Createher: Michelle Obama'S Hair Stylist Yene Damtew Shares Her Story

My name is: Tina, came to Europe and Lymphoma, California, which is a very small town in Orange County right outside of LA. I was raised there by two immigrant parents from Ethiopia. My brother myself, a first-generation. You get an Americans and it was a very interesting dynamic. Growing up, as given Americans in Orange County, which is predominantly white and being a woman of color and then a top of that, a child of immigrants, there was always, as my cultural battle of trying to figure out where we fit where we fit in and how We'Re going to simulate, although we were born at the States, it was just like my parents had to think about instilling the culture in us, but at the same time letting us adapt to the American culture. So it was an adjustment, but I'm grateful for it. I think, as I grew up, I took on the traditions and the values of Ethiopian culture, but still is able to make a name for myself and grow within this community. So I would take hair school when I was 16, but I think the passion for this industry started with the young age growing up. It was my mom sorry, my father and myself and my brother every morning getting ready cuz my mom went to work. She started work at 6:00 a.m. so I was responsible for doing my hair in the morning and although my mom would wash it and prep it and do whatever we did during the week as I got older, I kind of wanted to have an opinion and have A voice with what I did with my hair and my dad was, I didn't know what he was doing, so he was like yeah sure do whatever you want, so I started playing with different hair styles. I remember in the summer time I would go swimming and when I would go in the Sun afterwards, my hair with my hands I'd, be like hmm. What is it with my going swimming going to the pool that would light in my hair, which kind of like sparked an interest? And then I remember my dad's on my dad son sister, my I she colored her hair, and so I remember just buying box color and putting it in my hair and trying different things with my parents being like what did you do and I'd be like? I don't know the Sun did it. You know, and I started gaining an interest rate then and then, after that, the high school that I went to you offered an Occupational program at the local junior college, so I enrolled in the cosmetology program there. So I think that I just kind of fell into it. I became the neighborhood breeder. My brother was my guinea pig and in the beginning it was really bad because my parts were horrible, so I would finish there would be this chunk of hair in the middle of his head. That was just missing that didn't get braided and I feel like I'm tired. I don't want to do it anymore, my parents, I feel like no, no you, you can't just send him out in the world like this, so it really allowed me opportunity to practice and like hone in on my craft, and I think from there one thing just Led to the next - and Here I am today a lesson that impacts me today probably would be to never give up and you could use to go anywhere. As I said, I'm a childhood immigrants and I think back. I think, when the first time I visited Egypt it when I was in, I was it was 1997. I believe - and I remember going back and kind of just looking at the way people live their lives there and looking at what my parents had provided for us and they're just kind of like. If they could do it, then I could do it if they can make it in America me being born here, this being my native tongue. There'S no reason why I can't succeed, so I think it was just you know never give up, but my dad, he always used to say make room for disappointment, leave room for people. It was one of the things that he always stressed and I never got it until I got older and as success came, you have if you have expectations of others, it's just going to lead to disappointment, so I began to just kind of like always leave room For people to not follow through and and I think inevitably it made me realize, and if I learned it's something I have to do it, I had to work for it and if I want it, I could go after it not achieve. It depend on someone else doing it for me. If i was having a conversation with my 12 year old self, I would probably say trust your gut. Your intuition is very strong and follow your drinking's and follow your passion. I think that by the time I was 12 I knew I wanted to do. Hair and my parents were kind of like you could do. Hair will pay for you to go to hair school eventually, but you still have to go to college or if you're, not gon na just become a hairstylist, and I knew that there was many different avenues that I could navigate within this industry and my parents were They didn't know that and that's not what's what we put out in the world for people who aspiring hair, stylist or aspiring people and in the arts to think you know. We think it's like it's hard and if there's gon na be a struggle and that unless you have a big break, you're not gon na ever make it. But there are plenty of successful people in these others of these industries. As long as you work hard and maybe you're, not famous in the sense of like on film and TV and stuff on, you know made an impact that way. But you never know the impact that you're making your local community so trust your gut instinct and, and you know what she want to do and follow that dream honestly. For me, my transition or that aha moment within my career came once I was already into it. I think that when once I started working in a salon and understanding how to interact with clients and listening to my clients - and I walked away from being just a hair stylist and like really understanding the craft, really understanding that you have an opportunity to connect the Table understanding that every woman that comes into your chair or every man that sits in your chairs and I have a different story - a different perspective, a different journey, and for me I realized that this is what I wanted to do, and this was the impact I Wanted to make an impact in this in this industry in this world by listening to the stories and the struggles that my clients go through, I've had clients come in and sit in. My chair women work like through divorces for an abusive relationships who just got laid off, who just aren't doing the best about themselves, and there is something that happens. It is there's this magical moment after they're finished, getting their hair done, where there's there's a boost in their confidence and they get up from that chair and they walk out that door just feeling a little bit prouder and standing a little bit taller just done with A little bit more confident - and that was the I think once I especially the move to DC - and I I started to interact with older clients and kind of hearing their struggles and theirs their successes. I realized this is where I wanted to be, and this is the industry that I wanted to stay in and figuring out ways to use this industry to empower other people. There'S probably never been anyone who's disappointed me in this industry, but I think that I have looked at other stylists and I've taken away. It'S not disappointing, because I've taken away things about the way that they ran their business, that I liked and things that I didn't like the type of stylists that I wanted to become and the type of stylists that I was the type of business. Only that I wanted to become and understanding the difference of just doing hair because it pays the bills, but actually caring for the clients, hair understanding. What'S going on internally, how your diet affects your hair, how your health affects your hair, the medication that you take when you're going through menopause and when your body starts changing? How does that affect your hair? And I think for me, I looked at. I look at other stylists. I look at people that have been in this industry longer than me and I take away the good and the bad. It makes me a stronger. Doesn'T this woman? It makes me a stronger stylist as a whole, but I can't say that there's any one person I was just like dang like you just you just let me down. You know there's no one in particular that I can say there are so many silent mentors that I have and there's so many people that I look up and to look up to in this industry and it's the little things that they may not even realize that They'Re doing that inspires, you know, you know the younger generation of creators so funny enough. The first person celebrity or known person that I styled was when I was assisting my mentor and we were working with Tichina Arnold and he was just like yeah machinist coming and I was like okay, that is sounds like whatever III didn't know, who she was by Her name and it's a bit still something that I'm guilty and I don't know people so he's like just. She was coming and probably an hour and a half into her appointment. We started talking and she was just like yeah yeah. I got something Martin and I was like, oh my god, your pan from riot, and it was like this moment and as my venture looked at me, he was like really janae and I was just like I'm sorry. I I just didn't know who she was, and I was looking at this woman like she looks familiar, but I didn't know who she was um. So there's a lot of moments like that that I've worked with you, know high-profile clientele and celebrities, and it's kind of like who's that what's their real name like, and I wasn't joking with you know what everyone I'm just kind of like what in it playing like How did I know that? What'S there what's there hey, and I think that it it's a good and bad thing, because you should definitely know it made me learn that I should probably do research on clients prior to just to understand how they wear their hair. Not too deep or learn about who they are, but just kind of know who they are in the sense of like what what is their style. At the same time, I think that it works to my benefit, because I'm not really like. Oh, my god starstruck and I think that there's a sense of normalcy that celebrities like - and I think that I offer that. So I remember the first time that I got. I remember so vividly when I got the call and I was asked to work. This is a long explicitly and it was probably a Tuesday or Wednesday afternoon. I was at the salon and at the time I was still working at my own salon. This salon was in the works. I was kind of all over the place like making sure construction was going right and when, when I got off the phone there was this moment of, like I've worked with this family for about eight years now - and I was it, the face of people didn't know That I work with them, but I did - and I like that - I like that. It was like that. I liked the sense of normalcy that I had and I liked the fact that people gravitated towards me, for who I generally was, and not for the opportunity of getting close to them or having access to never asking me about their personal life in any capacity. And so it was that moment where was just kind of like when it was hard to stick it through, and they were long sleepless being when I'm on the opposite side of the country. When there is like significant things going on. In my personal life and my family, all of that hard work and all of that perseverance and everything that I endured to get to that moment it came to fruition. Do I feel like I've made it 20:18 has been an interesting year for me and it's been a year of reflection and growth, and I think that this year is where I've realized that I'm somebody or that I've made it or whatever, that whatever it means to Make it I don't think that I've made it. I think that I'm hustling and I'm grinding and I'm leasing it out, but this is the year that I've realized how much my story impacts. Other people - and I think that this is the year that I've realized that people come up doing they're like well, tell me your secrets and what how did it get here? What did you do have? How did you become this person? How did you build this brand? So do I feel like I've made it? No do people think that I've made it yes do I recognize that I'm impactful on people? Yes, and it's it's a very weird journey for me, because I'm not the person. That'S like look at me. Look at what I've done, but at the same time, like I'm getting emotional it just it's weird, bye, it's a cool place to be it's like it's nice to know that I'm impacting people Marina. I was raised from vanilla,