There’s a new hair movement for African American women, according to some University students, and they plan on celebrating it on campus.

On Saturday, Sept. 10, SuperNatural will host the first “Tender, Love, & Hair” conference at the Student Dining and Residential Programs building, or SDRP. African American bloggers, Youtube stars and other speakers from the Midwest will come together to discuss how they went “natural”: shaping their hairstyles without using relaxers or other harsh chemical products.

Just in the past few years, there’s been an interest in relaxer-free hairstyles across the online community. Youtube stars like Nina Ellis-Hervey garner thousands of subscribers giving advice on relaxer-free hairstyles and other beauty tips.

“It was something that was predominantly on the internet,” said Sydney Stoudmire, SuperNatural founder and recent LAS graduate who also organized Saturday’s event. “I felt like there was a need for a real-life component where we could educate and support each other.”

The RSO, SuperNatural, was formed just a year ago when five people came together and decided to talk about alternatives to hair relaxers and issues affecting the African American community.

Dainya Wesley, junior in Media and SuperNatural vice president, said she had a perm since she was five years old until she went relaxer-free just last year.

“I felt like I was alone in wanting to go natural,” Wesley said. “(But) just realizing that there are other girls who felt the same way as me, I felt like I finally had a support group and I felt like this was the best place for me.”

Other students like Jessica Hall, grad student in Business, benefited from going natural.

“My hair has grown tremendously; I always say it’s like a Chia pet,” Hall said. “It’s the first thing I’ve ever done for me without caring what other people might think, or how they would have perceived me. This is what I wanted to do; this is what I felt confident like doing.”

SuperNatural hopes that other delegates will feel the same way when they attend the conference. “That’s So Raven” actress, T’Keya Crystal Keymáh, will be the opening speaker for the event, talking about her natural hair journey and how it boosted her self-esteem.

Stoudmire, however, doesn’t want this event – or her organization – to focus on just hair. When she decided to go natural a few years ago, she was able to stop worrying about damping her relaxer when she was at the gym, and began working out more as a result. Combined with a healthier diet, she lost 40 pounds in just two years.

“I’m not saying that going natural cured all my life problems,” Stoudmire said, “But it definitely made me more aware with what I was doing to my body. That’s what we want the future of the organization to reflect: a holistic health awareness, not just about your hair.”