Howe Library Natural Hair Products Workshop

The CSDT Team just wrapped up a two month long activity from May to June, 2018, at the Howe Public Library in Albany teaching youth how to create and market natural hair products. The unit started off learning about hair care products and the importance of pH as a means of keeping hair healthy. The participants created a digital pH meter using an arduino and selected from a litany of hair care products to test the pH. Next week the kids learned about hair care and the role of pH using CSDT's "pH Empowered" module. They each got photocopies of recipes for natural hair care products, and they selected three of their favorite recipes. The next week the participants were able to create their product from an array of natural groceries. Each girl was able to make and take home a finished natural beauty product.

The next week we marketed the product we had made after analyzing beauty product advertisements. They made posters with art supplies. The week after that we started learning how to code cornrows using our CSDT Cornrow Curves Software. The next week we learned how to braid cornrows using mannequin heads and the expertise of the hair beauticians on our team, Lakisha Foy, Shantelle Savage, Celena Gomez, and Xji-Anne Hudson.

Thanks to Tor Loney at Howe Public Library for setting this up and helping make it happen! Also thanks to the undergraduates who helped, Eva Dibong and Morgan Salazar. It was great fun!