CurlFest 2026: the Largest Natural Beauty Festival

By: |Published on: Jul 31, 2026|Categories: Beauty, Beauty Events, cosmetics, Fashion, Hair, New York, Spa|

It’s back! CurlFest! The largest natural beauty festival in America occurs every year in New York City!

Watch the highlight videos:

The CurlFest event was paused in 2025 and it’s good to go again. Large nationally–known sponsors that regularly supported the event in the past did not renew their backing. Combine the loss of major support with the country still in a post–pandemic situation, and the Curly Girl Collective founders were forced to stand back and reassess how to produce a live event. Well, that time off to plan, contemplate, compare and pray turned out to be worth it! All those who attended benefitted!

CurlFest was top–notch! The bar was raised!  Everything was very organized and conveniently, strategically placed out on the lawn of lush grass on Randall’s Island. And the crowd was elated! Adults came with young daughters and even little kids under six; it was nothing but smiles on everyone’s face and lots of hugs and good cheer. There were groups of girlfriends on day trips. Afro-Nubian queens of all sizes (and kings!) roamed all around the grounds, viewing displays, sampling demonstrations of products, appreciating exquisite artwork created live in front of their eyes (including paintings by Jocelyn Marie Goode #RichPainterChick),, enjoying food trucks with street cuisine from all the African diaspora, and getting new hairdos done on the spot. Live music from the stage caused breaks of spontaneous dancing. Everyone seemed to be happy that they came.

I was glad to see long time brands like Dark and Lovely, Creme of Nature, and Carol’s Daughter. Other booths for DevaCurl, Dinah Lefranc, Thebo, Bask & Lather, En Love Beauty, Dhair Boutique, Mielle Organics, SheaMoisture, The Doux, Black Girl Vitamins, Wrappd Beauty and even more products, jewelry, clothing, paintings and crafts under the marketplace tents.
To me it was like the universe, the heavens, and the clouds parted to anoint the entire CurlFest with the sun. The sunny blue skies raised the energy and enhanced the colors of all who attended. Brown skin glowed and hair shined. There were all sorts of unique looks, creative hair styles, curls, coils, twists, braids, adorned with flowers, beads, gems and bows — because you know it seems black hair can be styled 250+ ways! People came from the south, midwest, southwest, and different parts of the United States and Canada. They left with their bags filled, and those bags were heavy.
In my bag: Dark & Lovely haircolor, Shea Moisture #SheaMoisture shampoo and conditioner, Miss Jessie’s #miss_jessies Honey Curls gelee, Carol’s Daughter #carolsdaughter refining cream, The Doux #ilovethedoux bonding polish, Creme of Nature’s #cremeofnature scalp wipes, ORS #orshaircare leave in conditioner and defining jelly, Watch & Sea #WatchAndSeaBeauty twist and braid out souffle, Black Girl Sunscreen #blackgirlsunscreen, Black Girl Vitamins #blackgirlvitamins, En Love #enlovebeauty detangler, being #beinghaircare shampoo, Donna’s Recipe #donnasrecipe shampoo, DevaCurl #devacurl Supercream.

In addition to testing new products, festival goers were educated and inspired with guest speakers. Panel topics on the Empowerment Stage included “Boss Up: Scaling Your Personal Brand in the Creator Economy”, “Beauty, Business & Justice: Protecting Consumers While Growing Black-Owned Beauty Businesses”, “HelloBeautiful Presents: Next in the World of Beauty: Skincare and Haircare, “Beauty Without Borders: A Global Conversation on Identity, Culture and Authenticity”, “Real Ones: Black Men on Grooming and Growth”, and “Founders Chat: Building Beauty Empires” with Lisa Price (Carol’s Daughter) and Courtney Adeleye (Mane Choice, Watch & Sea).

Arriving by golf cart were the three most active co–founders of the Curly Girl Collective: Melody Henderson, Simone Mair, and Charisse Higgins. When they saw all the joy and colors, they had to feel accomplished that they had organized a place to celebrate culture, and comfort and acceptance in individual expression within the unity.
Seeing the enthusiasm of the crowd brought me back to events I have attended over four decades in beauty and cosmetics. I’ve seen every brand from Revlon and Clairol to startups, all the top stylists from Floyd Kinyatta to John Atchison, to Soul Scissors, to all the greats who set the stage like Olive Benson and Barbara Marshall, all of these icons, these professionals. Attending CurlFest reminded me a lot of when I would attend the Bronner Brothers shows in Atlanta.
Put the CurlFest attendees together on that lawn with all who wished they had come, and they represent trillions of dollars of concentrated buying power!
  
For anyone who missed CurlFest 2026 or forgot to get a souvenir, you can still shop for merch here: https://www.curlfest.com/shop-curlfest-2026

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