Versatility: Cotton plays multiple positions on the court, styles teammates' hair off the court
Jewel Cotton: junior forward on the Central Michigan women's basketball team and creative hairstylist.
The Harper Woods native said she has done her own hair as well as others since she was 14. Growing up, Cotton was in charge keeping her two younger sisters’ hair in tack, constantly making sure their hair was in good shape every two weeks.
“My mom did my hair when I was younger,” Cotton said. “I learned from watching her. When she saw that I got better, she made it one of my chores to do my little sisters’ hair.”
Because she was just learning, Cotton would only give her sisters’ ponytails, but once she improved, she moved on to braiding and eventually to dyeing hair — which is her preferred technique.
That practice not only gave Cotton experience, but it gave her the confidence to work on people’s hair outside of her family.
Cotton has served as the hair stylist for several of her teammates, including seniors Da’Jourie Turner and Chelsea Lynn and sophomore Tinara Moore.
“Jewel always does my hair,” Turner said. “She’s probably the only one that I would actually let do my hair. I’ll probably have to make a couple of trips (to Mount Pleasant after graduation) to get my hair re-done.”
Turner said she wasn’t as equipped to do her own hair, so she went to Cotton for help.
“I have a lot of hair and I don’t know how to do many styles,” she said. “So, when (Cotton) came on the team, I just asked and let her experiment on me and I liked her work, so I stuck with it. She’s my teammate, family and hairstylist.”
Despite the praise she receives from her teammates, Cotton said what she does isn’t special, it’s just what she has done in the past.
“I’m not a hairdresser, but I’ve had to do my hair along the way, so I’ve kind of picked up a little skill,” she said. “(My teammates) trust me, and I know what I’m doing. It’s not like I’m new to this and they’re not my first customers.”
On the court, the 6-foot-2 forward was named the Mid-American Conference Co-Sixth Player of the Year after averaging nine points and six rebounds per game off the bench.
Cotton draws connections between her ability to play multiple positions on the court and her versatility to create various hairstyles.
“It’s the fact that you can do so much and be creative (with hair),” Cotton said. “It’s like building and making art in a way. (Doing hair) is similar to the feeling after you win a game.”
Not all of Cotton’s hair tests have been successful, however.
“I’m always experimenting with my own hair,” Cotton said. “I’ve made mistakes on my head, but I’ve learned and gotten better.”
During the season, Cotton said she wears extensions in her hair, which is also known as a weave.
When Cotton put in her first weave, the hair got tangled, which forced her to make adjustments to it.
“I had to kind of rearrange it so you couldn’t see it because I couldn’t take it out,” she said. “That was a very scary time in my life, but I’m past that and I made it through.”
CMU Head Coach Sue Guevara was unaware of the Cotton’s talent, but said she isn’t surprised Cotton can do more than play basketball. Guevara, the MAC Coach of the Year, said Cotton won’t be doing her hair anytime soon.
“I’m not sure I knew she did hair, but she’s multi-talented,” Guevara said. “I have a woman down at the casino, and she’s the only person I let touch my hair.”
