I hope you and your family aren’t too badly affected by this global health crisis. Looking after yourself is paramount right now while we try our best to ride out these challenging times. More and more we find ourselves panic buying items – bulk buying toilet paper, anyone? Well, with hair salons shut and a strong desire to feel a sense of normalcy during these crazy times -- hair dye is now becoming the next impossible item to get in supermarkets.

But while you’re stuck at home, now might just be the perfect time to try giving your hair, and therefore your health, a break for a change! Why not look at this time to give your hair a breather – we can learn how to care for, and start to love our hair, in its natural state. You can even learn how to make your own natural hair solutions. There are tons of YouTube tutorials!

Back in February, before COVD-19 escalated, I visited my cousin Catia and her co-founder Jo’s unique hair boutique HAIRITAGE based in North London. HAIRITAGE was created because “Ethnic women spend over a billion pounds yearly on hair products. We consume most of the products but lack in representation and adequate knowledge.” Jo and Catia made it their mission not to compromise on their hair care shopping experiences and so created the boutique to give people the power, knowledge and journey they deserve -- to take pride in how versatile their natural hair is, coils and curls and all!

The day I visited HAIRITAGE, I had an awakening about how crucial it is to create a space for people to explore a hair care routine that’s kinder and more suitable to us, but also I learned how intimately linked caring for our hair is to our wellbeing.

Do you have any questions about natural hair care you’d like me to pass on to Catia and Jo? Drop your Q’s in the comments. Watch out for more updates and collaborations through the campaign.

And as the #ToxicFreeHair campaign has highlighted, how we care for our hair is deeply connected with our health. Harsh chemicals in conventional dyes and straighteners, and even everyday hair products, are a cause for concern to our health – whether it be risks of cancer, reproductive health issues, or skin irritation – cosmetics companies have no right to wreak havoc on our lives by continuing to pump products with toxic chemicals onto our bodies.   

Please don’t forget to share my petition – we’re excitingly nearing the 10,000 signature mark! Soon the FDA and the companies responsible for peddling these products will be held to account and the destiny of our hair and wellbeing will be back in our hands! 

I’ll leave with you the powerful words of Emma Dabiri from her eye-opening book Don’t Touch My Hair,

“Entire industries feed off our engineered insecurities to peddle products designed to interrupt our connection with ourselves and the universe.”