‘A sign of expression’: Festival in Broward celebrates natural hair

When she was younger, Simone Hylton — like many Black girls— swore she needed a relaxer.

She recalled trying to convince her father, a Rastafarian from Jamaica, that it was more presentable to have her hair chemically straightened.

“I told him, ‘I need a relaxer. You don’t understand. I can’t just walk around here with my hair like this, you’re crazy,’” she said, adding he laughs and teases the beautician about it to this day.

“I just was rebelling, and I did all the things,” she said. “I even went to beauty school, and when I got there, I realized that these chemicals they’re teaching us made me lose my hair.”

Shortly after having her daughter at 21, Hylton decided to go natural and now she has a glorious crown of locks. She co-founded Natural Trendsetters salon, located in Fort Lauderdale, where she has cared for natural tresses for more than 30 years. She’s even worked with celebrity clients such as Ace Hood, Lauryn Hill and Wale.

“I saw that South Florida was so behind the times as far as hair care and really taking care of their hair,” she said. “A lot of women down here felt like because it was hot, they had to wear chemicals because the humidity just made their hair revert. But we showed them ways to embrace their curls where they didn’t have that frizz and reverting going on in the heat.”

On Sunday, Natural Trendsetters is hosting its Coilture Freedom Festival that honors natural hair care, shows people techniques for hair care, and features a natural hair show.

“It’s about really building community and bringing people together like-minded to talk not just about hair, but about lifestyle,” Hylton said.

The festival — which has been around for 19 years, though it changed names a few times — has an Afrofuturistic theme that envisions what the future of hair looks like for Black people.

“We wanted to reimagine what the future would look like in hair,” Hylton said. “We are going to be showing a lot of wearable hair, a lot of cultural, ancient styles. We touch the past, and wearable hair for the present, and then fantasy hair for the future, which will be really entertaining, but it will be kinky-inspired.”

Attendees will also be treated to wellness and hair care workshops, and a rooftop market that includes Black-owned vendors and artisans, live performances and panel discussions.

The CROWN Act

The festival comes as Florida state Sen. Shevrin Jones refiled legislation called The CROWN Act, a law that which would prevent discrimination against “protected hairstyles” used by children and employees in the public school and university system. The law defines the term “protected hairstyle” to include afros, braids, locks or twists. If passed, it will take effect July 2026.

“When we are talking about how individuals show up as their full selves in the workplace, and when individuals are judging them based off of their hairstyle… and schools being able to use the type of hair that a student probably has as a way to detour or to deny a child to be able to come in that school, it’s not right,” Jones said. “We want to be able to take as many disqualifiers off the table as possible of why individuals cannot or should not have the opportunities others have.”

Similar legislation has been passed in at least 25 states, including Arizona, Louisiana, and Texas, according to the Economic Policy Institute. The laws are intended to prevent discrimination against people based on their hair texture or hairstyles, which Jones said is an important part of self-expression.

“When you’re telling a child that they don’t belong because of feeling the blame, now you have them really second guessing their very existence,” he said. “I know some people say it’s just hair, but here it’s a sign of expression.”

Hylton agreed and said she has clients that still deal with discrimination due to their hair. But she has seen a shift among younger clientele wanting to embrace their natural tresses, recalling a time when a 14-year-old client dragged her mother into the salon and asked Hylton to explain to her mom that she didn’t need relaxer.

“I’m so proud of her for advocating for herself,” Hylton said. “She’s literally about 40 now. She is so grateful, and her mother’s natural, her entire family’s natural now.”

Hylton hopes Sunday’s festivities will allow attendees to feel seen and be inspired and empowered by the festival.

“I definitely want people to feel community,” she said. “I think it’s very important that we stick together and come together and talk about our issues with each other.” IF YOU GO

WHAT: Coilture Freedom Festival

WHEN: Noon to 7 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 16

WHERE: YMCA South Florida’s Victory Black Box Theatre, 1409 NW Sixth St., Fort Lauderdale

COST: Tickets for workshops and events vary from free to $55

INFO: https://www.eventbrite.com

This story was originally published November 13, 2025 at 4:30 AM.