One of the most-opened gift books this holiday season is The Look, Michelle Obama’s New York Times best-selling memoir that’s in many ways a love letter to beauty and fashion professionals.
"During our family’s time in the White House, the way I looked was constantly being dissected — what I wore, how my hair was styled," the former First Lady says of her motivation for writing the book. "For a while now, I’ve been wanting to reclaim more of that story, to share it in my own way."
The Look features the glam team Mrs. Obama affectionately calls "the Trifecta" — her fashion stylist Meredith Koop, makeup artist Carl Ray, and hairstylists Yene Damtew, Njeri Radway, and Johnny Wright, who give insights into the technical, creative, and strategic processes behind Mrs. Obama’s public image.
American Salon talked to Damtew and Radway about being part of the former First Lady's inner style circle and what they’ve taken away from that experience.
American Salon: The former First Lady dedicated The Look to “all of the people behind the scenes of fashion and beauty, who use their expert hands and creative gifts to make us feel our best.” What was your reaction to that?
Njeri Radway: I was shocked! I didn’t know there would be a dedication. I was proud and surprised and emotional. I felt seen.
Yene Damtew: It felt good because I think our industry is so often overlooked, and trades in general are so often overlooked, particularly in the DMV (DC-Maryland-Virginia) area.
It was a reinforcement that our industry as a whole needs, and I hope that more glam teams, beauty teams, and tradesmen get recognition and that people understand how valuable we are in society.
Particularly, we in beauty are one of the very few industries that help people feel good. We are licensed to touch.
In The Look, Mrs. Obama describes “Sunday hair days” with the First Family — her daughters, Sasha and Malia, and often her mother, Marian Robinson. Both of you were part of that. What was your favorite memory from Sunday hair days at the White House?
NR: It's not necessarily a favorite memory. It's just the nostalgia of it all, of growing up and doing the same thing — having Sunday wash days with my mother. It brought me back to my childhood. Most Sundays at the White House, we were working with the girls and I felt like I’d switched positions; I was the adult now!
YD: I think of the trust. Njeri and I would spend so much of our Sundays with the girls. There were some days the girls would be doing homework, and Michelle would come in and just sit with us.
Both Njeri and I took it so seriously to ensure that what’s passed down during Sunday wash day routines and traditions wasn't lost. Like Njeri said, it's the nostalgia and mirroring the experiences that we had as children.
The only difference between Sunday wash days in the White House and in any other home in America is that in the White House residence, there’s a little salon right next to the kitchen. I loved that! The salon was a place of laughter; it was a place of joy; it's where we gathered, it's where we laughed.
What’s the biggest difference working for someone in a major political position than working with other high-visibility clients?
YD: Michelle’s focus was always on her message and having a cohesive esthetic, versus celebrities where it's about the vibe, the occasion, the paparazzi. Celebrities can have different hair lengths and different colors from day to day.
Working with Michelle meant thinking about what her day of activities looked like — is she going to be indoors or outdoors or playing with kids? She was a very unique First Lady who did a lot and was extremely active, and so those were intentional decisions.
Her primary hairstylist throughout all eight years was Johnny Wright. When he wasn't available I would stand in, and if I wasn't available, Njeri would stand in. We had to mimic whatever he was creating. It had to be consistent. It's not like she could change textures of her hair or styles or lengths drastically from one day to the next.
One thing that’s similar about Mrs. Obama and the everyday woman is, at the end of the day, they both want to look and feel good while they carry on with what they are doing. So I think she resembles the everyday woman more than she would ever resemble a celebrity.
Yene, you said in the book that you found out early on Mrs. Obama's hairstyle had to be consistent, recognizable, and never part of the media conversation. Was there a specific situation that really drove that home?
YD: The very first change she made that got public attention was when Johnny cut her bangs. And after that, she decided to do color. The way the media responded to it made it even more clear that changing her hair became the headlines.
Her bangs became the headlines when it should have been the initiatives she was pushing. So that's what everybody was talking about, not the history being made. And it was that moment for me when the pressure came on, knowing the attention that a little bit of a change was going to garner.
You were both so young when you started working with Mrs. Obama. Is there anything you wish you would have known when you were getting started?
NR: Honestly, no. Yene and I are both professionals, go-getters and hard working. Yes, we were young, but we were passionate and serious about our craft.
We're children of immigrants. We have the hustle mentality within us. It’s absolutely in our blood, having our parents as role models of getting up every day and going to work.
YD: I don't feel like there's anything I would change. We just went with the punches, got up every day, and just figured it out, even if we didn't know what we were doing.
But we were young, and there was that fear: Are we worthy? Should we be here? Am I good enough?
It wasn't Michelle that made us feel that way. The DMV can make you feel ‘less than.’ You’re walking into the White House to do hair. You don't have all these degrees. You're not a political commentator, you're not a political strategist, you're not an analyst. But guess what? I'm in the residence!
Our skill set and our craft is what got us there. Our dedication and our people skills and our manners and our upbringing is what kept us there.
Both of you created Mrs. Obama's most talked-about hairstyles after she left the White House: Njeri for her long braid style at the Democratic National Convention, and Yene for her bouncy blowout at President Biden's inauguration. What were your favorite comments about the viral style you created?
NR: I think of how proud Black women were of her embracing that side of her, the cultural styles, and really dabbling into that and having fun. Seeing people react so positively to it — not just Black women, but everybody celebrating this moment. Like, what took you so long? That was a good feeling for me.
YD: For me, it was the nod to the Black community. There were comments saying, ‘she pin-curled her hair last night,’ ‘she slept in rollers,’ ‘it was a doobie wrap,’ ‘it was a press and curl.’
It was funny, because it was really a curl and round brush afterwards. But everybody wanted to name it something nostalgic. So for me, it was a nod to Blackness and to Black culture. I love that.
Yene, after working with Mrs. Obama and other women who didn't feel they could wear their natural hair in a professional setting, you studied psychology as it relates to hair. What was your biggest takeaway from that?
YD: I took psychology and sociology classes to understand human behavior and how we process things. It made me shift the way I approached conversations with clients. Our appearance means so much to us, and the way that we present ourselves matters, and it could affect our confidence.
When you think about Black women, the way we wear our hair is a testament to the experiences we've had. When you think back to slavery and to the traumas, it's so layered. And then you understand more when a client comes in and says, Well, I just can't wear my hair like that.
Sometimes when people say these things, it is socially and culturally embedded. It's systemic in a way that we have to choose our battles. I think I'm a bossy hairstylist in the way that I push back on clients. But there is, again, the soft skill of knowing how to do it in a tasteful way. And you're pushing back not to be argumentative, but to truly do your job to bring them to looking and feeling as good as they can.
The classes I took in college helped me understand that more. But then I did a different certification with a woman named Dr. Afaya Mbilishaka, who is runs a program called PsychoHairapy. She talks about, particularly for Black women, the experience and traumas we have faced and how it presents with hairstyles that pay homage to our culture. And about how appearance and identity affects our mental health.
I don't know if I wish I would have learned it earlier, because I don't know if I had the maturity to understand the correlation then. But I do now, and I am grateful that I understand that it’s not just hair.
Njeri, Mrs. Obama said in the book that she did not want to wear braids as First Lady because it would be all anyone would talk about. She was excited to go back to braids after leaving the White House. I'd love to know more about the first conversations you had with her about her choice to wear braid styles again.
NR: The first conversation that Mrs. Obama had about braids was with Yene! She was starting to move out of the spotlight, and we wouldn’t be around to do her hair. So she asked, ‘what can I do to protect the health of my hair, where it's still cute and fun, and have a style that’s low maintenance for me to handle on my own?’
The conversation I had with Mrs. Obama was more about encouraging her to do it and letting her know that braids are the foundation, but there are other things we could do with it in terms of styling.
I told her there were ways I could style it that still give First Lady vibes. The White House portrait unveiling was the first time that she showed up in braids. We’d decided to go with the chignon — a perfectly coiffed, classical style.
The braids are just the foundation, so it’s a matter of laying the braids. I've always felt that braids or locs are no different than having loose strands. The strands are just bigger.
We did a multitude of styles. One that’s been a go-to for Michelle when she’s on her own is a half-up, half-down look. It’s fun, it’s flirty, it’s sexy and it’s easy. You don’t have to do much. All you need is a scrunchie.
You knew when you began working with Mrs. Obama that braids were a big move. Were you prepared for how big it would be?
NR: I think I was. To me, there’s so much beauty and versatility in Black hair. There are so many things you can do with Black hair; you don’t just have to relax it or wear it straight. It’s beautiful. I’ve been natural my entire life and I’m 37.
I know deep down people would be receptive to it and love it. She wears it well. I was confident about it. I just wanted to really showcase the beauty in it and I wanted the world to see.
What words of wisdom do you have for other stylists who want a similar career path?
YD: There were several people on Michelle’s team who have come and gone. We’ve been there the longest, and we’ve done it without recognition.
In our industry, there are so many people who think you can be an overnight success. Njeri started in 2010 and I started in 2009, and it is now 2025 when our names are being publicized.
Njeri and I both came up in the era where you had to assist. It wasn't whether you wanted to; if you wanted to be around the greats, you had to do the work. There is an attitude these days of not wanting to be an assistant — not wanting to put in the work.
So that is one of the things I really hope people are taking away in our industry. What you really need is that passion for your craft, and that passion to always want to improve your own skills. And to make that person in the chair just love their look.
But there are a whole lot of soft skills to learn. I say this all the time: there are better hair stylists than both of us but we are good human beings, and we have soft skills, and we have the professionalism that it takes to work at this caliber.
What do you hope comes from this book and from your participation in it?
NR: I hope that women see themselves when reading this book. Yes, Michelle Obama is Michelle Obama — but she still is a human being and a woman. I want people to know it’s okay to be you and to just walk confidently in this world unapologetically.
YD: I hope it showcases Michelle as an individual. From the First Lady to the business executive to the everyday superwoman, we all have insecurities and things we struggle with. I hope everyone sees a little bit of themselves in that. The difference is the everyday person isn’t under the public eye being criticized and under a microscope.
And I hope our stories allow people to dream big and to know that you can get anywhere. A little girl from Orange County, California, that’s a child of East African immigrants who didn’t think doing hair was a real career — and whose parents even questioned whether it was a career — has made it into the White House.
I also hope it uplifts our industry as beauty professionals. All of us have had our own set of adversities. I hope our stories inspire people from all over to know they can be wherever they want, as long as they are willing to do the work.