A woman of many talents and ventures, Boitumelo Thulo, known to us as Boity, has launched a wig collection for African queens in partnership with Front Row Hair. We met with the star to hear more about her new business and the legacy she’d like to leave behind.
Please tell us about your childhood experience with hair. What memories do you have of your hair growing up?
I remember I had various hair icons as a kid growing up and obviously it was very much influenced by the culture and whatever was in at the time. I didn't have the kind of hair that I was obsessed with. Maybe back then I was influenced by Moesha, she was dope because we could put in those nice braids, but we didn't have TLC hair. I used to love Oprah, I was obsessed with her hair and would be like ‘why can't I have her hair, why not me?’. Like what is it that I'm going to have to do when I'm older and I have money to have this hair.
So, my experience growing up was full of dreams because most of the time my hair was just bad. But that’s because we were made to believe that it wasn’t good enough. If hair was dry and unmanageable, you’ve got ‘problematic hair’, and that's bad wording. Children literally grow up believing that their hair is a problem because the person who was always trying to comb it would complain.
So I was that child with that kind of hair, and it's influenced a lot of my decisions around all these things that I do within entrepreneurship and the beauty and hair space. To tap into that child, the small me, and be like ‘look, actually we're creating things that show that your hair was perfectly fine’. And it’s becoming such a norm now, which is fantastic. Parents are encouraging their kids to love their hair in any shape form and form.
Is there anyone you look up to now for hair inspiration or are you the one setting the trends?
So I'll add that there was Rebecca Malope. I used to love Rebecca because she was an icon in our home. One day I asked my mom to cut my hair into the same German haircut as Rebecca’s, it didn’t last.
With regards to hair icons, my main goal is to inspire and motivate women to just stick to their own beauty standards. Be you, do you. I don't even want to be a hair icon because that’s also a different kind of pressure. It becomes a matter of, ‘If I don't have access to that kind of hair that Boity has…’, then it becomes a problem. So, whatever it is that you do is fantastic.
You change your hair a lot. What does having that freedom of being able to just be whoever you want to be when it comes to hair mean to you?
Is there anything like freedom? It’s fantastic, it's the best thing. It's like you aren't boxed, you aren't told what to do, you aren't told who to be. If anything, that is everyone's goal; to just be and to just be themselves and feel okay, feel safe and unjudged. It’s important not to have to wonder all the time like ‘Oh, I wonder what people are going to think’.
That's all we're gunning towards; a time where you can just be free. And it goes back to beauty standards and all kinds of standards that are placed, that kind of pressure that is placed on society to be like, this is who you must be.
The Be You range is made from Brazilian hair fibre; is there a specific reason you chose that type of hair?
I went through various textures and it felt good, it’s what I felt people would enjoy. Because I've used so many kinds of wigs, most of the time it boils down to great quality. Is going to last, does it look good and is it solid quality? Those were just the four things and when we were trying out all the various pieces and all the various textures, for me, this is what I was drawn to. I wasn't necessarily saying ‘it's going to have to be Brazilian’. It is the one that I felt like is good and fantastic quality, and it’s good for the price point to a certain extent.
You’ve got your fingers in a lot of pies. Where do you find the will and inspiration to you keep going?
I think the excitement, the gratification and I guess the joy I feel when something goes from being a thought or a dream, to an idea, to being tangible. There's nothing like it. It's like a lot of people never get to the tangible part. But once you get over to that part where your dream is right in front of you, I think the entrepreneurial bug just bites. From there, it gives you this insane platform because now you know it's possible, and then it's like ‘why not’. I’m going to do more, and it's great and wonderful, whether it fails or not – it doesn’t matter.
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What do you do to wind down from the pressures and busyness of your life?
My home is my sanctuary. For me, that’s the importance of creating and turning my house into a home. So being at home is all I want. Not a holiday, not the beach, I just want to be at home because I'm barely there. I'm always doing something and going everywhere.
To have a back-to-back day, like Monday and Tuesday, where I get to do nothing, that is the best gift. I sit on the couch and I watch trash TV. I do nothing and I eat. That’s what I do. Winding down for me means being at home and doing absolutely nothing.
What legacy would you like to leave behind for young Black girls?
The legacy I'd like to leave behind for young Black girls; there is still so much room left for us to take over. That is the best news. Because we've been locked out for so long, it means there's still so much space for us to take over.
It’s good and bad news at the same time, because you know that there's so many industries that are waiting for you, so do yourself (and us) a favour and go, just do it. There’s so much room for you, more than ever, because we haven't been given space for so long, that once one door is open, there's room for you know 50 million of us. The legacy I want to leave behind is the fact that you can. I think I’ve shown examples of the fact that it can be done. Your dreams are valid and they're going to change the world.
Related article: DJ Zinhle launches crowns fit for queens
BOITY LAUNCHES ‘BE YOU’ WIG COLLECTION FOR THOSE WHO JUST WANT TO BE
Reviewed by Michelle Pienaar
on
August 12, 2022
Rating:
Reviewed by Michelle Pienaar
on
August 12, 2022
Rating:
