Healthy Hair is Good Hair w/ Shakell Rolle

Healthy Hair THE EVOLVING WOMAN 36 - MARCH 2021 Healthy Hair Healthy Hair Healthy Hair Healthy Hair

Healthy Hair Written By: Shakell Rolle is good hair!

My name is Shakell and I’ve never had a relaxer. Natural hair is something that I’ve always been associated with. Growing up; as far back as primary school, I was often teased for being one of the only girls with natural hair.

When I entered junior and high school I was still one of the few girls who had their natural, unprocessed hair.

This was strange because, at that time, if your hair wasn’t processed in primary school, by the time as you were in high school those curls would definitely be permanently straightened. It was unusual because natural hair had a stigma as being childish and unkempt and senior school was the time to be grown, you know?

That is why I was dumbfounded, when I went to college and ‘being natural’ was the new fad. Everyone was sporting their new puffs and twist-outs without any judgment or criticism. I thought to myself, finally the way we were born was deemed acceptable.

Anyone that knows me, know that I loathe the term “good hair”, often used by the black community. For me, how “good” your hair is, is not determined by the texture of your hair, instead it is determined by the health of it.

My motto is “Healthy hair is Good hair!”, and that’s my top priority. Even though I’ve never had a relaxer, I had a life changing experience when I got a silk press and all of my curls were utterly destroyed. I had to transition and then I chopped off all of my dead ends. It was after this occurrence that caused my desire to promote healthy hair to increase even more.

In 2017 God gave me the vision to start my business and to call it Adorning You, based on the scripture 1 Peter 3:3-5 which says, “ Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. 4 Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. 5 For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to adorn themselves.

One of the core purposes of my business is to care for natural hair. It’s my goal to make sure that each of my client’s confidence is boosted when leaving my salon.

In caring for natural hair, I deal with a wide range of textures and lengths. Regardless of the texture, one of the main ways to promote healthy natural hair and length retention is through proper protective styling.

Before any protective style, your hair should be treated and properly moisturized, especially if you are intending to keep the style for more than 4 weeks.

I advise my clients to listen to their hair. We are usually aware of when our hair is lacking moisture, which is when the hair tends to feel a bit coarser than usual. If our hair is lacking protein, we tend to experience more breakage. If we are in need of a trim, we would encounter more knots and tangling, mostly at the ends of the hair.

Protective styling can only be as effective as possible when the hair underneath is well taken care of. The purpose is to preserve the existing health of the hair.

One of the main services I provide for protective styling is braids. The key for proper protective braids is a technique called ‘tucking’. This technique involves ensuring that the client’s hair is completely ‘tucked away’ into the braids; where as little hair as possible is exposed to the elements, especially the ends of the hair; which is the weakest part of the hair strand and is more prone to breakage.

Healthy Hair THE EVOLVING WOMAN 38 - MARCH 2021 Healthy Hair Healthy Hair Healthy Hair In this photo we can see where I was able to change the client’s hair color by using the tuck method. Her natural hair is bleached A lot of ladies are afraid to return to their natural hair because of the possibility of having a certain hair texture. I am a proud blonde, but we were able to achieve an natural hair activist and I say, if you feel the overall look of 1b/350 braids with her hair urge, give it a try, you just might love it! almost completely concealed. Natural hair is not some monster, it’s the If the hair can’t be seen by the eye, it can’t way that God created us. be affected by the elements. Remember, the only “good hair” is healthy This demand for braids propelled me into hair! expanding my business, by introducing the Adorning You pre-stretched braiding Email: adorningyoustudios@gmail.com hair, which comes in a number of color op- Instagram: @adorningyou_studios tions. Here’s our braiding hair in #613, used for these knotless braids.