ย ย Paris via Eurostar on Saturday 15th March with Katrina, Ayssa and Lolaย to attend the Natural Hair Academy ,ย andย forย relaxation and strolling in Paris for the weekend.ย ย Before you new it 2hrs had passed and with a blinkย – it was voilaย – arrived at Gore Du Nordย station in Paris. We dropped off ourย travel bags at anย apartment courtesy of Ayssa’sย brother. Everyone was laughing at my small compactย bag – but hey we were only there for the weekend and I like to travel lightย – no need for the kitchen sink. We did not have to purchase metro tickets as itย was free weekend transport, to ease air pollution due to a record level of poor quality air in the northern regionย of Paris and suburbs.
The firstย two NHA events had been on a boat, but due to the overwhelming attendance the 3rd NHA eventย was held at a grand venue called Tapas Rouge.ย Tickets had sold out –ย up to 1000, so it didn’t surprise me that as soon as we arrived via the red carpet it was ‘POW’ the place was buzzing in the foyer full of beautiful afro and styles.ย There was a very long line of sistersย standing on the spiral staircase waitingย to haveย a hair diagnosticย test, which I heard some people lined up for 2hrs. A selective range of exhibitors were selling natural hair products and adornments.
It was nice to meetย Cynthia, Sian, Christelle and Cazย at the venue who also travelled from London.
Once we found our bearings we entered a banqueting room which must of had at least 600 people in attendance. We managed to catch the last 30mins of Ken Burkeen theย CEOย of Huitiful,ย that are known for their hair steamers. He gave a scientific background about hair growth, the sebaceous gland and restoring moisture to hydrated hair.
Theย founder of ย Carols Daughter – Lisa Price gaveย a brief history of the company which started over 20 years ago from her kitchen mixing butters and selling at craft markets. Mixed Chicksย demonstrated the effects of their hair products to moisture and protect hair.ย
Hair stylists to celebrities Felicia Leatherwood who delivers ‘Love Your Hair with Natural Care’ workshops captivated the audience with herย hair maintenance knowledge, hair type,ย products and styling. On the stage she created 3 stunning hair styles which she mad look so simply to replicate. She introduced aย hair brush that was for detanglingย single strand knots as it is designed to move with the hair without pulling. After the presentation I went on stage to great Felicia and to my surpriseย she remembered me when she came to London in 2012 when I was co hosting KIWTK premiere. She will beย visiting London in May.
The last workshop for the day was led by Taren Guyย who spoke about experimenting with hair dye, hair loss and doing the ‘big chop’. She documented herย transition to natural hair journeyย in a video log on her utube channel ‘Taren916’, where she has over 195k subscribers. She will be in London on May 24 at the Curlvolution event.
ย After a good nights rest and a reflection of Saturdays event I woke up to a room full of sunshine – so time to hit the suburbs of Paris.ย Window shopping of colourful head scarfs,ย healthy lunch, wonderful views from site seeing.ย Within the Champs de Mars region we strolled towards the famous Paris landmark the Eiffel Towerย which stands 300mtrs tall andย can be viewed from theย entire city.
Just aboutย 100 metres further was the Quai Branly a museum that opened in 2006. The museum held a collection of 267,000 objects representing America, Africa, Asia and Oceanic islands. I headed straight for the indigenous art and culture of Africa thatย surroundedย with very huge statues.ย The room was very large but the light was dimmed in order to protect the artefacts that were displayed in glass cabinets. Whilst browsingย I recognised the Ancientย Nok terracotta fromย Nigeria, as I had read an interesting article in the New Africa magazine a few months ago. Also of course I recognised the Ghanaian display that showcased the fertility dolls, cloth andย figurines that represented the Akan and Ashanti kingdom. There was so much toย see that I did not have time to digestย all the information and other sections.
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Like every good thing the weekend had to come to an end and with a departing dinner we boarded the Eurostar. I was so tired that I gave thanks for the good sleep on the journey back to London.ย All in all – a pleasant weekend.
bless – Sister E