Curly Mommy & Me!

On Sunday January 28th my daughter Ayva Jalisa and I had the absolute pleasure of joining the team at Southern Curl Salon here in Atlanta for the first ever Curly Mommy and Me event!

The concept of the event started out a few years ago as casual conversation between Robin Sjoblom and I.  Just like so many other moms, I began to have questions, concerns and experience difficulty and doubt with caring for my kids curly hair at home.  During my own salon appointments I would talk with Robin and ask for her advice. It wasn’t long ago that I started on my own curly hair journey. Was I ready to guide my kids on something I was still trying to succeed at myself?  I have never taken this journey lightly, and I have experienced my own emotional trials and tribulations along the way. I didn’t want to make the wrong decision, or say the wrong things, or give them the wrong impression. Don’t we as moms feel this way for our children when it comes to everything? Some things we ourselves are still trying to figure out. How do we guide them when we are still unsure? One thing I knew, is that I wanted to give them the opportunity that I didn’t have. I wanted them to love and accept their curls from an early age. To learn the importance of not only maintaining healthy hair, but also maintaining a healthy level of self love and acceptance of themselves. I felt like what may be so easy for others, was now this huge job for me. I mean, it’s just hair right? Well something in me felt differently. I knew the challenges around my hair I myself faced growing up, and I wanted to protect them from this as much as possible, but how? It didn’t take me long to decide that my first step to teaching my children how to love their curly hair, was to start loving my own.  It didn’t take me long to realize that just like everything else when it comes to raising kids, it starts with me, their mom.

As I continued to embark on my own journey I decided to start including my daughter Ayva more in her own hair care. I began little tasks such as asking her how she wanted to wear her hair, so that she could began to own the versatility of it. Up, down, braided in two French braids, a bun? Quickly Ayva realized she had a go-to style and something about this excited both her and I. Next I began to incorporate her help in her wash day. I taught her how to massage her scalp, explained to her the importance of clean hair, and would talk out loud as I performed each step. We even coined our own little saying during wash day and Ayva would eagerly say “Clean Hair, Healthy Hair, Happy Hair”! What was once a moment of dreaded anticipation for us both (because honestly who really enjoys wash day?!) quickly became a teaching moment and more importantly a moment that we could bond over.

Incorporating these steps at home was very important to me. I wanted Ayva to learn at an early age how to begin to care for her hair. As she got better and better I began to think to myself what’s next? What is another important step in her hair care?  That is when I began considering letting her get a DevaCut. We had done so well on maintaining her healthy hair, and it was growing so fast I knew I would need to enlist more help! I brought up the idea of the DevaCut to Robin when Ayva was almost 4. I let her know all of the things we were working on at home and how I felt like a salon visit could potentially be the next step. Robin and I agreed that I would continue to get her ready, and we would set an appointment for Ayva once she turned 5. During the next year we kicked the teachable moments up a notch! I added tasks such as sitting patiently under the dryer during deep conditioning treatments, and I even managed to teach her how to diffuse her own hair incredibly at the age of 4! When it was time for Ayva’s appointment she was more than ready! She was calm, comfortable, and sat patiently through the cut, condition, and style. I felt so accomplished after Ayva’s appointment. I took the fear out of the situation and was able to guide her on her journey at such a young age.

A couple of random questions seeking tips and tricks, turned into deeper conversations which eventually led to Robin and I discussing the lack of support for moms with curly hair kids. I expressed to Robin that most of the questions I get asked as an upcoming natural hair blogger is how do I maintain my kids hair. I began to realize I was not alone in this. There were moms, literally everywhere, who had these same questions. Robin and I began to throw around the idea of maybe working together to teach local moms the tips, tricks, and techniques that had worked for me over the years. That is how this event, Curly Mommy and Me, was born. If I could prepare Ayva for the salon at such a young age, maybe I could help other moms as well. We decided it was a go!

I am proud to say that the Curly Mommy and Me was a complete success! There was so much love, support, and positive energy flowing through the salon that day! The mom’s were able to feel a sense of unity telling their own stories of self acceptance and shared similarities with raising our daughters. The team at Southern curl provided some great tips, tricks, and even performed step-by-step demonstrations on two hair models (one being a very eager and excited Ayva) so that the Mom’s could see in person coaching of  successful techniques to achieve the perfect wash-and-go. They answered individual questions and provided one-on-one support.  Even I got to provide advice to the other moms through my own personal stories of teaching success with Ayva.  All around it was an amazing day and I’m so thankful to Robin for being willing to host the event. Xo

P.S

Be sure to check out my latest YouTube video where we got some great clips of the event!