SALT LAKE CITY — Trinity Trimiar is both black and white, but many people do not assume she's biracial until they see her hair.
"It's really hard to be mixed in general because people think you're white, but when you have your braids, they're like, 'wait, what are you?'" Trimiar said.
Trimiar has been bullied throughout her life for her natural hair texture that includes tight, fluffy curly patterns. She tried getting a straight weave to fit in, but the bullying continued.
"They were just saying mean things about it. They were calling it a wig, and that made me kind of sad and it made me want to cry," she said.
It's an unfortunate reality for an overwhelming percentage of young black girls who say they have had a negative experience regarding their hair. A study by Arizona State University claimed that black girls as young as 10 years old have experienced bullying, discrimination, or microaggressions around their hair and other may not realize the profound impact this has on self-esteem and confidence.
"Unfortunately, a lot of black children are bullied around their hair; whether it's their hair texture, their hairstyle, or even their hair length, this can have long-term impact, especially on our emotions as a result of hair bullying. People often feel rejected, isolated, excluded, and have low self-esteem," said clinical psychologist and hair stylist, Afia Mbilishaka.
In Utah there are only a handful of black beauty supply shops. Mbilishaka said being unable to find the right tools and product for hair texture can be frustrating.
"In traditional African societies we had all types of special oils and combs and rituals connected to our hair, but in the transatlantic slave trade we often had to use tools that were made for animals," Mbilishaka explained.
The few black beauty supply shops Utah does have ,like Baraka Beauty Supply, hope to change that.
"We try to be able to educate all people of color about their hair and to learn to love their hair because here it's very easy for you to feel like you're not beautiful," said Esther Kasue, owner of Baraka Beauty Supply.
Baraka specializes in multi-cultural hair and product. They do extensions, braids, locs, dreads, any hair style you think someone with curly hair might want. For girls like Trinity, finding the shop was life changing.
"It's totally changed my confidence ... when I found out we had beauty supply store, I was shocked because I didn't know we had any in Utah," Trinity said.
That is the goal for Baraka Beauty, to help those struggling with their hair to fall in love with it again.
"You can see how someone walked in versus how they walked out," Kasue shared. "Some people are on the verge of tears because of experiences that they've had, and by being in this space we've been told just the energy of the salon has allowed them to take on the world a little more."
Mbilishaka, Kasue, and Trimiar say embracing differences in hair texture is the key to creating confidence around black hair.
"I think it's important to embrace your beauty, do research on how to take care of your hair, watch movies and read books that embrace black girlhood and just love yourself," Mbilishaka said.
"Understand that you're beautiful and you're powerful," Kasue said.
"It doesn't matter if you have straight hair, it doesn't matter if you have curly hair," said Trimiar. "It doesn't matter if you have wavy hair, it doesn't matter what hair you have, you just need to be kind to people in general about their hair."
