The Blueprint is Still Building
To speak of natural hair without mentioning Taliah Waajid is to miss the origin story. She isn’t a trend or a moment. She’s the foundation. Her name carries weight wherever texture and truth are celebrated. Yet even after decades of innovation, Waajid remains focused on what comes next. “People see the brand,” she says. “But they don’t always see the work. I’m still building every day—creating, evolving, learning. There’s always another level.” That drive to build what doesn’t yet exist is what made her not just a stylist or founder, but an architect of culture.
The Beginning of a Blueprint
“I was 14 years old when I started doing hair and getting paid to do hair,” she remembers. “I called that my entry into professional haircare because I was getting paid to do it back then.” What began as a neighborhood hustle became a mission. By 1996, Waajid introduced her first full collection of natural haircare products, long before “natural” was a retail category. “There was nothing available,” she says. “I was doing my clients’ hair, and when they asked what to use, I couldn’t send them anywhere.” Necessity became invention. “I said to myself, I have to get some products. I have to get a chemist to help me develop these products because I knew what the hair needed—to make it more manageable, to make the braids last longer, to keep it conditioned.” The result was Black Earth Products, a nine-formula collection that gave women the tools to care for their hair at home. It wasn’t just a product launch. It was the creation of a movement.
Building Through Resistance
When Waajid moved to Atlanta, the landscape was different. “Back then, 90 percent of Black women had relaxers,” she says. “Nobody wanted their hair natural.” She began educating clients on the health and freedom of natural hair. Then, a cultural shift began. “When Janet Jackson showed up with the braids in Poetic Justice, that was a big turn for me,” she says. “All those seeds I was sowing, talking to people in Atlanta about braiding and natural hair—they saw it on that big screen and called me. They remembered that girl who was talking about braids.” Her work became the quiet backbone of an awakening. “Once a young Black girl doesn’t have chemicals in her hair,” she says, “she gets to understand her own hair. She knows how to do it, she becomes comfortable with it, and it’s like, what’s the point of relaxing it? I know how to do my hair.” That shift—from dependence to confidence—is the movement Waajid helped ignite.
The World Natural Hair, Health & Beauty Show
Her next act redefined what a “hair show” could be. What started as a small gathering of stylists and community members evolved into the World Natural Hair, Health & Beauty Show, now one of the most respected cultural and business events in beauty. “It’s mind, body, soul, business, and hair care,” Waajid says. “When you leave, I want you to feel good inside and out. It’s not just about looking good. It’s about living well.” Built brick by brick, the show embodies her philosophy that beauty, wellness, and entrepreneurship belong together. “I had to build every brick to make it what it is today,” she says. “It didn’t just happen. It works every single day.” The event now attracts thousands of attendees from across the world. It’s not just a showcase. It’s a lifestyle rooted in education, health, and self-worth.
The Business of Intuition
Waajid’s creative intuition is balanced by strategy. “I can love a product so much,” she says, “but I have to remember I’m not the one buying a pallet of it.” Her leadership is grounded in perspective. She trusts her instincts but lets results guide her next move. It’s the balance of creativity and clarity that has sustained her for decades.
The CEO Within
Even at the top, she leads herself first. “I had to hire a trainer,” she says. “Because when you’re the boss, nobody checks you—you have to check yourself.” Health, for Waajid, is part of her business model. “If I’m not well, my business isn’t well,” she says. “You can’t pour from an empty place. Rest is part of the work.”
On social media, Taliah Waajid isn’t a distant founder. She’s hands-on and present. Her Instagram is part classroom, part documentary. She’s mixing products, checking inventory, and styling her own hair on camera. She gives women “30-minute-or-less” looks, shares maintenance tips, and even touches up customers’ locs when she runs into them in person. She posts from brand events, beauty supply aisles, and behind the scenes at her warehouse. Each post shows the same thing: a founder who’s still teaching, still learning, and still leading from the front.
From that first homemade blend to an international brand and global expo, Taliah Waajid has built more than a business. She’s built a language around care, community, and confidence. “When a young girl grows up confident in her natural hair,” she says, “she grows up confident in herself.” That’s the legacy. Still active. Still alive. Still growing.
Where to Find Her
Taliah Waajid products, including her I Love My Natural Hair and Protective Styles collections, are available at major retailers such as Target, Walmart, and Sally Beauty, as well as on taliahwaajid.com.
To experience the movement firsthand, visit the World Natural Hair, Health & Beauty Show in Atlanta each spring, or follow @taliahwaajidbrand on Instagram for hair tips, education, and behind-the-scenes insight from the Original Architect herself.