Simone Biles Loves Her Hair, Thank You Very Much: 'We Don't Have to Look Like Everybody Else' (Exclusive)

Simone Biles has a new hair partnership.

The elite athlete was recently named the new brand ambassador for hair care brand K18, and the appointment kicks off as the face of its Inside-Out campaign (which will appear in all Sephora and Sephora stores at Kohls through September 4). For her looks in the campaign, the Olympian was styled by her personal hair pro Jasmine “Jazz” Johnson, who also joins the brand as an ambassador.

For Biles, the appointment is another step in her journey to embrace her hair — and let go of the hate from the outside world.

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“When I was younger, I wore braids, beads, berets, all that stuff,” Biles recalls.

For the most part, the star was not confused by her hair and the look created by her mother. “There were a few styles I didn’t want him to do because I was a bit older. Like, ‘Mom, please don’t do three [buns] that looks like a dinosaur,'” she recalls.

However, there came a time when her thick, coarse hair started to feel “unruly” and she needed a simple solution.

Then Biles remembers feeling like she didn’t really like her hair and compared it to others, including her sister. “She had fine, thin hair, so it took much less time to cut her hair. So I asked myself, ‘Why can’t I have hair like my sister?'” says Biles.

“So I started [relaxing] because that’s how every girl’s hair looked, and I wanted to look like all the other girls. Everyone goes through that stage where if it’s not relaxed, it’s not right.”

K18 Ambassador Simone Biles.

Courtesy of K18

Eventually, Biles decided to stop relaxing her hair and go natural again. Her secret to success was to love her hair first and take care of it properly using the right products.

This is where the K18 comes into play. “There are so many different hair types and textures that you can use these products on, whether your hair is natural or braided or braided,” she explains.

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Her favorite, K18 Molecular Hair Repair Oil, which she says is the secret to achieving a shiny, polished look. (The oil also strengthens hair from the inside out thanks to the brand’s patented peptide technology.)

Wearing her hair in the aforementioned protective styles allowed Biles to experiment more with colors and looks, which in turn led to a strengthening of her hair, as well as her relationship with it.

“Now I’ve been natural for so many years and I don’t care what people say,” Biles declares.

K18 ambassador Simone Biles appears in an ad at Sephora Union Square in New York.

Courtesy of K18

Not only does she not care what people say, she doesn’t hold back when it comes to shutting down negative comments about how she looks.

During the Paris Olympics, Biles posted an Instagram Story documenting a 45-minute bus ride with no air conditioning and captioned the image, “Next time you want to comment on a black girl’s hair, just don’t.”

She tells PEOPLE that she knew when she posted the photo, some people would focus on her edges — hence the comment.

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“We were on the bus and it was 97 degrees and we were sweating bullets and I was just ironing my fringe and I was like, ‘Oh my God, I just know they’re going to want to start with my hair, so I’m going to fix it.'”

Biles asks, “Who cares what my hair looks like?”

If it wasn’t already clear: how one competes matters.

K18 Ambassador Simone Biles.

Courtesy of K18

“I feel that everyone not only has different hair textures, but [different ways] they like to wear their hair. Whenever I am [competing]i know my hair is crazy. My gymnastics, pure; hair, messy.”

She continues, “[Even if] my hair is all over the place, I’m still performing because that’s not what worries me when I’m on the world stage. And if you don’t like it, you don’t like it.”

Biles finds that other black men often make comments about her hair, which is particularly disheartening.

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“We know how difficult, irritating and irritating it is, so why would you go and comment on another girl? It’s beyond me, but it doesn’t really bother me like it did when I was younger because I know when I need to step up and look right, then I’m going to look right.”

Biles has another message for her hair critics: “We don’t have to look like everyone else.”

With her now-viral post, Biles also wanted to reassure other natural girls “that it’s okay to have your hair a little messy or all over the place.”

K18 Ambassador Simone Biles.

Courtesy of K18

But when Biles wants to “pop out and look good,” as she puts it, she turns to Johnson to work her magic.

Biles’ sister met the two in 2020. Johnson tells PEOPLE that the award-winning gymnast booked her appointment on her website — just like everyone else. When her fiancé saw the receipt, he said, “We’ll have to get curtains.”

What was supposed to be one block of 90 minutes ended up being four hours of laughing, crying and more. On the spot, Biles asked Johnson to style her for a shoot the next day. They have worked together ever since.

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The two have a close bond rooted in honesty. Johnson is always candid when it comes to Biles’ hair. That’s why, Johnson says, when the two started using the K18, the difference was palpable. “Her hair is stronger than ever.”

Johnson says consistency is key, so the self-described “drill sergeant” keeps in touch with Biles when they’re not together. She also has Biles treat her hair to a K18 mask between appointments.

Joe Scarnici/Getty

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Johnson admires the “hard turnaround” Biles has taken in terms of her appearance over the past few years, explaining, “She’s come into her own, she’s more confident now.”

The hair expert does her part to make her client and friend look and feel good. “Oh my God, I’m the biggest cheerleader,” she says.

“It didn’t matter what she looked like,” Johnson says. “You could tell she was feeling good by looking at her face.”

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Source: HIS Education