Tamara Cowham
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Tell me what you’re doing with your hair?
Since we just had boat dance, I’ve been keeping it for a little while, so I just go over it with a flat iron during the week. In general I keep my hair curly and pretty natural.
Was there a time where you didn’t regularly have your hair natural?
In middle school, I used to be pretty embarrassed of my hair because it was super crazy and curly. I used to straighten it, not everyday, but at least ¾ of the time. I was embarrassed of my curls because the middle school I went to was predominantly white. So the students I went to school with didn’t really understand it or appreciate my hair, so that translated into me being embarrassed of what my hair was and what it embodied. Sometimes before big performances and plays, girls never did anything exciting with their hair or had to change it. But, I was sometimes expected to change it to make it less intimidating or cultural. Microaggressions like that influenced my decision to change.
What inspired you to keep your hair curly now?
The high school is more diverse than the middle school, and even my friend group is mostly girls of color. Throughout our friend group, we encourage each other to stay natural and true to our black identities. As a result of that, my own perspective of myself as a black person has changed, so I’m even more proud of myself now. My hair has helped me appreciate my identity more. I’m biracial--my dad is from Zambia Africa, and my mom’s parents are British. I grew up in a very contradicting household. My dad is very cultural, and my mom is very American and in a way kind of plain to put it bluntly. I kind of leaned towards my mom’s family, and they all had straight hair, blonde hair, blue eyes, and traditional eurocentric features. I always wanted to conform to that and be like my cousins and my friends, but now that I am around boarding students who are from African countries or whose parents were immigrants, I’ve been exposed to more.
Who taught you how to do your hair?
My mom has pretty curly hair, not quite as curly as mine, but she knows how to style it. I don’t really do complex styles, but I try to embrace my curls and make sure they are voluminous. I learned how to do that partially from my mom and my friends, but part of it was investigating and getting to know my friends for myself.
What do you like to listen to while doing your hair?
My hair isn’t actually quite as high maintenance. I just shower and put a few products in and scrunch it in. It doesn’t take that much work actually, and it's not a process where I have to get some food and hunker down. To be honest, I don’t listen to music.
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Hair Icons?
Tracee Ellis Ross! I love how she embraces her curls as a biracial woman.