The woman behind Michelle Obama’s instantly iconic hair
IT was a moment watch parties and group chats are made for: former first lady Michelle Obama, hand in hand with former president Barack Obama, emerging from the US Capitol in a regal, floor-length plum coat and statement belt, her voluminous curls bouncing with each step.
The monochromatic pantsuit designed by Sergio Hudson was striking, but the star of the show was Michelle’s hair: a silk press so perfect, it launched thousands of social media shares.
In the middle of the inauguration ceremony, ‘laid’ – a reference to the flawlessness of Michelle’s hair – began trending.
Michelle’s coif came courtesy of her longtime hairstylist, Yene Damtew, who has been part of the former first lady’s glam squad since 2008. For her, Wednesday began as a ‘typical day at work’.
It wasn’t until a client tagged her in a tweet about Michelle’s hair that she got a sense of how much the style had resonated with people, particularly Black women.
“I personally loved her look and was very happy to see how it came together, but did not expect it to resonate with viewers the way it has,” Damtew wrote in an email.
She has helped cra memorable looks for Michelle before.
Damtew picked up her passion for hair from watching her mother get ready for church, enamored with her hot rollers and the full, bouncy hair they produced.
As a teenager, she became the go-to person in her Orange County, Calif., neighbourhood when someone wanted their hair done. “I did everyone’s hair from football players to the kids, and then my high school classmates,” she told Allure.
At 21, she began working alongside Michelle’s hairstylist Johnny Wright, whom she met while completing an assignment for cosmetology school.
Damtew started doing Malia and Sasha Obama’s hair, as well as styling Michelle’s mother, Marian Robinson.
At the 2016 Democratic National Convention, when Michelle delivered her famous ‘When they go low, we go high’ line, Damtew was behind Michelle’s striking, chestnut brown colour that she customcreated and hand-painted onto Michelle’s hair, according to Elle.
In 2017, when Damtew opened her own business, Michelle a ended the opening.
To create Michelle’s inauguration look, Damtew consulted with Michelle’s wardrobe stylist Meredith Koop and makeup artist Carl Ray.
Since Michelle was going for a monochromatic look, Damtew says she knew “the hair would stand out a lot on its own.”
“As I thought about the hairstyle that would complement her outfit and suit the weather, these bouncy curls came to life,” she said.
But Damtew couldn’t predict just how much life they would give to viewers of the inauguration, many of whom wanted to know who was behind the look.
Within hours of Damtew revealing herself as Michelle’s hairstylist on Twi er, thousands of compliments and requests for tips starting pouring in.
“The support of Black Women Twi er has been amazing,” said Damtew, who is Ethiopian American.
“As a salon owner who caters to women with textured hair, I know the importance that hair holds, particularly to Black women and the crowns that they wear. Black women hold their hair in high regard.”
She noted that it was important to continue showing versatility with Michelle’s looks because ‘representation ma ers’.
To celebrate her 57th birthday this week, Michelle posted a selfie rocking her natural hair. But Michelle’s hair was about more than just serving a look.
It was celebratory, ‘showing out’ hair – a stark contrast not just to the modest bun Michelle wore at Donald Trump’s inauguration ceremony four years ago, but to the scenes at the Capitol earlier this month.
During an inauguration ceremony that needed to acknowledge the deep divisions that remain in this country, as well as the hundreds of thousands of lives lost to the coronavirus in the United States, being able to gush over a coat or a blowout felt like a brief respite. This is not lost on Damtew. “The truth is we are still very much in a hard time in this nation,” she said.
“But if, for a few minutes, people found joy in seeing a former first lady supporting her friends and wearing a beautiful coat and bouncy curls – I’m OK with that. We all need something to give us hope and make us smile.”