All products featured on Allure are independently selected by our editors.
However, we may receive compensation from retailers and/or from purchases of products through links in this article.
Quannah Chasinghorsecomes with a lot and those are her own words.
Photographed by Mary Webb
Chasinghorses first beauty partnership kicks off with the brand’s “Iconic Campaign,” which celebrates trailblazers.
(At this time, John Paul Mitchell Systems is unable to disclose the monetary donation being made.
However, a brand representative says more details on the partnership will be announced this spring.)
Last year, Chasinghorse tookAllureon a tour of her Alaska hometown.
Allure:I’m sure many brands have reached out about partnering with you.
Why John Paul Mitchell Systems and why now?
I didn’t have to go out of my way to explain certain things [about my culture].
Chasinghorse at the Met Gala in May 2022.
They did their best to educate themselves.
You have to fit their image or their vision.
Last year, Chasinghorse tookAllureon a tour of her Alaska hometown.
Allure: You’ve previously discussed withAllureyour struggle to identify with the mainstream beauty standard.
Why do you feel it’s important for there to be representation in the hair-care industry in particular?
Because, like you said, there’s so much missing in mainstream media.
Native people, we don’t meet those beauty standards.
We have our own beauty.
A lot of young Native boys will want to cut their hair off because they get bullied or teased.
Allure: You’re part of the Iconic Campaign.
Who are your personal beauty icons?
It made me feel ugly because I didn’t fit any of the beauty standards.
So anytime I would think about beauty, I’d be like, I wish I looked like her.
And it was usually a white female that didn’t have the same nose that I have.
My definition of an icon is someone that thinks outside the box in a way that makes change.
Someone who’s paving the way, someone who’s trailblazing, that’s an icon to me.
Because they showed me what beauty is.
I never felt beautiful with my outside appearance.
That’s where I felt my most powerful and that’s when I started to feel beautiful and confident.
That’s when I started to really learn and accept myself.
Allure: Could you speak to the charitable aspect of the collaboration?
Why was that an important piece of the partnership for you?
And I come with a lot, not just my image.
I come with my voice, my power, and my advocacy work.
That’s really important to me.
And the thing is, I didn’t have to ask.
Allure: I’d love to hear a little bit about your own hair rituals growing up.
Are there any hair-related traditions in your family?
The three strands [of a braid] represent mind, body, and spirit.
That was a tactic of grief, cutting your hair and growing new hair for a new journey.
Allure:What does your hair-care routine look like today?
And sometimes I braid my hair in different styles.
I had multiple braids, two little braids underneath the big, thick one.
Chasinghorse at the Met Gala in May 2022.
Allure: Are there any hairstyles you’re eager to try someday?
I will never cut my hair like a mullet.
Don’t cover up my tattoos and don’t bleach or cut my hair.
And one of them is a short hairstyle.
I don’t really know what it’s called because I don’t cut my hair.
But I think one of them is kind of like awolf cut, but a longer version of that.
Its a longer version of just very layered hair.
My hair is very fine and straight and flat.
That’s how it naturally is.
So to try something different, I want more volume.
Read more celebrity interviews:
Now watch Quannah Chasinghorse’s beauty routine:
