“I’ve heard that if you lose a crystal, you’ve received all that it can offer you spiritually”: The Jamaica-born hairstylist describes a lesson in letting go
“In Jamaica, my mother, my two brothers and I lived with my grandfather, Pappa Jack. I wanted to be around him all the time; we would eat from the same plate and share the same glass. My chore was to clean his room once a week and he would hide little treats for me, tucked away in corners. I once found 500 Jamaican dollars that I knew couldn’t be for me; I gave them back to him and in return he gave me the shiniest coin I’d ever seen – his ‘good luck coin’. I moved to London at ten years old and he passed away before I could return. I tried so hard to find the coin because I wanted to feel close to him, but I never could. It was a big lesson in letting go. I’ve heard that if you lose a crystal, you’ve received all that it can offer you spiritually; it will then go on to benefit someone else who needs it more. I love that sentiment.”
Cyndia Harvey’s relationship with hair started young – at her mother’s salon in south London, where the pre-teen would time herself setting curls. Today, her resumé sparkles. After working as Sam McKnight’s first assistant for five years, Harvey was signed to Streeters before collaborating with photographers including Tim Walker and Alasdair McLellan, and designing hair for Calvin Klein campaigns. But Harvey’s interest in hair is also extraordinarily tender and artistic. Last year she created a film with director Akinola Davies Jr, This Hair of Mine, that explores the cultural heritage of the African diaspora through hair, in a beautifully wrought exploration of aesthetic traditions.
Hair: Taan at l’Atelier (68). Make-up: Mélanie Sergeff at l’Atelier (68). Photographic assistant Corentin Thevenet. Styling assistants: Rebecca Perlmutar, Diego Diez and Sunnie Fraser
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