I don’t know if this was marketing genius or the marketing gods shining down but this weekend was a beast when it came to natural hair affairs! First was the release of Nappily Ever After on Netflix and then Curl Power Delux hosted by our favorite naturalista HeyCurlie! Both of these changed my perspective on what the next step in my own hair journey will be. So sit back, relax and enjoy this natural flava!

The long-awaited release of Nappily Ever After starring Sanaa Lathan did not disappoint. Honest moment, I never read the book, which is usually a big no-no for me, I went against my norm and watched the movie anyway. The story takes us along the journey of Violet who is perfect, long straight hair, perfect clothes, beat face, the woman that captures every man’s and woman’s attention when she walks by. Should I say SPOILER ALERT now?! Not to give anything away, but imperfection rears its ugly head and turns her world is turned upside down. In a dramatic scene we see Violet (Lathan) shave her head bald. Have you ever had one of those moments where you just need a change and you do something you might regret?! I’ve never shaved my head but I’ve had a few of those moments myself. Violet discovers she is more than just her hair, she is perfectly imperfect and embraces her natural curls. This revelation allows her to become the person she wants to be all along and we see her evolve from her mom’s puppet into a beautiful, confident woman. Natural hair journeys are a very personal experience, watching Violet transition, although only for an hour and a half, will hopefully open hearts and minds of others to realize that this journey is about more than just hair, this journey is about self-love, self-acceptance, self-care.

I am not a natural hair girl, but Anissa (the youngest Hot Kid) is. So why not take her to a place where her fellow naturals are gathering…we enter the Queendom of the Curl Power Deluxe and it was an amazing experience. Let me first tell you that Anissa watches all of HeyCurlie’s videos she is always asking me to give her a bun or side ponytail like HeyCurlie. For her to go to an event hosted by her she was more than excited. Personally I sometimes feel rejected by the natural girl community. I relax my hair, which means I use chemicals to straighten it which makes it unnatural. As we enter into the room though I don’t feel rejected. All the volunteers and vendors are extremely helpful and knowledgeable about natural hair and their products. This was the first time I’ve felt like I could ask questions about transitioning my hair without someone getting annoyed by the number of questions I have or how uninformed I am about my natural hair. I never got that, how am I suppose to learn about my natural hair if no one answers my questions. But in this place, with all these curls my questions are answered.

I learned curl patterns, transitional products, what it means to co-wash, I learned how to wear my head wraps, and most importantly I found a community of naturals that did not judge my straight hair but instead embraced me because this event was about more than hair. This was a self-love experience. Each and every conversation I had was amazing, women telling other women how beautiful they were, embracing each other, laughing, dancing, eating, drinking and being merry. Then as luck would have it I’m in the lounge of the restroom taking selfies with Anissa and two women walk in. One I recognize from a conversation earlier the other has a hat covering her face with the HOTTEST dress I have seen in a long time. This dress is made for this curvacious curlie, I’m a curvacious cur–, well you know. I compliment her dress and begin to ask questions, yes I ask a lot of questions. I ask her for her IG name so I can follow her and get this dress. She laughs and as she does her head tilts back and I recognize her, Lois Reid-Hines, the CEO of Tropic Isle Living and our speaker for this event. I have a fangirl moment, since HeyCurlie introduced her I have been IG stalking. This is super cool as I was going to have to exit the event (mommy duties) before she takes the stage. In the lounge of that restroom I listen to her, her spirit appears sweet and gentle and welcoming. She answers my questions with grace, we embrace and she is off to make every other curlie feel as special as she made me feel. This event has been awesomely informative and I grateful to HeyCurlie for bringing it to our city.

With all the information I gathered and the warmth received at Curl Power Delux, I’ve made a decision…This straight haired lady is going natural! Please stay tune and follow me on my natural hair journey as I let my own curls POP!