As a young girl growing up in East London many of my formative memories were centered around my hair. From Sundays sitting between my mother’s legs having my hair straightened, to heading to a salon to have my hair washed and braided, I have always had a relationship with my hair which was tied to products.

The chemical burn of a creme relaxer and the sweetness of Pink have played crucial roles in my life. From about age 12 through till 15 I followed in my mother’s footsteps and had my hair relaxed similar to the way she would have her hair straightened with a hot comb and later texturised regularly in a West London hair salon owned by a white stylist.

It wasn’t until my hair started to break and I began losing hair at the nape of my neck that we decided I would start again. My hair, which used to reach my upper back, was then clipped to mid-ear length.