Ross is describing a process many women of color know so well—a process of altering ourselves to feel accepted. “I am a part of a community of women who are still working through these things on a regular basis,” she acknowledges. “We are still pushing up against cultural norms thinking that we have to have ‘this’ hair or ‘that’ hair.” The shift for Ross happened when she moved to Europe in 8th grade for boarding school, which was too far from a black hair salon to get her hair done every week.
Ross believes that embracing your beauty is a form of activism—it’s about developing and blossoming in your own sense of selfhood."Beauty does not come from looking like other people or being like other people, which is especially true for Black women," she says."True beauty is a manifestation of your becoming, and the space that you take up.
Lots more laughs are shared; the same, familiar laugh I heard when I first arrived. Playfulness aside, I leave with a deeper understanding of the actress's intentions behind Pattern."This brand is not a manipulation of me," she tells me as our time comes to a close. Pointing to her crown of curls she says,"This is my heart in all of its bareness and rawness. This is my authentic self.