Tionna Marsh carefully dispenses a portion of ultra-hydrating mango butter carrot shampoo into the palm of her hand, hoping that one day her one-year-old daughter Avia will grow up to love her own hair. She rubs her hands together, standing by the kitchen sink, massaging the foam onto Avia’s scalp. For this mother of two living in Washington D.C., this has become a routine. Tionna recalls the moments from her childhood sitting on her mother’s lap, having her own tightly coiled and laboriously styled type-4 hair tended to.
Now, Tionna has built a similar bond with Avia. After rinsing and applying a hot oil treatment, Tionna spritzes a leave-in conditioner on Avia’s hair, wraps it with a towel to absorb excess water, and then lets Avia rest on the couch. As she quietly tidies up the kitchen, Tionna sits next to her daughter, stealing a sip of her drink.
31-year-old Tionna told Epoch Times, “My mom is a natural hair stylist, so she knows how to care for her own hair well, but I know many of us lack the experience in managing this type of hair.” Growing up, Tionna assisted in her mother’s salon and braided hair for friends in high school before becoming a renowned hairstylist in college.
After transitioning to an educator, Tionna left the styling industry to educate her son in kindergarten and infant daughter Avia at home. She decided early on to teach Avia that her hair is a “blessing,” not a burden, even though it may require more time to care for and manage.
Tionna says, “When you don’t know how to style or achieve the look you want, you can become very frustrated.” She shares, “Many of my friends have straightened their hair.” She mentions how her high school classmates chemically straightened their hair into Permanent Straight. In her view, straightening hair is a quick fix as the hair eventually grows out, making it more challenging to manage type-4 hair in the long run.
Caring for this hair type is an art that takes time to master. The condition of type-4 hair is not always obvious and may require someone knowledgeable to impart special hair care knowledge, as Tionna’s mother did for her.
Now, Tionna is passing on this hair care knowledge to Avia. Their hair care ritual starts in the bathtub.
Initially, getting 1-year-old Avia to sit still in the bathtub for Tionna to care for her hair was a nightmare. Not wanting Avia to have this dreadful experience, Tionna figured a new routine and moved to the kitchen sink for the process.
Tionna states, “I started giving her sink baths an hour before her afternoon nap to relax her so she’d be ready to sleep.” Tionna intertwines singing, dancing, resting with Avia in between, recreating the intimate bonding moments she once had with her own mother. Within weeks, this became a cherished hair care ritual for them.
Soon, Tionna began documenting their beautiful moments in the kitchen on video, which she shared on Instagram. The videos quickly gained popularity online. Tionna and her husband, content creators showcasing their home decor journey, now see a surge in their audience numbers due to Avia’s related videos.
Major news outlets and magazines contacted this mother, inquiring about their method of caring for this wet, frizzy curly hair type. Many viewers with type-4 hair watched the program, beginning to understand how Tionna manages their natural hair texture.
Tionna says, “God gave us this hair for a reason, and our hair is beautiful. Just because something seems difficult doesn’t mean it’s not worth doing. Some of the most challenging things in life are the best lessons.”
Avia’s hair care ritual has changed people’s perceptions of type-4 hair. Many parents, inspired by her, have tried this method on their children and shared the joy and healing it brings, fostering not just hair care but also intimate friendships.
Tionna expresses, “These comments truly bring me so much joy. I know that some of us have had terrible experiences related to our hair as children, teenagers, and adults, leading us to resent our own hair.” She adds, “It should motivate us to learn how to care for our hair instead of avoiding it.”
Interested in their story? You can follow Tionna and Avia’s hair care journey on Instagram at marshforeverhome.