WATCH: Kelly Rowland Speaks On Her Hair Journey

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Singer &amp; Actress Kelly Rowland speaks about her song &#039;Crown&#039; and her hair journey during Essence Beauty Con.

Transcript

00:00 One of my favorite songs from you, and I have several, is "Crown."

00:03 - Yes! - Right?

00:05 - Yes, yes, yes.

00:06 - And I remember I was given a Crown Award last year,

00:09 and when I posted about it, that was the song that I used

00:12 because that song has been a mantra for my hair journey.

00:16 - Wow. Has it really?

00:17 - Yes, like I worked in corporate America for so long

00:20 and had every hairstyle but locs

00:22 because somebody told me I can't do it.

00:24 And when I changed it, I thought I was going to get fired

00:27 for changing my hair, and so that song became the mantra

00:31 of my courageous decision to rock it anyway.

00:34 - Wow. - Right?

00:35 - Yeah. - But we also don't talk enough about hair

00:38 in the conversation about beauty.

00:40 - We don't. - So what was that song about,

00:42 and what is hair care to you?

00:43 What does that mean to you in the context of beauty?

00:46 - I mean, as far as hair care is concerned for me,

00:50 you gotta remember Tina was the one I grew up with.

00:53 - Do y'all know who Tina-- - Sorry, Tina--

00:55 - Tina knows. - Just checking.

00:57 - She's mom, absolutely.

00:59 You know, I was raised in a hair salon with her.

01:02 I saw so many different beautiful brown women

01:06 coming into this hair salon, rocking different hair colors

01:10 and textures and this and that,

01:12 and they made me feel like hairstyles was, like, limitless.

01:17 You know, like I could do anything.

01:19 Like, I remember Tina cut my hair, and I was like,

01:21 "Ooh, she's flash. We'll keep this short haircut."

01:24 Then it was okay.

01:26 I had the little, like, red hair with the flips.

01:28 That was definitely a phase.

01:29 - Oh, I remember that. I love that look.

01:31 - Oh, I love that, too. I'm trying to--

01:32 - I tried, but it didn't work on me, but--

01:34 - I'm just--I'm trying to cut me a new one,

01:37 a wig that looks like that, so y'all might see that pop up.

01:40 - No, I don't want to work for your girl.

01:41 I'll send you a video. - But I feel like

01:43 my hair journey was fun,

01:46 because Tina made it fun for me,

01:48 and she made it feel like--

01:50 No, she's like, "You can do whatever you want."

01:52 She was like, "Now you're, like, in this different space.

01:55 As an artist, you can be creative.

01:57 Like, have fun with your hair."

01:58 And that's exactly what I did.

02:00 - Yeah. - Yeah.

02:02 - Do you feel there's consequence for having fun

02:03 with your hair in your industry?

02:05 - I think that sometimes, you know,

02:06 it's a lot of people who have something to say.

02:08 I don't really care about what they say anymore.

02:10 - Can you say that again for the people in the back?

02:12 - I don't really give a...

02:15 about what anybody says.

02:16 I have a good time with hair.

02:18 And I'm sorry, you asked me about Crown.

02:20 Crown actually came around through another brand,

02:22 actually through Dove, and I remember...

02:24 - Yeah. - We did the song,

02:26 but I had this conversation with those young girls

02:28 in the Crown video. - Really?

02:30 - And each of them had their own personal story

02:32 of their hair journey and what that was like,

02:35 from being called different names at school,

02:37 and there were different racial backgrounds

02:39 of these young ladies. - Yeah.

02:41 - And I loved that the most,

02:42 because they were so open about their story

02:44 and so young to be so bold to talk about their story.

02:47 - Yeah. Yes.

02:48 - And they made me so proud to be a part of that campaign.

02:51 So I'm grateful when brands do that too.

02:53 - Yes. - It's so important,

02:54 because young girls need to see themselves reflected

02:57 and their stories reflected so that they know

02:59 they're not the only ones going through that.

03:01 - And I also think we don't talk enough

03:03 about what is the mental health consequence

03:05 of brands pushing an ideal of beauty that's unattainable.

03:08 I've said it before.

03:09 I think that what's happening

03:11 with these unattainable, manipulated pictures of beauty

03:13 is creating a health crisis,

03:15 where people are taking their lives

03:16 because they can't go after it.

03:18 And we got to start saving souls out here.

03:20 [upbeat music]

03:23 (upbeat music)

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