With R200, a dream and a head full of curls, Pulane Lyarin took an idea and started a movement. Now the former Matie hopes to make natural hair education accessible and inclusive to all. Nicole Nasson sat down with the hair influencer to discuss what it means to make a name for herself in a natural hair community and industry.
Pulane always has her hair styled in big curls. It’s never the same hairstyle, but her curls are always front and centre. But during a Zoom video call, the hair influencer sports a more relaxed hairdo. Small curls peek from the bottom of each braid with the rest of her hair neatly tucked into the plaits. Pulane is young. She is 23. And if you looked at her you’d probably guess she’s just a regular student. But in the natural hair community, Pulane is more than just a student. She is the founder of Textur the Hair Movement.
Accidental natural
Former Stellenbosch University (SU) Occupational Therapy student, Pulane grew up in a small town, knowing nothing about hair, especially natural hair.
“When I tell you I knew nothing, I knew nothing. Even my mom just knew how to put in rollers.”
Pulane likes to think her interest in hair started at a young age when she would play with her dolls and style their hair, but recognises that it actually started a little bit later.
Labelling herself as an ‘accidental natural’, Pulane says her transition to natural hair was not a conscious move. “I moved to res in high school and, for me, it was more of a convenience thing,” Pulane says.
When Pulane started wearing her hair naturally, she received positive feedback from her friends and classmates, to her surprise. “I expected [negative] feedback. I went to Bloemhof [Girls High School, in Stellenbosch] – a super white school – but that wasn’t the case at all. They didn’t know curly hair. They were intrigued by it,” Pulane says.
Keratin Texture the Hair Movement
Fast forward to her second year at university, Pulane became the resident natural hair-expert amongst her friends and fellow students.
“I wore my hair out [curly]. I got a lot of questions like ‘What must I do?’ ‘What products must I use?’ Simple questions. People didn’t know anything about their hair,” Pulane says.
Realising there was a “gap in the market” for curly hair education, Pulane decided to host a natural hair event on SU’s Tygerberg Medical campus. Initially, only planning to host one event, Pulane branded herself under the name Keratin, after the protein which hair is made up of. Partnering with local hair care brands like Curl Chemistry and My Natural Hair, and Marley Grey, a hair accessory brand, Pulane’s first event sold out.
When the event started to gain traction amongst naturals, and in an effort to not be misleading, Pulane changed Keratin’s name.
“A lot of people started to think about Keratin, the hair treatment you get that straightens your hair. So that’s when I was like ‘Okay, let’s not do that’ and decided [to go with] ‘texture’,” Pulane says. She then settled on the name Texture the Event.
However, after posting images online of a photoshoot, in promotion for her next event, Pulane rebranded once again, after seeing a comment on Instagram.
“Someone commented on one of our pictures and said ‘Hey, this is kind of like a movement’. I liked the sound of that so I changed it. And that’s what it is now, Textur the Hair Movement,” Pulane says.
That same year, Pulane hosted another event in her neighbourhood at a café, only spending R200, which also sold out.
Now, Textur the Hair Movement hosts workshops, collaborative competitions and creates awareness on natural hair beauty on social media. Due to lockdown regulations, 2020 events and promotional work have been put on hold. However, Pulane still tries to build the brand through challenges and competitions.
“We create, we bring people together, So, yes, I’d say we are a movement, because [even though] we do a bunch of things, we’re still centred around natural hair,” Pulane says.
What’s next?
Pulane was a bit tight-lipped on the future for Textur the Hair Movement, but said she has big plans.
“I want Textur to be the centre of natural hair in South Africa and maybe even Africa.”
With the expansion of Textur the Hair Movement, Pulane says she’s in the process of trademarking her personal brand, Pulane Lyarin, as well as the movement.
“It’s an experience. Many people who come to my events have never been to a hair event before and it is so empowering. And that’s what I want them to take away. It’s not about [learning] this tip or this trick or this method. It’s a feeling.”
Pulane hopes that Textur fosters community for those who are new to caring for their natural hair. While divulging all this, she says that she’s more of a shower, than a teller. Fittingly, her hairdo reflects this philosophy. Just like each braided section, with a few curls at the bottom, Pulane protects her plans, hiding them, only teasing a little glimpse of her future ideas.
