Natural Hair Academy in Paris a Huge Success!

Me with the amazing Felicia Leatherwood

On Sunday April 1 LA native Felicia Leatherwood of Loving Your Hair with Natural Care was in Paris to give the Natural Hair Academy. Hosted by Clarisse Libene of bellebene and ak-a, this was a rare opportunity for naturalistas in Paris. I can truly say that I had the loveliest of times cruising around the River Seine with some of the world's premier natural hair experts and natural hair lovers. 

Ms. Leatherwood's workshops are an invaluable resource to women who want to learn how to maintain and take care of natural hair. She has been doing hair since she was nine years old. Her experience is solid, having worked on stars such as Jill Scott, Kim Coles, Will Smith, Terrence Howard, Anthony Anderson, and Hill Harper. Her work that has appeared in People magazine, Essence, and InStyle, as well as in film and television. 

I had been looking forward to attending this event for weeks and I wasn't disappointed. Ms. Leatherwood was so kind and patient! She took in a lot of questions and made sure attendees fully understood her answers before moving on to other topics. Some of the questions included: What type of curl pattern do I have? Can I condition my hair before bed? Can I blow dry? 

Needless to say it was extremely informative and women walked away feeling more confident and knowledgeable than they were when they arrived. Several of the ladies I spoke to afterwards told me they were so happy to have an expert on hand right here in Paris to guide them in their natural hair journey. Here, here.

Jane Carter (Jane Carter Solution) was there as well and demonstrated some of her products on models. The results were amazing. I definitely have to try her products for myself. AND on top of that and she was truly wonderful. I had the best time chatting with her. Cassidy Blackwell (The Natural Selection Blog) was on hand and it was great meeting her too. Chimole Williams of SheaMoisture  (who also co-sponsored the event) was there but unfortunately I didn't get a chance to speak to her. A real pity since SheaMoisture is my favorite product. Hopefully I'll see her again in the future. 

Chimole Williams of SheaMoisture and Actress Aissa Maiga

There was even a surprise appearance by French actress Aissa Maiga, who is currently starring in Sur La Piste du Marsupilami with Jamel Debbouze and Alain Chabat.  She was both gorgeous and humble.

I think there will be another event of this kind very soon.
I'll definitely keep you guys posted!

Go to the Black Hair in Paris Facebook page to see the rest of our photos!

Debut at the Flute Champagne Bar

PLJ with Doni Belau of Girl's Guide to Paris

On February 23 Doni Belau, President of the Girl's Guide to Paris, invited Parisian bloggers, writers and partners to a cocktail event at the Flute Champagne Bar. The event was to celebrate a new travel club that has been created. I was very excited to go because one, Doni's a great person and I wanted to see her again; two, I knew some of my fellow writers (great people also) were going to be there; and three, it was the first time I was going to an event with my "new" hair! 

It was quite liberating not having to go to the salon, or fret about my hair beforehand. But suffice it to say that I did pull a "JKJ" (she knows who she is ;-) and decided to wash my hair at the last minute. It turned out quite lovely though. Nice curls and a "fresh" look. The funniest part is that once I got to the Flute Bar several of my friends tried to find me in the crowd and completely overlooked me because they did didn't recognize me with my new do. CLASSIC!

It was a great night, cool event, and lots of fun. Definitely to be repeated....Maybe I won't wash my hair at the last minute, but then again, who knows?