Hair Growth Products: Braids and beauty draw a crowd at hair expo

Ask folks in Tallahassee who refrain from using chemicals to tame their hair and they’ll say natural hair isn’t just a fashion statement. The choice to leave dyes and relaxants alone was one that Iya Omitayo felt she needed to make. She said choosing to embrace the hair she was born with as a black woman, instead of using chemicals to straighten her hair, was about being true to herself. Now, 14 years later, she’s happy to share her experience with others. “It’s my life,” she said referencing her natural hair. “I love what they’re doing here. It’s always a joy for me to see people embracing what natural hair is.” On Sunday, Omitayo was one of hundreds of women and men at the Women’s Club of Tallahassee in Los Robles to celebrate — and learn more about — natural hair. The Natural Hair and Health Expo, organized by Mandisa Ngozi, a local natural hair salon located on Calhoun Street, filled the Woman’s Club to near capacity barely an hour after the event began at 11 a.m. Sometimes the emcee at the event was barely audible over the sounds of music, laughter or general chatter. Valencia Jones, who co-owns local natural hair salon Mandisa Ngozi with her sister, Denise Jones, said it was obvious the 500 people who confirmed they’d attend the event through Facebook each brought a friend. Jones said she was happy to see so many interested faces at an event she hopes to make annual. “I started it because when I was braiding hair people would come to me and their hair would be breaking in different places,” Jones said. “What I would do is give them braided hairstyles that could last anywhere from three to four months. When they came back their hair was healthy.” The style is called natural because it embraces more traditional African braiding techniques and does away with chemicals that color, relax or otherwise change hair. Typically black women choose natural hair growth products because of the damage hair products can do, Jones said. That, and because natural is the way all women were meant to wear their hair, she said. “Natural hair is about women feeling beautiful the way they were born,” Jones said. “You wear your hair the way it comes out your head.” Plenty of men were at the event, too. Men with locks, braids or no hair at all were common in the crowd. Many of them were just as interested as the women to learn more about natural hair. Dana Dennard, a psychology professor at Florida A&M University, said it’s the man’s job to encourage the women in his life to embrace the natural style. He said many women are willing to try natural hair, but often fear the reaction they’ll get from friends and family. Many times, he said, women will come back to his class after a break from school with a new, relaxed or chemically altered, hairstyle. “A guy can encourage his sister or his mother or his girlfriend or his wife to have confidence,” he said. “There are a lot of things a woman can do with her hair to make it look great without poisoning herself or destroying her hair.”