“Something New” singer Zendaya has just inked an endorsement deal with CHI Hair Care and is leading their ‘Real is Beautiful’ campaign in her new shoes as Celebrity Ambassador.
The campaign aims to help women of all ages and ethnicities to embrace their natural hair, teaching them how to take care of it during styling. This is an issue the 19-year-old Disney Channel star feels strongly about, as she confesses to “ruining her hair texture and hair pattern” with curling irons and hair straighteners when she was just 13-14 years old. She went on to say how she “can now help other women, especially young women, to avoid that drama. I don’t want my little nieces to have to go through what I went through.”
The Zendaya For Chi Tumblr page exhibits six different hairstyles, modeled by Zendaya, with tutorials on how to achieve the looks without damaging your natural locks. The six styles were all inspired by Zendaya’s ever-changing mane and range from a sleek top-knot, to a Princess Jasmine braid and even red-carpet-ready waves.
During the New York press event, Zendaya spoke a little about individuality and the importance of self love, the cornerstone of the campaign. “We can’t allow ourselves to get caught up in other people’s opinions of ourselves because we are never going to progress or go forward or have control over who we are.” She showcases the six looks as vehicles for self-expression, exclaiming: “It’s for you and you’re supposed to love it.”
Zendaya has been no stranger to controversy when it comes to her choice of hairstyles. At last year’s Oscars she stepped into mainstream media spotlight with her eloquent response letter to E!’s Fashion Police commentary from host Giuliana Rancic, who joked that Zendaya “smells like patchouli oil or weed” based on her wearing faux locs. This year she also caused a stir for wearing her hair in a blonde mullet, in remembrance of the late David Bowie, at the Grammy Awards. Regardless of the naysayers, Zendaya continues to make her own beauty rules and encourages young girls everywhere to do the same.
