Simone Biles is gearing up for the Paris Olympics, which kicks off this week. The 27-year-old is opening up about her journey toward embracing her hair and how it’s affected her overall mental health.
“I understand and realize I have to take care of my physical appearance as well as my mental,” Biles told Elle in a recent interview.
She points to both therapy and doing her hair as part of her pre-competition routine to boost her confidence. Biles said taking care of her hair has been a learning curve since she started gymnastics at six years old.
“Nobody taught me [how to do my hair],” she said. “I always went to the professionals.”
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Biles credits social media with learning how to take care of her hair. Her experience is one that many Black women can relate to.
“I don’t really care if my edges aren’t smooth,” she said.
She continued, “I’m finally learning to love my hair and the texture that I have and the styles that I can do. I used to worry about [my hair being considered] not professional … But I’m not embarrassed about it anymore.”
Presentation is an important part of gymnastics performance. She found a strong support system in other members of Team USA throughout the years. Biles says her teammate Jordan Chiles is the designated hair braider of the team, while everyone pitches in beauty products to share during the competition.
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“I attribute a lot of my confidence to Aly Raisman,” Biles added. “She taught me to be beautiful behind the scenes and to embrace who I am without my makeup and hair done. She never cared and she made me not care as much. She taught me to feel beautiful in the skin that I am in.”
Catch Biles competing in the Women’s Qualification at the Paris Olympics on July 29.
