Good food, good mimosas and good conversation filled the Ulah Bistro of Washington, DC during the first stop on The Natural Hair Brunch Affair Tour. Organized by Natural Hair Does Care, LLC in partnership with FoodBeforeLove.com, this intimate affair took place with the intent to spark necessary conversation about the natural hair community. It did so as beautifully.
Natural Hair Does Care, LLC, or NHDC, is composed of two sisters on a mission to educate women through hair inspiration, education and conversation. Shalleen-Kaye and Seanna-Kaye use NHDC as channel for encouragement and motivation in the natural hair community with a reach of over 60,000 on social media alone.
"We have a big community, but it feels really very intimate, very much like family," said co-founder Shalleen-Kaye. "We wanted to recreate that experience that we have every day in this brunch, and give people an opportunity to feel like they can really connect in a way that you can't on Instagram"
The women of NHDC paired with FoodBeforeLove.com's Cassandra Rosario to create an experience like no other.
A passionate dream chaser driven by her love of food, Rosario has set her sights high on the enrichment of others' lives.
"My brand is really about self improvement through food... I definitely want to be that one-stop-shop for people who want to be better people," said Rosario, "A lot of our events are around that, just being a better person and building those relationships, but still eating good at the same damn time."
A Spanish Harlem native, Rosario's culture and the food within it has always been a significant part of her life.
"When I started the site it was a matter of putting that before everything else and, you know, I like to eat! If you love me, fo'real, you will feed me first."
Guests were greeted with Rosario's hand-selected menus of brunch classics and gift bags filled with all the goodies any Naturalista would love. Curls, Natural Supreme, and Tropic Isle Living were some of the brands featured in the generous bag in addition to samples and coupons to local salons and businesses.
Personalized nametags outlined the stages of each woman's hair type. "Hair ADD," "Wash N' Go Queen," and "Shrinkage is Deceitful" were some of the self-given titles that began the discussion among guests about stereotypes, techniques, regimens, and customs in the world of all things natural.
"Natural hair kind of brought us together, but I think it's the caring that keeps the community growing," said Shalleen-Kaye of the event, "We want to show that. There's so much caring that goes into every little detail of what we do to prepare for this tour."
The care was evident when both Shalleen and Seanna revealed some of their secrets to natural style success. With a family history of alopecia, the sisters attested to their hair trials, triumphs, and experiments and how each experience has allowed them to flourish.
"It's good to know that there's somebody out there that looks like you, that feels like you, that, you know, thinks like you and that you're a part of something," said Seanna-Kaye, "The hair that you have, and the struggle that you have, is not an isolated thing."
The conversation continued to thrive from audience suggestions and questions and ended with opportunities to network and meet with other entrepreneurs in attendance. Guests were not only able to interact, but connect comfortably and openly about their natural hair journeys, pit stops, and final destinations.
The Natural Hair Brunch Affair DC accessed a new path for The District to explore in the realm of natural beauty and style. It was an electrifying start to a promising tour series where attendees are guaranteed a time of laughs and lessons.
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