Last week, I shared my thoughts on what’s happening in the world as it relates to diversity and inclusion within the lash industry. In case you haven’t seen it, you can check it out here. After sharing, I wasn’t surprised to see comments and receive feedback of other lash artists sharing their observations and their feelings. However, I assumed that only Black artists felt as though they weren’t represented within the industry and I learned that it’s not just us.

I received A LOT of responses from Latin and Asian artists as well. So it appears that I’m not the only artist that has noticed that for the past decade or more, the industry has been represented as mainly white.

A positive comment was made on my social media page that many of the larger brands we support are serious about bringing the changes that everyone wants. If it means that these companies will be using their platform to include talented artists from ALL ethnic backgrounds, great. That’s ultimately what I believe we all want. But don’t do it just to appease me and other artists of color.. Do it because you recognize that there’s talent from all cultural backgrounds within the industry and because you have the humility to see that it shouldn’t have taken global outrage or decades to pass in order to do something about it.

Here’s the thing. While we notice the lack of diversity within the lash industry, I think it’s important that we don’t just look for one group to blame, but we also take a look inward and ask ourselves, “Have we contributed to things being this way? Has our behavior played a role in allowing the lack of representation for artists of color to take place?” It’s a difficult question but it’s even more difficult to be honest with yourself and recognize how you could have navigated through life differently in order to create a different outcome. Division between people of different backgrounds and ethnicities is not always one sided.

For the record, I’m not saying racism doesn’t exist. I’m not saying that systemic inequality doesn’t exist. Because they do.

What I’m suggesting is that we as lash artists of color have the power to change the narrative and encourage the change that we want to see… Not by force, not by blaming others, but through the actions we take individually and collectively.

So, how could we as artists of color have contributed to this issue and what can we do to change it?

I believe the biggest contributor to this issue is the lack of acceptance, understanding and inclusion of cultural differences. Let’s face it, as people, we tend to gravitate more towards what we are familiar with rather than what’s unfamiliar. It’s not always comfortable to step outside of your own bubble with a genuine sense of curiosity to learn about others. It’s a lot easier to judge from afar and box people into categories based on their differences. And while this is common, human behavior, it breeds an environment of segregation rather than working together collectively. It also creates a lack of empathy and understanding for one another.

For instance, a few years back, I had a group on Facebook for Black lash artists because I noticed that when Black artists posted within groups that were primarily white, they would be referred to as angry or combative. I knew that wasn’t true but because of what I believe to be a lack of exposure to Black culture and how we communicate with one another, these Black artists were boxed into a category of being negative, angry and combative. So, I created a space where Black artists could feel free to communicate with one another in a way that we understand without being attacked for it.

Creating a group as a safe space for Black artists was a great thing for us as a group however in hindsight, I can see how it didn’t work to create the diversity and inclusion that I want to see. It basically encouraged segregation and a mindset of “them” and “us.”

A question that comes to mind is, is it possible that maybe lash artists of color need to step out more and assert themselves? I mean, I don’t like seeing these lash conferences with only 1 artist of color on the panel (if any) and I’ve never been invited to turn down the opportunity, but I also haven’t reached out to be a part of these events in order to represent Black artists. So is it possible that the reason why these events appear to be all white is because they are asserting themselves and the only people stepping up to join? I don’t know. But maybe another part of why we don’t see a lot of diversity is because we as lash artists of color haven’t stepped up.

A few years ago, a family member said to me, “why don’t I see any Black people on your Instagram page? I see everybody else but Black people.” And when this family member said that, I replied honestly that, “I don’t have any Black clients. It’s not that I don’t want Black clients but in my area, I’ve noticed the Black clients wear clusters and don’t want to pay what I charge so it’s rare that I get a Black client.” They replied, “Maybe if they saw Black people on your page, you’d get more Black clients. I mean, if I went to your page and didn’t see anyone Black, I would think that you don’t service people like me or that you were one of those stuck up Black people that are disconnected from your own people.” Ouch.

It was a great point and while my heart has always been in the right place and I can’t force Black people to book appointments with me, I can make an effort to showcase people from all cultural backgrounds so when people land on my site and my social media pages, they don’t feel like I’m excluding them. But it took someone pointing it out to me for me to even think about it. And I’m Black!

So after having that conversation, I made a conscious effort to showcase Black clients on my page as well as Latinas, Asians, Indians and everyone else because I want my business to be a reflection of who I am as a person and what I stand for. I share this to say that no, it shouldn’t have taken global outrage and injustice to wake people up and for brands to showcase the artists of color that support their businesses. It shouldn’t take something so horrrendous to create awareness. But can we operate from a place of grace and give the industry the opportunity to make the changes we want to see based on their current awareness? No one is perfect and this journey of life is all about discovery, learning and growing. This doesn’t always happen at the same pace for everyone.

For the record, even though I’ve went out and found a diverse group of models to showcase within my business, I still only have 1 Black client. And thats ok. For me, it’s more important to at least let everyone know I offer a safe space for everyone regardless of ethnicity or gender.

So in closing, I think that if we want to see more diversity in the lash industry and in our world, we can’t just point the finger at others when we believe they arent doing the right thing. The greatest change comes from the actions we take on an individual level. These actions are what contributes to the industry as a whole and to drive the change we want to see.

As always, I would love to hear your thoughts as well. So please, feel free to share in the comments!

And if you want to be a part of the change that you want to see in the industry and in this world, a great resource to get started for anyone regardles of ethnicity is the organization Be the Bridge.