From Boho Braids To Blonde, Serena Page’s Hair Is As Versatile As She Is

When we met Serena Page on Love Island Season 6, she was rocking the best boho braids I’d ever seen on TV. For six weeks in the villa, she showed us the versatility of Black hair — from half up, half down styles to high buns and ponytails — and since she’s been off the show, the hair ingenuity hasn’t stopped. The day I get on Zoom to talk to Page about her partnership with SheaMoisture, she’s in another brand new style: a platinum blonde wig. Page got it done, “like, five minutes ago,” she tells me and jokes that she’s still getting used to it, but like boho braids and a sleek bob, the blonde somehow also suits her perfectly. Page’s willingness to play when it comes to her hair is why her collaboration with SheaMoisture makes so much sense. 

In the campaign ad, Page says, “I don’t fit in a box, I fit in a thousand.” And that’s why we fell in love with her during her journey on Love Island. As we watched their slow burn, Page was sweet and loving with her boyfriend Kordell Beckham, but she was also fiery, combative, and emotional — as she had every right to be! But we know as Black women that our every move is scrutinized and while for many Black girls, watching Page get mad and work through her problems with Beckham in real time was relatable and validating, she still had to battle against the Angry Black Woman™ trope. That’s why the messaging of this campaign — that she can be all her different selves at any moment, freely and fabulously — is so powerful. Here, we talk about Page’s connection to SheaMoisture, her long-lasting friendship with fellow former Islanders JaNa Craig and Leah Kateb (the trio also known as PPG), and who’s the better TikTok dancer between Page and Beckham. 

Serena Page: The campaign is definitely close to my heart, because I have been using SheaMoisture since the beginning of my natural hair care journey, which started in high school. And so to be doing this campaign was absolutely crazy. And I feel like the mission truly embodies who I am and the versatility of Black women and our hair and how many different things we can do with it — from color to style to natural, perm versus straight. It's just so much. And I love to tap into it all. 

SP: That would be very Virgo of me to do. I actually should do that because I feel like it's on brand [laughs]. But I really just go with the flow. I will literally wake up one day and be like, I kind of want to go blonde. It’s based on how I'm feeling that week, that month, whatever. 

SP: It basically means I can be this person and this person and this person, if someone's like, is this you? And it's like, yes. And so is this [person], and so is this. All of these are me, and they make up who I am. Some people are genuinely just versatile queens, and I feel like I'm one of them. I just love to switch it up.  

SP: All of them. Every single version of Serena is overwhelming, dramatic, and — I’m just kidding [laughs]. I would say it’s definitely when I'm in my business mode that's when I'm making sure everything's perfect. Like, I need this to sound like this exact way. I need this to look this exact way and, especially as someone who's used to doing it all on my own, simply because I'm a person that wants it done right. So I want to do it myself. I would say that's the most overwhelming, but they're all pretty fun.

SP: That one's hard. I'm going to say probably one of my short bob looks. I am crazy for a bob. I love a short look. I love an updo. So I would say a bob or one of my updos. [The blonde] is cool. We're still warming up to her, so we’ll see when we come back, she's fresh on the head.

SP: Like, five minutes ago. So [you’re getting] the first look! 

SP: We're still introducing color. I did color a lot with braids but not with wigs and experimenting. So, that's fun. I think that'll be the next little journey I go on, like, how many different hair colors can I do?

SP: Definitely make sure you're putting water in your hair. A lot of people think moisture means product or moisture means oil. No, moisture is water. That's super, super important. And then obviously, my holy grail from SheaMoisture is the strengthening hair and scalp oil. Outside of the oil being great,  the applicator is my favorite, because my hands don't get all oily. I can just put it on especially between my braids, and it actually feels good. Put oil in that scalp and moisturize that hair!

SP: Oh. I feel your struggle [laughs].

SP: I feel like there's just a lot of misconceptions around anxiety as a whole, and how you function on it, and where it shows up. The common misconception is that like anxiety automatically leads to social anxiety. That's probably the one anxiety I don't have. [Being around people] probably calms me the most. I love like being around people, talking to people. I feel like it's very near and dear to my heart. I'm just I'm a yapper, so I love social environments. I do get overstimulated or overwhelmed super quickly, especially when there’s a lack of sleep, a lack of schedule, lack of routine, that's where it shows up, and that's when I get overly anxious. I'm like, I don't know what I'm doing. I feel like, Am I doing enough? That's where it really, really shows up. 

It showed up when I was younger during tests. I had, like, really bad test anxiety. In math specifically, I had to sit in the back of the class and, like, face the wall. What would freak me out is the kids wrestling their papers and getting up to turn in their work and I'm feeling like, Oh, I'm behind. I need to hurry up. That was the first sign. My mom was like, “Okay, we need to get you some type of routine or something to keep you moving along.” So it’s definitely not a new development, but right definitely has been heightened. 

SP: I would have to give number one supporter to my mom, because she noticed it so early on. She knows me like the back of her hand, she just is so good with it. But obviously, now that I'm in LA and she's in Houston, I would have to give it to Kordell because he's just very patient and there. He's always up for me to make sure, “okay, she's not gonna wake up freaking out about what she has to do today.” He's very, very attentive, which has been great. Whenever, like, I'm at home and have anxiety it’s my mom. If I'm [in LA] and I call my mom, she's like, “where's Kordell?” And she’ll call Kordell. Even if I'm not telling her, she'll notice, and call Kordell and be like, “Is she okay?” Kordell and my mom have their own system. 

SP: Yes. Oh, and obviously, honorable mention to JaNa. She literally has an alarm set to check on me every morning. Honestly, I have such a great support system; friends, boyfriend, everybody.

SP: It honestly depends on the dance. It depends on which one it is, because it could go either way. It could be him being like, “No, we have to do this!” Or it could be me being like, No, we have to do this! We see it so much dancing on our timelines that we'll both just bust out and dance. And then we're like, oh, we should record this. Especially if we know a dance at the same time, which happens a lot. Our “For You” pages are a little similar.

SP: I am [laughs]. No, he's definitely the better dancer. A lot of people think I can't dance, so I'm about to have to start being for real. I'm about to start being for real in these TikToks so people know that I can dance for real. [laughs]

SP: Number one is like, Don't ever let a man come in between you, whether it's your boyfriend, whether it's somebody being messy, whether it's anyone. Don't let any outside factors try to separate you or give you any intel on your relationship. Nobody knows your relationship like you do. So I would say it's super important to just know who you're friends with, know who you're dealing with and guard that friendship. Sisterhood is amazing. And I have a sister. I'm a part of a sorority. Sisterhood is something I hold near and dear to my heart. And I wouldn't have as many friends or a support system without putting that first. Sometimes you do have to put your girlfriends first, and that's okay. Forget the outside noise. People will always have thinkpieces. People will always think you're not really friends or whatever. You let them talk. And remember they’re not the one in the friendship.