CurlFest Helps Build Community And Shift Narratives Of Black Hair And Beauty

The Curly Girl Collective hosted their 10th CurlFest event in Brooklyn, N.Y., August 17, hosted by fitness mogul, Anowa Adjah. Attendees celebrated the beauty of hair and enjoyed activations from Black hair care lines. They also listened to empowering voices in the beauty industry and discovered new Black owned businesses. The event opened with a panel discussion moderated by MadameNoir with CurlFest founders, Simone Mair, Charisse Higgins, and Melody Henderson.

“We didn’t think we were creating a festival, but we named it CurlFest. Somewhere along the line, somebody in our spirit knew it had the ability to be this large and this impactful,” said Mair during the panel. 

The founders spoke to how Curlfest exposed their attendees to local Black owned businesses. The Vendor Marketplace consisted of two aisles of Black owned businesses’ booths sharing their products with the general public. Some of these businesses included Zuri Rose, a children’s book brand that encourages Black girls to just be girls.

Makini Regal Martin, the founder of Zuri Rose, attended her first CurlFest five years ago after having her daughter, Zuri Rose. The birth of her daughter inspired her book series. She’s back at this year’s CurlFest as a vendor to build community around her brand. 

“As a mom and a woman owned brand, there’s no other place that I would rather be than to be here with all these supportive people who are championing a small, mom owned brand, and a brand who’s striving to celebrate growth,” Martin told Her Agenda.

Attendees also appreciate the space as a place to connect with other creatives. Enjoli Lauderdale, host of the “Aye Yo, Sis” podcast, attended her first CurlFest this year. She felt encouraged to use this space as a place to share her content with other like-minded, Black creators.

“It feels like I’m supposed to be in the mix of this because there’s so many different variations of creativity and people doing amazing things, it’s just really an honor to be here,” Lauderdale said to Her Agenda as she passed out merchandise for her podcast in the Vendor Marketplace.

Across from the Vendor Marketplace, attendees could listen to intimate panel discussions at the Empowerment Stage hosted by on-air host and digital producer, Shay Sayss. During the “Beauty Beyond Boundaries” panel, participants touched on Black women’s impact on cultural beauty standards. Olivia Hancock, beauty editor at Byrdie, spoke on the challenges related to beauty trends set by Black women.

“We are the mothers of beauty culture and everything that’s cool and creative and trendy originates from [Black women]. From hair, to makeup, to skincare, to all those things. We’re seeing it now, especially with TikTok, the way that that’s continuing to be appropriated,” said Hancock during the panel.

CurlFest maintains the through line of encouraging Black and Brown women to develop deeper relationships with their hair. Shea Moisture set up their Camp Shea activation in promotion of their Bond Repair System products. On-site stylists did attendees’ hair, attendees made friendship bracelets with the Camp Shea counselors, and took pictures at the Portrait Station decorated in flowers and greenery.

The KISS Colors & Care Collection also set up their activation with a picture station that featured attendees on the KISS Instagram Story. They also had a spin the wheel station for attendees to choose a free product to take home with them, along with other travel size items and a new satin scarf. Platinum ticket holders also took home a gift bag of sample sized hair care products from event sponsors.

This year’s CurlFest also featured a theme of pointing out the importance of changing stereotypes surrounding Black hair. Attendees had the chance to express their love for their hair on a chalkboard wall, and they used this space to explain why they believe their hair is beautiful.

“It’s going to do something to your psyche when you see a Black woman walk into a board room in a suit in her Afro, these are the things we need to normalize,” Mair added.