Simone Biles on changing beauty standards and embracing her natural hair
Widely considered to be the greatest gymnast of all time (and the most-decorated, with 11 Olympic and 30 World Championship medals), Simone Biles' name has been a constant on our lips since the Paris Olympic Games this summer – and for reasons that transcend her elite physical skillset.
The 27-year-old has become a vocal advocate for embracing your natural hair, speaking openly and regularly about the complicated relationship between hair texture and confidence since first emerging in the public eye. The athlete addressed the impact of beauty standards and online criticism in her documentary Simone Biles Rising and recently became an ambassador for the molecular hair-repair brand K18.
Biles' make-up routine has also become a source of viral intrigue. From the image of her reapplying lip liner mid-competition during the most recent Olympics, to the countless social-media users attempting to identify her most-used products, the athlete has become nothing short of a beauty icon.
As she prepares to embark upon her Gold Over America Tour, Biles met with Harper's Bazaar UK to discuss the evolution of self-image, the changing beauty standards in sport, and how Team USA's pre-competition make-up rituals spark joy.
On embracing athleticism...
"When I'm training in the gym, my beauty philosophy is very raw, unfiltered and about embracing athleticism. I'm usually not in make-up and my hair is all over the place. Outside of the gym, I love to dress up, do my hair and my make-up – but make-up is more of a show-up-and-show-out, whenever I need to, thing. That's usually not the focus until competition time and for events."
On evolving approaches to beauty...
"You know when you're going through those stages as a teenager and you're a little bit insecure? That’s when I started to become really interested in beauty. You get introduced to it because your friends start to wear make-up and do their hair differently – whether that’s curling or straightening. My relationship with beauty has changed a lot over time, sometimes with the trends and sometimes not. Now, I would still say my personal preference is always having a clean face and just being confident in who I am. I'll have semi-permanent lashes the majority of the time, even if I don't have make-up on, but I think that it’s really special to fall in love with what your natural face looks like."
On the beauty impact of gymnastics...
"Being an athlete has had an impact on how my haircare routine has changed over the past couple of years. When we're in the gym, our hair has to be up tight so that it stays during all of our skills; that's usually in a high bun or a high ponytail. Over time, my hair has taken a lot of stress from the breakage, the ponytails, the buns. I go through phases where my hair is really broken off and then phases of getting that healthy hair back again.
"One thing that helps me so much when it comes to caring for my hair is K18 products. My hairstylist Jazz introduced me to my two favourites, the Leave-in Molecular Repair Hair Mask and the Molecular Repair Hair Oil. Even though my hair type and texture is very thick and coarse, I've truly seen and felt a difference in its overall health."
On hair and confidence...
"The conversation around hair and confidence was a little bit tougher when I was younger. My hair doesn't typically look like every other girl's hair that surrounds me. Back in the day, we used to get perms and silk presses, and while I’m not saying that I don't do those anymore, today my hair is pretty much all natural. I don't mind the flyaways or my coarse texture. I feel like the Black community has also evolved with rocking our natural hair, which I absolutely love. When I was younger, it was always hard to embrace that, but now I'm very confident."
On competition beauty...
"I’m usually inspired by the leotard that I’m going to wear to make sure that I feel as comfortable and confident as possible. If I have a little bit more going on with the leotard, then I'll do a basic look for hair and make-up, like a braid in the front or two braids, depending on the symmetry. If not, I'll do a little bit more on my face like a winged eyeliner or a stronger pink lipstick rather than a nude. It's really fun that we get to play off whatever our outfits are during competition season."
On viral make-up moments...
"I didn't think that people paid that close attention [to make-up and hair] but everybody has been commenting asking, “Who did your make-up during the Olympics?” I did my make-up during the Olympics! That was actually nice because I've been working so hard on my make-up for the last year to make sure I feel comfortable with how it looks and ensuring that it looks a little bit more professional. We don't have make-up artists that come and do that for us, or teach us how to do our hair and make-up, that's all us, so I tried to perfect and craft that. It was nice that I got that feedback."
On pre-competition beauty-prep with Team USA...
"Jordan [Chiles] and I always banter off each other about the look we're doing. Should we keep it simple? Should we have a bold eye? Our make-up and hair routines are probably the most complex on the team. Suni [Lee] always looks absolutely stunning and beautiful, but she does like three things, while Jordan and I are still in the bathroom for 40 minutes making sure every single step is done. I feel like we learned so much from each other, whether that's how to line your lips or when to use your spray so that your lip doesn't move. If we're on an assignment, we are roommates, so we spend a lot of time in the bathroom getting ready together."
On changing beauty standards...
"For athletes, I think that beauty looks a little bit different for us. We love the fun aspects of beauty but it’s not what we do everyday. When you're training sixkij to 10 hours, you don't want a full face of make-up on or to have your pores clogged. I do think that beauty standards are changing when it comes to that; it’s okay to not be wearing as much make-up when we're out there performing, because that's not the main focus. Look at Alicia Keys, she's absolutely stunning. She wears lipstick here and there, but she always has a fresh face. It's truly your personal preference and beauty isn't about what you wear, it's who you are inside."
On pushing beauty forward...
"Culturally, I feel like we've seen so many changes in beauty already, especially when it comes to the range of shades available for powders, foundations and concealers. That's a step in the right direction and that's absolutely beautiful. As long as we keep moving forward in that aspect and not putting anybody in a box then we're good."
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