This story was originally published in ESSENCE’s special 55th anniversary July/August 2025 issue, on stands now.
When I was growing up, the beauty editors at ESSENCE were my celebrities. The epitome of poise, they had their finger on the pulse of Black culture—and above all, they looked like me. Their stories and advice always resonated; and I could feel their genuine love for the women they served, through the intentional ways they would string words and images together on the pages.
Fast-forward some decades later and I was honored to join their number. Being an ESSENCE beauty editor was a responsibility I didn’t take lightly—not only because I understood the obligation to be a voice for my community, but also because of the shoulders on which I stood.
The sisterhood of former ESSENCE editors is marked by a unique and beautiful shared experience. And through it all, our own ideals of self and beauty have evolved. In honor of 55 years of ESSENCE, I was privileged to speak with 12 of my predecessors about how their time at the legacy-media powerhouse impacted their own journeys. As expected, they chronicled it masterfully.
MIKKI TAYLOR
(Accessories and Home Sewing Editor, Beauty Editor, Beauty and Cover Director, 1980–2010; currently Editor-at-Large)
You can’t speak about ESSENCE and its impact on Black beauty without mentioning Taylor. “In my job description, it said that I was responsible for affirming the culture’s definition of beauty,” she says. “And I don’t know that any other editor in magazine history had that responsibility rested on their shoulders—but I did.” During Taylor’s early time at the magazine, Black women were basically invisible in corporate America, regardless of how high we indexed in terms of our spending power. “It was my role to teach the industry that we didn’t just shop for hair products, for all products. We really shopped for experiences, and we wanted to have experiences around beauty that affirmed us.” Throughout her three decades leading the charge, Taylor’s influence was broadly felt. “Showing us in all of our glory is something that had to be advocated for.”
STEPHANIE SCOTT-BRADSHAW
(Fashion & Beauty intern, 1997; Assistant Beauty Editor, Associate Beauty Editor, 2001–2005)
Scott-Bradshaw notes that one of the many beauties of ESSENCE is its ability to capture Black women in a way other publications do not. “I’m most proud of the untapped conversations that we were able to put in the magazine,” says the founder and CEO of First and Last PR. “At the photo shoots, there were so many hairstylists that we worked with, from Neeko to Derrick Scurry, rest his soul—and while we were on set, there was just a feeling of creativity and safety.” That sense included everyone, from talent to glam to crew to the editorial team. “You felt seen and respected on set,” Scott-Bradshaw adds. “I’m so proud of how we listened to our readers.”
TASHA TURNER
(Senior Beauty Editor, 2010–2013)
It was Turner’s long-cultivated knowledge of hair that made her tenure at ESSENCE so impactful. “I walked into ESSENCE a hair girl—my grandmother took me to the hairdresser every two weeks, religiously, until I started working,” she recalls. “I knew my hair. I could take a look at someone else’s hair and know what it needed, because I had spent years sitting under the dryer people-watching. I ate, lived and breathed hair.” It was from that knowledge that Turner gained respect and trust from the reader. “They could tell that I knew what I was talking about—they could see it from a mile away,” she says. “I spoke her language— and the beauty of me, which I didn’t realize then, is that I spoke many languages. I could speak to Ms. Mary who was getting on the bus, and I could also speak to Michelle Ebanks who was getting ready to go in the boardroom.”
DEENA CAMPBELL
(Hair & Beauty Editor, 2014–2016)
Like so many before her, Campbell felt the influence of other ESSENCE editors in the way she saw herself. “When I first arrived at the magazine, I was getting relaxers,” she says. “But I was writing about women who were exploring being natural, and it made me want to do the same. So I did the big chop.” Since that day, Campbell hasn’t looked back. “It’s not that I’m opposed to relaxers, but I also realized it was okay to try new things,” she says. “Suddenly, I didn’t see my hair as the chore that it had been before.” The freelance editor, beauty journalist and consultant continues to enjoy experimenting with her tresses. “All hair types are good,” she states, “and this is what God blessed me with, so let me find ways to enjoy it.”
SANDRA MARTIN
(Assistant Fashion and Beauty Editor, 1974; Associate Fashion and Beauty Editor, 1976; Fashion and Beauty Merchandise and Cover Editor, 1981–1983; Special Projects Coordinator, 2004–2008)
Martin shares that her hair journey has, since the 1970s, been one of trial and error. “In the early days, Andre Douglas, who was a revolutionary in the wig industry, would do the hair for a lot of our covers and shoots,” she says. Eventually, Douglas became Martin’s stylist, crafting two wig styles for her, one of which he named “Sandy” and the other “Ms. Martin.”
“It looked so natural. He was way before his time,” she recalls. After his passing, Martin enlisted the help of trichologist Herman Allen, who maintained her Jheri curl for years—until a cover shoot she did with Patti LaBelle. The makeup artist on set, the late, Roxanna Floyd said she was sick and tired of Martin’s Jheri curl, so she cut it all off. “This was the early 90s. I was natural in the 70s and then, thanks to Patti, again in the 90s, before the natural craze.”
YOLANDA SANGWENI
(Entertainment Editor, Deputy Editor, Digital Content Director, 2010–2019)
“I’m South African, and what I cherish about my ESSENCE experience is the warmth and support that African-American women overtly and explicitly give each other around beauty,” says the current VP, Culture Programming at NPR. “Don’t you dare come in with a new hairstyle and not tell us!” It was being around the women at ESSENCE that made Sangweni less afraid to play with her own hair. “Being in the company of women who were not afraid to experiment with hairstyles gave me so much more dexterity around playing with mine,” she says. “This was in 2010, when everybody was going natural, so it was such a beautiful time.”
PAMELA EDWARDS CHRISTIANI
(Fashion & Beauty Writer, Beauty & Fashion Features Editor, 1999–2011; Fashion & Beauty Director, 2013–2016)
For beauty editors at ESSENCE, the obligation is greater. “I was there with Susan Taylor and Mikki Taylor,” says Edwards Christiani. “We would always be reminded that we had a strong responsibility to Black women, to keep them in the loop about hair, and that Black women were counting on us.” While she didn’t experiment with her own strands, she was committed to hard-hitting journalism around the topic: “I got the right experts and was asking the right questions. I made it a point to speak to dermatologists and trichologists—Black-hair experts.”
CORYNNE CORBETT
(Beauty Director, 2010–2013)
Corbett’s journey to confidence has consisted of embracing her differences. “I’ve had every hair color under the sun—pink, green, blue. Cut it off, braided it—and now fully gray,” Corbett says. “I laugh when people say, ‘I wish I had the nerve to do my hair like yours!’ From birth, my eyes weren’t the same size. I grew tall early and was extremely shy—but I had a beautiful imagination.” This imagination was also the secret sauce behind some of ESSENCE’s most iconic beauty features. “I spent most of my career working at general-market magazines. We would be grateful to have one Black girl in a story,” she says. “I loved that ESSENCE beauty fully represented the totality of our experience. Hair textures, skin tones, ages, experiences, showing the Black experience is not a monolith.”
JULEE WILSON
(Fashion & Beauty Director, Global Beauty Director, 2016–2020)
It’s no secret that Wilson is a beauty girl through and through—and her fearlessness in experimenting with her hair is an attribute adored by many. “I definitely prioritize keeping my hair healthy,” she says. “And I keep my confidence up by having a dope hairstylist, Anthony Dickey.” A standing appointment every other week ensures that Wilson’s ’do is always styling-ready. “When I want to do protective styles or experiment with different looks, I know I can, because my hair has been in really good hands for over a decade.” The client-stylist relationship feeds Wilson’s soul as well as her coils. “He’s become a friend and a brother,” she says.
JANELL HICKMAN-KIRBY
(Assistant Beauty & Fashion Editor, 2010–2011)
For Hickman-Kirby, now Associate Creative Director at Shark Beauty, ESSENCE wasn’t her first experience of feeling a sense of home. “Similar to being at an HBCU [Hampton University], ESSENCE was the kind of place where I could just be,” she says. “While I was working there, Solange did the big chop, and I felt so inspired that I did the same.” The reaction from coworkers to her TWA (teeny-weeny Afro) felt like love and support, which was such a welcome change from the microaggressions we so often face about our hair. “I’ll never forget that experience,” Hickman-Kirby says. “It gave me the confidence to never second-guess my hair choices in any workspace.”
CHARLI PENN
(Relationships Editor, Senior Relationships Editor, Lifestyle Director, 2011–2022)
The former Lifestyle Director drew her inspiration from the women she worked with daily. “I learned so much about cherishing and caring for my natural hair working at ESSENCE—even just through water cooler moments between meetings and watching so many other Black women on such inspiring hair journeys every day,” Penn says. “There was never a day where I wasn’t inspired by a style or tip from a colleague or within the pages. I also learned a lot about protective styles and how to keep my hair safe and cared for and healthy underneath weaves and wigs.” Penn, who had just cut off her relaxed hair when she began her tenure at ESSENCE, used the fresh start as a means to experiment with her look. “Over the course of my 11 years there, I experimented with human hair wigs and crochet braids but I also made it a point to try different products to best care for my natural hair.”
Michaela Angela Davis
(Fashion Editor, 1991–1993; Executive Fashion, Beauty & Culture Editor, 2003–2010)
“So much of my identity is connected to my hair,” says the writer, creative director and image activist. “I’ve been writing about it, and centering it as a metaphor for Black women’s identity, as a thesis— particularly because of my lighter than light skin, the blondeness of my hair and the hazel of my eyes.” Davis says that wearing her hair in its natural state identifies her quickly with Black women. “Texture is what locates me squarely in the center of Black- girl beauty culture and Black-girl hair culture,” she says. “As diverse, complex and complicated as Black women are, we gather around our hair and our hair rituals, our hair language, our hair innovation and the memory that we hold in our hair.” Davis, whose upcoming book, Tenderheaded: A Memoir, will be released on October 7, explains that it’s critical she not mix messages by straightening her hair or wearing it other than in an Afro or cornrows. “My Afro is my signature,” she says. “My Afro is my liberation.”
Photo production credits: Hair: Andrita Renee using RevAir. Makeup: Derrick Bernard using Pat McGrath Labs. Photography Assistant: Obi Does. Hair Assistant: Natasha Kristine. Makeup Assistant: Jennifer Green. Production: The Morrison Group. Production Assistants: Maian Tran & Grant Uba. Location: Please Space Studio.
