Clinical psychologist and hairstylist, Dr. Afiya Mbilishaka shares her take on hair and uses it as an entryway to mental health. The mission of Dr. Mbilishaka’s movement is to connect within the mental health community to support their hair care experiences. I think I’ve always had a healthy relationship with my hair because my mother made that a priority. So growing up, I’m the youngest of four. Every Sunday night, my mom would wash my hair and style it for the week. And so this was our special time together. And my mom was very, very gentle. She would say, “How many braids do you want” and I’m like, two, and so she creates something with two braids. The next week, I’d say seven and she’d create a hairstyle with seven braids. So she really used this as a time for us to have conversations, connect, talk about the week, what we hope to happen. I think that actually got whisked into my hair because I always pretty much wanted to create time and space to do my hair. Of course, in my “teenagehood” I was really pressed to try different styles but I think that the times that I do my hair or go to the salon space that I thought of is like a fun opportunity, and not as painful. I’m also very aware that I have certain hair privileges. How people perceive my hair texture is often complimented or reinforced. I think that that kind of inspired me to be mindful of how other people talk about their hair and create more positive experiences.