'Curls Naturally' is one of the love children of a curly awakening and a Big Hairy Audacious Goal...
In 2018, a Big Hairy Audacious Goal loomed large in the mind of Donna, the owner/manager of Curls Naturally...
To do her part to bring about a change in the hair industry for the next generation of curls (yes, girls, and guys...) to come after her, in the same way that the 'natural hair movement' and the spreading of The Curly Girl Method and similar curly hair information were impacting the hair industry in the Northern Hemisphere and spreading down to the Southern Hemisphere - from the grass-roots up.
She studied the steady increase in demand for curl specialist services and products, borne out of the global phenomenon of people of curl discovering and seeking out peer-to-peer and professional support.
It became clear to Donna that a niche within the hair industry to meet this demand was growing...and growing rapidly...but not in NZ.
Observing and connecting with educators operating in this niche across the globe in the USA, Canada, UK, South America and Australia, who all made the same comment that NZ was lagging behind, Donna knew that if anything was going to change here in NZ for the next generation of curls, a 'curl infrastructure' needed to be built:
- Awareness of curl specialist training of the kind that is recognised and trusted by the consumer (in this case the international curl community) vs what is taught in the mainstream hair industry.
- Consumer and industry access to effective, curl-friendly products that are recognised and trusted by the international curl community.
- Consumer pressure on the salon industry to meet the demand and train in curl specialist techniques and to use products compatible with the trusted peer to peer content.
- Salon owners and stylists to recognise that mainstream techniques for cutting, styling and product supply were not meeting the demand and that this demand would only increase as the curl movement headed increasingly towards NZ.
And so what began as a personal curl journey to make peace with and embrace her own curls by following 'The Curly Girl Method' by Lorraine Massey, quickly became a schema of long-term strategies drawn on a very large piece of paper. Designing ways for consumers and industry to gain access and information on training, access and information on product, directories of links and trainers, building traction, increasing awareness, supporting other curlies, connecting globally. Doing her part to build a 'curl infrastructure' in NZ for the next generation.
...and this is where 'Curls Naturally' was born.
Here at Curls Naturally, Donna has been professionally trained in several methods and protocols from leading curl specialist educators globally, some brand specific, others brand-agnostic. It is that training that leads her to stock the lines that Curls Naturally has. In doing so, we are 100% supportive of The Curly Girl Method, the Map Method, and the Cut It Kinky protocol. Our commitment is to always supply products and advice that sit happily both with curlies, and with curl specialists, following that method.
We aim to point you (You, you curly wonder you!) in the right direction, supply you with quality product and resources, and to see you become your best curly self!
So, what's in the name, 'Curls Naturally'?
Hmmm, we've all had them...those intrigued sideways glances and exclamations of "I love your curls!" followed by the question "...are they natural?"
The quizzical nature of the compliment always used to leave Donna embarrassed, until one day the penny dropped; she could either shrink back, or she could own the moment with gratitude, and say cheerfully "Yes. My hair curls, naturally".
Curls are a part of nature.
We hope that the way you learn to care for them becomes more natural to you over time, that you adopt curl-friendly natural ingredients in your hair regime and naturally (since we're hair for the next generation of curls to come) we hope that you wear your own curls with pride...naturally!