Curl Power: Building Community and Self-Love with Janel Caminos
In this deeply inspiring and soul-nourishing episode, I have the absolute honor of sitting down with Janel Caminos — corporate-preneur, Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (DEI) professional, and founder of the Curly Crown Collective, a vibrant and growing global community created to unite and empower women through the deeply personal and powerful journey of embracing natural hair.
As the author of Curly Gyal Hair Affirmations, Janel’s mission lives at the beautiful intersection of culture, identity, healing, and connection. Her work goes far beyond hair — it uses hair as a portal to self-love, community building, and deep personal transformation. Through her own lived experience and the tools she’s created, she is helping thousands of women around the world reframe how they see themselves — one curl at a time.
In what we lovingly call our Curl Power Session, Janel and I explore what it truly means to reclaim your natural beauty, rewrite your internal narrative, and let go of the shame and conditioning so many of us — especially Black women — have carried around our crowns. This is not just a conversation about hair. This is a conversation about healing.
For so long, natural hair has been politicized, stigmatized, and deemed “unprofessional” or “unacceptable” — particularly in corporate spaces and mainstream media. For many of us, that meant conforming to Eurocentric beauty standards just to feel safe, accepted, or considered “put together.” Janel speaks candidly about how that conditioning shaped her early years — from crying in the mirror to begging her mother for a relaxer just to fit in — and how that experience led her on a path of deep inner work, radical self-acceptance, and ultimately, community empowerment.
Through journaling, affirmations, and intentional community, Janel was able to shift her own beliefs, and she now empowers others to do the same. One of the most transformative tools she shares is her Curl Circle journaling technique, a guided practice that combines self-reflection, intention setting, and affirmation writing. This method has been life-changing for so many women who have struggled to see their curls — and themselves — with love, pride, and joy.
Inside this episode, we dig deep into:
How hair identity impacts confidence, visibility, and self-worth
We talk about how early messages about “good” vs. “bad” hair shape our sense of belonging and how reclaiming our hair becomes an act of reclaiming our whole selves.
The cultural and emotional trauma behind perms, relaxers, and the need to conform
Janel shares what it was like growing up in a world that didn’t celebrate her natural hair and the emotional pain of disconnecting from her roots just to “fit in.” She explains how these early experiences can leave lasting wounds and how healing those wounds is a deeply liberating process.
How writing affirmations like “My hair is professional” rewires your subconscious mind
We unpack the science and spirituality of affirmations and how they help interrupt negative self-talk and internalized bias, creating new pathways of self-belief and worthiness.
Why your crown reflects your inner health and spiritual alignment
Janel speaks on the metaphysical link between hair, identity, and energy. She offers insight on how the state of your hair can reflect your nervous system, your emotions, and even your alignment with your purpose.
How to thrive in corporate spaces without shrinking your authenticity
As a DEI professional who bridges the gap between corporate structure and radical authenticity, Janel offers powerful guidance for women navigating the tension between maintaining stability and showing up fully expressed. She encourages leaders to make space for truth, expression, and wholeness — starting with themselves.
The deeper connection between hair and energetic sovereignty
We explore how reclaiming your crown is about more than hair — it’s about energetic autonomy. It’s about no longer allowing systems or people to define your worth or dictate how you show up.
Throughout our conversation, Janel drops gems of wisdom rooted in experience, love, and truth. Her story is raw, relatable, and beautifully reflective of a larger journey that so many women are on — the journey of unlearning who we were told to be, and remembering who we truly are.
She reminds us that healing doesn’t happen in isolation. It happens in community. It happens in safe spaces where we are seen, celebrated, and supported — and that’s exactly what she’s built with the Curly Crown Collective.
Janel’s leadership is a stunning example of what’s possible when we build from the inside out. Her work reminds us that we are not too much. Our hair is not too much. Our truth is not too much. In fact, it’s our too muchness that often holds the key to our power.
Whether you’re currently navigating your own natural hair journey, exploring your leadership potential, or building a business that reflects your authentic self, this episode will meet you with grace, healing, and practical insight.
To complement the conversation, download this FREE worksheet "The Curly Crown Confidence Journal."The Curly Crown Confidence Journal. It's designed to help you reflect more deeply on your personal journey, embrace your authentic self, and take empowered action in every area of your life.
🎧 Tune in now to be reminded that your curls are not a curse — they are your crown.
Let’s Keep the Conversation Going!
If this episode spoke to your heart, please share it with a friend, and let us know what resonated most. Your crown is sacred — and you deserve to wear it proudly.
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