Last week, the ‘Fro Fashion Week was held in Atlanta, Ga. Located in the beautiful Hotel Melia, this event managed to exceed expectations. Attendees arrived at the main area to a welcoming ocean of women who wore their natural hair, the core of the event, in amazing varieties of original and beautiful styles.

An interesting fact about this conference is that although much of the focus is on African American women with natural hair, there are portions of the event which is not. For example, there were workshops on how to make soap, how to successfully thrift shop (which this reporter found to be the best workshop of the lot), and aromatherapy.

For many ‘naturals’, a great feature of the conference was the plethora of free products that you could receive. The companies represented were Kynx Hair Care, Shea Moisture, Beautiful Textures, and Organic Root Stimulator’s brand new line for natural hair, Curls Unleashed. In Kynx Hair Care’s room, they were giving hula lessons while Shea Moisture were giving massages and free gift bags (if you purchased the All Access pass).

Curls Unleashed were giving away ‘mocktails’ and free gift bags that had a full sized product in each. They also held discussions on different natural hair topics, such as ‘natural hair in the workplace’ and ‘natural hair in relationships.’ When you entered Beautiful Textures’ room, you were greeted by one of their representatives, who handed you a gift bag.

The gift bag consisted of a music CD, a tank top with their logo, and some free samples. You were then asked to take a picture with your gift bag in front of their poster in order to post it on Facebook and/or Twitter. After that, you were able to have a full size bottle of each of their products. Safe to say, the amount of excitement from attendees who discovered this was amazing.

One of the objectives behind ‘Fro Fashion Week is to help small black businesses. The exhibitors that were chosen for this year’s event were Jessicurl, Ma’Mocha Naturals, Mozeke, Shea Radiance, CoCo Curls (all natural hair products), Natural ADDICTees, RECLAIMED (clothing), Brijor Boutique (jewelry), and the very unique company, the V Bar Lady, which is behind a feminine hygiene soap.

After the workshop on Monday night, there was a Penthouse Party on the 25th floor of Hotel Melia. Kim Coles, actress who is famous for her role on the show ‘Living Single,’ was there to greet all of the attendees and take pictures with them. There was also a chance for everyone to dance with her and her presence was truly relaxing. It was obvious how much she has loved her ‘natural’ journey and she is not afraid to share it with anyone.

The founder of ‘Fro Fashion Week, Tarin Boone, was also present and it was commendable to see the person in charge sharing their time with everyone else. The ‘Fro Fashion Show was held on Sunday night and it was a joy for the audience to see such beautiful women on the runway. The clothes were phenomenal and everyone had come out dressed in the best.

Conclusively, if you didn’t get the chance to attend the 2012 ‘Fro Fashion Week, we would recommend that you keep an eye out for next year’s event – all natural hair women should attend it at least once. In addition, even those of you outside of the ‘natural hair’ movement would be able to enjoy this amazing event since the organizers also focus on other topics during the conference, not necessarily exclusive to the vast amount of information on African American culture.

Congratulations once again to Ms. Tarin Boone on yet another successful ‘Fro Fashion Week.

Image Courtesy of    https://www.facebook.com/frofashionweek

The article ‘Fro Fashion Week Spring 2012 appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

During the first week of February, ‘Fro Fashion Week, the ultimate celebration of natural hair, will be taking place in Atlanta, GA. I will be there front and center in the middle of all the awesomeness. What is natural hair you ask? Why is there so much hype about it? I mean, it’s just hair right? Well, there’s a little bit of history that goes behind the reasons why ‘Fro Fashion Week and other such events take place.

During the late 1800s, European-Americans favored African-American women whose hair was similar to European-American hair, which meant that their hair was not “kinky” or “nappy.”

This later sparked the invention of the metal hot comb, which straightens African-American hair by using heat. A chemical hair straightener, which is called a relaxer, was also invented. It straightens the hair using sodium hydroxide and calcium hydroxide, which both possess the ability to melt metal.[1] Many people are not aware that relaxers are potentially dangerous and can cause permanent injury.[2]

African-Americans began to straighten their hair in hopes of getting into the good graces of European-Americans. Today, European-American society’s perception of natural hair is not as extreme, but it is still not socially accepted. The purpose of events like ‘Fro Fashion Week is to encourage African-American women to love their natural hair.

No culture should be ashamed of who they are or do something drastic to change who they are in order to be accepted. Natural hair events are currently targeting African-American women with natural hair, and they encourage them to support other naturals in loving their hair the way it is.

African-American women with natural hair encounter negative influences in regards to their hair, such as being discriminated at work, hearing suggestions from friends and family to permanently straighten their hair, and hearing the phrase, “You have that good hair,” which means the curls in their hair are looser and not “nappy.”

These events also help to counter these negative influences and remind African-American women with natural hair that their hair is beautiful the way it is despite what society tells them. The events are not just for those with natural hair. Women with relaxed hair are also encouraged to attend these events.

Not to be persuaded or hypnotized into going natural, but to learn more about it and to learn to accept it and the choices of those with natural hair. Plus, ‘Fro Fashion Week is full of activities that are not just for those with natural hair. There is enough fun for everyone. I will be attending, and when I come come back, I will let you in on the experience.

The article ‘Fro Fashion Week: The Ultimate Natural Hair Celebration appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.