Trailblazing hair stylist celebrates the beauty of natural hair with new KC festival
Tippi Shorter Rank, owner of Hair Love KC, dedicates her days to transforming hair of all textures and types in her bustling Kansas City salon. But this weekend she and slew of other Black hair stylists and natural hair enthusiasts will be focused on curls and coils.
Shorter Rank, has a deep passion for curls, coils, and textured hair — once deemed undesirable by conventional beauty standards.
Having styled high-profile clients such as Beyoncé, Tracee Ellis Ross, and Rihanna, the 51-year-old Kansas City entrepreneur and advocate for natural hair, is considered a trailblazer in redefining beauty. Now she’s bringing more curls-are-beautiful energy to Kansas City in the form of a curl festival.
The CurlChella Festival, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday, will mark Kansas City’s very first festival dedicated exclusively to curly hair. This inaugural event aims to become an annual celebration that honors all types of curls. Shorter Rank is thrilled to lead this new initiative, bringing essential resources and support to women seeking guidance and inspiration for their textured hair.
“I think it will give them a sense of community and a sense of belonging,” says Shorter Rank. “It will give them education and that’s really what it’s about.”
Festivals celebrating curly hair have flourished for years in major cities like New York, Atlanta, and Los Angeles.
Shorter Rank explains that these festivals have become more common with the increase of women with curly hair choosing to wear it naturally — without using chemical straighteners — and that increase has caused a need for resources.
Alongside her work as a business owner and stylist, she is also a dedicated advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion in the hair and beauty sector.
“When I was seeking out education for my own hair and couldn’t find it because hair stylists are not trained how to work on curls and coils in beauty school, I decided that was going to be my direction,” she said.
Originally from California, Shorter Rank collaborated with the Texture Education Collective to advocate for legislation ensuring that curly hair is included in beauty school curricula. This initiative has expanded to New York, Louisiana, Minnesota and Connecticut. Shorter Rank is optimistic that it will gain traction in the remaining states as well.
The one-day CurlChella Festival will feature a range of activities, including workshops led by curly hair care professionals, styling demonstrations, and a panel discussion followed by a question and answer session with the audience. Additionally, the event will showcase local vendors from the hair and beauty community, offering products specifically designed for curly and textured hair.
One attendee of the event will be Shotonda Jones, a Kansas City resident who has been a loyal customer of the Hair Love KC Salon for the past year. Jones’ journey with her natural hair began at the age of 12 when she received her first chemical hair relaxer to manage her thick, curly hair. At that time, she accepted it as the norm and didn’t question the decision.
“It (her hair) was always looked at as nappy,“ said Jones. “It was looked at like it was not good hair and it wasn’t until I was 37 that I decided to go natural.”
Six years ago, Jones cutoff most of her hair, leaving her with a short afro. While she embraces her natural hair and loves its appearance, she acknowledges that maintaining it can sometimes be a challenge.
For a while, she struggled to find a local stylist who specialized in curly hair. When she discovered Hair Love KC, she immediately connected with the friendly staff and the inviting atmosphere. Now, a regular customer, Jones is looking forward to attending the festival and meeting other natural hair enthusiasts. She plans to take her mom along.
“I am excited for the workshops for tips on how to style my own hair and mainly community. I think it is important for us to be in spaces where our authentic beauty is embraced,” said Jones, who works as a speech language pathologists.
Shorter Rank is thrilled to welcome fellow stylists, hair experts and curl advocates from across the country that she has collaborated with over the years, including Dr. Meena Singh from the TLC reality television show “Bad Hair.” Joining the panel will be Kansas City native Monica Stevens, known on social media as MoKnowsHair.
Now based in Atlanta, Stevens is also the creator of a hair care line designed specifically for Black women and their diverse hair textures.
“We’ll be talking about hair-care-related things and answering questions from the audience,” said Stevens. “Kansas City doesn’t get many beauty events. Usually they’re in bigger market cities like New York, LA, Vegas, kind of places. So having a beauty focused event in Kansas City is really cool.”
Stevens, a prominent hair influencer with a large following on social media, is excited to return home for this event. Despite having participated in countless panels on hair throughout her career, this will be her first time speaking on a panel in her hometown.
“I’m excited to see everybody’s reactions, their excitement at the event, and that will help this event to hopefully become an annual event and hopefully encourage more events like it to come to the city,” she said.
Shorter Rank notes that planning for this first-time event has gone smoothly, and sponsors were eager to get involved. She is optimistic that this festival will be the first of many to focus on empowering women through celebrating their hair.
“I’ve actually already gotten commitments from my sponsors for ongoing years and then I’ve actually had one or two mentions about potentially taking it to other parts of the Midwest,” said Shorter Rank. “Literally the tagline for the event is celebration, education and community.”
For more information and registration visit curlchellakc.com
