Hello Kings Queens and all royalties in-between! My name is Tatiana, I'm a 22 year old Black Business Owner, Entrepreneur, Artist, and most importantly Natural Hair Enthusiast.

Growing up I was unaware of the magical properties my hair possessed. For as long as I could remember my hair was straight and Constantly shedding. My hair care routine consisted of grease and a hot comb. I thought nothing of it at the time and never questioned the health of my hair because this was the standard of beauty I had come to know.

 

I distinctly recall the day my sister had come to my mother and I with a chunk of hair in her hands and a small coily patch of hair on her head where she cut it. She proclaimed she was "going natural", which at the time I had no idea what that meant.

 

Two thoughts came to my mind. The first was "Oh no she's having a Britney moment!" And the second was "Has her hair always been able to do that?"

 

My mother, while trying to be supportive and remain non-judgmental, was visibly in shock. "why would you do that to your hair?" is the first thing that came out of her mouth, and insensitive jokes came from mine.

 

We had always equated hair to beauty. Short kinky "Afrocentric" hair was the complete opposite of the Eurocentric hair standard we had subconsciously come to accept as desirable and alluring.

 

It wasn't until a couple of years later I started questioning my identity and why certain beauty standards exist. Beauty was supposed to make you happy, but relaxers giving me chemical burns, my hair breaking off, and getting my ears burned by a hot comb every week was not making me happy! In fact, the demand to keep up with these hair beauty standards was starting to affect my emotional and mental well-being and I started recognizing, how I treated my hair was a reflection of how I felt and treated myself.

 

I had a lack of patience for my hair, I didn't care about the health and integrity of it at all. The damage was easily masked by sew-ins and hair extensions, and if that was the case why would I actually fix it?

 

I started to question what would happen if I invested just a little bit of energy and TLC in my hair and in 2014 that's exactly what I did. I got to know my hair and started to treat it with the love and care it deserved. There were many bumps in the road but I remained patient and in return, it rewarded me with visions of things so fascinating.

 

I got to witness my curls wiggle by themselves like magic trying to find their place in the pattern that is my hair as it air-dried, I got to be enchanted watching my curls revert back after a blowout, I got to experience it puffing up in humid weather like a dandelion and so many other fascinating beautiful things.

 

Throughout my natural hair care journey, I was able to change my narrow views on what I found beautiful and acceptable. In addition to this, I learned that sometimes stepping out of your comfort zone and allocating your energy in the right direction can open up the door to new and healthier possibilities. I later applied that lesson to my work.

 

In 2020 after being placed on furlough leave due to Covid-19 I decided that once again I was not happy about the standards set in place for me when it came to working a 9-5 I had no passion about.

 

I decided to once again think what would happen if I invested just a little bit of energy and TLC into my passions, and out of that came the birth of Puffs Essentials.

 

For two years I dedicated my time further expanding my knowledge on hair care, hair chemistry, and obtainable self-care. Now I want to dedicate myself to helping others do the same through my company.