I somehow was able to brush off those comments as I was inspired by more and more Black women embracing their natural looks.
I was cutting off years of trauma, years of conforming to a standard of beauty that was never meant to include hair like mine.
So, I explained the situation to my agent, who is non-Black, to which I think she said, 'Do you know someone that has a wig or something? In the novels, she has black hair and eyes, with beautiful pale skin.
The dehumanizing of black women is another challenge in advertising for many beauty brands.