Photo: Courtesy of Nigella Miller.
Texture Diaries is a space for Black women across industries to reflect on their journeys to self-love, and how accepting their hair, in all its glory, played a pivotal role in this process. Each week, these women share their favorite hair rituals, products, and the biggest lessons they’ve learned when it comes to affirming their beauty and owning their unique hair texture.
“Black hair is home to me,” Nigella Miller says. “It’s where I started doing hair.” Her goal, accordingly, is to “represent [our culture] at the highest level.” She’s been busy doing just that: Beyond working at her salon, Nigella’s Hair Studio, the Brooklyn-based hairstylist and barber worked on the braids, fros, and wigs for Pyer Moss’s SS20 show; oversaw the hair on campaigns for brands like T.A. New York, Baby Tress, and Martine Ali Jewelry; and styled Lianne La Havas for Afropunk (among many other appearances). She also launched AFRA, her line of hair picks and hair cuffs that can be worn on locs and braids (all made of gold) in fall 2019.
Miller has had an innate love for hair ever since she can remember, starting with her own: growing up, she would always take down the plaits her mother did in order to create her own styles on herself. “My mom said she wasn’t surprised that I became a hairstylist,” Miller said. “I’ve done so many cuts and color to my hair it’s out of this world.”
Her hair routine today consists of a “go with the flow” approach. “I am very simple. I try not to do the most, especially when styling my Afro. I wear my fro more than I do protective styles,” she notes, making the wash-and-go her go-to. “Sometimes I’ll stretch my roots to give my 4C Texture a bit of length.” Verb’s RESET RENOUVEAU LINE has helped her achieve her looks of late. “This line has my hair feeling so clean,” she notes. After cleansing, she usually follows with a hair mask. “I can’t stress enough how important hair masks are, especially with curly hair. Keeping my hair hydrated is key!” After her hair soaks up “all the nutrients it needs,” she then applies her leave-in. After that, a serum or oil does the trick to “seal my ends and control frizz.”
Miller finds that maintaining a consistent routine plays an important part in calming her stress levels. “Most people don’t take time to focus on themselves. [But doing so] allows you to put yourself in a happy place mentally and be your best self inside and out,” she notes. When her confidence wavers, Miller adds other steps to her beauty regimen, like a face mask. Other times, it’s as simple as eating fruit dishes alongside a good TV show or movie.
Above all, what is keeping Miller excited right now is her ability to continue growing in her career, particularly now that salon appointments and photoshoots are back on, albeit altered. She’s focused, as ever, on “representing Black hair in anyway I can within every project, especially in corporate spaces, in all my art forms.” She will also be releasing a new collection for AFRA this summer. “I think I have so much to offer within the beauty industry. I cannot wait to get through certain doors and have more opportunity to express my love for Black hair culture and what is necessary for us in beauty,” Miller says. “I’ve been in the industry for a while and there’s still so much work that has to be done and I’m here for it! As a Black beauty professional, I have no problem speaking up for what I and my fellow beauty professionals deserve.”