Update: Amena Khan announced on Jan. 22 that she is stepping down as an ambassador for L'Oréal's Elvive campagin after facing backlash for tweets that some have called "anti-Israel," which Khan wrote in 2014.
“Whether or not your hair is on display doesn’t affect how much you care about it.”
That’s what what beauty blogger Amena Khan wants people to know.
Khan — who is British Muslim and has chosen to wear a hijab since her early 20s — recently made history with her appearance in L’Oréal Paris UK’s new Elvive campaign as the first woman to wear a headscarf in a hair care ad for a major international brand, according to Glamour.
On her YouTube channel, Khan openly talks about wearing a headscarf, the discrimination she’s faced, and how she’s powered through it. She also gives tips on how to style headscarves and has even designed her own, which she calls a “hoojab” — a hijab-cum-hood — that she sells.
Take Action: Let’s consider our own biases as we build a world where everyone sees equal #WeSeeEqual
By appearing L’Oréal’s new ad, Khan is pushing back against the misconception that women who wear hijabs don’t like to style their hair because they don’t show it in public. That certainly isn’t true for Khan who has said she enjoys styling her hair and has shared her favorite hair care products and routine on her YouTube channel.
“You have to wonder – why is it presumed that women that don’t show their hair don’t look after it?” she told Vogue. “The opposite of that would be that everyone that does show their hair only looks after it for the sake of showing it to others. And that mindset strips us of our autonomy and our sense of independence. Hair is a big part of self-care.”
For Khan, appearing in L’Oréal’s campaign is the realization of a dream she never thought possible.
“I always wanted to be somehow in television or in media but it felt like a pipe dream and that’s why I didn’t pursue it, because I didn’t think there would be anything for me,” she told Vogue. “I didn’t start wearing a headscarf until I was in my 20s, but even prior to that I didn’t see anyone I could relate to in the media.”
Read more: Nike’s New Hijab for Muslim Athletes Is Now Available Worldwide
Though she does not show her hair in public, Khan does not wear a headscarf at home among family members and has said she styles her hair for her loved ones, but more importantly for herself.
“I love styling my hair, I love putting products in it, and I love it to smell nice. It’s an expression of who I am,” she said. “And even if that expression is for my home life and my loved ones and for me when I look in the mirror, it’s who I am. If I know my hair is greasy but I have a scarf on it, I still feel rubbish all day — even if it’s covered.”
Khan hopes that her appearance in the ad will challenge mindsets and empower women to put themselves first.
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