Aiden W x JVN Hair: BEAUTY & IDENTITY
Text: VIONNE Magazine | Talent / Model: Aiden Wieprecht
Brand / Campaign Partner: JVN Hair
| Hair Stylist: Cassidy Kinman
Photographer: Desiree Wieprecht
From Curls to Confidence: How Learning to Love My Curls Helped Me Learn to Love Myself
The Quincy, Illinois creator reflects on self-care, identity, and a Pride 2026 collaboration that connected him with a brand founded by fellow Quincy native Jonathan Van Ness.
Growing up in Quincy, Illinois, creator, photographer, and model Aiden Wieprecht spent years trying to blend in. Like a lot of LGBTQ+ kids in small Midwestern towns, standing out felt harder than fitting in, and his naturally curly hair was one more thing that drew attention. It was a feature he spent years straightening, hiding, and trying to change.
Around the same time, Jonathan Van Ness, also from Quincy, was becoming a symbol of authenticity for millions. Long before they were a television personality, bestselling author, entrepreneur, and founder of JVN Hair, they were just someone from the same hometown proving that being different could be a strength instead of a liability.
Now Wieprecht is a featured creator in JVN Hair's Pride 2026 Community Storytelling campaign, a collaboration about beauty, but also about identity, confidence, and the kind of self-care that starts with a hair routine.
VIONNE: Let's start at the beginning. What does your hair represent to you today?
Aiden: Today it represents confidence, care, control. That wasn't always the case. For a long time I saw my curls as something to manage. I figured if I could make them straighter, flatter, or just hide them under a hat, life would be easier.
Looking back, I wasn't really trying to change my hair. I was trying to make myself comfortable. The problem wasn't comfort. It was not knowing how to take care of what I had, or how to love myself as I was.
Now, caring for my curls isn't about controlling them. It's about appreciating them. Every morning I take the time, I'm reminding myself I deserve that care too.
VIONNE: Was there a specific moment when your relationship with self-care began to change?
Aiden: Honestly, no. It was more like hundreds of small ones. People imagine healing as this dramatic breakthrough, but for me it was quieter than that. Getting out of bed. Drinking water. Resting when I needed to. Caring about myself even when I didn't feel like I deserved it yet.
The hard part was realizing I'd spent so much time taking care of everyone and everything else that I'd stopped taking care of myself. Haircare became one of the first ways I started rebuilding that, not because hair is the most important thing in the world, but because it gave me ten uninterrupted minutes every morning to practice showing up for myself.
VIONNE: Why do you think something as simple as a hair routine became so meaningful?
Aiden: Because consistency is powerful, and we underestimate small rituals. Ten minutes doesn't sound life-changing, but when you're rebuilding your confidence, those ten minutes become proof you're worth investing in.
At first I wasn't thinking about beauty. I was thinking about survival, about finding some structure, something I could control in a healthy way. Over time the routine stopped feeling like a task and started feeling like an act of self-respect.
VIONNE: How did JVN Hair enter the picture?
Aiden: Completely organically. I wasn't looking for a collaboration. I was looking for products that actually worked for my curls. What drew me in wasn't just the products, it was the philosophy: that healthy hair starts with accepting and caring for the hair you already have. That landed differently for me because I was learning the same lesson about myself at the same time. The products worked, the routine worked, but more than that, the mindset worked.
"I spent years trying to change or hide my curls. The biggest transformation happened when I stopped trying to change them, and started to embrace them." — AIDEN WIEPRECHT
VIONNE: This partnership carries an extra layer because you and Jonathan Van Ness are both from Quincy, Illinois. What does that mean to you?
Aiden: It's honestly one of the most meaningful parts of this whole experience. Quincy isn't LA or New York. It's a river town in Illinois, and growing up there as a queer kid, opportunities can feel really far away. You don't always see people who look like your future.
Jonathan was one of the first people who changed that for me. Watching someone from my hometown build a career while staying unapologetically themselves planted something. It showed me success didn't mean becoming somebody else. Finding myself connected to a campaign through the brand he built, years later, still feels a little surreal.
VIONNE: What does Pride mean to you in 2026?
Aiden: Visibility, but more than that, authenticity. Growing up, there were parts of myself I thought I needed to hide. Pride means I don't do that anymore. It means taking up space, letting myself be seen as I actually am, not a smaller or safer version. That's part of why this campaign means so much to me. It's not about presenting a perfect image. It's about telling an honest story.
VIONNE: What would you tell your younger self?
Aiden: That the things he's worried about now will probably become the things he's most proud of. That his curls, his creativity, his sensitivity, his identity were never the problem. That one day he'll stop apologizing for who he is and start being celebrated. When that happens, when you just let go and reground yourself, everything gets lighter.
HOMETOWN ROOTS
Both Aiden Wieprecht and Jonathan Van Ness trace part of their story back to Quincy, Illinois. Their careers took very different paths, but both found their footing in authenticity outside a small Midwestern hometown. Their connection through JVN Hair's Pride 2026 campaign is a reminder that seeing someone from your own community succeed can change how you imagine your own future.
"Having my literal hero just be a text away, or seeing myself in their brand campaign, it's full circle in the most surreal way. Validating doesn't even cover it." —Wieprecht
THE BEAUTY EDIT
Aiden's Current JVN Hair Staples
Complete Pre-Wash Scalp Oil (every other wash day)
Revive Shampoo
Nurture Conditioner
Complete Air Dry Cream
Complete Air Dry Volumizing Spray (spray at roots, diffuse for extra volume)
Rapid Repair Bond Gloss (Mondays & Thursdays)
JVN Detangling Brush
Any blow dryer with a diffuser attachment
Heatless styling, effortless hold, and perfect curls.
QUICK TAKE
Beauty philosophy? Care over perfection. Most underrated self-care practice? Consistency. What do your curls represent today? Freedom. What has Quincy taught you? To stay grounded in yourself no matter how far life takes you. What does Pride mean in 2026? Showing up exactly as I am, confidently and proudly.
Aiden Wieprecht's transformation didn't happen all at once. It started with a mirror, a tube of air dry cream, and the decision to treat himself with the same kindness he'd spent years giving everyone else. That journey began in Quincy, Illinois, and it's brought him right back there.
