Living a healthy, conscious and sustainable lifestyle is a shift many consumers are adapting to nowadays. One of the leaders of this movement is Latham Thomas. As a lifestyle maven, Thomas serves as a doula, educator, author and advocate for maternal health. She is also the founder of Mama Glow, a maternity lifestyle brand that supports women through each stage of the childbearing process.

We spoke with Thomas and learned more about how she came to champion causes like maternal health and wellness. We also delved into the politics of the beauty industry and her personal relationship with beauty.

After the birth of her son, Thomas discovered there were not many options on the market that provided a holistic birth experience. There was no space where prospective parents could go to receive end-to-end resources on the childbearing process, whether it was fertility or prenatal support. This issue became the seed of her company, Mama Glow.

“It became clear that we could offer a lot of the services under one roof — [in order] to have a healthy pregnancy and healthy birth outcome, so we started with nutrition and mindfulness yoga and birth doula services and then the work kind of took off,” Thomas told Blavity.

Photo from Instagram

With their continued growth, Thomas saw the potential and the wealth of resources they could offer prospective families. The goal was to instate a platform that provides vital information on the childbearing process in digestible and relatable ways.

In the midst of moving the conversation about maternal and personal wellbeing forward and juggling her many other roles. Thomas continued to evolve her own personal relationship with beauty, coming to terms with what it meant to her, both as a black woman and a mother.

“Over the years, when I became a mother I became less in touch with my physical beauty,” said Thomas. “I became less connected to it because my body had changed.”

It was a long journey back to feel confident in her self-image now as a mother. She worked with a close friend and personal trainer to help reclaim her confidence and her physical wellbeing. She worked day in and day out, reminding herself every morning to put in the effort.

“I started doing distance running to feel more connected to my body in a different way — and I think that helped, having that experience of reconnecting with my post-baby body which is a different story for different people,” Thomas said.

It was no longer about comparing herself to others or placing society’s expectations on her shoulders. It did not matter that her son was leaving her stained with baby food. It was about embracing motherhood, her holistic beauty and living an intentional life. She decided that beauty was not about perfection.

“I was always covered in something, so I said it doesn’t matter because you can still be fly and have a little bit of baby food on your collar,” she said. “It’s not a big deal.”

Photo from Instagram

Now, beauty is about comfort for Thomas. It is about experimentation and self-expression through details. Her personal style is defined by her everyday staple pieces that speak to her and highlight what she believes are her best aspects. Her must-have everyday basics include: Sephora-brand eyeliner and lip gloss as well as Fenty Beauty items for days when a full face is preferred.

“It’s important to call out your beauty in certain ways or accentuate it through a message that feels good to you,” she said. “That’s all I’m doing, we do that through fashion and makeup and all that contributes to personal style.”

But Thomas’ journey in self-confidence does not end there. She explains how the media portrays black beauty in a distorted way and compartmentalizes black women’s bodies, which perpetuates anti-black tendencies. However, she believes the rise of conscious consumerism is beginning to tackle this issue. Thomas highlights the power of the many people speaking out about the media’s portrayal of beauty of black women and how it has played a significant role in the current shift in the beauty industry. But it should not end there, Thomas warns.

“It’s not about hiring black models and putting black people on the cover of magazines, but it’s really about us as consumers really going and supporting all sorts of black brands,” Thomas said.

Thomas credits brands like Rihanna-owned Fenty Beauty for being the launchpad for one of the largest shifts in the industry. The impact of partnering with a national brand like Sephora helps position them as more of an inclusive beauty industry leader. With the company being one of the first large retail stores to offer such a diverse palette, it is incredibly significant. It is not just Sephora’s initiative to partner with black brands like Rihanna and Pat McGrath that Thomas appreciates, it is their continued commitment to diversity and representation displayed even in their employees.

“They have a diverse group of people, in terms of ethnicity, in terms of gender and non-gendered, in terms of how people present themselves, I mean everything,” Thomas said. “You will have people who might look like they might not even have any makeup on, people who have a full face on. It’s nice to see that when you walk in you don’t feel intimidated.”

Photo from Instagram

Whether in a full face or just some eyeliner and gloss, Thomas approaches life with a tool kit of holistic self-care options and embraces her own personal style. Her advice to us all is to always live an authentic life filled with people that affirm us in all the ways we choose to live.

“I think it’s important to have people that remind you that you’re amazing and that it’s safe to share that you’re growing and what you’re building,” Thomas said. “The world is not showering black girls with love and we deserve it. So if it doesn't exist you have to create and generate for yourself this community and this support so that you’re fortified especially when you feel weak because we don’t wake up every single day feeling amazing.”

Thomas hopes that black women can use makeup as an enhancer of their unique beauty and expression. Affirming your self-confidence can do wonders and it helps to have a brand such as Sephora to demonstrate that in their products.

“We don’t want to use [makeup] to cover up,” Thomas said. “We want to use it to open up, to enhance, to express. I think that’s the big key, having that support and remembering that it’s ok to have bad days, but once you process and get on the other side that you spend that time building yourself up so that when you step out for the day can nobody tell you s**t.”

Mahlet.Moges

Writing since July 2019 · 1 story contributed