This Nonprofit Hair Salon Teaches Non-Black Adoptive Parents To Style Their Black Children’s Hair

An Illinois-based hairstylist continues to help transracial adoptees and their parents learn how to do Black hair at her nonprofit salon, Styles 4 Kidz.

A Black hairstylist in Illinois is doing her part to help non-Black adoptive parents learn how to style their Black children’s hair. To aid in this venture, Tamekia Swint created Styles 4 Kidz, a nonprofit salon for adopted Black kids with non-Black parents to receive the proper hair care they need.

Swint developed the initiative in 2011 to educate parents on styling and caring for textured hair. After being introduced to a mother of two Black adopted daughters, with virtually no clue of how to navigate their curl patterns, Swint explained to The Today Show that this one-off incident was indicative of a common issue.

“You should have seen their faces when they looked in the mirror after I was finished. It completely transformed not only how they looked but how they felt about themselves,” said Swint. “And that’s how Styles 4 Kidz started. I realized this was a much bigger problem.”

Now, Swint is providing natural styles such as twists and braids, one-on-one training, and general classes for non-Black parents to continue hair care at home. For the nonprofit owner, it has become a vital step for people in the process of adopting children of color, going beyond the traditional steps of parenting by ensuring they are culturally aware of what raising a Black child entails.

“By the time they have their child, they know all about the products and how to use them,” the entrepreneur expressed. “They’re going into the situation fully prepared.”

Although these parents cannot relate to all that encompasses Black hair care and styling, taking this initiative and time to learn how to protect their child’s coils and curls adequately can be fully realized with the help of Swint. The stylist understands the cultural importance of maintaining one’s mane, and instilling pride in Black hair at this fundamental age is crucial for self-esteem and personal growth.

“We express ourselves through our hair,” she said. “It is deeply entrenched in our culture and in our history. And it connects us to one another. Our hair is a huge part of our identity.”