3 August 2025, Hamburg. One day dedicated to curls, Afro hair and more confidence behind the chair.
How do you learn to work with a hair texture that was barely covered during your training? Watching a video can only take you so far. You need to see the hair, feel it, ask questions and practise yourself.
That was the idea behind AfroCurls Pro, the workshop I hosted in Hamburg in August 2025 together with Abina Ntim from JONA curly hair care. We welcomed hairdressers in person and online. And for me, it turned out to be a pretty important day.
How AfroCurls Pro started
Abina first approached me about organising professional education together several years earlier. She wanted Afro hair to have more visibility in German hairdressing education and salons. Her cultural anthropology background and professional network brought one perspective. I brought the technical hairdressing side: consultations, analysis, cutting, cleansing and styling from my everyday work with waves, curls and coils.
Those perspectives came together at AfroCurls Pro. We wanted to go beyond talking about inclusion. Hairdressers need real opportunities to understand and work with different textures.
Two perspectives, one workshop
We divided the one-day event into two main parts. Abina explored cultural context, respectful language and communication with clients who have Afro hair, including how certain phrases can build trust while others can make a client uncomfortable.
My session focused on the actual salon work: What do you ask during a consultation? Why do you cleanse hair a particular way? How do you decide on a cut? How do you create a Wash-and-Go that fits the texture and the result your client wants?
I didn't want anyone leaving with a routine they could only copy. I wanted them to understand the thinking behind each step.
A good haircut starts with a good conversation
A haircut is only as good as the consultation before it. That's something I teach my own clients, and it was a big part of my workshop session.
What does the client actually want? How do they wear their hair day to day? Is length their priority? Volume? Definition? How much styling do they realistically want to do at home? You can execute a technically beautiful cut and still miss the brief if you haven't asked the right questions.
And when a stylist has had limited exposure to a texture, trust becomes even more important. Some people with Afro hair or tight coils have had so many disappointing salon experiences that they simply stop going. At the same time, some hairdressers rarely get the chance to gain hands-on experience with those textures. The gap just keeps growing.
The live demonstration: Real people, real hair
I personally selected real models who were happy to participate in the demonstration. One of them was a little nervous at first but also genuinely excited and open to the experience. I loved that, because trust matters on both sides of the chair.
Attendees could observe, ask questions and, with the model's permission, feel the hair texture for themselves. That might sound like a small detail, but it is very different from only looking at curls on a screen.
After the demonstration, the hairdressers practised on mannequin heads, which they could take home to continue working on their techniques. So the individual hands-on practice was on training heads, while I led the live demonstration on real people.
Three moments that really made things click
1. Clarifying goes beyond shampooing the roots. We looked at professional cleansing, why the lengths matter too and how a good foundation affects the rest of the service.
2. Water and product application change the finish. How wet is the hair? How evenly is the product distributed? What happens to definition when those choices become intentional? Seeing that in action made a difference.
3. You have to experience shrinkage to really get it. When you cut a curl and then stretch it out, you can suddenly see how much length you've removed. That's the kind of understanding that changes cutting decisions.
None of this is a trick. It's professional hairdressing knowledge applied to different textures.
What the day meant to me
I'd taught smaller sessions before, but AfroCurls Pro was my first bigger education event, bringing together brand partners, live demonstrations, online attendees and genuinely lovely goodie bags. Lockenbox, Curl Bites and Unrefined Riches were among the brands that supported us.
What stayed with me most, though, was something else: I realised how much I love teaching other hairdressers. Especially those moments when theory becomes practical and uncertainty turns into real understanding.
I also realised that some of my own clients already know things many hairdressers still need to learn. I love that my Babeyhair clients are curious and informed. But when they need professional guidance, they should be able to turn to a professional, not have to piece everything together from DIY content.
From AfroCurls Pro to my own training
AfroCurls Pro was our joint event in 2025. There are currently no further dates announced. Whether we organise another edition in the future is still open.
The experience also encouraged me to develop my own education further. Today, through Babeyhair Pro, I teach my Afrocurls System, my own method for working across waves, curls and coils, not just Afro hair.
It brings consultation, hair analysis, cutting decisions, cleansing, Wash-and-Go styling and drying into one coherent salon workflow. In my two-day in-house training, teams practise on mannequin heads and, depending on their experience, can also work on live models. The practical focus is adapted to the salon team.
If you're looking for current curly or Afro hair education for your salon: Explore Babeyhair Pro and the Afrocurls System →
Thank you to Abina, our models, every participant and the brands who helped make this workshop possible.
