L.A. beauty rituals: Elyse Thoms on the lifelong quest to embrace your natural hair, skin and smile

A skin, hair or makeup routine is never just a skin, hair or makeup routine. We dived deep into the beauty rituals of artists and aestheticians across L.A., and in turn learned more about their relationships to themselves and the world around them. A beauty ritual is as much personal as it is a portal: to better versions of ourselves, to better versions of the future. Elyse Thoms is a rapper, creative director, makeup artist, model, painter and photographer whose beauty ritual is a lifelong quest to getting back to herself and embracing her natural hair, skin and smile. “When I was in middle school, I might have straightened my hair, and now I’m making it as big as I can — redefining the beauty standards that were put on me,” Thoms says.

Beauty is so subjective to the viewer, but my specific view on it is authenticity and living in that authenticity. Doing things to bring that out. For me, it’s evolved from trying to turn myself into something or into someone I’m not, to now, just enhancing the things that are already a part of myself. When I was in middle school, I might have straightened my hair, and now I’m making it as big as I can — redefining the beauty standards that were put on me. I’m gonna be me for the rest of my life. Why not like living in my body and being myself? I used to have Invisalign and it was actually painful to shift your teeth around — I remember it cut my gums to the point where I couldn’t wear it anymore. I remember shortly after, I thought to myself, “I can get grills now, because my teeth won’t be shifting.” When I got them, I had them made to enhance my gap, or, places where I might have a crooked tooth. That’s what beauty really is to me: owning yourself.

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I think it’s my Scorpio Venus, but beauty is the color black to me — an Afro-futurism, Afro-goth type thing. I like to express most through my hair, more so than even makeup, which is crazy, because I don’t do hair professionally. My biggest thing is always trying to get it as big as I can; as colorful as I can if I’m doing braids or twists. It feels like a crown to me. Like a mane — I don’t know if that’s a Leo thing. As far as makeup goes, I go through ebbs and flows. There’ll be times and stretches where I wear makeup every day, and there’ll be times and stretches where I don’t wear it at all. Right now I’m in a don’t-wear-it-at-all phase. It’s an artistry, it’s an expression, and I think there’s beauty in both. I feel most beautiful when my skin is glowing, and that’s usually because of what’s happening inside too.

My mom has always been natural and always taught us to be natural. She’s very unique. If you look at pictures from back then, she was always on her own wave. She’s a hairstylist, so my whole life I had braids or a fro. Looking back at those moments, I didn’t appreciate it for what it was. I grew up thinking everybody’s mom has a hairstylist. I look back on it fondly, because of the care my mom took for my hair. When I was left to my own devices, I ripped all my s— out by accident. My hair was down to my butt when she was taking care of it. It was a beautiful bonding moment. I just couldn’t see it that way. I was just in it. My mom expressed through my hair — she created me, and she created my hair and then she did my hair.

I do think that the biggest part of a beauty ritual is self-love, encompassing that in everything you do. When you’re doing your hair, don’t get mad at it. Don’t get frustrated. Be careful with it. Treat it gently — like you would treat somebody else if you were doing their hair. Give yourself the same love back and that’s going to radiate. You can put on all the makeup you want, but your smile when you’re happy and you don’t have any makeup on, that’s infectious. Energy is a big part of it.