Beautiful Virgin Islands

Tuesday, Jun 03, 2025

How Model Karen Williams Cares for Her Hair: From Embracing the Gray to Her DIY Scalp Treatment

How Model Karen Williams Cares for Her Hair: From Embracing the Gray to Her DIY Scalp Treatment

Texture Diaries is a space for Black people across industries to reflect on their journeys to self-love, and how accepting their hair, in all its glory, played a pivotal role in this process. Each week, they share their favorite hair rituals, products, and the biggest lessons they’ve learned when it comes to affirming their beauty and owning their unique hair texture.

Advocating for age inclusivity is what keeps model Karen Williams going. The self-titled “empowered aging ambassador” has been modeling since she was 13, after she was scouted by a photographer. She subsequently signed to Ford Models and modeled into her early 40s. After taking a break to pursue other passions like film production and acting, Williams returned to the modeling world at age 54 with a mission to “advocate for greater representation of diverse people aging in fashion and beauty,” she tells Vogue. “And to promote the need for age to be a required component of diversity and inclusivity across all industries.”

In recent years, Williams has starred in H&M campaigns and posed next to her 80-year-old mother for the book I Am Beauty: Timeless Skincare and Beauty for Women Over 40 by makeup artist Riku Campo. When she’s not shooting, Williams hosts conversations with women over 40, such as DJ and actor Belinda Becker, as well as Chiara D’Agostino, a body positive model on the I Am the Movement YouTube channel.

Williams grew up understanding that Black was beautiful thanks to the people who surrounded her. When she was born, her parents were students at Howard University at a time when the Black Power movement was gestating. Her family counted Stokely Carmichael as a friend. “His mother was like a grandmother to me,” Williams says.



“Watching loved ones with a dizzying range of skin color and hair textures unapologetically celebrate their Pan-African Black identities with big and short Afros, cornrows, elaborate braids, or Nefertiti-styled headdresses was as normal to me as seeing them don Eurocentric hairstyles like beehives, bouffants, or flip ups,” Williams remembers. “My parents and their friends were brilliant mirrors reflecting ‘Black is beautiful,’ and ‘Black is diverse’ more powerfully than any slogan could.”

After her parents graduated, they moved the family to Jamaica. There, Williams remembers sitting between her mother’s legs while she parted her hair and applied the infamous VO5 and Ultra Sheen hair ointments, brushing “every flyaway strand into silky, shiny plaits.” Her father would take over for fancier occasions and do a one-braided bun at the top of her head, giving her words of wisdom as he worked. “When I started modeling, he wanted me to know the importance of using what’s in my head, not what’s on it,” she says. She credits his guidance for helping her to later “cultivate a deep intellectual well and inner spiritual life.” Her grandmother often did her hair when she visited the countryside, paying no mind to Williams’s tender-headed-ness for the bedtime plait up each night. For those “big gyal bouncy curls,” Williams remembers that it took “sweltering for two hours under a hooded dryer in Kingston,” to get the job done, even if the look was promptly deteriorated under the Jamaican sun.

To this day, Williams takes hair inspiration from her mother. “She was always experimental, yet practical,” she says. “I follow her lead with extreme hair transformations, from a mid-back mane to an almost-bald crew cut.” Williams keeps her mother’s words in the back of her head: “As long as it’s healthy, it’s only hair and hair grows.” To keep her hair healthy, Williams concocts a DIY scalp treatment that includes (but is not limited to): marula oil, argan oil, olive oil, avocado oil, and tea tree, ylang-ylang, sandalwood, chamomile, and peppermint essential oils, as well as aloe vera gel straight from the plant. Other times, she reaches for Fable & Mane’s HoliRoots Hair Oil. “The rich, penetrating Ayurvedic blend of oils, tonics, and herbs adds extra softness and slip, helps to reduce frizz, strengthens the scalp, and stimulates hair growth,” Williams explains. She applies the oil along with a head massage to create circulation and release tension.



Williams, who stopped dying her hair in favor of her natural gray at age 53, maintains her color with Maison 276 and Fanola Free No Yellow Vegan Mask. For a deep conditioning, she turns to Fable & Mane’s HoliRoots Hair Mask. For definition, Design Essentials Avocado & Almond Curl Enhancing Mousse is her go-to. “A little goes a long way,” she notes. When she wants a sleek look, Charlotte Mensah’s Manketti Oil Pomade gives shine, moisture, and reduces frizz, while Jamaican black castor oil helps to “strengthen the extra-fine, delicate front, baby-hair edges.”

After years of modeling, she’s learned a thing or two about maintaining her hair’s health amid all of the manipulation that often happens on sets. “I use no heat, and only when absolutely necessary do I occasionally allow stylists to use a cool diffuser on photo shoots or sets,” she says. “Whenever I’m outdoors hiking or exercising, I cover my head with a hat, scarf, or turban to prevent my hair from burning in the sun,” she adds. Using a silk pillowcase at night is another pro trick.

When it comes to embracing the glorious grays, Williams has learned to “have fun, play, and experiment with different styles that accentuate the new growth,” she says. “Try out wearing an inexpensive wig or two. If you don’t like what you’re seeing in the mirror, then change. It’s your prerogative to wear your hair in any color or style of your choosing. You’ll know when and what the right decision will be. Just make sure you don’t give that decision-making power over to anyone else.”



“I typically plait my hair up to seal in moisture."



“For sleek looks, I love using Charlotte Mensah's products to keep my hair hydrated.”



“I've learned confidence is built from positive, purpose-driven engagement, encouragement, and connection in community with role models who help to elevate us to become our highest selves,” Williams says. “Spend time in intergenerational groups of diverse Black women and men. Really listen to their stories and share yours as well.”



Maison 276 Clarify Pre-Shampoo



Maison 276 Hydrate Shampoo



Fanola No Yellow Vegan Mask



Fable & Mane HoliRoots Pre-wash Hair Treatment Oil



Fable & Mane HoliRoots Repairing Hair Mask



Design Essentials Natural Curl Enhancing Mousse



Charlotte Mensah Manketti Hair Oil

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
China Accuses US of Violating Trade Truce
Panama Port Owner Balances US-China Pressures
France Implements Nationwide Outdoor Smoking Ban to Protect Children
German Chancellor Merz Keeps Putin Guessing on Missile Strategy
Mandelson Criticizes UK's 'Fetish' for Abandoning EU Regulations
British Fishing Boat Owner Fined €30,000 by French Authorities
Dutch government falls as far-right leader Wilders quits coalition
Harvard Urges US to Unfreeze Funds for Public Health Research
Businessman Mauled by Lion at Luxury Namibian Lodge
Researchers Consider New Destinations Beyond the U.S.
53-Year-Old Doctor Claims Biological Age of 23
Trump Struggles to Secure Trade Deals With China and Europe
Russia to Return 6,000 Corpses Under Ukraine Prisoner Swap Deal
Microsoft Lays Off Hundreds More Amid Restructuring
Harvey Weinstein’s Publicist Embraces Notoriety
Macron and Meloni Seek Unity Despite Tensions
Trump Administration Accused of Obstructing Deportation Cases
Newark Mayor Sues Over Arrest at Immigration Facility
Center-Left Candidate Projected to Win South Korean Presidency
Trump’s Tariffs Predicted to Stall Global Economic Growth
South Korea’s President-Elect Expected to Take Softer Line on Trump and North Korea
Trump’s China Strategy Remains a Geopolitical Puzzle
Ukraine Executes Long-Range Drone Strikes on Russian Airbases
Conservative Karol Nawrocki wins Poland’s presidential election
Study Identifies Potential Radicalization Risk Among Over One Million Muslims in Germany
Good news: Annalena Baerbock Elected President of the UN General Assembly
Apple Appeals EU Law Over User Data Sharing Requirements
South Africa: "First Black Bank" Collapses after Being Looted by Owners
Poland will now withdraw from the EU migration pact after pro-Trump nationalist wins Election
"That's Disgusting, Don’t Say It Again": The Trump Joke That Made the President Boil
Trump Cancels NASA Nominee Over Democratic Donations
Paris Saint-Germain's Greatest Triumph Is Football’s Lowest Point
OnlyFans for Sale: From Lockdown Lifeline to Eight-Billion-Dollar Empire
Mayor’s Security Officer Implicated | Shocking New Details Emerge in NYC Kidnapping Case
Hegseth Warns of Potential Chinese Military Action Against Taiwan
OPEC+ Agrees to Increase Oil Output for Third Consecutive Month
Jamie Dimon Warns U.S. Bond Market Faces Pressure from Rising Debt
Turkey Detains Istanbul Officials Amid Anti-Corruption Crackdown
Taylor Swift Gains Ownership of Her First Six Albums
Bangkok Ranked World's Top City for Remote Work in 2025
Satirical Sketch Sparks Political Spouse Feud in South Korea
Indonesia Quarry Collapse Leaves Multiple Dead and Missing
South Korean Election Video Pulled Amid Misogyny Outcry
Asian Economies Shift Away from US Dollar Amid Trade Tensions
Netflix Investigates Allegations of On-Set Mistreatment in K-Drama Production
US Defence Chief Reaffirms Strong Ties with Singapore Amid Regional Tensions
Vietnam Faces Strategic Dilemma Over China's Mekong River Projects
Malaysia's First AI Preacher Sparks Debate on Islamic Principles
White House Press Secretary Criticizes Harvard Funding, Advocates for Vocational Training
France to Implement Nationwide Smoking Ban in Outdoor Spaces Frequented by Children
×