Conversations with the Inspiring Tay Jenell

Today we’d like to introduce you to Tay Jenell.

Tay, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
When I was a kid, I used to watch my mom do my sisters’ hair and they have way thicker, more coily hair than I do so they would get perms and cornrows and just get to wear their hair in all sorts of styles that I never could. I used to despise having curly hair. My mom finally started to let me flat iron my hair in middle school and I was flat ironing from then into adulthood. By 2014 I had fried and even died it to its limit and decided to ‘Big Chop’. At the point, I started researching different natural ways to grow my hair back and got into doing egg and mayo masques, bananas and avocado, the whole 9. The more I researched, I ended up discovering Ayurveda and Ayurvedic hair care techniques which happened at a time in my life when I was also going through my own spiritual turmoil. Ayurveda is basically an ancient Indian belief that health and all-around wellness is dependent on a balance between mind, body and spirit. It just really stuck with me. I was learning how to heal and grow my spirit and my hair at the same time. The more I learned, I starting developing my own mixes of hair masques and rinses and the changes I saw in my hair were crazy! It grew like crazy and was thicker and more defined than it had ever been in my whole life. I also braid hair so I started using my formulations on some of my clients of all hair textures and saw improvements in their curls too. I feel like the benefits that Ayurveda brings in general but especially to hair health needed to be shared and I came up with CurliSu Ayurvedic Hair Care. My focus is to encourage a sense of love and appreciation around our natural hair and even ourselves as a whole. I don’t believe there’s a such thing as “good hair”,all hair is good hair. When you love your hair, it will show.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It has not been a smooth road at all honestly. When I first got the idea to turn CurliSu into a business, I had no idea what or how to even go about it. I procrastinated for years before even trying to learn anything about it. I’m a single mom of two small children, I work a full-time job and then do hair on the weekends so balancing all of that and then taking classes and doing research and testing formulations, it’s definitely been a bumpy ride. Then adding in actually running the business and mixing products, it’s a lot but I just always remind myself that it CAN be done, especially because I want it that bad. I would tell other entrepreneurs that really you just have to want it. You have to believe what in what you’re doing. I believe in my products and I think CurliSu is something that can change the way people of color view natural hair care. I know how I felt about my hair growing up and I realize that it ultimately stemmed from a lack of education on how to care for it. I love having curly hair now, nobody can tell me nothing about it and I think more people deserve to feel that way. When what you’re trying to achieve really means something to you and you believe in it, any battles that stand between you and success that are worth fighting.

What should we know about CurliSu Ayurvedic Hair Care? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
I’ve been doing hair for five years now and have worked in a couple of different shops as a braider and a natural hair care specialist. I’ve gotten a decent amount of experience in what products and techniques work for different hair types just by implementing things that I researched on my own into my styling patterns. I’ve also chopped my hair off three times now and grown it back longer and stronger each time, faster too, just using the CurliSu products. My products are created using organic herbal ingredients and are hand mixed and made to order here in Denver CO. I hope that CurliSu not only encourages others to get excited about their natural hair journey as well as looking within to love themselves for who they are naturally. I enjoy educating others on the benefits of using various natural ingredients in their hair care regimens as well as care techniques that can aid in hair growth and retention.

What do you feel are the biggest barriers today to female leadership, in your industry or generally?In my experience, the biggest barriers are the fact that so many women today are not only working women but also mothers, wives, sole providers. The work of a full-time mother who is also a full-time employee while trying to keep up with all of the lives other obligations and sometimes get overwhelming. I feel like it can sometimes be hard for women to focus on the success of their careers because they are focused on keeping so many other aspects of life afloat.

Pricing:

• Intensive Moisture Masque – $25
• Honey Coconut Cowash – $20
• Green Tea Curling Gelly – $18

Contact Info:

• Website: www.curlisu.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/curlisuhaircare

Image Credit:
DJ Gaines @teddygvisuals
Sabrena Roberts @curlymessybun

Suggest a story: VoyageDenver is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.