The gift of creating a masterpiece with your bare hands is an ability like no other. Faatemah has been blessed to craft and shape hair to make it beautiful, the way a woman’s hair should look. With a dream of being relevant and not famous, the award-winning hair stylist has worked with numerous notable publications from Ebony to Essence and has created some of the looks you see hitting runways and photo shoots today.
VIBE Vixen caught up with the busy hair stylist veteran to chat about how she got to where she is now, and how she tries to be the best that she can in all aspects of life.
VV: What are you working on currently?
FAATEMAH: Currently I just got done doing the Betsey Johnson show. I met Betsey, and she is a wonderful person. She complimented me right away on my style, which I felt completely flattered about. I also just wrapped up Daphne Guinness who is a fashionista, and she did a tribute to Alexander McQueen. Moving forward, I’ve been doing lots of speaking engagements for different companies such as Target. I know it’s weird because I’m a hairdresser, but I’m definitely more of a personality at this point in my career because I have a lot to talk about. So I’m really excited about women and making them beautiful and celebrating our femininity. I came from the kitchen and a poor family and now I make six figures, so I have a lot to talk about. I’m very ambitious, and I want to share my story with people and give them hope that they can change their situation if they believe in themselves.
Have you always done hair?
No, I didn’t always do hair, I actually didn’t comb my own hair until about 9th grade; I was a big tomboy. Then high school happened and his name was Michael Turner, and I decided I should comb my hair because he didn’t seem to notice me. So hair was not always apart of who I was, but it was apart of my family culture. I grew up in a family that did a lot of braiding and afro-centric styles. I was definitely an artist early on; I loved music, poetry, painting and anything to do with my hands.
What is your come-up story?
I’m from a broken family; my mom was a single parent, and I actually dropped out of college to pursue hair. My mom spent her whole life sending us to private school and wanting me to get an education, and she just didn’t think that I’d be able to make it as an artist. She didn’t consider [hairstyling] artistry. If I had dreamed 15 years ago when I started doing hair that I’d be living the life I am now, I would’ve never imagined that I’d be traveling and that Tyson Beckford would be in my cell phone. It’s pretty cool; I can’t believe it. I always pursued being relevant and what I’ve learned is fame helps with relevancy, so people seem to listen to you when your famous. It’s not necessarily that I was chasing fame when I decided to go on Bravo or to win the awards that I have, but I wanted to be relevant. I wanted to make what I do important, and I hope that people remember more of me than just doing hair.
Do you ever think that you’ll have the cameras follow you for a reality TV show?
You know that is actually a question that may be answered really soon. I have a meeting with a really high profile network, and there’s definitely some talks about cameras following me.
How exactly do you balance being a mom, being a professional and having a busy schedule?
I use to try to be a superwoman, but someone gave me some really good advice. Any time I’m with someone famous I try to ask them questions that relate to my life. Holly Robinson Peete has a son with autism and she’s done a lot, so I said, ‘How do you keep it all balanced?’ She said, ‘Well, honey, there is no such thing as balance. You just do the best you can with any circumstance on any given day. You just try your best, and that’s going to have to be good enough.’ I took that advice and some days, I’m an awesome mom and some days I’m a better hairdresser. It still works out. I’m doing the best that I can and I’m happy.