Natural Hair Does Care (NHDC) co-founders Shalleen-Kaye and Seanna-Kaye Denham are set to host their first ever Natural Hair Brunch Affair at Sunset Resorts in Montego Bay.

The hair talk-themed brunch will be co-hosted by Food Before Love (FBL) Founder and CEO Casandra Rosario. Ahead of their arrival, your Under the Dryer ‘hairnista’ scored a one-on-one with the trio.

Under the Dryer (UTD): Tell us about yourselves and your involvement with the Natural Hair Does Care brand.

NHDC: Shalleen-Kaye and Seanna- Kaye, the dynamic duo collectively known as Natural Hair Does Care LLC, are two sisters on a mission: Hairspiration, HairConversion, and Hairducation, all while curating naturalista chic! Known for our thematic social media posts on natural hair care, styling ideas, nutrition, and emotional wellness, served with a healthy dash of wit and wisdom, we make living a holistic lifestyle fabulous and accessible. Casandra: I’ve been running my food blog for three years, and a few months into hosting events, NHDC reached out to me about partnering for an event. We came up with the Natural Hair Brunch Affair — to educate women on natural hair care over one of our favourite things: food! We’ve been sisters in business since. I also just happen to be natural-haired myself.

UTD: What kick-started your natural hair journey?

Shalleen-Kaye: I’ve been natural all my life. Besides hair colouring, I have never chemically altered my hair. Choosing to remain natural was a choice I made as a young girl, a choice my mother encouraged. I loved the versatility of my natural hair and the ability to go from a hard-press to kinks and coils! The process of relaxing always seemed complicated to me. You can’t scratch your hair, it burns, neutralizer, base? [LOL] There’s a scene in Spike Lee’s Malcolm X where Malcolm, played by Denzel Washington, has no water in the house but doesn’t realise it until he has to wash his perm out. He dumps his head in the toilet! I’ve been turned off ever since. In 2008, my hair was colour-treated and flat-ironed constantly. I was very busy juggling graduate school, an infant and family life. Like many other women, I neglected my tresses due to time constraints and went for the easiest thing for me at the time: heat-straightened hair. As a result I had curly roots and heat damaged, colour-treated ends – not a good look. So I decided to refrain from using heat on my hair. Slowly but surely I cut the heat damaged/colour-treated ends, so that my hair would be healthy from root to tip. I did this for six months before I did a big chop in March 2010. Casandra: I decided to go natural because perming my hair was causing serious damage to my hair. I was consistently pressing my hair after I transitioned, and as a result of the Natural Hair Brunch Affair I decided to go “no heat”.

Seanna-Kaye: I was natural until middle school, when I got a Jheri curl. After a year of torture by my peers, I transitioned from the Jheri curl when I was 14 years old, without any hair knowledge, or a plan of any kind, and have been natural ever since. Looking back, it’s a wonder my hair didn’t fall out then. Remember, back in the olden days, all I had was Dax, Pink Lotion, and that awful brown gel. Since then my hair journey has had many ups and downs. It took a scary experience about three years ago with several months of excessive shedding, breakage, and dryness for me to get serious about my hair health.

UTD: Name three must-have beauty products, and conversely, three of your go-to hair products…

NHDC: …Oh that’s easy! For hair, we definitely reach for these products from our presenting sponsor Lotta Body, all of which will be provided to each attendee of Natural Hair Brunch Affair Jamaica.

For beauty, we absolutely reach for:

Tropic Isle Living’s Jamaican Black Castor Oil — great for skin. Anastasia Brow Wiz for perfect brows, and of course Sunscreen for skin protection!

UTD: Why choose Jamaica as part of four brunch destination stops?

FBL: When we polled our social media audiences as to which cities we should tour, Jamaica was one of the most requested locations.

NHDC: Imagine how thrilled we were to see Jamaica ranked so high! We are native Jamaicans that grew up in New York City. We are coming home! Jamaica has moulded and shaped our entire lives. We are so thankful for its rich, vibrant history and progressive future. Now we bring our one-of-a-kind event back to the place where our beliefs about natural beauty all started.

UTD: Natural hair is hot and trending on the runways. What’s your take on this breakthrough?

NHDC: The runways often reflect what’s happening in street style. We are not surprised that the fashion houses have finally caught up to the style that many women of colour have been innovating in everyday life.

UTD: What are the pros and cons of going natural?

NHDC: We want people to know that they have a place where their natural beauty is always welcomed and supported, and our social media platforms provide that support, inspiration and information to help women and girls of colour on a daily basis. We provide information about proper hair care and we also display beautiful styles that allow versatility in everyday looks. Sometimes people think that being natural is enough, but they’re using damaging techniques. Styles with excessive tension and heat will cause severe damage to the hair. So we show the benefits and the potential drawbacks and how to master them both.

UTD: Share a natural hair care tip.

NHDC: 1. Select the right tools. Seamless wide-tooth combs, satin pillowcases, alligator clips, all these play an essential role in the transitioning process and maintaining these fragile and easily breakable kinky, curly, coily, weak strands of ours. 2. Deep conditioning: Especially after applying clarifying and protein treatments, deep-condition to ensure that the moisture balance is always maintained. We have definitely seen a change in the health of our hair as a result of consistently incorporating effective tools and deep conditioning into our regimen. For more tips visit our blog at naturalhairdoescare.com.

UTD: What would you want our readers to know about the upcoming event?

NHDC: On Sunday, October 25, each participant of the Natural Hair Brunch Affair Jamaica gets: A buffet-style menu of delicious eats and treats at Sunset Resorts in Montego Bay. A complimentary gift bag featuring six fullsized products from @LoveLottaBody. Coconut and Shea hair care line, the new and highly sought-after line for relaxed and natural hair. The opportunity to receive additional gifts through our generous tour-exclusive giveaways. Live demos by Shalleen-Kaye, the #NHDCStyleQueen and all the latest tips and trends in hair care. The opportunity to interact with special guests from the natural hair community.

We will also provide an environment where women of all hair textures (whether relaxed, transitioning to natural, loc’s/sister loc’d) can all talk about healthy hair care. We provide clarity about hair myths and answer questions that some in our audience have been too shy to ask anywhere else. Support from fellow naturalistas and networking are also great opportunities of Natural Hair Brunch Affair.

FBL: There is so much effort put into this event from a place of love from the Natural Hair Brunch Affair team. See you at the brunch!

FOR TICKETS

Kingston:

Décor All & Creative Cakes,

IG: @creativecakesja

Shop #71 Princeville Plaza

95-97 Constant Spring Road

Kingston 8

Pauline 876.787.2523

Montego Bay:

Naturally You Natural Hair Centre,

IG: @naturallyyouja

Shop #136

Centre Mall, Montego Bay

Sitara 876.396.3194

Tickets are also available Online:

www.naturalhairbrunchaffairja.splashthat.com

Advance ticket purchase is required; no tickets will be sold at the door.

To stay tuned to the Natural Hair Brunch Affair Team you can find them here:

naturalhairdoescare.com and Natural Hair Does Care on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Periscope and Snapchat.

foodbeforelove.com and Food Before Love on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat.