look for opportunities to be seen by the thousands of people searching for textured hair stylists online.
For everyone 💛
The language we use and associate with our hair is either empowering or damaging. Negatively labelling textured hair as ‘difficult’, ‘tough’, or ‘unruly’, can make it more challenging to embrace our hair texture.
Choosing the right hair tool (e.g. combs, brushes) is just as important as finding the right products and can transform our experiences from painful to enjoyable in an instant. Also, bear in mind that it’s easier to comb textured hair when it’s wet.
Learn more about Felicia’s book, Root Therapy.
Listen now on Apple, Spotify, Overcast, and YouTube.
Where to find Jade: Instagram | LinkedIn
Where to find Mane Hook-Up: Website | Instagram
🔥 Join our LIVE ‘Ask me Anything’ session with Kya Bilal
Join us on the 6th May for our monthly ‘ask me anything’ session with celebrity hair stylists Kya Bilal. Kya will be answering all of your questions about hair care and what it takes to become a world-class textured hair stylist. There are limited spaces so grab your spot asap! 👇🏾
🔥 Hot takes
It’s time to stop assuming that women who wear wigs and weave don’t have healthy hair
As the natural hair movement has come back around, there’s been a lot of talk about how Black women wear their hair — particularly when it comes to the use of wigs and weaves. Unfortunately, with these conversations come a lot of misconceptions and one we often hear is women who wear wigs and weave have unhealthy or damaged hair (because why cover it up if you have nothing to hide, right?).
That said, since Bey released her hair care line, Cecred, there’s been a lot of debate over how much of her real hair we have ever seen. With tweets and posts questioning the authenticity of this product line and much speculation over the health of her hair, Bey made headlines when she decided to address the scepticism with this video 👇🏾
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After watching this, it’s fair to say that health, length and strength are all there in abundance. But, Bey also raises a great point…
The stigma and misconception is that people who wear wigs don’t have long and healthy hair. That’s some bull*hit because that ain’t nobody’s business.
— Beyonce
It’s important to remember that wigs and weaves are not always used as a means of covering up or hiding natural hair. When done well, they’re a practical protective style, a means of expression, style, and creativity. From bold colours to intricate styles, these hair pieces offer endless possibilities for self-expression and reinvention. ‘
While there are definitely still issues with wigs and weaves reflecting the narrative that European beauty standards have (literally) been placed on the heads of Black women, we shouldn’t assume that’s the case for everyone, nor should we question the health of someone’s hair because of the styles they choose.
Whether rocking natural curls, protective styles, or wigs, black women should feel empowered to express themselves authentically and without the fear of being judged. An important lesson for all of us to bear in mind.
🧴Brand radar
The Bread Beauty Hair Towel is here to save us on wash day
Fighting with your towel on wash day is like a right of passage that every curly and coily girly goes through.
But it looks like the days of this struggle are about to come to an end with Bread Beauty Supply’s new hair towel. Not only is it made from soft materials to protect our hair from breakage (think organic cotton and bamboo), but it’s also been designed to stay in place. With a strap at the back to secure your twist in place, you’ll no longer be wrapping and re-wrapping your towel (winning).
Learn more about Bread Beauty 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 2 – Kya Bilal – 15th May
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
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