A cup of jasmine tea before bed, a sunrise walk before starting the day, frosting the milk for your morning matcha latte: rituals like these and others form the outermost crust of our lives, sweetening the mundanities of our day-to-day.
These habitual practices are made all the more special when they precede significant moments in our lives, so as the influential aura of HBCU homecomings takes over our cultural sphere, our inner voyeurs are naturally piqued.
After all, appearances are a huge part of what separates HBCU culture from PWI’s.
“I attended Spelman College, and so you know that’s going to be the baddest of the baddest the tens, so you gotta come with it. So I get nails, I get my hair done the whole nine,” says Jordan Triplett, a Spelman University alumni, who says that HBCUs have a lot of unspoken rules regarding your appearance. But it’s all in good fun.
“That’s the exciting part about the culture and coming home to this community because it’s almost a standard of excellence that is fun to adhere to,” says Triplett.
For many HBCU grads, homecomings are the one time of the year they can return to the place where they developed the core principles, friendships and tools that shaped them into the adults they are today. But now, they’re back as adults with a level of esteem and real-world experience that supersedes most of us during our penny-pinching dorm days. And they want to show it off!
“Coming back as an adult and feeling like you’re on your grown and sexy kind of vibe, it’s fun,” says Triplett.
But even as the new and improved versions of ourselves, an ineffable nostalgia still permeates the ether. This wistful longing adds to the overall delight that is homecoming.
“Coming home to this community is a standard of excellence that is fun to adhere to. Picking out the outfits beforehand with your friends is a part of community building and bonding,” says Triplett.
“It really does, like, kind of connect you back to those four years on campus when you had those kind of moments of like shining that you may not get once you graduate as often,” Triplett adds.
Below, we take a look at the maintenance routines the HBCU girlies are voyaging through leading up to one of the biggest weekends of the fall.
Nails, nails, nails,
A good manicure is a top priority year-round, but during homecoming, the stakes are even higher, especially when the potential presidential elect is an alumnus of your institution.
“With Kamala and everything, this is just a big homecoming, and I think people are proud to have said they went to Howard. And so I think there’s an element of wanting to flex a little bit and look good while you do it,” says Essence Wiley, who graduated from Howard in 2024.
So when it comes to homecoming nails, she swears by builder gel, praising its durability.
“That’s just like an HBCU thing. But I think it’s like on steroids at Howard, like people take it very seriously,” she says.
For others, like Triplett and Howard alum Sienna Dilworth, sauced-up French tips are the move.
Homecoming brings color galore
Returning back to your collegiate stomping grounds is the perfect time to debut new looks, says Triplett, who went full-on burgundy for SpelHouse’s homecoming.
She further upped the ante by trying out her go-to special occasion hairstyle.
“I don’t get half up, half downs as faithfully as I used to when I was on campus. So I kind of saved those moments again for homecoming,” says Triplett.
And even though it’s Homecoming season, things don’t always go according to plan, says Triplett, who missed her makeup appointment because her hair appointment ran over. It happens.
For others, perfecting their signature color is the name of the game, says Wiley, who bought brand new bundles for her deliciously honey-blonde homecoming hair.
And the girlies are paying a pretty penny for these styles because this is not the time for DIY hair ventures, says Wiley.
“I just can’t do my hair. so I’m gonna just pay to get that done,” says Wiley. No shame there. Real baddies know when to delegate tasks outside of their wheelhouse.
But a classic bussdown black middle part just does it every time, says Dilworth, who opted for a lace install for her homecoming endeavors. And honestly when it comes to styles that don’t have the best longevity or are extremely high maintenance, like many lace styles, homecoming weekends are the perfect occasion to rock these styles for a short period.
Self-care to the ninth degree.
Now, self-care is a year-round production; don’t get it confused. But when it comes to homecoming, the ante is upped, and it’s time to really get in the field, or in this case, the gym. As Triplett says, workouts were also a part of her big-picture maintenance routine.
“My line sister and I have actually been holding each other accountable for this final countdown these last two months. I was like, ‘Okay, I’m in homecoming mode. Let’s lock-in,” says Triplett.
Wiley adds that she takes extra time with her skincare routine when it comes to her homecoming prep, sharing that this is a time she doesn’t mind rolling up her sleeves and getting down with the DIY.
“I always do some really good skin prep because I know I’m gonna be wearing a lot of makeup,” says Wiley.
All in all, beauty maintenance is a great way to physically and mentally prepare yourself for the delightful journey that is an HBCU homecoming.
