TreasureTress Launches ‘For Dads Who Can’t Braid’ Inside HMP Brixton
TreasureTress Launches ‘For Dads Who Can’t Braid’ Programme Inside HMP Brixton, Teaching Incarcerated Fathers to Style Their Children’s Hair
Sponsored by ORS Haircare, the four-week workshop series equips fathers with practical hair braiding skills ahead of a family visit day where they will style their children’s hair in person
LONDON, 8th June 2026 — TreasureTress, the UK’s first and largest natural hair product discovery service for textured hair and community platform, has brought its celebrated ‘For Dads Who Can’t Braid’ programme inside HMP Brixton for a special edition with incarcerated fathers. What began as a skills-based workshop teaching fathers how to braid and care for their children’s textured hair has evolved into a movement centred on healing, reconnection, and redefining Black masculinity. The HMP Brixton series — four hands-on 2-hour workshops sponsored by hair care brand ORS — culminates in a family visit day where participants will style their children’s hair in person for the first time.
The programme launched its first session on 4th June 2026 at HMP Brixton, with subsequent workshops taking place on 11th, 18th, and 25th June. Each session runs for 2 hours and covers foundational hair care techniques including braiding, tying, and parting — all practiced on doll heads donated for the programme by Hello Hair. The sessions are taught by Louis Driver, hair educator from Avlon UK and hosted by Tuan and Jazz (Gym Busy), Timi Dorgu (Mentor and Education Trustee), Adbul Bangura (ALAC Group) and Marvyn Harrison (Dope Black Dads) — each bringing their own personal experience of fatherhood and caregiving to create a warm, relatable, and emotionally open space for participants.
The HMP Brixton series forms part of FDWCB’s wider 2026 programme, which will see the experience return to London, Manchester, and Birmingham — supporting fathers, mothers, friends, and family members, many of whom are learning to braid for the very first time.
Hair is never just hair in our community — it’s love, it’s identity, it’s quality time. ‘For Dads Who Can’t Braid’ was born from a simple truth: when a father learns to care for his child’s hair, he’s not just learning a skill, he’s learning a language of connection. Bringing this programme inside HMP Brixton felt necessary. These fathers love their children deeply, and we wanted to give them something tangible to hold onto — a way to show up for their kids that goes beyond a visit; a bonding moment they can practise for and look forward to. What happens in that room is transformative, and we’re proud to be part of it.
— Jamelia Donaldson, Founder, TreasureTress
Reconnecting Fathers and Children Through Hair
Hair care is deeply embedded in Black culture as an act of love, identity, and connection between parents and children. For incarcerated fathers — many of whom face significant barriers to maintaining meaningful bonds with their children — the ability to style their child’s hair will carry profound emotional significance.
‘For Dads Who Can’t Braid’ was designed to meet this need, giving fathers a practical skill and a moment of genuine connection. The programme also speaks to something deeper: a dismantling of how masculinity has traditionally been defined. The idea that caring for a child’s hair — an act of tenderness, patience, and presence — sits outside the role of a father, is one this programme challenges head on. By creating space for softness and vulnerability within fatherhood, FDWCB is restoring confidence, challenging stereotypes, and rebuilding identity and emotional literacy through the simple act of care. By learning to braid, part, and tie their children’s hair, participants are redefining what it means to show up as a father and their role as a caregiver
The latest HM Inspectorate of Prisons thematic review, Safety, Well-being and Hope: The Untapped Potential of Family Contact in Prisons (March 2026), reinforces the importance of programmes like this finding that family relationships can influence “virtually every aspect of prison life” and raising concerns that family support is too often treated as an “optional extra” rather than a core part of rehabilitation. ‘For Dads Who Can’t Braid’ is a direct response to that gap.
For the fathers participating at HMP Brixton, this programme means far more than simply learning how to braid hair. It is an opportunity to reconnect with their identity as fathers, strengthen relationships with their children, and rebuild confidence in their role within the family. In prison, many men can feel defined only by their offence, losing sight of who they are beyond their sentence. For Dads Who Can’t Braid creates a unique and meaningful space where fathers can learn a practical, nurturing skill that symbolises care, love, and connection. Perhaps the most powerful reflection of this came from one participant’s application statement: ‘The love I have for my child motivates me to learn how to care for her hair.’
— Anita Tremain, HMP Brixton
Industry Support: ORS Backs the Programme
The workshop series is sponsored by ORS, a leading multicultural haircare brand committed to community investment and celebrating natural hair culture. ORS’s support covers materials, resources, and programme delivery across all four workshops.
ORS has always stood for more than great haircare — it’s about empowering people with textured hair to feel confident and connected. Supporting fathers in HMP settings to learn how to care for their children’s hair is exactly the kind of initiative ORS wants to be part of, because it’s practical, it’s emotional, and it truly matters. Hair is such an intimate act of love. If this programme helps even one father and child feel closer, it’s been worth it — and I hope it’s something we can grow together with TreasureTress year on year.
— Angel Nichols, ORS
Voices from the programme
Following the first two workshops on 4th and 11tth June, participants shared their reflections anonymously on what the experience meant to them and what they are looking forward to as the programme continues.
All of this, immediately when I get home.
— Workshop participant, HMP Brixton (anonymous)
I learnt some new techniques today. I’m proud of myself.
— Workshop participant, HMP Brixton (anonymous)
Learning how to do hair isn’t for the light-hearted, but I learnt how to cainrow today – It’s the first step on the ladder.
— Workshop participant, HMP Brixton (anonymous)
What’s Next: Three More Workshops and a Family Visit Day
Following the successful launch of week one and two, the programme continues with workshops on 18th, and 25th June. The HMP Brixton series culminates in a family visit day where participants will have the opportunity to practice their newly learned techniques on their children’s hair in person — a moment that TreasureTress hopes will create lasting memories and strengthen family bonds.
