(Sway Them in Color) Hair and The Beauty of The Parts of You That Were Bullied

My Afro has always generated conversations well before I did. Entering rooms, blocking pictures, catching sunlight and an array of other things I'd pull out of it in surprise. Since wearing my hair naturally for the past 11 years it's been an extension of me that was much more than just incredibly curled follicles, and my guest today knows all about how much hair, especially curly hair and kinky hair, deeply affects our identities and how we show up in the world. Kim Cowans is the founder of SKIMDO the first seven day hold hair product designed to give freedom from daily hair-styling by holding curls in flexible suspension for up to a week with no parabens, no formaldehyde, and no sulphates. She is of Russian and Jamaican descent, and was raised between England and Thailand. Four years after launching SKIMDO she moved to New York City to bring the brand to the American market, and the product has gained gained cult status use amongst stylists and influencers. Kim is now in the process of finding investment to expand her impact. We dive into her journey of creating SKIMDO, from being fired from her job, to hiring chemists to help her concoct her dream product and along the way we talk about: dealing with bullying in childhood why travel can change your perspective of yourself in the best way why seeing yourself represented in the world really does matter and has an impact on your development how a lack of solutions for your unique problem can be inspiration for creating something new You can check out more about Kim at skimdo.com and on Instagram @skimdo.