Sierra Mills on Taking Care of Herself While Filming Love Island – Essence

As we prepare for tonight’s gathering, we naturally reflect on all the pieces that happened on the sixth season of the dating reality show. Throughout the 36-episode season, greater than 30 islanders tried to seek out love in a Fiji villa — Kordell and Serena were a pair for this season — or get kicked off the island.

But with any dating show, Your appearance on screen is half the job. As a fan favorite for her beauty moments, “I think physical appearance plays a role on a dating show because it affects first impressions or initial attraction,” the previous Islander Sierra Mills tells ESSENCE.

But the humid South Pacific villa, combined with unlimited camera time but limited mirror time, put pressure on her before she went out in search of love. “The truth is, we only had about 30-40 minutes to fully get ready and dressed, which was a challenge for me,” Mills says. “I had to find new quick hairstyles that I could do in 15 minutes or less that would survive the humidity of Fiji.” With an island girl, of course Bora Bora Braids Protective style is on the list.

“I originally thought about coming in with braids because it would be the easiest way to style my hair, but I thought, ‘There’s no way this is going to last two months,’” she muses. So over the course of her 10-episode stint on the island, we saw her take off her updos for slicked-back ponytails, braids for space buns, and turn out to be a fashion fan favorite. “I didn’t start the season with a specific protective style, but I came prepared with braids, extensions, and different buns to create a protective look when needed,” she says. “Let’s just say I used gel and hairspray to keep my hair smooth.”

But while her slicked-back hair has garnered a five-star rating on screen, she’s still a good distance from writing a love letter to her natural texture. “Growing up biracial with a white mom, I often felt disconnected when it came to understanding and caring for my natural hair,” she says. From the breakage from the straightening she begged for 11 years ago to hiding her texture with extensions, she grew up with a hair anxiety that also existed on set. “I was nervous about going on TV because I knew I’d be filmed from every angle, including when my hair was down while getting ready or in the morning.”

Still, she used the dating show to challenge not only her heart, but her hair as well. “I really wanted to make it a daily, night-and-day hair change,” she says. “Looking back on my moments, I started to appreciate my natural beauty on a deeper level.” While dating shows and apps can look like a superficial approach to start a relationship — and like Sierra, you may still walk away single — she finds the best beauty in learning to like yourself. “This experience reinforced my belief that true beauty comes from being authentic, not from trying to fit a certain image or hide who you are.”