I went natural in the early 2000s, when the idea was almost seen as a sin. Add to that I was in middle school so I was bullied for not knowing how to manage my hair – we relied on relaxers for most of my childhood.

The cruelty I faced from both kids and adults left me feeling ugly with my short, unmanageable, and dry afro. Those years were tough; I even deleted every picture because I didn’t want to look at myself. For many years afterward I was haunted by the embarrassment. The self-hatred I felt due to my hair fueled my mom’s determination for change. After years of trial and error, my mom and I mastered hair care. She created the WeUNIK products, and soon my hair started thriving!

Suddenly, I started liking and then loving my hair. It makes me tear up thinking about how dark those days were but it was worth it! Now, those who once bullied me ask me for hair advice! This is testament to my mom's determination and my refusal to give up despite humiliation from kids and adults at 11.

Those challenging years inspired my mom and I, and now, neither of us wants other children, adults, or anyone to feel shamed and ugly because of their natural hair. I believe we are all created differently for a reason and we want to help others embrace their UNIKness! Our mission is to share the lessons that took us years to learn to hopefully save the self esteem of the next little girl who does the “big chop”.

- Yani Gi