TEMITOPE ADESINA: @NaturallyTemi
Hair Texture: “4B with some 4C areas.”
Temitope Adesina is quiet until the director yells, “action!” She proceeds to look in the mirror, fluff her perfectly done twist out, smile, and walk out the door. From a fellow 4B/4C hair girl, I look at her hair with envy, it’s hard to believe that she’s achieved this beautiful, thick, defined style using products that cost $5 a pop (nope, that wasn’t a typo). We have a chance to chat between takes where she admits this is her “first major, major commercial.” She is vocal about the fact they included kinky natural hair in the shoot and “not just the looser texture.” She explains, “They worked with real, natural hair women to create this line. I’m honored that they selected me as a kinky curly hair model.”
While you may see influencers in the commercial, Suave tapped over 5000 women to get the deal on what kinky curly girls really want out of their hair products. On set was Soumya Donkada, the Senior Brand Manager for Suave, who explained, “one of the things that was important to us was authenticity and the right presentation.” And don’t think that the brand was simply sending out surveys for Black women. Donkada revealed, “I went to a lot of in-home visits. I know what it takes for women to get their hair prepped. I went to women who are transitioning, women who are thinking of transitioning…for her, hair is a big part of her identity.”
Later in the day, Adesinia and I talk about loving your hair and she thinks it’s something we all need to automatically do. “When you love your hair, you want to learn your hair. A lot of us compare our hair to those with looser hair textures and when we big chop and find out our hair isn’t a looser texture, we start not to like it. You want to love and appreciate your hair. You want to find your own regime. Find what works. Our hair is not ‘difficult.’ It might take a little more time, but it’s our unique thing.”
With a shelve full of products at various price points, it might be hard to find what works. Adesinia shares with Hello Beautiful her favorite product in the line, “My favorite product is the serum. Most serums that I know of is finishing products, but this one is a defining serum and it’s a gel-like consistency. It’s very innovative to me, I haven’t seen anything like that! It really defines my curls.” This product would be great to incorporate into your twistouts and braids outs, but undoubtedly also your wash and go’s.
If you are looking for a cleansing shampoo that won’t strip your hair, Adesinia is here for Suave. “I really loved the shampoo because it really cleansed my hair. Some products that I use, I don’t really get the ‘clean’ feel.” For those of you that love to pour product on your hair, this shampoo is undoubtedly for you. She also commented that the conditioner works really well, adding, “One thing that I really struggle with is getting the perfect amount of slip and the conditioner was good for that.” It was great to be on set and see the actual product in action and be able to speak to women who have tried so many natural hair products, discuss why these products are ones to watch. Normally, when you see the BTS of commercial shoots, it’s about creating illusions. Not with Suave. They used their products, under real conditions, to produce an authentic shoot.
