Edwina Joseph, the natural haired model who was 2nd in Britain’s Next Top Model

Hello Edwina. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself? You are West Indian, Jamaican and Dominican but where did you grow up?
I am the youngest of 4girls, I lived in a small town on England called Bristol, my mother is from Jamaica and my father is from a small island of Dominica.

What makes you a true West Indian?
I feel very cultured and in touch with my heritage and I naturally embrace who I am as it plays very important roles in my life. I love reggae music and being spiritual which every true west Indian is guilty of! Other than that, I truly am at home when I visit either Jamaica or Dominica, there is no other feeling that can compare to it, I would trade in London for the West Indies ANY day!

Have you always been natural?
No I haven’t, I relaxed my hair straight when I was about 12…that was the biggest regret. My hair was so thick and so long and so healthy that it took two boxes of relaxing cream to cover my hair…I remember going home feeling “naked”, this new hair was down my back, black and shiny, but i didn’t feel right. Only when I turned 16 or so did I decide that attacking my hair with this strong chemical was not morally correct for myself and had to ask myself if using this strong solution every couple months to conceal my real image was right for how I felt inside as I had already began to wish I was born with hair like Aaliyah. A change had to come!

How did you get the idea of participating on Britain’s next top model? Had you modelled before?
I had followed the American series and I was absolutely driven by all that was involved in this program and the progression the girls had, especially their growth. And with all this they were doing what they loved. I had done modeling before the show and even got a spread in a magazine called Aspire, it was my first shoot as well so I was overjoyed, soon after that followed a competition for a top London model agency Storm which I came second.

I am not a model, with my measurements I can never be a model, so I can’t even imagine what it is like to compete in a show like Next Top Model. I do watch ANTM but I think a viewer’s perspective is different from being in the competition. What is it like?
Yes it is very different from a viewers perspective than a contestants!
A lot of what you see is creative from the producing side of thing and the contestants are unaware of this so we sort of fall into the creative trap of it all, only when we get the chance to watch it along with all the other viewers do we actually realize this.

On the fashion front; Its not all glitz and glam, it’s a lot of waiting around and early wake up calls. It is exciting to not know what is going to happen next but it can get lonely and you try to stay on top of the game and focus so you do the best you can, it really isn’t easy at all.

I do think you learn a lot in a competition like Top Model. Not just about modeling but about yourself and about life. Can you name three things positive things that improved your personality? Can you name three negative things that taught you more about life?
I learned that people will do anything and say anything to appear better. Also that in such industry you really need to stay grounded and family are you closest friends. And that jealousy will always be in the sweetest of person.

 From watching the video’s I get that you had some encounters with other models. That is normal in any reality show but what was/were it/they about?
I wish I personally knew myself, but a lot of what I was told from directors and viewers was jealousy. I know that from the beginning of the filming of the show I was praised a bit by professionals and I won the first challenge and got an amazing prize on the London Eye; not only that I was the youngest, slimmest, and most determined and a lot of the girls would say to me “your only 18 and you walk around like you’re the best, your 18!”. I didn’t say anything cruel to anybody I kept myself to myself and made sure I did the best I could but a certain contestant whom I thought would be my sista ( as we were the only black ones there) made sure that she stirred and manipulated the quieter contestants into also thinking that I was this arrogant person.

And are you a better model now, after the competition?
I feel I am a better model and a better person. Till the show I had never moved away from home and it really was a big step for me as I struggled with a lot. But yeah I think I am a better model now because I understand a lot more technical sides that go into creating a great picture, such as lighting, angles and expression. I’m even considering a career in photography, that’s how much I love it!
How did 2nd place on BNTM changed your life in general? Do people recognize you? Has your work doubled?

It changed my life completely, as soon as the show aired I was spotted everywhere, from shopping in the supermarket, traveling on the train, walking down London’s west end. It was unreal! It was so overwhelming for me because it didn’t ever occur to me that this would happen. My work hasn’t particularly doubled but I have gotten certain jobs for publicity of doing so well on the show which is great.

Isn’t it hard to keep your hair natural if you want to be model?
Its extremely hard. The amount of jobs I have had where there is either no hair stylist or a stylist who cannot deal with my hair is unbelievable, the industry is still very ignorant to black girls with natural hair, they assume its all the same when it obviously is not. I now prepare myself and whenever I have shoots I make sure I am my own hair stylist and bring wefts of hair, pony tails, products, everything you would ever need. My sister recently made me wig to add to this collection.
How do you take care of your hair?
I only use Organic Root Stimulator products. I use the uplifting shampoo, hair mayonnaise then the leave-in-conditioner to protect my hair whilst blow-drying. Because my hair gets so dry I also use a little olive oil.
What is your favorite style? Have you ever thought about locking your hair?
My favorite style is the Mohawk style, cainrow on the side of the hair and a full fro going down the centre. I actually wish I could locks my hair today! But I do modeling and know eventually once I’m done in this modeling industry I will do it, its so beautiful.

What do you mean with “I don’t want to become a lusted after face”?
By that I mean that is not my aim in life, popular faces in the entertainment and fashion industry can have some young girls wishing they were them and look anything but themselves. I just want people to feel comfortable in their own skin and embrace it. My aim is not to be the person everybody wants to be but more like the woman being are inspired by.

You said you never always wanted to become a model until you realized that a Model has a voice. What would you like to voice?
I would like to voice my intelligence, I would like to voice struggles and beauty myths and being pigeonholed. I would love to show the world the beauty of a black woman.

Quote” Far too many of young girls today do not feel comfortable in their own skin, don’t feel comfortable with their hair, and feel the only way to be accepted as a beautiful figure in society is to have long straight hair, have a cute button nose, be a certain complexion, have booty and all the jingles that goes with it. I know this for not only do I listen to younger generations but once upon a time this was me. “

Why did you not feel comfortable in your skin with your hair and how did you overcome it?
Images, images, images, everywhere I turned nobody embraced who they were, it was always concealed, either that or there was only one type of girl all up on the tv screens; the typical long hair, green eyes light skin etc, I questioned where I fitted in to this equation. Who was I supposed to relate to?
As I grew older and wiser I looked deeper into myself, done some serious soul searching and realized that as long as I was proud of myself I could fit in where I wanted to be.

Is natural hair accepted in Britain? Does the majority of women of color relax their hair as well? How about the West Indies?
A lot of women relax their hair and weave it in England. I remember when I wore a natural style of twists and the amount of people who were like wow, it was slightly disappointing, but the great thing was they wanted to get it done after. My sister had got her hair done in a natural style would always carry business cards of where she got her hair done because people were so amazed by it! I think its accepted if its worn in a stylish way because I think the stigma of having natural hair is that its a young, immature, safe look, and when your of age that’s when you start wearing it straight.
In Jamaica a lot of the girl wear wig caps, that way they don’t mess with their own hair by putting relaxers or perms in it they just wear a wig when they feel like it or for an occasion.

What do you think of relaxers?
I really hate them and I wish they weren’t invented, in my eyes its as bad as bleaching cream.

Do you think an employer can demand you to relax your hair?
No way. I would rather walk out on the job the be demanded to do such thing, especially when there are so many alternatives to achieving the straight look.
I like this quote: I love being different. I don’t think I’m the hottest thing since fire, but I believe like us all I have something inside me that over comes any form on beauty, I love my dark mahogany complexion and my thick nappy hair, my broad nose and my thick lips. I do believe everyone is special. How are you different?

What makes you, Edwina Joseph, special?
I couldn’t possibly answer them questions because I don’t think there is an answer. I am just who I am, I know I don’t follow the crowd I know that If everybody is going left I’m going to go right. I also feel very different to the person next to me, im not the most intelligent person but I know that im smart.

What do you do now and where do you want to go from here?
I will continue to model and I just want to be the best that I can be at whatever career path I choose to perform.

On your outlook on life: You don’t have any regrets?
Oh I have plenty but with every regret is a lesson and I think that’s why I am more wiser!

You say that you haven’t mastered the skill on getting along with women yet. You think we are too emotional? Was this a problem with the girls from BNTM?
Women can be very competitive when it comes to fellow women, and as I am not that type of person I find it extremely confusing when I sense that from somebody, also I’m pretty much a guys girl when it comes to sense of humour, life is far to precious to be concerned about little things like hear say and dieting! I’m just not a girly girl I suppose!

Do you watch America’s Next Top Model? If you do is it different from Britain’s Next Top Model? If you had a chance would you join this competition as well?
Its soo different but I wouldn’t do it again, once was enough!

Who is your all time favorite model?
Naomi Campbell

O I was just going to ask you what you think of her because you have been compared to Naomi Campbell.
I don’t know her personally but as a model I think she is fabulous, although I do wish she took advantage of the power she has as a black model.

How so?
I would like to see Naomi be more diverse with her image and be more of a spokesperson for black women in fashion. There is so much more she can do, in my eyes she is the Oprah of fashion and Oprah has done so much.
P.s take whatever images u feel fit, i really dont mind! Also my sister actually made the wig for me! She sometimes also wears a wig, our moto is ‘hack the weave not your hair’ lol She also just started dreadlocking her hair, we love being natural!

What male model would you like to do a photo shoot with? I do like Ian Write but he is not a model, so he doesn’t count. Lol.
Tyson Beckford! Wow! And up and coming British model Raymond Burrell.

Last word?
Live, Love and Learn…oops that’s three words!!!