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Alayna Hester LCAT, RDT

@thelayfiles

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Alayna Hester Creative🌟 where creativity and healing meet

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A question became a workshop.
A workshop became a vision.
And the vision became a world I’m building.

Introducing Alayna Hester Creative — a home for creative experiences rooted in identity, storytelling, self-expression, and wellness.

For the curious.
For the creative.
For the storytellers.
For those still becoming.

Alayna Hester Creative-

where creativity and healing meet🌀

www.alaynahestercreative.com⁠ by @thelayfiles

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2 months ago

Every head holds a history. Every hairstyle tells a story.

Welcome to the first episode of What’s Your History, a storytelling series exploring the connections between hair, identity, memory, and self.

Honored to begin this journey with the incredible Judy Harrison. 🤎✨

I’d love to hear what resonated with you in the comments.

Watch the full episode here:

https://open.spotify.com/episode/7xuGlzBlF94YlYVH0DPWyE
https://youtu.be/hWQfnXm7ny8?is=jntzHW95mJanrDig

#WhatsYourHistory #BlackWomen #HairStories #Identity #Storytelling by @thelayfiles

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3 months ago

✨ What’s Your Hairstory? is taking the stage this October! ✨

I’m so excited to share two upcoming opportunities to experience Alayna Hester Creative’s signature workshop, What’s Your Hairstory? — a creative exploration of identity, self-expression, confidence, and hair through storytelling, character, role, and play.

From an interactive creative workshop in Newark to a panel discussion at the 7th Telê’ Drama International Conference, these two events explore different dimensions of the same question:

Who are we when our hair changes? And what does our hair reveal about the roles we play, the identities we carry, and the ways we express ourselves?

🧡 October 10 | Newark, NJ
What’s Your Hairstory? A Creative Exploration of Identity, Self-Expression, and Confidence Through Hair, Storytelling, and Play
5:45–7:15 PM

🧡 October 15 | 7th Telê’ Drama International Conference
What’s Your Hairstory? A Drama Therapeutic Exploration of Hair Autonomy Through the Lens of Character and Role
4:30–5:00 PM

Two events. Two formats. One signature workshop. ✨

I’m grateful to continue expanding this work and creating spaces where creativity and healing meet.

📍 Newark + International Conference
🔗 Registration/details at the link in bio

Alayna Hester Creative — where creativity and healing meet. 🧡

#AlaynaHesterCreative #WhatsYourHairstory #DramaTherapy #CreativeArtsTherapy #ExpressiveArtsTherapy by @thelayfiles

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19 days ago

Registration is officially open for the NJ Creative Arts Therapies Symposium: Pathways to Purpose & Wellness! ✨

Join us on Saturday, October 10, 2026, at Glass Roots, Newark Glass Art Center for an inspiring day of learning, creativity, connection, and interdisciplinary exchange.

And I’m so excited to share that Alayna Hester Creative will be bringing our signature workshop, “What’s Your Hairstory?”, to the symposium! 🖤✨

Through drama therapy, storytelling, role play, and creative expression, What’s Your Hairstory? invites participants to explore the stories, identities, and experiences connected to Black women’s relationships with their hair. Using wigs as role-play and projective tools, participants are invited to step into different characters, perspectives, and possibilities while reflecting on the ways hair can shape how we see ourselves and how we are seen by others.

This workshop is rooted in the mission of Alayna Hester Creative — where creativity and healing meet. 🎭

As part of the registration process, participants will have the opportunity to select the workshops they would like to attend. The program features a diverse range of sessions exploring art therapy, drama therapy, music therapy, dance/movement therapy, expressive arts therapy, community healing, identity and self-expression, grief, social justice, family work, and creative arts practices in healthcare and community settings.

🔗 dramawithatwist.org/cat-2026-registration

✨ Space is limited, so we encourage you to register and select your workshops soon!

I’m so excited to share What’s Your Hairstory? with fellow creative arts therapists and continue creating spaces where identity, storytelling, self-expression, and wellness intersect.

We look forward to welcoming you to this inaugural gathering of the creative arts therapies community! 💫

#AlaynaHesterCreative #WhatsYourHairstory #WhereCreativityAndHealingMeet #NJCreativeArtsTherapies #CreativeArtsTherapies taken in New Jersey by @thelayfiles

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25 days ago

Your story belongs here. 💌

A little look into my first experience bringing Alayna Hester Creative into the world of Mommy Market. ✨

I created an interactive storytelling installation inviting women to pause, reflect, and share through prompts centered around identity, storytelling, wellness, and community.

What started as a simple board slowly became a collection of stories, hopes, reflections, and reminders that our experiences deserve somewhere to live.

This is what I mean when I say where creativity and healing meet. Creating spaces where we can express ourselves, connect with one another, and make room for the stories we’re carrying.

Thank you to @aridavisfoundation for creating a space that allowed me to bring this experience to life and for welcoming Alayna Hester Creative into the Mommy Market. 🤍

And thank you to everyone who stopped by, shared a story, wrote a note, picked up a card, or simply took a moment to engage.

Alayna Hester Creative — where creativity and healing meet. ✨

#AlaynaHesterCreative #MommyMarket #creativeexperiences #WhereCreativityAndHealingMeet taken in Washington, DC by @thelayfiles

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a month ago

✨ We’re headed to The Mommy Market! ✨

Alayna Hester Creative is popping up in Washington, D.C. this Sunday! 💕🩵

Come experience a creative space where creativity and healing meet — and get to know the work behind AHC, a creative wellness platform centering Black women and girls through identity, storytelling, self-expression, and wellness.

I’ll be there alongside some incredible Black-owned businesses and creatives, so come shop, connect, create, and support! 🛍🏾✨

📍 Sycamore & Oak
📅 Sunday, September 20
⏰ 12–6 PM
📌 1110 Oak Dr. SE, Washington, DC 20032

#AlaynaHesterCreative #TheMommyMarket #WashingtonDC #BlackWomenCreatives #CreativeWellness taken in Washington, DC by @thelayfiles

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a month ago

Who are we when our hairstyle changes? Hair gets treated as cosmetic when, for many clients, it carries identity, memory, and self-worth.

Styling the Self: How Black Hair & Aesthetic Changes Can Impact Identity & Enhance Agency in Treatment explores this topic through the lens of drama therapy, grounded in Adam Stevens’ Black American role taxonomy and Robert Landy’s role theory and method.

This 3-hour virtual session invites you to:
▪️ Examine the roles individuals embody when hair expression shifts
▪️ Consider how aesthetics both reveal and shape aspects of the self
▪️ Explore how those shifts affect self-worth, self-confidence, and personal agency

This discussion centers Black women and non-binary individuals, with tools for every clinician committed to identity-affirming care.

See the full agenda for the Fall Virtual Summit at
expressivetherapiessummit.com/fallvirtual

#FallVirtualSummit #BIPOCHealing #CreativeArtsTherapy #MentalHealthCE #IdentityExploration by @thelayfiles

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a month ago

Alayna Hester Creative- where creativity and healing meet🌟

www.alaynahestercreative.com taken in Brooklyn, New York by @thelayfiles

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