At the end of 2023, a 23-year-old Black content creator uploaded an Instagram Reel showing her natural hair shaped into a widow’s peak. This eight-second clip changed the trajectory of her life. Now, hundreds and thousands of followers and millions of likes later, Solar is a full-time afro hair sculptor.
A 2022 study conducted by the Arizona State Department of Psychology connected negative experiences and feelings to natural hair with Black girls as young as ten years old. Their research found that the majority of young Black girls aged ten to 14 experienced unwanted hair touching by classmates, and some experienced verbal teasing. Although this is the first study on the hair satisfaction of Black girls, it speaks to an experience many of us are all too familiar with.
For Solar, embracing her hair hasn’t been an easy journey. She was raised in Long Island, New York, and attended a predominantly white institute. None of her peers wore their natural hair. Even the Black girls at the more diverse schools in her area either wore their hair in braids or straightened their curls. For a young Solar, wearing her natural afro hair meant standing out even more – something no child wants.