Article Archive - Essence | Essence Black Women's Lifestyle Guide, Black Love & Beauty Trends Wed, 08 Apr 2026 21:49:00 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7.4 https://media.essence.com/vxcjywbwpa/uploads/2024/02/cropped-essence-legacy-512-32x32.png Article Archive - Essence | Essence 32 32 Peloton’s Alex Toussaint On Confidence, Consistency, And Why Feeling Good Comes First https://www.essence.com/entertainment/sports/peloton-alex-toussaint-wellness-mindset-routine/ Thu, 09 Apr 2026 11:00:00 +0000 https://www.essence.com/?post_type=article&p=1587034 Ask Alex Toussaint what he’s like off the bike and he’ll tell you this: exactly the same. Just quieter. Most people who follow him have only ever seen him at […]

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NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – JUNE 30: Alex Toussaint speaks at the 2023 ESSENCE Festival Of Culture™ at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center on June 30, 2023 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Josh Brasted/WireImage) By Kimberly Wilson ·Updated April 8, 2026 Getting your Trinity Audio player ready…

Ask Alex Toussaint what he’s like off the bike and he’ll tell you this: exactly the same. Just quieter.

Most people who follow him have only ever seen him at full volume. Which makes it a little funny that he describes himself as laid back. But there’s a method behind the madness that occurs on your screens and in-studio. “There’s no difference between Alex on the bike and Alex off the bike,” he says. “All the energy people experience in my classes comes from the way that I decompress and recover when I’m at home.”

For the uninitiated, Toussaint is a Peloton senior instructor, founder of the ‘Feel Good Look Good Do Better movement’, and one of those instructors who makes you feel like he’s talking directly to you, even through a screen. Millions of people ride with him regularly, and probably signed up for Peloton in general because they saw one of his classes go viral on social media. But none of it, he says, would exist without a random compliment from a client he’d just met.

Two weeks in, a client said to him after class, “AT, you look great, man, keep it up.” Toussaint hadn’t changed physically. But the compliment wasn’t wrong either. “It was my energy that shifted,” he says. “Movement creates space for the mind and the body, and I started to internally feel good, allowing me to put out a new energy, which meant that I looked good. And those two components allowed me to do better, so that’s how it came about.”

And just like that, ‘Feel Good Look Good Do Better’ was born. 

The third part is the one people tend to skip. The ‘doing better.’ But for Toussaint, that’s the point of the other two. “Doing better is the final mission, to extend a hand to others out there who may need it.” You feel good so you can give that to somebody else. 

But none of it works if people can’t access the first step. Toussaint knows that and he’s not interested in making wellness feel out of reach. “I’m a firm believer of less excuses and more adjustments,” he says. “Body weight strength, yoga, mobility, running, walking, and jogging, are all great exercises that you could do within the comfort of your environment at a low cost, so it is accessible.”

Oral care is part of that routine too, and for him, it’s never been optional. He grew up wearing braces and his mother was not the type to let dental hygiene slide, so it never became an afterthought for him. Now that he’s on camera every single day, it’s one of the first things he thinks about. “Your smile introduces you before you even speak,” he says. As a partner of Philips Sonicare, that thinking has only gotten more intentional. “Being part of initiatives like World Oral Health Night reinforced just how much manual brushing can miss and how upgrading your routine can genuinely impact your long-term health.” For him it all falls under the same category. Taking care of yourself means taking care of all of it.

For someone whose entire brand is motivation, Toussaint is surprisingly unbothered when the topic turns to his own confidence. He never struggled with it, he says. He just didn’t always know how it would be perceived. “Knowing that I did the work internally and my heart is pure and my mind is clear, I don’t struggle on showing my confidence at all. In fact, I try to instill confidence in every individual I come across.”

“I want people to wake up knowing that what they believe in they can achieve, and they’re not crazy for having those thoughts. And if you put the work in every single day and you do it with integrity and you keep your mind clear and your heart pure, anything is possible.”

And knowing him, he woke up this morning thinking the exact same thing.

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The Best Red Carpet Looks From The 2026 Fashion Trust U.S. Awards https://www.essence.com/awards-events/fashion-trust-us-awards-best-red-carpet-looks/ Wed, 08 Apr 2026 19:30:36 +0000 https://www.essence.com/?post_type=article&p=1586963 The fourth annual Fashion Trust U.S. (FTUS) awards ceremony took place on Tuesday, April 7, in Los Angeles, California. Earlier this year, on February 16, the finalists were announced, with […]

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By Mecca Pryor ·Updated April 8, 2026 Getting your Trinity Audio player ready…

The fourth annual Fashion Trust U.S. (FTUS) awards ceremony took place on Tuesday, April 7, in Los Angeles, California. Earlier this year, on February 16, the finalists were announced, with five designers ultimately selected to receive financial grants along with professional mentorship through FTUS in partnership with Google. Among the winners were Zane Li of LII, Marcelle Barbosa of Amaramara, and Maxwell Osborne and Kristy Chen of An Only Child.

Of course, it wouldn’t be a fashion awards ceremony without a standout red carpet. Among the night’s most memorable moments, Erykah Badu posed alongside Michelle Lamy of Rick Owens, both dressed in the avant-garde label. Badu turned heads in a cropped, oversized white set layered under a black leather jacket with dramatic fringe, finished with platform sandals and a sculptural rubber hat accented by a red trim. A platinum blonde wig with yellow tips added an extra edge to the look.

Coco Jones delivered effortless elegance in a Cult Gaia ribbed gown, featuring a plunging neckline and halter silhouette in a soft pale pink. Styled with a sleek low ponytail and minimal hoop earrings, the look felt both natural and ethereal.

Actress Jodie Turner-Smith stunned in a vibrant orange draped gown, complete with intricate pleating and ruching at the bodice. A tied detail cinched at the hips, while the flowing skirt moved beautifully with each step, creating a striking, fluid effect on the carpet.

Ryan Destiny made a bold statement in a drop-waist red gown with daring cutouts that highlighted her waist, accented by a gold belt at the hips. The floor-length skirt featured a high slit, paired seamlessly with strappy gold sandals for a look that balanced structure and allure.

Olandria debuted a fresh take on the trending pixie cut,src="https://media.essence.com/vxcjywbwpa/uploads/2026/04/GettyImages-2270314216-scaled.jpg" alt="The Best Red Carpet Looks From The 2026 Fashion Trust U.S. Awards" width="400" height="600" />LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 08: Jasmine Tookes attends the Fashion Trust U.S 2026 Awards at Nya Studios on April 08, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Charley Gallay/Getty Images)The Best Red Carpet Looks From The 2026 Fashion Trust U.S. AwardsLOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 07: Winnie Harlow attends the Fashion Trust U.S. Awards 2026 at nya studios WEST on April 07, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Amy Sussman/Getty Images)The Best Red Carpet Looks From The 2026 Fashion Trust U.S. AwardsLOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 08: Jurnee Smollett attends the Fashion Trust U.S 2026 Awards at Nya Studios on April 08, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Charley Gallay/Getty Images)The Best Red Carpet Looks From The 2026 Fashion Trust U.S. AwardsLOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 07: Ryan Destiny attends the Fashion Trust U.S. Awards 2026 on April 07, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Maya Dehlin Spach/FilmMagic)The Best Red Carpet Looks From The 2026 Fashion Trust U.S. AwardsLOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 07: Garcelle Beauvais attends the Fashion Trust U.S. Awards 2026 at nya studios WEST on April 07, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Amy Sussman/Getty Images)The Best Red Carpet Looks From The 2026 Fashion Trust U.S. AwardsOlandria Carthen at the Fashion Trust U.S. Awards 2026 held at Nya Studios West on April 07, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by JC Olivera/Variety via Getty Images)The Best Red Carpet Looks From The 2026 Fashion Trust U.S. AwardsLOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 07: Aweng Chuol attends the Fashion Trust U.S. Awards 2026 on April 07, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Maya Dehlin Spach/FilmMagic)The Best Red Carpet Looks From The 2026 Fashion Trust U.S. AwardsLOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 07: Rachel Scott attends the Fashion Trust U.S. Awards 2026 at nya studios WEST on April 07, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Amy Sussman/Getty Images)The Best Red Carpet Looks From The 2026 Fashion Trust U.S. AwardsLOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 08: Yara Shahidi attends the Fashion Trust U.S 2026 Awards at Nya Studios on April 08, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Charley Gallay/Getty Images)The Best Red Carpet Looks From The 2026 Fashion Trust U.S. AwardsLOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 08: Coco Jones attends the Fashion Trust U.S 2026 Awards at Nya Studios on April 08, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Charley Gallay/Getty Images)The Best Red Carpet Looks From The 2026 Fashion Trust U.S. AwardsJodie Turner-Smith at the Fashion Trust U.S. Awards 2026 held at Nya Studios West on April 07, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by JC Olivera/Variety via Getty Images)The Best Red Carpet Looks From The 2026 Fashion Trust U.S. AwardsLOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 08: Natalia Bryant attends the Fashion Trust U.S 2026 Awards at Nya Studios on April 08, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Charley Gallay/Getty Images)The Best Red Carpet Looks From The 2026 Fashion Trust U.S. AwardsSami Miro at the Fashion Trust U.S. Awards 2026 held at Nya Studios West on April 07, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jesse Grant/WWD via Getty Images)

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The Combs Twins Escape To Bali For A Dream Getaway https://www.essence.com/lifestyle/the-combs-twins-bali/ Wed, 08 Apr 2026 19:17:15 +0000 https://www.essence.com/?post_type=article&p=1586962 It’s good to see the Combs twins smiling and chasing waterfalls after what they’ve been through in the past few years. Jessie and D’Lila, 19, were recently posted up in […]

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By Elizabeth Ayoola ·

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Black Heart Association Hits The Road With Heart Health Initiative, Stopping At SXSW 2026 https://www.essence.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/black-heart-association/ Wed, 08 Apr 2026 18:54:37 +0000 https://www.essence.com/?post_type=article&p=1586945 “Can I hug you? Thank you for doing this,” an impassioned young woman asks Black Heart Association co-founder Tara Robinson before approaching her with an embrace that is filled with […]

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By Desiree Johnson ·

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Zuri Hall On Owning Her Voice And Expanding The Conversation With ‘Not About Sports’ https://www.essence.com/entertainment/zuri-hall-not-about-sports/ Wed, 08 Apr 2026 18:04:32 +0000 https://www.essence.com/?post_type=article&p=1586947 In rooms where the clock is always working against the conversation, Zuri Hall has learned how to make her time matter. For people in the media space, they know that […]

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By Okla Jones ·Updated April 8, 2026 Getting your Trinity Audio player ready…

In rooms where the clock is always working against the conversation, Black & Missing Foundation pushed that even further, placing her in rooms where families were searching for answers and every word mattered.

“We would travel across the country to small towns, to cities all over the nation and sit down to highlight the cold cases for missing people of color—specifically and especially Black people of color—and just shine some light to see if we might be able to get new leads for authorities, provide some closure or context to loved ones,” Hall said. “Those were deep, and really intense conversations. Even though it was in an area that was extremely heartbreaking, and extremely important, at the end of the day, it was still a story being told.”

The Ohio-born journalist’s early experiences shaped how she approaches every interview currently. With Not About Sports, she’s creating a format where athletes can show parts of themselves that rarely make it into coverage. The show uses sports as a starting point, but it moves quickly into the lives people are building away from the game.

“The conversations are really human interest heavy, and there’s something for everyone there because we’re not talking about the sport,” she noted. “We’re talking about the things that matter most to pretty much everyone I know, which is how to be happy, how to live a life that feels as good as it looks, how to pursue our passions while prioritizing work-life balance and family, discovering who we are for our second and third acts in life.” 

Zuri Hall On Owning Her Voice And Expanding The Conversation With ‘Not About Sports’ACCESS HOLLYWOOD — Season: 28 — Pictured: Zuri Hall — (Photo by: Matt Sayles/NBC)

Her brainchild finally moved from concept to execution after the pandemic shifted how creators approached ownership. Hall had spent years building relationships across entertainment and understood how to bring people into a project. She also recognized what it meant to build something on her own terms. “The creator economy is booming and I’ve had so much skin in the game,” she said. “I’ve got the relationships. I was blessed enough to be able to self-fund it. So I was like, ‘I’m just going to do this on my own on purpose so that I can actually embrace the role of independent creator, own the IP, build it myself, and then expand and partner up from there.’”

As many entrepreneurs know, ownership brings a different level of responsibility, and Hall is stepping into that fully with this project. She understands the pressure that comes with building something from the ground up, especially when it reflects both her creative instincts and the team she’s assembled around her. The stakes feel higher because there’s no one else to point to if things fall short, but that same reality makes the work more meaningful. “I can’t blame anybody but me if it doesn’t work out, if I’m being honest,” Hall said.

The response for Not About Sports has already has been overwhelming, both publicly and behind the scenes. Athletes and publicists are reaching out, asking to be part of something still in its early stages. “It’s been really exciting,” she said. True to form, Hall’s focus moving forward is clear, especially when it comes to who she wants to highlight. “On my dream list, I’m still hoping for Simone Biles, A’ja Wilson, and Serena Williams,” Hall admitted. “I really want to focus on women in sports and particularly black women in sports, adjacent to, or at all supporting the world of sports.”

Outside of the podcast, her work continues to expand. As a global ambassador for the Global Fund for Children, she stays connected to work that reaches beyond entertainment. The role has sharpened how she thinks about visibility and responsibility as her platform grows. “It’s one thing to be in Hollywood, to be a part of a world that feels very sparkly and shiny and sexy, but it’s another thing to take a step back at what you’ve built and say, okay, we’ve got the fame now or we’ve got the attention or we’ve got the platform—but what are we going to do with it?” she said.

Good News First Studios, Hall’s production company, is a place where she builds projects on her own terms while stepping into a more hands-on leadership role. It also allows her to create content, and to invest directly in other creatives, many of whom she’s crossedrel="tag">Zuri Hall

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50 Cent’s Life Story Is Headed To Hulu After Reported $75 Million Deal https://www.essence.com/news/money-career/50-cent-hulu-documentary-75-million-deal/ Wed, 08 Apr 2026 15:46:08 +0000 https://www.essence.com/?post_type=article&p=1586915 At this point, it’s time we all crown 50 Cent the king of television. On April 1st, Curtis Jackson posted on social media that Hulu paid $75 million for a […]

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By Kimberly Wilson ·Updated April 8, 2026 Getting your Trinity Audio player ready…

At this point, it’s time we all crown 50 Cent the king of television.

On April 1st, Curtis Jackson posted on social media that Hulu paid $75 million for a documentary about his life, beating out Starz, Netflix, and Apple to get it. As he’s known to be the king of trolling, we all took this as 50 being 50, except he was the one laughing… all the way to the bank.

Per Deadline, it’s now official that Hulu has greenlit an untitled three-part documentary series on 50 Cent, and this time, the narrative is about him instead of someone else. The series will cover the full arc of his life from growing up in South Jamaica, Queens, surviving nine gunshot wounds in 2000, releasing Get Rich or Die Tryin’ in 2003, and turning all of it into one of the most successful business runs hip hop has ever seen.

Fif has spent the better part of a decade producing other people’s projects through G-Unit Film & Television, but fans watched Power and Raising Kanan for years without realizing how much of it pulled from his real life, and now we’ll get to learn his full story.

The documentary will be directed by Mandon Lovett, who previously directed The French Montana Story: For Khadija and Boys in Blue. Patrick Altema comes on as showrunner, with Eli Holzman and Aaron Saidman executive producing alongside 50 Cent through G-Unit Film & Television and IPC.

Between the Power franchise on Starz, Sean Combs: The Reckoning hitting number one on Netflix, and more than 30 million records sold, 50 Cent has spent years proving he belongs on both sides of the camera. After all of that, a bidding war for his own story was really just a matter of time.

No premiere date has been set. Knowing 50 Cent, he’ll make sure you hear about it when the time comes.

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Dawn Staley Finally Gets A Real Apology From Geno Auriemma Because You Spoke Up https://www.essence.com/entertainment/sports/dawn-staley-finally-gets-a-real-apology/ Wed, 08 Apr 2026 15:41:49 +0000 https://www.essence.com/?post_type=article&p=1586866 Malcom X proclaimed that the most disrespected person in America is a Black woman. More than 60 years after he made this assertion, it still resonates, even during a 2026 […]

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By Bridgette Bartlett Royall ·Updated April 8, 2026 Getting your Trinity Audio player ready…

Malcom X proclaimed that the most disrespected person in America is a Black woman. More than 60 years after he made this assertion, it still resonates, even during a 2026 college basketball game.

When the University of South Carolina Gamecocks, coached by Dawn Staley, defeated the University of Connecticut Huskies, coached by Geno Auriemma, 62-48, on April 3 in the 2026 Women’s Final Four, it was a huge win for the Staley and her talented team. The highly anticipated semifinal matchup put them one step closer to winning the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Women’s Basketball Championship title, which the team has successfully done under Staley leadership in 2017, 2022 and 2024. However, it was what occurred immediately following the game that made headlines both in and out of the sports world.

Right before the intense game’s final buzzer, Auriemma approached Staley for a postgame handshake. The coach of a previously undefeated UConn proceeded to angrily get in Staley’s face while yelling and pointing at her. It was a triggering sight. For context, Auriemma is 6’1”. Staley is 5’6”. Eventually, Staley did begin firing back. The two premiere coaches were soon separated by game officials and their staffs before Auriemma walked off into the tunnel alone. It became a hot topic as the visual of Staley being yelled at so ferociously by her peer after just reaching yet another career accomplishment felt familiar for all the wrong reasons.

The following day, Auriemma issued an apology…to everyone but Staley. That’s right, said “apology” noticeably omitted Staley’s name. In the statement, Auriemma said “there’s no excuse” for his behavior and that it was “unlike what I do and what our standard is here at Connecticut”. The statement quickly went viral on social media and thousands of people, many of whom weren’t even college basketball fans, expressed further support for Staley.

In a press conference later that day, Staley, who is also a New York Times best-selling author, was asked by multiple members of the media about the incident. Her response to a query from a New York Post reporter about staying focused on her goals reminded us of why Staley is, and always has been, a winner. With her hair pulled back into a ponytail, wearing her signature beaded bracelets and her vibe as cool as a fan, Staley quipped, “One: I had a praying mother. Right? Two: I grew up in the projects of North Philly. Right? 215. 267. Area code. So, nothing can derail us, or me, from staying with the task at hand. There are a lot of distractions that are placed in your life. You’re either going to address them or let them overcome you. Or you stick with the task at hand. I’m choosing to stick with the task at hand. At some point, everything is going to be addressed. But today, this weekend, won’t be one of them.”

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Mic drop. Spoken like a true champion.

Being a champion is something Dawn Michelle Staley knows a lot about. Her parents were part of the Great Migration, fleeing Jim Crow life in South Carolina in the 1950s and landing in Philadelphia for more opportunity. Fortitude is in her DNA. Now, let’s recap some of her receipts. Dawn Staley has repeatedly broken glass ceilings in both collegiate and professional women’s basketball. In 2000, Staley became the head women’s basketball coach at Temple University while concurrently playing for the WNBA (Charlotte Sting). After transitioning to South Carolina from Temple, her 2023–2024 team completed the season with a 38-0 record, becoming one of the few programs in Division I history to finish a season undefeated. Staley served as the head coach for the U.S. Women’s National Team during the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, where the team took home the gold. She’s the first person in U.S.A. Basketball history to win an Olympic gold medal as both a player and a head coach. In addition, Staley was selected as the U.S. flag bearer for the 2004 Athens Olympic Games Opening Ceremony, becoming the first U.S.A. Basketball athlete to do so. She was chosen by fellow U.S. team captains. To the news Staley admitted, “It’s a tremendous honor. I’m invisible most of the time. I am still in total disbelief.”  

Killing it in her career, breaking records left and right, and yet she felt invisible. This is a big part of why we collectively were riding for her so hard. Many of us had discerning mothers (and grandmothers and aunties) who prayed for us when we didn’t have the discernment to pray for ourselves. And many of us also grew up in the projects of North Philly or similar types of neighborhoods on the South Side of Chicago or East Oakland but also in lofty New York City brownstones and expansive ranch homes in Baldwin Hills. The geographic location isn’t nearly as significant as the fact that growing up as a Black girl in America with an unquestionable talent and the discipline to nurture that talent and strive for something bigger than your zip code takes gumption and resilience. We all see that in Staley. It is largely why when we saw Auriemma screaming in her face, after her team had just won no less, we weren’t having it. Nah, bruh. Our sis’ deserved better. And it was Easter Weekend. We had time. So, we (loudly) called out his unprofessionalism, lack of accountability and poor sportsmanship on every platform. En masse. And danggit, someone at the University of Connecticut paid attention.

Fast forward to Tuesday night, Coach Auriemma released a statement stating that he “lost” himself with his behavior toward South Carolina coach Dawn Staley during his team’s Final Four defeat last Friday. Staley’s name was included in the statement four times. He took ownership for his actions.

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When we as a community work as a team, we can create positive change. Staley, whose Gamecocks eventually lost to UCLA for the championship title, has publicly declared that she’s ready to turn the page from all of this. Her resolve is yet another sign of her strategic leadership. Is it time for us to stand in a circle, hold hands and sing Kumbaya? Probably not. But Auriemma issuing his second statement is absolutely something to acknowledge.

Because if this entire ordeal has taught us nothing else it is that a win is a win.  

Dawn Staley Finally Gets A Real Apology From Geno Auriemma Because You Spoke UpDawn will always been a winner to us. (Photo by Damian Strohmeyer/Allsport/Getty Images)TOPICS: 

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Actor David Oyelowo Celebrates Son’s Engagement: ‘The Greatest Birthday Gift I Could Receive’ https://www.essence.com/lifestyle/parenting/david-oyelowo-son/ Wed, 08 Apr 2026 15:36:30 +0000 https://www.essence.com/?post_type=article&p=1586912 Actor David Oyelowo had triple the celebration for Easter this year. Not only did he celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ and his 50th birthday, but his eldest son, Asher, also recently […]

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By Elizabeth Ayoola ·

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Curl Specialist Candace Witherspoon Shares Her Top Tips https://www.essence.com/beauty/in-the-chair-with-candace-witherspoon-curl-specialist-creme-of-nature/ Wed, 08 Apr 2026 13:59:57 +0000 https://www.essence.com/?post_type=article&p=1586886 “In The Chair” spotlights the incredible hairstylists and makeup artists in our community who are giving us major inspiration. Each week, they discuss their personal beauty and career journeys, what […]

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By Akili King ·Updated April 8, 2026 Getting your Trinity Audio player ready…

“In The Chair” spotlights the incredible hairstylists and makeup artists in our community who are giving us major inspiration. Each week, they discuss their personal beauty and career journeys, what they’ve learned from their clients, and their top glam tips. 

As her Instagram bio suggests, Candace Witherspoon’s life’s work is to “make curls juicy.” In other words, the Liberian-born, NY-based hairstylist champions healthy hair all day. “I love making my clients feel beautiful when it comes to their hair,” the owner of Candace Witherspoon Salon tells ESSENCE. “I love educating them on how to better take care of their curls at home.”   

This passion for hair was innate and began during her early days in Liberia. “We never really went to hair salons so we used to do each other’s hair,” she says. “I remember braiding my friends’ hair for school. We had to braid each other’s hair on Sunday for the school week,” she shares. “I did my hair all through high school, even doing my own relaxers,” which she got her first one of at 7 years old—eventually doing a big chop at 23 years old, and embracing her full afro at 29. 

Naturally, after she graduated, Witherspoon realized she wanted to be a hairstylist professionally. “I went to beauty school the year after graduating high school and never stopped. It’s been 16 years!”

Eventually, she came to New York and attended Empire Beauty School in Manhattan, before becoming an apprentice in high end salons. Then, she worked her way up to be senior stylist and educator for DevaCurl. When she wasn’t doing her salon work, she could be found backstage for shows like Stella McCartney, Oscar De la Renta, Mugler and Carolina Herrera during New York Fashion Week.

These days, she continues to work with all curl textures in her own salon, and even embracing a new phase of her own personal hair adventure. “I’m currently loc’d and enjoying this part of my hair journey.” 

And if there’s nothing else her career thus far has taught her, it’s the importance of having compassion. “You never know what someone is going through.”

Below, Witherspoon opens about her healthy hair tips, favorite products, and so much more.  

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Her Favorite Products:

I’m loving the new Créme of Nature Scalp Relief Wipes. It’s great for scalp relief throughout the week when there’s no time for a wash. It removes gel, oils, and dirt without disturbing hair decoding="async" src="https://media.essence.com/vxcjywbwpa/uploads/2026/04/Unknown-1.jpeg" alt="Curl Specialist Candace Witherspoon Shares Her Top Tips" width="400" height="543" />Screenshot Her Favorite Hairtarget="_blank"> View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Candace Witherspoon (@curlsbycandace)

Her Top Healthy Hair Tip:

Keeping up with your hair trims. When your ends are healthy your hair will flourish. 

A Hair Myth She Wants To Debunk:

Focusing just on the outside (oils, shampoo, etc) for hair growth. Apart from genetics, it’s really important what you feed your body for faster hair growth or health. 

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A post shared by Candace Witherspoon (@curlsbycandace)

How She Uplifts Her Clients:

I remind them that everyone is on their own hair journey. Try your best to not compare. I always let them know, I’m going to do my best so that your hair can flourish.

TOPICS: 

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Kareem Edwards Left Corporate America To Become Chicago’s First Black Chick-Fil-A Owner-Operator—And His Neighborhood Is Better For It https://www.essence.com/news/money-career/kareem-edwards-chicago-black-chick-fil-a-owner/ Wed, 08 Apr 2026 13:30:00 +0000 https://www.essence.com/?post_type=article&p=1586832 Back in 2003, a nervous kid from Far Rockaway, Queens, showed up to DePauw University two weeks before anyone else, already homesick, wondering what he’d gotten himself into.  When move-in […]

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By Kimberly Wilson ·Updated April 8, 2026 Getting your Trinity Audio player ready…

Back in 2003, a nervous kid from Far Rockaway, Queens, showed up to DePauw University two weeks before anyone else, already homesick, wondering what he’d gotten himself into. 

When move-in day finally came and the rest of the freshman class arrived, he looked up and saw a woman moving into the dorms with her family. He turned to his boys and said, “I’m going to marry that woman.” He didn’t know her name. 

Twenty years later she’s his wife, his partner in every sense of the word, and the person who told him to stop playing it safe and go open a restaurant. 

Which is exactly what he did. 

Now? Kareem Edwards is the first and only Black owner-operator of a Chick-fil-A in Chicago… but let’s rewind a little.

Kareem Edwards Left Corporate America To Become Chicago’s First Black Chick-Fil-A Owner-Operator—And His Neighborhood Is Better For It

He grew up in Far Rockaway, raised by his mother, a first-generation American with family roots in Trinidad and Tobago. She didn’t raise him to dream, she raised him to be ready. And if you’ve ever grown up in a Caribbean (or African) household, you know the goals should be simple: get an education, learn something useful, find stable work and be grateful for it. A Posse Foundation scholarship brought him to DePauw, where he studied mathematics. On campus, he ran student government, took on leadership roles, and started realizing he had a knack for bringing people together and getting things done.

After graduation he headed to New York and started climbing. Wall Street, then Lehman Brothers, through the firm’s 2008 collapse and out the other side. By his early thirties he was on the cover of Crain’s Chicago Business as one of the city’s inaugural “20 in Their 20s.” But he started asking himself a different question. What would it feel like to actually love what he did? To wake up excited instead of dreading the day? “I am crushing this industry, even though I’m not happy,” he says. So he left.

“If I go to business school, I understand even more about business and then maybe I go down entrepreneurship or find something that I truly like,” he says. 

That thinking took him to Michigan’s Ross School of Business, where he graduated in 2015 and was named a Top MBA to Watch by Poets & Quants. Kraft Heinz came next, where he led their breakthrough innovation team and launched Just Crack an Egg, which Nielsen listed as a top new product. Then Google. Across all of it, the same question kept surfacing: when do I actually do the thing I’ve always wanted to do?

Around 2015 and 2016 he started seriously researching franchises. He looked at laundromats, Subway, McDonald’s. Chick-fil-A kept rising to the top and not because of the food. Their local owner-operator model is different from most. You can’t own twenty locations and manage from a distance. You are the store. You show up, you’re embedded in your neighborhood, your name is on everything that happens inside those walls. “I wanted to make the impact,” he says. “I wanted to be there and really see the change.” He also grew up without his father and wasn’t about to make his kids say the same thing. So when Chick-fil-A interviewed Janelle multiple times during the process, it honestly sealed it for him.

Kareem Edwards Left Corporate America To Become Chicago’s First Black Chick-Fil-A Owner-Operator—And His Neighborhood Is Better For It

Janelle, of course, is the woman from the dorms. They dated at DePauw, built a life together across every career pivot and city change, and when Kareem was weighing whether to leave Google and finally make the leap, she encouraged him, “Since I’ve known you, you talked about owning a restaurant, owning a lounge, you need to do this.”

He didn’t just quit and go for it overnight. He spent nights working Chick-fil-A counters after his Google shifts, testing whether the reality matched what he’d imagined. He saved money, he prayed, and he thought it through. “I’m going to be resentful to myself for not taking the chance of me and betting on myself,” he says.

The South Loop location at 1106 S. Clinton St. opened in January 2021, right in the middle of a global pandemic, with a team of nearly 100 people looking to him to hold it together.

Kareem Edwards Left Corporate America To Become Chicago’s First Black Chick-Fil-A Owner-Operator—And His Neighborhood Is Better For It

That people management required things of him no MBA covers. “One day I could be legit the counselor, the father figure, babysitter, semi-doctor,” he says. He built systems, gave himself and his team grace, and kept showing up. But on Saturday mornings he was just dad. Swim lessons, ballet, and then Just Roots Chicago, an urban farming nonprofit eight blocks from the store.

They got to know the team, the director Sean, and what the organization was doing for displaced community members nearby. When a Chick-fil-A corporate grant opportunity came up, he put them forward.

Kareem Edwards Left Corporate America To Become Chicago’s First Black Chick-Fil-A Owner-Operator—And His Neighborhood Is Better For It

Edwards has moved through a lot of rooms. Finance, CPG, tech, now food. You’d expect him to have a long list of sponsors and career coaches behind him. He doesn’t really have that. His mentors have mostly been women. Black women specifically. “Women leadership has been my mentorship, I think, for the most part,” he says. He’s carried that into how he runs his store.

His circle outside the store is small. Charles Kuykendoll has been his friend since college, a west side of Chicago kid who has been grinding alongside him for years. The last two spring breaks they’ve taken their families on trips together. Dubai last year, Tokyo this year. Reflecting on it, Edwards says, “We are in Tokyo with our family.”

“He’s from the west side of Chicago, I’m from Rockaway, Queens. This is our life.”

Not bad for a kid from Far Rockaway.

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