colorado Archives - Curly in Colorado

Here’s Why You Have Dry Hair in Colorado

Posted on by Michelle

woman with side view of curly hair

Back in 2009 I did the big chop. I transitioned for nine months before finally cutting off all of my relaxed ends. I was left with a teeny fro and started experimenting with all sorts of hair products. At that time there were only a few online resources like blogs and hair forums. There were Youtube videos but not anything like the hair tutorials we have today.

Everyone talked about what worked for their natural hair and I found it odd that a lot of those things didn’t work for me. I finally realized that people who lived in other climates had different hair issues than what I faced here in Colorado.

Continue reading “Here’s Why You Have Dry Hair in Colorado” →

Getting Too Cold for My Wash n’ Go

Posted on by Michelle

It is nearly the middle of September and I’m already shopping for knit beanies to wear over my hair in the snow. Welcome to Colorado! Home of the mild summers and early winters. This would be fine by me if I wasn’t having so much fun with my wash n’ go style. Yes, recently I’ve been rocking my curls and enjoying my curly afro. However, last night it was forecast to drop down to good ole thirty two degrees or freezing as I like to call it.

To prepare for the cold, my family and I quickly harvested our large, unripe tomatoes from our community garden plot. We hated to do it but we just didn’t want to risk losing them. While standing in the drizzling rain and feeling my fingers go numb, I decided it was time to start wearing braid outs. The style works for me during the colder weather because I don’t have to revive the look by rewetting my hair in the morning. Also, my hair will usually lay flat enough for me to wear a warm knit beanie hat over it. Braid outs for the win!

My High Puff
I might be making a warm headband
for when I wear this style during the winter

I like to knit and crochet so I may possibly construct a new hat for myself. I might even look into making a warm head band for those days when I want to wear a puff or high bun. Another option would be to head over to Natural Born Hats and order a couple of their satin lined beanies. Either way, I’m not about that dripping wet hair life when it comes to the colder temps. Sure, we still may have a couple of sunny days coming up but as for me and my curls, it’s braid out season.

BE SURE TO FOLLOW ME ON INSTAGRAM FOR A LOOK AT MY DAILY HAIR ROUTINE

Denver Natural Hair Care Expo 2014 Recap

Posted on by Michelle

curlyincolorado.com Denver Natural hair care expo

Michaela Sanders and I
getting caught up

If you follow me on Instagram then you already know about the fun I had last weekend at the First Annual Denver Natural Hair Care Expo. The event was one of many on the Evolution Tour which was founded by Malaika-Tamu Cooper, who was a special guest speaker. Colorado Urban Naturals was the local group organizing the event with Phaedra High as the head coordinator. The event was in the planning stages for 9 months and was received positively by many. There were classes offered throughout the day on health, wellness, haircare and coaching for entrepreneurs in the hair field.

My mother, who is also natural, attended the event along with me. We both enjoyed a Qi-Gong demonstration by Ronnie Ql and Pos from The Apprentice of Peace Wellness Studio in Denver. I also caught up with an old friend, Michaela Sanders, who was an instructor for one of the classes.

Natural men and women in attendance
at this year’s Denver Natural Hair Care Expo

Vendors selling jewelry, books and food

Natural hair blogger, Sabrina Perkins (left)
with Sister, Author Dormaine G.

There were many vendors present including, Melissa Vas from More Than Curly salon, Ron Springer from Akente Express and Dormaine G, an independently published author. Also, I was glad to have the chance to reconnect with fellow natural hair blogger, Sabrina Perkins who writes for her blog, Seriously Natural.

Pictured left; Melissa Vas discussing curly hair with an attendee, top right; Earrings from Akente Express, bottom right; Ron Springer, Owner of Akente Express.

Chatting with Facebook follower (and
future blogger 😉 ) Keisha

Originally, I was invited to participate as a presenter on one of the discussion panels along with other bloggers and stylists. Unfortunately, the heavy rain brought all of the outdoor activities inside which eventually led to a cancellation of our panel. Still, the event kept on, regardless of the weather and concluded with an upbeat hair show that celebrated the beauty of natural hair.

Myself with Pos (left) and
Ronnie Ql of
The Apprentice of Peace
Wellness Studio

I worked for several years as an event coordinator and realize that an event of this size is a huge undertaking. There are always hiccups here and there in the first year and I know that this took a lot of man hours and planning. However, it would be nice to see more publicity next time because it sounds like there were a lot of naturals out there who didn’t find out about it in time. It also looks like a larger venue may be necessary so that all of the vendors, classes, presentations and shows can be held under one roof. This would help streamline the event schedule and shelter everyone from bad weather conditions. Overall, the event was given a huge thumbs up by the naturals who came out.

Hopefully, there will be even more support for next year’s event. It will take all of us to help make it bigger and better! My thanks goes out to Phaedra High who had a vision for a Natural Hair event in Denver and saw it through. Congrats!

I had a lot of fun meeting new people and reconnecting with old friends at the Denver Natural Hair Care Expo. For updates on future events follow my blog and check out Colorado Urban Naturals on Facebook.

Denver Natural Hair Care Expo this Weekend

Posted on by Michelle

I’ll be a panelist at the
Denver Natural Hair Care Expo

My online blogging and vlogging life has always been more about my own personal hair journey than anything else. I’ve watched how other cities’ natural hair populations have grown leading to large events for naturals. I kept wishing the same for Denver and even discussed the matter with a fellow blogger, Sabrina Perkins, of Seriously Natural. A couple of years ago, we hosted a small meet-up in downtown Denver for naturals and transitioners. It was tons of fun to see local ladies getting together and discussing natural hair.

Since then I have noticed that other meet-up groups have popped up in the metro area and meet on a more regular basis. Now, Denver is getting it’s own Natural Hair Care Expo which will be held this Sunday, June 8th, at the Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Theatre. The event is part of the Evolution Tour which is, “an 18 stop tour that crosses the country, educating people on natural hair care, holistic health and beauty.”

I’m so excited to announce that I’ll be on the discussion panel. Hopefully I’ll get to meet some of my readers there but mostly I’m glad to be a part of it all. Check out the promo photo below for more info. Hope to see you there!

CLICK HERE FOR WEBSITE AND

TICKET INFORMATION FOR

THE DENVER NATURAL HAIR CARE EXPO

Growing Heirloom Tomatoes in Colorado

Posted on by Michelle

curlyincolorado.com growing heirloom tomatoes colorado

Heirloom Tomato plants and hearty basil

I can’t believe that it has been a year since our last Heirloom Tomato plant sale. This will be our fifth year selling and we can’t wait to see some of our repeat customers. The weather here is still on the chilly side but with Mother’s Day coming up, hopefully we will be planting in the garden soon. In Colorado, we have a different growing season so growing good vegetables takes a little bit more planning. That is why my husband started the seeds for our tomato plants months ago so that they would be ready for planting in May.

We still have a garden plot at a local community garden where we grow most of our vegetable plants. At home we’ll also be trying a few lettuces and leafy greens in a raised bed. We’re not sure how they’ll fare though because there are a couple of rabbits in the area. If we’re lucky they’ll leave enough for our family to have at least one salad.

CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT COMMUNITY GARDENING IN DENVER

Planning our garden is always fun because that’s when the kids chime in with ideas of what they would like to grow. It feels good knowing that our little ones are learning how to care for the plants and also how to prepare them for the table. They call them, “free veggies,” because instead of going to the store we just stop by the garden for some good eats.

curlyincolorado.com Heirloom Tomatoes gardening colorado

Getting ready for this year’s Heirloom Tomato Plant Sale

If your in the Denver Metro area, feel free to stop by our Heirloom Tomato Plant sale. It will be held at 1568 S. Fairfax St. in Denver 80222, May 2nd-4th. We’ll be starting around 9am on Friday and Saturday and 10am on Sunday. We usually wrap up sometime around 4pm or until they’re gone. We’ll have some customer favorites like Ananas Noire, Mortgage Lifter and Brandywine. We also tried a few new varieties this year like Yellow Pear, Cherokee Purple and Green Giant. We even have some basil this year which is always a favorite. My husband has a wealth of knowledge and loves to share what he knows with other gardeners. We also give tips on how to grow strong, healthy tomato plants in our climate. Hope to see you there but if not, happy growing!