Hey - I’m Leal!

In design school, I embraced my natural hair (after 21 years of chemical straightening) and documented the journey on my personal Instagram, which evolved into a digital scrapbook. From openly up about my own identity, culture and connection, I built a highly engaged community which grew into 40,000 people. I never set out to influence; instead, I found my purpose by helping people and, more importantly, found my community.

Then, studying cosmetic and haircare formulation in my own time, I translated complex ideas into simple, everyday routines. That honesty resonated, and a following grew around it. People trusted my guidance, and when brands approached, I only partnered where ‘I’ could stand behind the results. Protecting the trust I’d built became the foundation of everything. My openness and transparency made the work feel real and approachable, which in turn strengthened both my reputation and the brands I chose to collaborate with. And in turn, a lot of my community were supportive and excited to engage with branded work as much as the organic content.

A multi-hyphenate at heart, I soon broadened my channel to reflect my wider life and creative explorations. This led to brand campaigns spanning fashion, home, food, garden and beauty and allowed me to test styles of content, upgrade my professional set up / kit.