BLACK women have been struggling with the acceptance of their natural hair for decades. The issue of texture, length, and having straight hair has been a constant battle. It is these insecurities and societal norms that cause the hair industry to strive, making billions of dollars at the expense of a black woman trying to fit in or stand out.

As such, Authavia Dos Santos is determined to break these doors down to help black women love their curls and coils. She has been using social media to bring about a change in attitude and to highlight the beauty of black hair.

“Tavy” as she is popularly known, has struggled with the acceptance of her natural hair for as long as she can remember.

“It was not until 2017 that I decided to start my natural hair journey because of the relaxer damage I had on my scalp,” she recently told this publication.

Relaxers, pressing combs, and pressing irons are tools that have been used to ‘tame’ the textures of black women’s hair for decades. While these tools might have short-term satisfaction, there is evidence to suggest long-term damage to the natural hair.

The representation of black hair in the media and within the beauty industry has been lacking over the years. In most cases, black women are represented on billboards, magazines, or on television with long, straightened hair. For this reason, most black women are influenced to relax their hair or use something to attain a straighter look.

During the sit-down interview with this publication, Dos Santos spoke about how she learned to fall in love with her coils.

“When I was growing up I always loved my hair but hadn’t the slightest clue of how to take care of my hair,” she said later adding, “I always see other girls my age having their hair straightened, and I wanted that.”

Relaxed hair for many black women has caused lasting damage, including alopecia, scalp burns, and thinning of the hair. It was not until Dos Santos started to experience most of these known side effects of relaxers that she tried other alternatives. “It is time to flip the script,” she thought at the time.

UTILISING YOU TUBE

With the use of YouTube, she started to record videos of her own journey in loving and maintaining her natural hair.

“It was 2011 when I started my first YouTube channel. After watching the Glam Twins, I thought to myself I could make videos like that.”

The Glam Twins were YouTubers who were also transitioning into their natural hair. While Tavy knew what she wanted to do in terms of content, there were some challenges.

“I didn’t have a phone or a camera, just my beat up laptop. For Christmas my mom asked me what I wanted, and I told her a camera and a microphone,” she recalled.

Now equipped with the tools she needs, she started her own YouTube channel. However, that first attempt was short lived as she ran into further difficulties when her laptop stopped working. Her YouTube account later went dormant.

With better equipment in 2017, she began to create and upload natural videos and blogs sharing her journey on a new channel, “Life with Authavia”, which she has now grown from 0 to 491 subscribers. Her goal is to get to 1,000 subscribers by the end of the year.

Meanwhile, as she spoke about herself, it was revealed that, in 2011, she enrolled at the University of Guyana to pursue a Diploma in Communications Studies. She was now on her path to fulfilling her dreams.

“Since I was little, I knew I wanted to be on TV. I liked talking and having a microphone, and I knew this course would be ideal.”
The communications programme at the university is entwined with all aspects of media, from print to radio and television. “This programme gave me the skills I needed, from knowing the proper usage and techniques of a camera to editing videos.” This, she posited, was all ideal for her in terms of creating proper content.

She is now pursuing her Bachelor’s Degree in Communications Studies with a minor in marketing.

BIG PLANS

Like everyone, Dos Santos has big plans for herself.

“The only way to go is always up, so it is my hope to market local natural hair products and businesses on my channel,” she said.

According to her, social media is a goldmine. She is of the view that Guyanese businesses have not yet fully tapped into it.

“Using social media as a marketing tool is the way forward,” she said before noting that social media marketing has been proven to be effective over the years. As more and more people become familiar with the different platforms, businesses are bound to make significant profit.

Her other passion project include selling not only natural hair products through her online store melanincurls.gybeautysupply, but to include products for all hair types as everyone should be able to find products to better care for their hair.

You can follow her on all social media platforms: YouTube @ life with Authavia, Instagram @melanincurls.gy, Tiktok @ melanincurls.gy15 and Facebook under the name Authavia Dos Santos.