Facing the real me: looking in the mirror with natural hair

Growing up, 18-year-old India Hawkins was taught how to maintain her hair, but not how to love her hair. A tangled history of political oppression, irresponsible advertising and unattainable beauty standards meant she spent her childhood using chemicals, heat, and protective styling to “manage” the hair that grew naturally from her head. Until one day India decided to “go natural.” But she was in for a shock; India never knew how much she was hiding behind her hair, until the day she cut it all off. In her Talk, India describes the emotional sometimes difficult journey that led her to love her hair

This Talk was given at TED-Ed Weekend in New York City.

The TED-Ed Clubs program supports students in discovering, exploring and presenting their big ideas in the form of short, TED-style talks. In TED-Ed Clubs, students work together to discuss and celebrate creative ideas. Club Leaders receive TED-Ed’s flexible curriculum to guide their Members in developing presentation literacy skills to help inspire tomorrow’s TED speakers and future leaders.

To learn more about TED-Ed Clubs or to start your own club, go to http://ed.ted.com/clubs.