AfroFlare Salon: A Pathway to Beauty Fugitivity

For the past few years, I’ve been reflecting on the luscious landscape of the word 'flare' and the weight it holds within the realm of beauty fugitivity, particularly as a multi-marginalized person. AfroFlare Salon is inspired by my own personal experience of being diagnosed with a rare chronic skin condition called “exfoliative cheilitis.” In 2022,  I began to experience flare-ups, which often left me feeling less beautiful and wanting to escape my body. When I was in the process of figuring out why I was in so much pain, I spent a lot of time seeking  the help of puzzled dermatologists. I was prescribed many topical steroids and antibiotics. These were all quick fixes to what was visible but not what was happening on the inside of me before, during, and after my diagnosis. I felt extremely lonely. I would type “exfoliative cheilitis Black person” on Google, Youtube, and various social media platforms and I found that  it was rare to find someone documenting this experience. As Black MaGes, we are erased from the visuals and conversations about chronic skin conditions like exfoliative cheilitis, psoriasis, the spectrum of dermatitis, rosacea, acne, and so many more.

What if Black women, femmes, gender non-conforming, non-binary, and trans people had a hush harbor to talk about how our self-image is impacted by our chronic skin conditions, anti-Blackness, beauty politics, and sensuality? The AfroFlare Salon experience is the answer. In the AfroFlare Salon’s we will make herbal medicine together, engage in dialogue that centers our unique experience(s), and play by creating artwork that feels like an honest mirroring of our beauty. Through the course of this project there will be three AfroFlare Salons for participants to engage in. The first salon will welcome 15-20 Chicago-based Black MaGes to create art that is unique to their own skin narratives. The second salon will focus on making herbal medicines that can support us on the path to beauty fugitivity. The last salon will be virtual, inviting those who’ve participated in-person and an additional 15-20 Black MaGes across the U.S. to participate in a meditation and creative writing workshop. My hope is for attendees to leave the space with new relationships, resources, and the will to be well (whatever that may look like for them). Each salon will be documented as a part of my research for an experimental film about navigating sensuality and skin disability as a Black, marginalized-gendered person, to be released in Spring 2026. To honor these gatherings, a website will be created to archive and sustain the ritual of storytelling as a practice of world-building—a beauty that belongs to us.

To bring AfroFlare Salon to life, I am collaborating with graphic designer Richie Parks,  guest community herbalist Daia Barno, accessibility specialist Ry Douglas, and a photographer/videographer and artist who are yet to be confirmed. Our beauty fugitivity is something that we claim for our own freedom’s sake, but we need support with funding this project. All funds will go towards securing a venue, art supplies, herbal supplies, goody bags, PPE for in-person attendees, and compensating collaborators/organizers. As an artist, educator, and medicine maker, it is vital for me to use my gifts and envision care work that helps us to feel seen and imagine futures that value us. I invite you to join me in making this dream of a movement become a radical reality.