Taliah Waajid's Journey From Haircare to Mental Health Advocacy

Taliah Waajid has been working as a natural hair stylist for most of her life – more than two decades to be precise. What started as a young girl simply trying to style her natural hair turned into a long and rewarding journey to becoming a natural hair mogul, over time.

Along the way, this inspiring and passionate woman has been able to build a highly successful natural hair care brand and inspire the movement that is the World Natural Hair Show. Waajid has also been able to motivate and support many others to pursue their dreams —especially when it comes to styling natural hair (professionally or at a personal level).

Most importantly, Waajid has been able to transform into a mental health advocate – using her platform to push for mental health and wellness in the black community.

Taaliah Waajid’s mental health journey started when she was diagnosed with clinical depression. At that point in her life, she was trying to balance raising her two children and running her own business all while her significant other was locked up.

However, she took it all in her stride and decided to find a way through it. Intending to heal herself and take the entire black community on her journey to mental wellness, the entrepreneur and mother of two dove into understanding her generational history of mental health.

Speaking to Ebony Waajid responded with, “I want to empower people to speak up if they are having feelings of sadness” – when she was asked about her inspiration to bring the world along on her mental health journey. She continued by explaining her belief that there would be more black children doing better in school, fewer homeless people wandering the streets and a lower rate of incarceration among black men, if the negative stigma around mental illness did not exist. Her mission is to push for more engagement about mental health and other things that people have been raised to be embarrassed about in the community.

As a passionate promoter of mental health and wellness, Waajid admits that she still feels sad and overwhelmed now and then. However, she has learned to take time for herself and get her mind right whenever that happens. She encourages others to follow her advice – seeking support and committing to self-care regularly.

The beauty industry mogul is also encouraging famous personalities to use their positions to talk about mental health – and help eliminate the negative stigma associated with it. In the same Ebony interview, the entrepreneur also talked about her goal of seeing more parents engaging their children on mental health issues. She is also pushing for more awareness of cognitive disabilities including ADHD and ADD – as well as the provision of useful information and resources for affected children (and families) within the public school setup. In a bid to leave a lasting impression in the community, Taliah Waajid has also worked on the New Mental Pavilion at the Grady Hospital.