I recently went to Afro Hair And Beuaty Live in London. So unlike the other bloggers and vloggers and generally hair and beauty enthusiasts, that where there amongst the general public, I didn’t go home, jump on my laptop and write about it. I am a bad blogger. Also, I am a slow blogger. I am a self confessed procrastinator. Sorry.

But I didn’t want the event to go undocumented because it was the first event of this kind that I’ve been too! I know, shocking right?! What have I been doing with myself?

But it’s completely understandable as I don’t live in London and when it comes to these sort of events as a casual consumer or as a blogger, it just isn’t happening up here. However, I’m glad that Afro Hair And Beauty Live in London was my first go around.

I was so excited and grateful when one of my oldest friends suggested we go, you can see her twirling in the bottom left hand corner of the top picture. Her little sister was there too, can’t remember the last time I’d seen her! The event was held over 2 days on the 26th and 27th May 2019 at The Business Design Centre in our fair capital. We went on the 26th, a sunny afternoon and a great way to spend a day.

There were brands I’d heard of, the usual suspects – As I Am, Palmer’s and even Pantene. I was excited to find out more about the Pantene products as it’s not a brand I would normally associate with natural hair, which I have to admit was the consensus from the few random conversations I had with naturalistas floating around the conference centre. No matter how good the products are, and I believe they have really tried to make an authentic product, there is a feeling that they are jumping on a bandwagon, perhaps too late, to ever really be taken seriously. But if it’s good, it’s good.

Along with the established and well known brands there were new ones – new to me and actually new, independent and/ or handmade. Like the Carol Brown O’Natreal Natural Hair Mud. I’m actually really excited to try it. The ladies on the stand who talked about the product where brilliant, informed and clearly passionate about the product. Yes, they were trying to get a sale and maybe I’m a sucker for a bit of patter but I really believed they believed in that little pot of “mud.”

But it wasn’t all about hair, there was some Beauty in there too, obviously. I have to admit my focus was on hair. I wasn’t too interested in the makeup but my head did get turned by the fashion. The fashion show I watched was awesome, energetic and vibrant (even if a few of the models looked a bit unsure when dancing in front of the crowd). I was “hoodwinked” into buying a few headwraps. Okay, it didn’t take a lot of pushing but I am the proud owner of two headbands and a full wrap too.

I’m currently getting my finances in order so I bought very little. However, I did try to get my hands on as many samples and leaflets as humanly possible. And competitions, I wasn’t expecting all the competitions which basically involved taking a picture and uploading it to social media. Which as a blogger isn’t hard and doesn’t look too out of place on my feed. And gives me a chance of getting free stuff. Fingers still crossed for that trip to Afro Punk As I Am!

But you wouldn’t have to spend any money to get something out of the experience. Almost all of the vendors want to share why their products are great and give out tips for hair care. If you were feeling brave, a scalp assessment with a camera right in their with your follicles while you watch on a screen at the As I Am stall. It was fascinating.

I recommend trying an event like this, even if it’s your last. At least you can say you tried. And if you are just starting your journey, it’s a great way to find out information from knowledgeable and engaged people. The place was filled with like minded individuals and there’s an energy that I don’t often get to be around.

Special (Food Related) Mention

I would also like to give a special mention to something that added greatly to my day – The Skinny Kitchen next door to the Business Design Centre. The perfect accompaniment to a great day.

Let’s try to get to more events together even though it’s really hard because I live up North!

xx Lee xx

What events would you recommend? Any in the more northern parts of the UK? Have you been to an event and not wanted to ever go again?