Black & Beautiful in Britain: Four Black women on beauty, business and identity
Watch: Black & Beautiful in Britain
To mark Black History Month, Yahoo UK launches Black & Beautiful in Britain, a four-part video series in collaboration with digital publisher Black Ballad.
The episodes, filmed on location across the UK, feature stories of Black women and their own experiences with the Black beauty industry in this country.
When Sandra moved to Derry, Northern Ireland, she couldn’t find a salon in the city who would even wash her Afro-textured hair. So she created iHobbs Salon and Training Academy, a place where no one with any hair texture or concern is turned away.
Ify had an issue with her skin and so tapped into her Nigerian heritage to find natural products that would help and heal. She created a natural and sustainable skincare brand based in Edinburgh, Scotland, distributing her products through local black-owned shops directly to her community.
Growing up in South Wales, Cherelle’s family had to plan ahead when it came to buying hair products for their textured hair. Getting the products that they needed was a road trip – travel costs an added extra – but thankfully progress is being made when it comes to access to black haircare in Wales.
Kady started braiding hair to earn extra money while in university. Now, nearly 10 years later, she owns Something About Braids in Manchester, a family-owned salon where customers come for the braids and stay for the sense of community.
The video series is part of a body of content including articles and portrait photographs that will feature on Yahoo UK throughout Black History Month.
What is Black History Month?
Black History Month originated in the United States and is now observed, each October, in multiple countries around the world. Each year, there's a different theme shared on the Black History Month official website and this month there's a celebration of being Black or Brown and to inspire and share the pride people have in their heritage and culture - in their own way, in their own words.
The website reads: "Our Proud To Be campaign is inspired by Black Lives Matter and invites Black and Brown people of all ages throughout the UK to share what they are Proud To Be. Making Black History Month 2021 personal and unique to individuals, families and communities, focusing on how we’re all making history all the time in our own ways, as well as the contributions and achievements of Black and Brown people throughout history. By asking people to share what they are Proud To Be we can share both individual stories and the vast richness of diversity that Black and Brown people bring to the UK. Black Lives Matter means people being able to live life to the fullest without having to compromise who they are. Everyone deserves the right to be Proud To Be everything they are and want to be in life.
The Proud To Be campaign will also focus on encouraging children and young people to share what they are Proud To Be. We’ve created a new resource pack for schools to integrate Black history across the whole curriculum all year round, and to support teachers and young people to talk about and understand issues of race and equality."
