Teyonah Parris' New Textured Extensions Line Is Giving Black Women More Options (2024)

Over the past two decades, the modern natural hair movement has blossomed into a full-blown cultural shift. Styles and textures once deemed "unruly," "unprofessional," and "undesirable" are now regarded as the symbols of beauty and empowerment that they truly are. This massive change in perception is largely due to the voices and visibility of trailblazing content creators and celebrities. Among the latter, actress Teyonah Parris stands out for her glamorous natural hair looks on screen. Parris has consistently and unapologetically amplified natural hair from her soft Afro puff in If Beale Street Could Talk to her voluminous twist-out in They Cloned Tyrone.

So, when she announced the launch of Blūm by Teyonah Parris, a luxury textured extensions line, it felt like a natural progression of her brand. The collection caters to a range of straight and coily textures, currently offering wefts, clip-ins, ponytails, wigs, and bundles. Should a beauty consumer want quality virgin hair for a silky-straight sew-in, the options are plenty. Luxe hair that seamlessly blends with their natural type 4 pattern? The options are slimmer. And they get even more scant if they want to shop Black-owned. Teyonah Parris, however, is committed to changing that and expanding the quality options for all Black hair. Ahead, the actress co-starring in Netflix's dark comedy No Good Deed this December talks about her beauty journey, Blūm, and more.

How long have you been natural, and what prompted your transition?

"Like many young Black girls, I have been pressing my hair since I was about eight and then switched to relaxing it. In or right out of college, I became curious about [my hair]. I remember walking around New York with my friend, and I saw this beautiful woman with a beautiful Afro twist-out. I was like, 'Oh my gosh, her hair is so beautiful. I wish my hair could do that.' My girl was like, 'It can. What are you talking about?' I had been relaxing my hair for so long that I honestly forgot what I was doing: relaxing the kinky and curly out of it. That sent me on the journey to discover my natural hair texture. And as that started to happen, I realized this is way more than hair. This is about not including myself in my narrow Eurocentric ideal of what's beautiful. And I wanted to fix that immediately. It was not an immediate fix. It took time to rewire my brain to accept and adore myself and other women who looked like me in the same way I did for myself with straight hair."

What inspired you to launch Blūm?

"In my line of work, I realized that [after I transitioned] I was still trying to wear my hair straight, thinking I needed to do that to be accepted and book roles. And then there was a certain point where I didn't want to do that. If it's not necessary to tell the story, I don't know why I can't ask a director why this character couldn't show up in the world with natural hair. I started to do that more, and to my surprise, I did not get much pushback. [Directors] were like, 'Yeah, sure.'

Then I realized they wanted to use my hair. I was like, no, because I'll be bald unintentionally by the time this is done. I needed [textured] extensions or wigs to help me navigate my job more easily. And really, I thought that I would show up somewhere and tell this imaginary team, 'Hey, this is what I want to do,' and they would put all the pieces in place for me. I kept asking over the years, and it just wasn't happening. And so, about five years ago, I was like, 'I think I'm going to have to do this myself.' I was working with this amazing hair artist, Dionne Smith, and my makeup artist, Regina Little. I told them this was on my heart, and they said, 'Well, why don't you do it?' That moment was when they planted the seeds that I could do this on my own. It was going to be challenging, but it could be done."

Black women invest so much money, credibility, and authority into the beauty space. What is the significance for you now as a consumer and an owner?

"It had to be about more than just, 'I want some hair extensions.' Blūm is creating a legacy for my child, something she can own. Now my family can say, 'Hey, this is ours. We worked for this.' Why shouldn't I and anyone who comes along after me have some say and stake in this space? We put so much time and money into it, and often, we are pushed out and kept out. Blūm has been about kicking down doors and continuing the path already laid by other Black entrepreneurs. It's showing up for the community that supported me, the community that I try my hardest to pour back into every time I step in front of a camera, behind the camera, whatever it is. My goal and mission is to amplify and celebrate who we are and how we show up. Blūm is that for me in business form."

This is hard because it's like asking a mom to pick a favorite child, but what's your favorite Blūm product?

"My favorite is the Headband Wig because it's so easy. When I tell you I can make this Headband Wig do 10 different things. If I need to zhuzh it up quickly, I have pulled that headband wig out of the back seat of my car. I can make it into a half-up, half-down look. I have put it upside down and made it a pineapple. I put that headband wig to work, honey!"

You have a lot of hair! Sometimes, wearing a wig can be challenging because it can look bulky in the back. However, because the headband wig is textured, it masks any lumps.

"It sure does! When I'm getting dressed up, I prefer the U-Part Wigs. My stylists prefer the Clip-Ins because they are so easy and versatile. But I love the U-Part because I get to use my edges. We slick it down, blend it, and it looks like it's growing out of my head."

Launching Blūm makes so much sense because you often wear natural hair on the red carpet. It's one thing to wear natural hair for a role and another to intentionally wear it for personal looks. Can you talk about that?

"When I was transitioning, I realized there weren't a lot of images, definitely not in Hollywood and on the red carpets, of women who wore their hair naturally. 2013 was the first time I said [my hair] has to be this way. I thank Felicia Leatherwood for being the hand to craft the style that I had in my mind [for the 2013 SAG Awards]. She did something so amazing [with my hair], and it went viral before viral was a thing. Many women came to me and said, 'Oh my gosh, when I saw that I did it for my wedding,' and 'I didn't realize we could do this with our hair and have it considered classy and elegant.' I always want to use this platform to empower Black women to know that we can show up just like this and that we are beautiful."

"Now, I still might come out with a buss down slick silk press bob, okay? And that's okay because that's my choice. But I wanted to add to the narrative that we are beautiful as we are, and we can use our hair on our head and still go to someone's red carpet and be just as appropriate as the next person. At that time, there weren't many hairstylists able to articulate those visions and celebrate our hair in that way. I am so happy the landscape is shifting, and there are so many more options and people with the skill and talent to nurture and celebrate our hair."

You've taken on a lot of roles throughout your career. Which character's hairstyle is your favorite?

"My character Monica Rambeau in WandaVision, with her curly, beautiful Afro. Playing a Black female superhero with chocolate skin and big natural hair was a dream come full circle. From wearing my hair straight because I felt like I had to fit in to embodying a Black female superhero with big natural hair on billboards worldwide is incredible. It validated all of the energy and intention I put behind making sure that we are seen and celebrated in the ways that we should be as Black women."

You're co-starring in Netflix's dark comedy No Good Deed, premiering December 12. How was that experience?

"That was my first project back from maternity leave. Because my character Carla was also pregnant, it was fun to relive all of the moments of my pregnancy and be the vessel for this woman's experience. Working with [creator] Liz Feldman was amazing. I love her humor and its darkness. Many people were on that show, but I was mostly with Anna Maria Horsford and O-T Fagbenle. We were a fun little family. I'm excited to see the show because there are a lot of separate storylines that converge in some places and not in others."

Now that you're a mother, what do you want for your daughter as she navigates her hair and beauty journey?

"My husband, her grandmas, and I all try to let her know that she's beautiful. I am striving to teach her that she's valued by what's in her heart, who she is as a person, and how she treats people. Even though I have a hair brand, my biggest mission is to share with women that you don't need anything. You don't need extensions. You don't need makeup, et cetera. I enjoy it because it's an option, and I like to change things up."