Empowering women of color across all hair grades, Zenita Collie, better known as TruleyTalentedBeauty, has used her Instagram and YouTube channel to uplift the natural hair community with an immense amount of creativity and confidence.
Since New York Minute Magazine is dedicated to women’s empowerment, how do your passions embolden you to become the most badass version of yourself you can be?
My passions bring out the badass version of me by consistently challenging my creativity and comfortability. Just like anyone else I have insecurities about my work, and my looks. Having a platform pushes me to be bold, take risks and be confident in myself.
There is a perpetuated stereotype that natural hair is “unprofessional.” What is your response to that?
Natural hair is not unprofessional, it is unaccepted. For years kinks and curls have not been the ideal beauty standard, especially in America. So the idea that natural hair is unprofessional stems from years of it not being approved. That’s why it’s important to not only showcase the beauty of natural hair but also to properly showcase the different textures as they are.
There is more to natural hair than what you see on the surface. What does natural hair really mean to you?
To me natural hair and black hair in general means power, versatility, and culture. There is literally so much magic in black hair and it’s the main reason why I love showcasing the different ways it can be styled.
What keeps the creative juices flowing when coming up with hair tutorials?
I actually have a hair styles vault, which is a list of all the different styles I come up with or want to put my own spin on. Anytime I get an idea for a style I write it down in the vault. When I want to try something new, I just go through my list and pick out a look I want to try. At the end of the year I go through my vault, cross out the ones I’ve tried and roll over the ones I didn’t get too.
What has your hair journey taught you about self-love and empowerment?
My hair journey has taught me that self-love and empowerment is a process. Just like my hair routine, the journey to self-love takes time. Some days my styles come out great other days it doesn’t come out as expected. Self-love is accepting yourself through the good and the bad. To this day I’m still learning to fully love myself more but learning to love my natural hair taught me how to love myself as is. Kinks, curls. knots and all.
You began incorporating Fro Fact Fridays into your Instagram feed. What inspired the new addition?
I really wanted to find a way to keep the Black history is American history movement going but also incorporate it into the beauty world. With black hair there is so much history in our roots, that so many of us literally do not know about. I figured sharing these facts could help unravel the stigmas surrounding black hair as well as educate those within the beauty community. In the end I hope to create a new found understanding of our crowns and continue sharing black history.
What advice would you give to a woman beginning her natural hair journey?
Less is more. Listen I love to switch my styles up, but I also know that if you want healthy hair you got to give it time to rest and breath. Every now and then I’ll leave my hair in large braids or twist and not touch my hair at all. This gives my hair time to revive itself and gives me an opportunity to retain my length.
We love your cosplay YouTube videos! Which one was your favorite?
Honestly I love all the looks but my favorite one to edit was Number 5 from Codename : Kids Next Door. I really wanted to make my own version of the intro used before all the Kids Next Door missions. I love anything that challenges my creativity, so the fact that I got fonts, timing, and sounds to be as close to the original show was my favorite part of the video.
What’s one of your favorite hairstyles? Why does that one stand out?
I just love a good mega puff. I’m short so the puff literally stands up on its own and gives me a little bit more height. The style is simple, but the size makes a statement.
What boundaries are you encouraging women to break through beauty?
I encourage others to create their own definition of beauty. No one should be relying on societal standards to decide whether or not their look, style or shape is beautiful.
Hair care must take a lot of work among your other responsibilities. What do you do to wind down?
I tap out. I give myself hair and social media breaks that just allow me to focus on life in front of me. Whether that’s reading, focusing on my health, spending time with family and friends, or just relaxing.
Featured Image Courtesy of Zenita Collie
