“I feel we’re married, for better, for worse.”
Raines’s nonprofit,Beauty 2 the Streetz, has always been about family, both blood and chosen.
Raised in Compton, Raines, a self-taught makeup artist and hairstylist (“hood stylist!”
she corrects me), began her organization six years ago.
A client gets a trim from Raines’s team.
“They have a desire for their wants.”
A client gets a trim from Raines’s team.
She begangiving makeoversupon request and branched out on her own soon after.
Raines’s team at their typical Saturday afternoon outpost.
“It instills dignity,” she says.
Raines’s team at their typical Saturday afternoon outpost.
“When I ask how they want their hair, they say, ‘It doesnt matter.’
[But] it absolutely matters.
I think they forget that they have a choice.
For the neighborhood’s female and trans population in particular, this is a big step.
“Consensual touch is something we struggle with in the unhoused community.
This is [often] the first time theyve been touched with consent in so very long.”
“That’s when I realized people don’t just have a desire for their needs.
They have a desire for their wants.”
But when the pandemic hit, a comforting touch suddenly became the riskiest thing one could offer.
“It’s important to show the real moments,” she says.
“This is my passion, but I also don’t accept B.S.
I am a street kid, a street person.
I have a tough-love approach.”
Read more stories about redefining beauty:
And now, watch a different kind of wash day routine:
