{"id":16275,"date":"2021-05-18T19:38:00","date_gmt":"2021-05-18T23:38:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/prose.com\/?p=16275"},"modified":"2022-01-27T12:50:02","modified_gmt":"2022-01-27T17:50:02","slug":"aysha-harun-black-muslim-representation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/prose.com\/blog\/aysha-harun-black-muslim-representation","title":{"rendered":"Aysha Harun on Black Muslim Representation in the Beauty Industry"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
Growing up and gaining self acceptance<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Harun was born and raised in Toronto, Canada by traditional Ethiopian parents. And while she\u2019s first generation and has only visited Ethiopia once, she has always felt very deeply connected to her culture and heritage. But growing up in a culture where colorism is quite common, made it difficult for her to feel comfortable in her own skin and embrace her darker complexion.\u00a0<\/p>
\u201cColorism was definitely a huge issue in the community,\u201d she says. \u201cFor example, my mother is a lot lighter than I am and so is my brother. I have a deeper, richer complexion than both of them and that was constantly brought in conversations,\u201d she says. \u201cIt made me develop a very skewed interpretation of beauty growing up, because I always assumed that lighter skin meant more beautiful. While I recognize that this is definitely something that\u2019s common in many different cultures, not just within the Ethiopian community\u2014particularly within communities of color\u2014it was still very much a struggle.\u201d<\/p>
As a result, Harun would often avoid the sun because when she would get darker during the summers, she would get made fun of by her peers. It was her discovery of cosmetics in her teens that eventually gave her the agency to fall in love with her skin tone. \u201cI got to play around with different colors and really understand what looked best on my skin tone and it helped me really love it,\u201d she says. \u201cIt was definitely a journey. But it was during my teenage years that I really started to love my skin tone for what it is.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Pursuing beauty at a young age<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
It was during those years that Harun found herself watching beauty tutorials on YouTube created by some of the first beauty influencers in the game like Michelle Phan. \u201cAt that time there weren’t a ton of Black beauty influencers on YouTube. This was around 2007\/2008,\u201d she says. And there certainly weren\u2019t any Black hijabi beauty influencers. So in 2011, I started my channel when I was only 16-years old. There was no intention of becoming a beauty influencer or taking this into my career full time. It just progressed organically and I can honestly say that I was likely one of the first Black Muslim and hijab-wearing women on YouTube in the beauty space in particular. There was no one else really doing it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Harun graduated from college in May of 2017, with a degree in Business Administration and Marketing. By then she had already developed a following of 60K subscribers and shortly after made the decision to pursue her beauty influencer career full-time. Harun started to recognize the deep impact she was making in the community and would often receive messages from other Black Muslim women thanking her for making them feel seen. \u201cThey would say things like I can\u2019t believe I found an East African on YouTube or I can\u2019t believe I found someone who looks exactly like me and has my same skin tone and wears a hijab like me and is talking about beauty on YouTube,\u201d she says. \u201cThat was one of the first things that really started connecting for me. I wish I had this kind of representation growing up but I\u2019m glad that I have helped fill a gap for myself and for women like me and even for women who\u2019ve maybe never even see a Black Muslim woman in beauty but are still connecting to my content.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Harun who has racked up an impressive Instagram following of over 280K provides everything in her content from makeup and skincare tutorials, product reviews, hair care tips for hijabi women, and has even expanded into lifestyle, where she shares with her followers everything from her Ramadan practices to her recent divorce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wearing her hijab with pride<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Speaking of hijabs, Harun has quite the stylish collection herself. She was in sixth grade when she made the personal decision to start wearing it. \u201cFundamentally, what it means to me is that it symbolizes my connection to God. My religion is really important to me and everyday that I wrap my scarf it\u2019s a reminder that there is a bigger purpose in life,\u201d she says. \u201cI know when I step outside people know that I\u2019m Muslim and it inspires me to be good to others and to make sure that I am respectful in public and private. It\u2019s like my crown.\u201d<\/p>
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