Tishlovestexture

j u l y e d.

1. precision
2. joy
3. release
4. gold
5. distance
6. n**e
7. st. tropez
8. serenity
9. impact
10. branzino
11. educate
12. bts
13. love
14. journey
15. stealth
16. science
17. skyline
18. routine
19. glow
20. press

Sometimes people aren't neglecting their hair or their hygiene.

Sometimes they're simply trying to survive.

Recently, I published *Matted Hair Reset: The Road to Healing*, a body of work inspired by the stories I've witnessed throughout my career.

Stories of grief.

Stories of overwhelm.

Stories about depression, burnout, caregiving responsibilities, mental wellbeing, and daunting life circumstances.

What many people see as neglected hair is often connected to something much deeper.

Salon professionals are often trusted with more than hair.

We're trusted with intimate stories.

Over time, I've come to understand that hair can be connected to identity, self-esteem, emotional well-being, and the challenges people carry behind closed doors.

This book explores those connections with compassion, curiosity, and without judgment.

I hope it reaches the people who need it, exactly when they need it.

Matted Hair Reset: The Road to Healing is now available on Amazon.



https://a.co/d/04uW9bFR

Here is something that has kept me up at night, if I'm being honest...

Once I moved beyond my apprenticeship and foundational years, I found myself navigating much of my career without an industry mentor.

Trust me, I have asked.

I've reached out. I've sought guidance. I've looked for someone who had already walked the path I wanted to walk.

There were times when I thought I had found that person. Sometimes the conversation started with enthusiasm and possibility, only to fade away. Sometimes the connection simply didn't develop beyond the initial exchange.

But you know what I decided to do?

I built a thriving salon business anyway.

I niched down and found my calling anyway.

I built corporate relationships anyway.

I led hair and makeup for music videos anyway.

I blogged and became a contributor to industry publications anyway.

I became an educator anyway.

I started building an education platform anyway.

I wrote the book anyway.

This isn't a complaint nor is it a flex. It has truly been a struggle, yet I continue to find my way.

Sure, I'm still keeping an eye out for my mentor, but sometimes I sit with the fact that after my mom gave me everything she had to give about this industry, I completed a four-year apprenticeship locally so she could continue teaching and guiding me whenever possible. Then I went out into the world on my own and it was probably hard for anyone to measure up to mom.

No shade at all. She was this consummate professional who everyone wanted to work with and quite gifted as a precision cutter and master colorist.

Even I don't measure up... and I'm 28 years licensed.

To my future mentor, if you're out there, trust me, I have so much I'd love to talk with you about.

In the meantime, I became the mentor I never had.

Then I went on to help others where I saw familiar gaps.

And I love that for anyone whose life I've touched, whose career I've encouraged, or whose confidence I've helped build along the way.

I truly believe I attract mentees because I am open, inviting, and genuinely care about the direction this industry is headed.

Sometimes, while you're looking for a mentor, you've just got to be who you needed when you were younger.

"When you learn, teach. When you get, give."
~ Maya Angelou

People often ask how I got into education.

The truth is, I didn't set out to become an educator.

For years, I focused on empowering my clients, teaching them how to understand their hair, not just wear the results of my work.

Over time, my clients kept telling me:

You should be teaching this.

Eventually, I realized they were right.

I was meeting far more people in need of quality textured hair care than I knew professionals providing those services.

That concerned me.

Not as a stylist.

As a member of the texture community.

So I started teaching one-on-one.

I loved it!

But one stylist at a time felt too slow.

The longer I work in education, the clearer the challenge becomes.

In many cities, you can easily find a blowout specialist, barber, balayage specialist, keratin specialist, relaxer specialist. Even a loose curl specialist.

Yet countless people with highly textured hair still struggle to find consistent, knowledgeable care.

That isn't happening by accident.

It's the result of longstanding gaps in education, exposure, and professional development.

That's why I teach.

And it's why I'll continue to advocate for textured hair education.

My hope is simple:

One day, someone with textured hair won't have to drive across a city or multiple cities to find a professional who understands their hair.

Limited access to quality hair care based on texture shouldn't still be part of the conversation in 2026.

Yet here we are...

Nearly 30 years behind the chair taught me something unexpected about clients with healthy hair.

Their healthy hair journey often starts long before the first service.

My first apprenticeship away from my mother's salon began at 15 years old. I was assisting a busy salon owner while attending beauty school.

By 17, I was working on real clients and building a book of business while many of my peers were preparing for college.

By graduation, I was working as a commission stylist.

By year four, the training wheels were off.

Over the decades that followed, I connected with clients from every walk of life and worked with virtually every hair texture imaginable.

What I learned is this:

Clients with consistently healthy hair don't necessarily know more about hair.

They make different decisions.

They seek out experienced professionals.

They value honesty.

They ask questions.

They schedule consultations.

They pay attention to the salon environment.

They observe how a stylist communicates.

They trust their instincts.

Most importantly, they look for compatibility.

In my experience, compatibility is one of the most overlooked factors in healthy hair outcomes.

A professional consultation isn't just about hair.

It's an opportunity for both people to assess fit.

The client is evaluating the stylist.

The stylist is evaluating whether they can responsibly serve the client's needs.

When those elements align, trust develops.

When trust develops, consistency follows.

And consistency is often where healthy hair begins.

I asked my AI mentor a question I already know quite a bit about:

"Why do some people struggle to maintain healthy hair?"

Not because I needed the answer.

As educators, we should periodically audit the tools we create. I like checking in to make sure my AI mentor is sharing the same quality of information I intentionally programmed into her, guidance rooted in professional experience, observation, and the lived experiences that have shaped my work behind the chair and in education.

What I appreciated most about her response was that she stayed away from product dependency and kept the focus on understanding hair as a living, responsive fiber.

She highlighted factors such as:

• No understanding one's own hair behavior
• Texture-specific needs
• Need daily practices
• Education gaps
• Lifestyle and environmental influences
• Unrealistic expectations

I would add one more layer: identity and lived experience.

For many people, their relationship with hair is shaped not only by texture and maintenance habits, but also by cultural messaging, family traditions, beauty standards, and past salon experiences. These influences often affect how people care for their hair, what they believe healthy hair should look like, and how confident they feel navigating their own texture.

One of the questions she asks is:

What is my hair consistently telling me?

The shift from searching for a solution to developing awareness is often where real progress begins.

For this audit, I'd say she's on the right track.

What if someone could sit down with me for 10 minutes and borrow nearly three decades of experience?

That question really had my mind spinning.

For years, I've answered the same questions from clients, salon professionals, students, and people navigating their relationship with textured hair.

Questions about:
• Healthy hair care
• Consultations
• Confidence
• The history of textured hair
• Professional growth
• Building a career behind the chair
• Finding the right next step

The challenge wasn't a lack of questions.

The challenge was time.

One person can only answer so many questions in a day.

So I built something different.

Meet Tish — Your Curl & Texture Mentor™.

🔗 https://chatgpt.com/g/g-6910d627fcb88191b58ff4edd3c1b57b-tish-the-curl-texture-mentortm

Tish is an AI-powered extension of my expertise, built from nearly three decades of experience as a professional hairstylist, educator, mentor, and advocate for textured hair.

She was created to help extend education beyond the salon chair and beyond the classroom.

Whether you're a consumer looking for guidance or a salon professional looking to grow, Tish is available 24 hours a day to help you explore questions, gain insight, and take your next step with greater confidence.

Because education shouldn't stop when I leave the salon or education spaces.

Today, she's part of a much larger vision.

A vision where access to professional education, textured hair knowledge, mentorship, and guidance is no longer limited by geography, schedules, or salon hours.

This is one more step toward the future of education.

I'd love for you to meet her and tell me what you think.

With Curls, Texture & Love,

Latecia "Tish" Hankerson

Founder, Curls & Texture U™
Owner, Salon Brazyl™

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