Hair Diaries: Building Your Chosen Family & Exploring Self-Expression
“Family” is a loaded concept that holds so much meaning, and while we’re all born with some kind of family, they are not always the ones standing with us at the finish line.
Enter chosen families.
Chosen families are pretty common, especially in the LGBTQIA+ community. It’s a kinship created outside of a traditional family structure built by individuals who love and accept each other as they are. Often, people move away from home to new cities, make new friends and find new partners, and form an organic network where they can shine and be their authentic selves.
This chapter of Hair Diaries explores self-expression through color and why chosen families are so important to the queer experience. Meet @chad_remy, a queer boy from the east coast and one of oVertone's besties. We sit with Chad as he shares his experience moving from a small town to a big city, cultivating his chosen family, and trying new looks that feel truer to him than ever before. Stick around and see how Chad uses our Pastel Pink Coloring conditioner to execute a mouth-watering pink cotton candy look that has us gagging.
Please tell us a little bit about yourself.
I am a 24-year-old queer boy from a small town in southern MA. I moved to NYC to explore the deepest parts of myself and try to build my chosen family.
What does your hair mean to you?
There’s a reason bad hair days can affect your mood a lot of your strength can come from your hair, and a lot of your personality can be shown through it. My hair tells a story of who I am, and if you look back through the years, it tells you who I was.
How does your hair impact your self-confidence and life in general?
Listen, I’ll be honest with you my hair is very important to me. I actually won Best Hair as a senior superlative in high school. Your hair can truly be the first impression for someone who doesn’t know your name or your story. I can immediately get a sense of who you are from the way you cut, color, and style your hair.
Where do you find hair inspo, or what/who inspired your look?
A lot of my inspiration comes from the shows that I love, such as euphoria, or magazine shoots from gay times, Vogue, or GQ. Since moving to New York City, I have found an incredible queer-owned barbershop that hires talented artists who use hair to make you feel the way you deserve to feel and be seen the way you deserve to be seen. I have to give a big shout-out to my best friend Audg they were the first person I know to really play with hair and allow their personality and style to be seen through color cuts and styles.
Anything else you’d like to share regarding your hair journey?
I think if I could give advice to people who want to explore the way hair can empower them, I’d say try something new, don’t be afraid to play, you’ll never know what you like until you give it a go. A few years ago, if you told me I would have an etched eyebrow, pink hair, and an arrow cut fade, I would have said no way, and yet now I know this to be my truest self. So cheers to your journey of exploration!
Want to get @chad_remy pretty in cotton candy pink color? Here’s a step-by-step tutorial to get his stunning look, serving fantasy chic realness and giving everything that needs to be gave. We are living!
WHAT YOU NEED:
STEP 01: To get the brightest color results, @chad_remy bleached his hair from root to tip for an even, Danny Phantom icy blonde consistency. Although none of our products require bleaching beforehand, Chad wanted a clean foundation before he took the pastel pink plunge.
STEP 02: Using the mixing brush, section hair and apply the Coloring Conditioner from roots to tip. Make sure to “spread the layers and lacker it on,” saturating your lovely locks for full coverage.
HOT TIP: Get your best friend to help you out for ultra coverage and maximum fun. Shout out to AUDG (they/them), BFF, ride or die, and hair extraordinaire for supporting Chad on his oVertone hair journey and helping with that extra scrub to get all the gorgeous in. Bless you, bestie.
STEP 03: Let sit for 10-15 minutes (Chad chose 20 minutes) and rinse.
STEP 04: THE GREAT REVEAL! She. Is. Stunning.
In love with Chad's cotton candy pink shade but curious to know how he plans to fight the fade? To help maintain and refresh his positively pink hue, Chad uses what’s left of his Pastel Pink Coloring Conditioner and follows up with the Pastel Pink Daily Conditioner after he shampoos as an extra layer of protection to fight fade and elevate his glow. It’s that simple. So try the look from home and bring on the compliments, sis. Your hair will thank us later.