The Hair Product Swap was one of several programs hosted by the Center for Black Culture and the CIE for Black History Month.

Rooted in community

Article by Marina Jones Photos by Evan Krape February 25, 2026

Students gathered at the Center for Intercultural Engagement to swap hair products, share advice and build connections

What does community look like in college? How does one build it and sustain it?

For Chelsea Cohen, the answer this Black History Month started with something deeply personal: hair.

As program coordinator of student diversity and inclusion, Cohen and her colleagues at the Center for Intercultural Engagement (CIE) hosted the University of Delaware’s first official hair product swap that saw students gathering to exchange products, get tips from others with multicultural hair and spend a few moments freely chatting about something as intrinsic as hair care.

Valerie Issa (left), programming intern for student diversity and inclusion, and Chelsea Cohen, program coordinator of student diversity and inclusion, pass out hair product goodie bags and give hair tips to attendees of CIE’s Hair Product Exchange event.

Valerie Issa (left), programming intern for student diversity and inclusion, and Chelsea Cohen (center), program coordinator of student diversity and inclusion, pass out hair product goodie bags and give hair tips to attendees of CIE’s Hair Product Exchange event.

Throughout the month, students were invited to bring hair products they had tried but didn’t love — or that didn’t work for their hair — to the CIE on the second floor of Perkins Student Center.

Good hair products that work for one’s specific hair texture are not always cheap. For multicultural college students, the search for the right curl cream, mousse or oil can become an expensive process of experimentation.

“Even now, I'm still learning about my hair, especially the porosity and density,” said Denise Bennett, a senior kinesiology major from Paterson, New Jersey.

Seniors Denise Bennett and Troy Grinnage and sophomore Yanni Halstead discuss hair products and hair care as part of the CIE’s Hair Product Exchange event.

At the event on Feb. 17, the aspiring nurse was able to choose from pre-loved products dropped off by fellow students as well as receive new items from the Black-owned brand PS It’s Natural, which provided gift bag items such as curling mousse.

And she wasn’t alone. Illustrating the community Cohen hoped for, Bennett brought along others who didn’t know the event was taking place. They, too, were able to enjoy the hair products.

Troy Grinnage, a senior psychology major, reads up on the new products he received from PS It’s Natural as part of the CIE’s Hair Product Exchange.

Troy Grinnage, a psychology major from Smyrna, Delaware, came along with Bennett to get some new products to try. The senior, who hopes to someday research Black men’s mental health, loved that an event like this was planned.

“I'm an RA, so I have a lot of multicultural residents that don't use the most common hair products, so they're always asking me [for recommendations],” he said. “Having events like these just brings the community together.”

He applauded CIE for creating a space where students could browse and try products for free before buying them and said that it was a meaningful way to show that the University as a whole cares about all the different communities on campus.

First-year student Quincy Lacayo discusses the importance of hair care and community during CIE’s Hair Product Exchange event.

For Quincy Lacayo, it goes even deeper than hair.

The first-year mechanical engineering major said sometimes people don’t always know there are resources to take care of their hygiene or hair. With an event like this, those conversations can happen.

The Hair Product Swap was one of several programs hosted by the Center for Black Culture and the CIE for Black History Month.