Houston, We Have a Natural Hair Care Boutique!!

I've been pumped about this since I found out...we're getting our very own Natural Hair Care Boutique!!  Tendrils and Curls, located in the River Oaks/Montrose area at 2501 1/2 S. Shepherd Drive, #1, Houston, TX 77019, will be opening on July 9th, 2012 and I and way beyond excited.  I'm talking about SUPER PSYCHED.  You ask, "but why are you so excited Lisa?"  How about this: they will carry over 30 of the best natural hair care brands!!  I'm talking As I Am, Anita Grant, Aubrey Organics, Blended Beauty, Darcy's Botanicals, Camille Rose, Free Your Mane, Curly Hair Solutions, Mixed Chicks, Komaza Care, Karen's Body Beautiful, Henna Sooq, Original Moxie, Jane Carter Solution, Ouidad, Mop Top, Qhemet Biologics, Jamaican Isle Castor Oil, Bee Mine, Naturalista Cosmetics, My Honey Child, John Masters Organics, Jessicurl, Innersense, and I believe they also just added Oyin Handmade. *drops mic*

  

Okay, now that you've picked your jaw up off the floor, let me give you a little background about the wonderful lady that's bringing this joy to my city.  Paula Chrishon, the owner of this fab establishment, shared a bit of her story with us.

"From 1999 to 2001, I wore a loose natural ... yep, I remember walking down Georgia Avenue during my days in graduate school at Howard University in Washington DC and thinking to myself, "Today's the day." I promptly found the nearest salon, walked in, and announced, "I need someone to cut my hair off." Traumatized by my announcement, particularly given the length of my relaxed hair, a gentleman decided that he would take on the task. Yep ... it was the day of my big chop! Liberation is what I felt ... I fell completely in love with my hair ... every beautiful and sometimes challenging strand.

I continued on to earn my Ph.D. from Michigan State University. It was in 2002 when I moved to New York City to be closer to my now husband, Kris, while he was at Columbia University, that I decided to loc my hair. I loved it! WooHoo! I wore locs from 2001 to 2010. At that point, I decided that the time had come for me to cut off my locs and resume my "loose natural status." My mother, Sharon, helped me to strategically cut each loc ... we had decided to take them down instead of cutting them all off. After days and days of unraveling what was left of my locs, again, I felt liberated. This time, it was a strange feeling ... I had no idea of how to take care of my hair.

My husband and I had decided that I would take a couple of years off to stay home with our new daughter. Zaila (Zay-la). Like many, I took to the internet and quickly realized that there is this big, beautiful, magnificent, glorious community of naturally textured women throughout the world who I could actually develop relationships with and learn from. Amazing. I also discovered that yes ... YouTube is your friend (shout out to all of the YouTubers!) and seriously, to all of the bloggers … thank you and keep doing what you do.

I began thinking about what it is that I want my hair to "do" ... if anything. Was I concerned about the health of my hair or was it more about obtaining a particular look? Was I concerned about curl definition, growth, length retention, etc? Throughout the process, my answer certainly changed from time to time. At one point, I stretched my hair with a blow dryer at the roots every morning to get a little more length while at another time, I wore my hair neatly tucked away with bob pins for four months to prevent split ends, etc. Yes, my mission has certainly changed from time to time but that's part of the process of getting to know, forming a relationship with, and loving your naturally textured hair.

I also discovered ... pretty quickly, actually, that no wave, curl or kink is created equal ... from afar, my hair may look like yours but no ... no, there's more to it than that. How much hair do you literally have on your head per square inch? How healthy is your diet? Do you drink enough water ... are you hydrated? What part of the country do you live in ... dry, cold and windy or hot, sunny and dry or hot and humid? Genetically, do you have a tendency to shed more hair than others? We could go on and on from here. That was the challenge for me. I HEAVILY invested in products that were recommended by others. I purchased online because the majority of products were not readily available to me locally. After the wait and the eagerly anticipated arrival of my goodies, I was disappointed from time to time as I was not able to achieve the level of moisture or curl definition, etc. that others had achieved with specific products. It's true. I had not had the opportunity  (there were no local stores or boutiques similar to Tendrils and Curls in the area) to look a little closer at the products that I was investing in to make educated decisions about what might work best for me and my hair. Honestly, ALL OF THE PRODUCTS ARE REALLY GOOD ... it’s all about what works best for you and your unique hair.

From there, Tendrils and Curls was conceived. I was staying home with Zaila and I had the time to do my homework. After chatting with other naturals about tried and true regimens, struggles with breakage and split ends and identifying what products seem to “do the job,” I came to realize that there was a gap to be filled.  It was the perfect opportunity to start thinking about a new career. My mother owned a beauty supply store when I was between the ages of 7 - 10. As a result, I had always had somewhat of an interested despite my years of education in another field. My mother and I had numerous conversations about revisiting her initial career path ... but this time, it would be a little different. We wanted to open a boutique that would cater specifically to those with naturally textured hair ... a space that is warm and inviting ... a space where you can see other fabulous curly heads and be seen, sit down and chat, compare and contrast products by touching and smelling and trying them out, and of course ... shop! Essentially, a boutique that would celebrate the splendor and glory that is ... naturally textured hair. We wanted to make sure that we not only carried products and accoutrements necessary for the health, maintenance and styling of naturally textured hair but of course, given our love of jewelry, bags and other accessories ... we carefully chose the work of a group of both local and national artists and designers to make themselves at home in our boutique."

 

How awesome is that...I'm glad I'm not the only one who's so enthusiastic about the effects of great products in natural hair care!  Are you excited yet!!  Well you've got a little over a week and a whole payday until the store opens!!  The official open date is JULY 9th, but the GRAND OPENING festivities will take place from 12p-6p on SATURDAY JULY 14th.  It's going to be "A Day of Cupcakes and Curls!"  Stop in for cupcakes, fun, and curls, with gift bags, samples, and prizes being given away every hour! AND you can get a henna tattoo by an amazing henna artist.  I can't wait!!

The store will be open from 10am-6pm Monday through Saturday and I'm sure I'll be a frequent shopper.  Matter of fact, let me start getting my list & budget together now because I KNOW my inner PJ is going to do the fool!

On a more serious note, this is a fantastic opportunity for Houston and we need to support Paula and Tendrils and Curls.  This is a tremendous achievement for the naturals in the city.  To me, you can't put a price on having someplace to walk into and see, touch, smell and try products...it's invaluable!  Now, like Atlanta has Sage Naturalceuticals, we too have someplace to call our own! 

Be sure to follow Tendrils and Curls on Twitter, Facebook, and on their website.  Tell Paula "HI!" from This Hair of Mine :)