“I have come to realize that it’s much deeper than that…”

This quote is from a woman who I met and interviewed on the street for Blooming Queens. She made the statement when referring to the mindset shift that occurred during her transition to natural hair. She let me know that gone were the days when she only focused on having super long hair because she entered a new phase where health and wellness were her goals. She realized that focusing on wellness could help her grow long, healthy hair.

I was reminded of her statement over and over again during the last couple of weeks as I wrapped up attendance at a few amazing women focused events in the area. A special shout out to the Beacon DC Women Founders Initiative, Naturalista Hair Show, Supernatural Wellness Pop-up Tour, and Ubiquitous Beauty, Hair and Health Expo for cultivating such amazing communities for women of color.

Y’all I had an epiphany.

You see, I set one goal at the beginning of 2017 and that was to be intentional about everything that I do this year. I aim to be intentional with my words, focus, goals, where I spend my time and the causes that I support. I’m also being intentional about building a community and supporting women of color.

This is where the epiphany occurred. These hair-centric events are indeed much deeper than hair. These events have paved the way for small businesses owned and operated by women of color to make themselves known to a wider audience. The natural hair movement as a whole has allowed women of color to be entrepreneurs and business owners. I met so many women who own their own businesses while at the Ubiquitious Expo and the Naturalista Hair Show that I couldn’t help but to be inspired. These events have fostered unique communities that are supportive of women of color. The comradery that I’ve witnessed over the past couple of weeks was beyond inspirational and truly beautiful.

As a first time attendee at any type of hair expo, I had to share the full circle moment that I’m experiencing with Blooming Queens and these awesome communities that are flourishing for women of color. It brings me back to the fact that the woman who I met on the street was right when she said “it’s much deeper than that…”

It’s community….

It’s freedom…

It’s ownership…

It’s representation….

Thank you to the woman who I met on the street for the reminder because I’ve come to the same realization and it’s truly a beautiful thing.

Here are a few small business owners who I met at the Naturalista Hair Show who are not pictured in this blog post, but I want to highlight:

• Dr. Isfahan Chambers – Harris, MPH, PhD, Owner of Alodia Hair Care
• Millicent Richardson, Owner of Addictive Apothecary
• Genevia Sawyer, Owner of 3:27 Cosmetics 
• Hair Free Girl

Let’s keep uplifting and supporting each other y’all!