Interview

The natural hair movement is empowering women of all ages, enabling them to express themselves by embracing their natural hair.

In covering this topic, I wanted to cater to my female audience by providing them with some new insight into the world of natural hair.

What better way to do that than to consult with an expert in this particular field. That expert is none other than successful Celebrity Natural Hairstylist, Felicia Leatherwood.

Felicia is based in Los Angeles, but has traveled the world spreading her message and offering her tips to a growing audience. Some of the places she’s been able to travel to include Africa as well as throughout different parts of Europe.

Felicia continues to make her mark, not only as a Natural Hairstylist but as a designer as well, designing natural hair products for both adults and children.

In fact, she’s well known for her Detangler Brush, which makes “hair life easier on the naturalista” as it’s “designed to help women and children of any texture of curl to detangle their hair with ease with minimal to no hair shedding.”

In Felicia’s own words, this brush is good for moving “through the hair without pulling or breaking hair.” 

Felicia jumpstarted her career 26 years ago, before there was such a great emphasis placed on social media. The power of social media is endless as it cuts out the middle man, so to speak, giving you a direct line of communication to almost anyone around the world.

That’s actually how Felicia and I connected, via social media, and I’m glad we did.

What’s impressive about Felicia’s success is the fact that she was able to develop a substantial following the old fashion way; as a walking brand. She talks the talk and walks the walk as a confident Natural Hairstylist and Designer.

Felicia has taken her industry by storm, building a resume that includes styling well-known celebrities like Viola Davis, Will Smith, Terrence Howard and Issa Rae.

She’s built a rapport with some of the best in the business, but like what I do with my platform, she still focuses heavily on the common individual. Felicia educates and motivates women, inspiring them to “get in touch with themselves and their natural hair.”

Felicia prides herself on creating an atmosphere with her workshops that makes it as if you’re “getting advice from a friend and not a teacher.” That makes great sense considering audiences of today cater more toward someone who they feel they can relate to.

In Felicia’s industry, she’s that relatable person.

Her overall following consists of more than 140,000 people, which is led by a strong online presence.

In our interview, we covered many topics from how Felicia balances this busy career of hers to how she’s been able to develop a rapport with prominent celebrities to her presence overseas.

Q: Felicia, you’re currently mastering quite a few areas right now as a Natural Hairstylist, a designer of natural hair products, an inspirational and beauty speaker, and as a producer of content related to hair and wellness. How are you able to balance these platforms? What kind of challenges do you run into as a woman who wears many hats?  

A: I love what I do and I enjoy the services that I can provide to people by way of education, styling tools or even inspiration. So, it’s my pleasure to be of service in this way. I think the most challenging thing about wearing many hats is that you don’t get enough sleep (laughs).

Q: Obviously, technology has evolved tremendously since 26 years ago (when you first started). Nowadays, people can create awareness on social media, free of charge. That being said, what avenues did you have to use in order to build a following in the earlier years of your career? How have you adapted to this new age of advertisement and marketing?  

A: I was always my own walking billboard (when I had longer hair, of course), so it wasn’t hard to get clientele. Women would always admire my hairstyles when I went anywhere. Nowadays, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram have given me a much broader reach to showcase my work. I’m grateful for that.

Q: For someone who hasn’t experienced your workshops, take me through the process and what these workshops entail.  

A: The workshops are a great way for women to get in touch with themselves and their natural hair by means of education, inspiration and motivation. The feedback that I receive from anyone who has been in my workshop is that it feels like you are getting advice from a friend and not a teacher. I love hearing that because I want the women to feel empowered and I don’t want them to feel intimidated by the transition back to natural hair.

Q: You’ve featured your styles on some of the biggest names in the entertainment industry; Viola Davis, Will Smith, Jill Scott, and Anthony Anderson, to name a few. Talk about how you were able to build your platform to a level where these influential individuals were willing to co-sign your work?

A: Well, there are not a lot of hairstylists catering specifically to natural hair, so I created a niche for myself by staying focused on just catering to clients that wanted to be and stay natural. Also, word spreads quickly when you are one of the few doing natural hair in Black Hollywood.

Q: You’ve hosted workshops and panels overseas. Of all the places you’ve been to, where did you enjoy traveling to the most? Did it inspire you in a new way?  

A: I have enjoyed all of my travels, so it’s hard to compare. I’m always learning new things when I leave the states about the attitude women have about their natural hair, and so all of my travels are amazing and inspirational. I love going to Africa and different parts of Europe and educating in different regions. It’s ALL GOOD!

Q: For all of my female viewers out there and natural hair lovers, explain why they should invest in your Detangler Brush?  

A: The Detangler Brush was created to make hair life easier on the naturalista. It is designed to help women and children of any texture of curl to detangle their hair with ease, with minimal to no hair shedding, in the process of detangling hair.

The brush is also super incredible and easy for children to use on themselves. So, they don’t have to run from their moms during wash day! (laughs). What makes the brush so amazing is its ability to move through the hair without pulling or breaking hair because the rows of the brush move with the hair. So, you can detangle your hair stress free!