Arnell Armon has over 388,000 YouTube subscribers who hang onto her every word and recommendation about all things beauty. Even though her following catapults her into guru status, the influencer still has doubts on doing certain videos — especially those about hair.
"Sometimes when I make videos centered around my natural hair, I've gotten comments saying that it's not right for me to make those kinds of videos because I don't have a certain texture," Armon, who's Mexican and Black, says. "I got a few comments saying, 'She can't relate to the struggles of having natural hair,' and that kind of thing. It's a bit frustrating because, yeah, my hair is different, but I still have my own struggles."
Some of Armon's followers also pressure her to pick one part of her ethnicity to side with...an unfair request in her eyes. "Both cultures are beautiful in their own ways, and I love being able to identify with both," she notes. That includes doing tutorials with wigs and with her own waves, no matter how many dislikes she may get. "They're both crucial parts of who I am and what I want to become," she says. To honor her mixed-race heritage, Armon ventured over to Los Angeles' Olvera Street to learn more about Mexican culture, and then got a braided hairstyle done at West of Heaven salon in Culver City. The style, which featured cornrows, ribbons, and beads, doubled as a protective style and a way to pay homage to her multifaceted background. See the look — and hear her story — in the video above.