Model Chloe Vero on Her ‘Carefree’ Haircut and the Importance of Advocating for Hair Health on Set

Model Chloe Vero talks all things hair: from the joy of giving herself a buzz cut to standing up for other models on set.

Model Chloe Vero on Her ‘Carefree’ Haircut and the Importance of Advocating for Hair Health on Set

Photo: Courtesy of Lydia Hudgens. Styling: Courtesy of Kelly Augustine. Vero wears an Issey Miyake top and skirt, an EDAS hat, a Versace ring, and Maison Margiela x Reebok sneakers

Texture Diaries is a space for Black people across industries to reflect on their journeys to self-love, and how accepting their hair, in all its glory, played a pivotal role in this process. Each week, they share their favorite hair rituals, products, and the biggest lessons they’ve learned when it comes to affirming their beauty and owning their unique hair texture.

You may recognize model Chloe Vero from Olay ads, the Christian Siriano runway, or perhaps on the cover of Self magazine. When she isn’t busy breaking boundaries in the industry, you can find her playing the bass guitar and serving up plenty of hair inspiration: from braids to fros and, most recently, cropped coils dyed fun colors such as red and pink.

“I’m grateful that I’ve always loved my hair,” Vero shares. Her earliest hair memories include her mother taking her to the Dominican salon for a blow out. When she moved to Florida in elementary school, Vero says she remembers “questioning my hair for the first time. Being in Queens, everyone around me looked like me. And in South Florida, it was just very different. I went from having a diverse class to being the only Black girl in my class.”

Photo: Courtesy of Lydia Hudgens

But even while she contended with ignorant comments, she always liked her hair. “I actually really liked the frizz that I had and I would always say no to taming that,” she says, adding that watching natural hair videos on YouTube helped her to keep this mindset. Still, she says, “I do have moments now where I wished I had experimented more with my hair growing up.”

But it’s never too late to try new styles, something that Vero has realized in recent years. “I was ready to cut my hair at the end of February 2020, but then everything sort of got shut down. For me, hair is super energetic. I came to a point where I felt like I was holding onto that hair for so long and I just needed it off of my head,” she says. So during quarantine last April, she called her hairstylist friend to help walk her through the process of cutting it all off.

Photo: Courtesy of Lydia Hudgens

Vero experienced the opposite of haircut remorse. “Once I cut it, I felt like it wasn’t short enough, honestly,” she says. So she took up the clippers to buzz it all off and dye it pink. “I think that’s what I was looking for. I got that carefree moment I needed at the time.”

Photo: Courtesy of Lydia Hudgens

Recently, Vero switched over to a simplified hair-care routine that includes cleansing with Maui Moisture shampoo, deep conditioning by Bumble & Bumble, and styling foam from Eden Bodyworks when she does finger waves. “Next,” she says, “I’m looking forward to getting braids again because I love putting beads in them and decorating them.”

Aside from experimenting with products and styles, Vero says the biggest hair lesson she’s learned is the value of speaking up for the health of her hair on set. “Through modeling, I’ve learned to adopt a very firm no. I’ve had too many people not show me tenderness when it comes to my hair and it’s been so frustrating. I’ve lost hair on set because of people not showing care,” she says. “But I’ve gained a lot of confidence in speaking up for myself and other women.”