Pride & Beyond: 4 Bold, Bright & Beautiful Hair Transformations For Pride At Home

If there’s one thing self-isolation has made universally clear, it’s the value of community. Of course, community is vital for most of us but it’s especially valuable when we exist in marginalised identities; when much of the world denies our rights or otherwise pretends that we do not exist. 

For queer people, community can be everything: safety, companionship, care, joy and love rolled into one bright rainbow package. In June of each year, many queer folks and our allies come together to celebrate Pride in commemoration of the Stonewall riots (the 1969 demonstrations in NYC which are often credited with pushing forward the gay liberation movement). Unfortunately, festivities throughout the UK are cancelled this year (or taking on a new form) in light of the pandemic.

Happily, many LGBTQIA+ people are finding alternative ways to celebrate our communities from our very own lounges. We’ve teamed up with Schwarzkopf LIVE and got2b to showcase how four queer babes will be celebrating Pride at home with a video call photoshoot. These are brands working to create products that unapologetically affirm our inner selves, while actively supporting the queer community. They have partnered with Just Like Us, an LGBTQIA+ youth charity, to support the organisation and raise awareness, and have also released the limited-edition Pride-themed got2b Glued Blasting Freeze Spray (now available at Tesco and Amazon).

Because hair can be so intrinsically tied to many of our identities, the four queer legends showcased here have each created a hairstyle that proudly (and colourfully) shows off their own.

For Georgia Dodsworth, both Pride and Black Pride are incredibly important times of the year. "During Pride season, I learn so much about myself and others," she says. "I love going to UK Black Pride as I feel empowered, seen and heard. It feels like a massive family party […] and I always come away meeting/connecting with many new people. At UK Black Pride, I feel at home and represented across the community."

Georgia is someone who thrives in physical spaces with other queer people. "Being connected with my queer folks reminds me that I am not alone, and my queerness isn’t compromised," she explains. "I love the kindness and radical generosity that the community shows."

During the earlier days of lockdown, she became all the more grateful for technology. "I have learned the importance of reaching out and checking in on the people in my community, and I have made deeper connections/friendships with them. We finally had the time to talk and get to know each other on an authentic emotional level, rather than trying to talk in a noisy club space!"

If this were a regular year, Georgia would likely be planning her look for weeks ahead of the events to make sure she stands out and feels her "best expressive self" while there. Her hair is a particularly important part of her presentation. "I feel like my hair is my lioness mane; it protects me and encourages me to be fierce," she says. "As I am becoming more emotionally in tune with myself and my queerness, my hair is growing and flourishing representing this."

For Pride at home, she is going to be taking her mane to new colours.

"I have chosen to colour my hair with LIVE Shocking Pink and to style it naturally because pink is my power colour," Georgia explains. "I used to be obsessed with [a certain pop star] when I was in my teenage years and used to love her with pink hair, but I never had the confidence to colour my hair pink." (If you plan on following suit in your own home, just remember to read and follow the pack instructions when colouring your hair.)

This Pride month, she has been tapping into her social media networks and engaging with the individuals, platforms and collectives she most admires. Many have been putting on virtual events, which has been a way for Georgia to feel connected from afar. Pride at home will be no different. Plus, it’s a reason to play dress-up.

"I love dressing up and being creative with my makeup, as I feel like that is a massive part of my queerness and identity," she explains. "When I create, I feel free."

For Venus Libido, Pride would usually look like heading down to the local gay club with her best friends and dancing to cheesy pop tunes until sunrise. This year was supposed to be a little different, though. "I was excited to celebrate my first Pride after coming out to my friends and family as pansexual," she explains.

Lockdown was difficult for many reasons. Sadly, Venus lost her uncle during the pandemic and wasn’t able to say goodbye or attend the funeral. "Losing someone is never easy but it made me appreciate the small things that we take for granted, like giving a loved one a hug or checking in on them," she says. "I’m just grateful to be healthy, alive and safe right now because I know so many are not as fortunate."

Being away from her community – the people she feels "most comfortable with" – has also been an adjustment. Because lockdown regulations continue to limit face-to-face interactions with people outside of our households, Venus has been relying on the internet (and virtual parties!) to bridge the separation a bit. "We all still talk online and are there for each other when we have our down days. Most importantly, we keep reminding each other that this is a time for growth and self-love," she reflects. "I learned so much about myself during isolation, including learning how to feel comfortable with myself, communicating better with my family and realising what is really important right now for me and for the future." 

To celebrate Pride at home, Venus is going to be changing up her hair colour. "Seeing as I made so many positive changes to my life, I thought I would make a change to my hair as well," she adds.

From the time Venus was old enough to colour her hair, she’s enjoyed bright, bold, standout hues. "I enjoy not fitting in and if I can portray that through my hair, then why not?" she says. "I thought I would go with a new colour for Pride this year [and] I’ve decided to go with a purple wave – big, bouncy and brave!"

To create the look, she used LIVE’s Lilac Crush, noting that she has a lot of hair so she needed a few boxes. "Then to style, I used got2b Twisted Lightweight Oil, which I use all the time as it makes my hair silky smooth. I then also used the got2b Texturizing Dry Shampoo and to finish and fix I used the got2b Blasting Freeze Spray."
 
When it comes to her hair goals, Venus says, "I would want nothing more than to turn into a beautiful mermaid," and with her long, wavy, lilac mane, that’s definitely been achieved. It's a way of holding on to her bright community from home until lockdown ends, at which point she is looking forward to "being intimate with another human being, seeing my friends, eating out, pubs and eventually a huge party!"

For musician Roxxxan, Pride is typically a two-parter. "I celebrate Pride as we all know it and then the day after I celebrate Black Pride, which is inclusive to all and brings in a lot of culture," she says. "I celebrate Pride by marching, then usually performing, being visible and having the best time ever." 

Although adjusting to initial lockdown regulations was difficult in some moments, Roxxxan has never doubted that her community would continue to remain "very active and lively" and that it would be intact when all this has passed. In her own home, she’s also found a few ways of celebrating the queer spirit.

"I love colour," Roxxxan explains. "So I’m celebrating by making my home as bright as possible! I’ve ordered a 10-metre LED light to go around my living room. I’ve ordered multicoloured cushions for my sofa. I’ve even bought a Pride all-in-one outfit. I have also bought my cat a multicoloured tie because he is pro his momma."
 
Lockdown also gave Roxxxan an unexpected gift: time. "That’s the one thing in life we can never get back or rewind," she muses. "I’ve sat with my feelings and thoughts […] I’ve never been so sure of who I am and what my mission is. I can’t wait to be free again, to be visible again and break down these walls of homophobia, discrimination and more."
 
For her Pride at home hairstyle, she’s decided to take her love of all the colours to her head. 

Using LIVE’s Steel Silver, Lilac Crush, Denim Steel, Rose Gold and Mint Pearl, Roxxxan has chosen to create multicoloured hearts all over her head. She’s also added a woman symbol to the back. "It represents me perfectly," she explains. "My ethos is LOVE in all shapes and sizes. Plus, I drew the symbol for ‘woman’ at the back of my hair. This means the world to me because I identify as a woman. Society [may] make me feel less because I am not 'super girly' or what some call 'femme'. These are the boundaries I can’t wait to break."

As a Gemini, Roxxxan feels she is fully fluid, even when it comes to her locks. "[I’m] constantly changing like the wind," she says. "[I’m] full of ideas and bursting with colour. I definitely think my hair shows that."

For now, she can’t wait to get back to the community in full after lockdown measures ease further: to "really appreciate being a part of it and [celebrating] how far we have come."

Pride is two things for Joel Groves: a celebration of their own identity and community, and a "protest and a chance to fight vocally and openly for our continued rights". 

Although Joel felt lucky to have been able to self-isolate with their partner and sister, both of whom are queer, they've been "keenly" feeling the loss of their trans community throughout the pandemic. "No more trans sporting sessions or queer Dungeons & Dragons is a blow to me as it was never just about swimming or rolling the dice but about being able to come together and discuss issues or experiences with a group of people who not only sympathise but are able to relate completely," they say. 

Joel has also missed getting out without limitations to do their advocacy work, as they are an ambassador for Just Like Us. "I know my life would have been so much better with even just a little LGBT+ education available in my school, so I did [some] research and was really impressed with what I saw," they say of the organisation.

In these strange and often difficult times, Joel feels especially grateful for the "resilience of the queer community. Overcoming adversity isn’t something new to a lot of us but this is a completely unprecedented situation for a lot of people right now, regardless of gender or sexuality. I’ve seen some really amazing work being done by people all over the world helping to support one another in loads of different ways and it makes me really proud to be a part of this community."

For Pride at home, they’re excited to be creating a style that is a nod towards their "transmasculine non-binary identity and the blue stripes on the trans flag!"

Using LIVE’s Electric Blue colour and the got2b Beach Matt Paste, Joel has gone for a short back and sides look with a carefully messed top in bright blue. "I’ve chosen this style as wearing my hair in more traditionally masculine styles is really affirming to me," they share. "I’d love to be really able to go all out and have a mohawk or similar but that just isn’t practical with my day job, so this is a great compromise for me."

Hair has long been a vehicle for celebrating Joel’s identity. They remember shaving their hair into an undercut at home and colouring it all pink upon realising they were non-binary.

"I went into work the next day with my awesome new hair, feeling much more confident about coming out to people and asserting my new pronouns than I would have with my 'boring' natural hair," they say. "My hair made me feel so much more comfortable about myself and therefore about sharing myself and my identity."

For more information on the work got2b is doing to support the LGBTQIA+ community for Diversity Week, you can check out their Instagram.

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