FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media Contacts: Madeline Johnson The Market Council PR 212.729.1948

Alicia Ward NaturallyCurly 512.371.7545 ext. 305

Jasmine Powers J Powers Marketing & Publicity 310.844.2784

GROW OUT CHALLENGE CELEBRATION Presented by Kim Coles, CurlyNikki & NaturallyCurly

Celebrate the wrap up of the six month grow out challenge in style!

Saturday, August 13, 2011, Los Angeles, CA– Actress and comedian Kim Coles wraps up her six- month long 2011 Grow-Out Challenge, sponsored by Jessicurl, an international product line catering to the curly haired community. The 2011 Grow-Out Challenge evolved out of Kim Coles’ decision to embrace her natural hair, and has become an extension of her self- empowering passion project in which she is asking all women to open their G.I.F.T.S, Gratitude, Intention, Forgiveness, Triumphs and Self-Love. Those who accepted the challenge with Kim blogged about their experiences at naturallycurly.com/kimcolesgrowout.

Guests are invited to meet Kim, Nikki and members of Naturallycurly as they sip cocktails, get free curly hair samples, chat with other naturals, hear styling tips from top curl experts.

Saturday August 13th 5-9 pm The House of Spades 215 W. 6th St. Penthouse 16 Los Angeles, CA. 90014 Find out more details about the event here: http://www.naturallycurly.com/laevent

Guests will be given a goody bag filled with chances to win an iPad, as well as hundreds of dollars worth of products from Jessicurl.

Like a watched pot never boiling, once you decide to grow your hair out, it can seem like a never- ending process. There are some aspects that are in your control, however, so follow these tips and you’ll maximize your hair’s natural speed of growth.

-more-

1

Here are Five Tips on Achieving a Successful Grow Out from Jessica McGuinty, CEO and founder of Jessicurl.

1. Diet. Don’t neglect your diet. You need to nourish your hair from the inside out. Make sure to get adequate nutrition, and supplement with biotin, as it has been shown to increase hair growth. Jessica can attest to this personally. A few months after starting to take biotin, she found she was having to touch up her roots more often because her hair was growing noticeably faster. It is also important that your diet contains enough protein and fats, as with too little of either it can become dry, brittle and more prone to breakage.

2. Be gentle. As you grow out your hair, you want to avoid anything that will cause the ends to break off. This means limited brushing and combing. Curly hair really shouldn’t be brushed when it’s dry as it will make it frizz and kill your curl definition. You can sufficiently detangle with a wide-toothed comb in the shower while the hair is saturated in conditioner. The conditioner will create slip that allows the comb to glide through without snagging or breaking. Start at the bottom and gently work your way up.

3. Limit heat styling. If you need to use heat tools to dry your hair faster, be sure your blow dryer has a diffuser on it to keep the hair from getting blown all over. It’s really best to avoid flat ironing altogether as it will really dry out your hair and lead to breakage. If you have to do it, try to limit it to two times a week. The goal is to keep the hair as moisturized as possible throughout the process.

4. Moisturize it! Soft hair is healthy hair, and healthy hair grows faster. Once a week do a deep conditioning treatment for at least 30 minutes to infuse your hair with more moisturize than it gets daily. Regular scalp massages are also recommended as it gets the blood flowing to your scalp and helps stimulate growth. Jessicurl Stimulating Scalp Massage Oil was created for exactly this purpose. By eating right, treating your hair gently and giving it lots of moisture and TLC, you’ll notice it growing in no time!

5) Download the Curls on the Go mobile app: The best accessory for summer is the NEW, free app, Curls on the Go™. An intuitive and easy-to-use application, Curls on the Go™ features the Frizz Forecast™, product and salon finders with reviews, a hair type finder and hair styles ideas, as well as photos and videos. You will also get recommendations for frizzy hair remedies to keep your hair looking great, whatever the weather. Curls on the Go™ has been released for the iPhone, iPod Touch, and is compatible with iPad (Android coming later this summer). To download the Curls On The Go™ app, search “Curls On The Go™” in Apple app store.

About The NaturallyCurly Network The NaturallyCurly Network is a collection of sites that informs, empowers and unites a community of people brought together by a common interest – curly hair. The flagship brand, NaturallyCurly.com, attracts 700,000 unique monthly engaged, influential consumers creating user-generated content on a daily basis – boasting more than 30,000 photos, product and stylist reviews and 30,000 monthly forum posts. The network also includes CurlStylist.com, a professional community for stylists servicing the curly clientele; CurlMart.com, a boutique ecommerce site showcasing more than 60 brands and 550

2 community-vetted products; and CurlyNikki.com, the leading natural hair expert in the blogosphere, encouraging people everywhere to share their experiences, frustrations and triumphs of being naturally glamorous, with 230,000 unique monthly visitors. The entire network logs 1 million unique monthly visits, on average from more than 250 countries worldwide, all of whom have a common thread – a curl, kink or wave – that bonds them together.

About Kim Coles Best known for her five-season turn as the unforgettable “Synclaire” on FOX’s ground-breaking comedy series, , Kim Coles has starred on numerous hit television programs including , Six Feet Under, , One on One, and the TBS comedy series 10 Items Or Less. Currently, Kim is the host of BET's My Black is Beautiful, a Proctor & Gamble initiative celebrating the diverse collective beauty of African American women, now in its third season. Notably Kim recently became the first African American female primetime game show host in the nation’s history by headlining BET’s inspirational game show, Pay It Off.

About CurlyNikki.com Founded by Alicia Nicole Walton, a licensed psychotherapist, CurlyNikki.com, a member of the NaturallyCurly.com network is the leading natural hair expert in the blogosphere created to serve as an online “hair therapy session” for those struggling to embrace their natural hair. The site inspires, educates and motivates its readers and is currently servicing an existing and growing community of more than 100,000 unique visitors.

About Jessicurl Jessica McGuinty spent years hating her curly hair and doing all she could to hide it. Then she decided that to feel good about herself, she had to embrace her naturally curly hair. After a long search for products that would not damage her hair, Jess decided to create her own products. She shared them on NaturallyCurly.com and got a huge response from people asking her to make the “magic potion” for them. Thus, in 2002, Jessicurl was born with the creation of her first product, Rockin’ Ringlets Styling Potion. Now with eleven curl enhancing products all created and tested by Jess herself, the Jessicurl line is helping women and men all over the world discover and embrace their naturally curly hair. As Jess says, “You Have The Right To Remain Curly.”

Tags: Naturally Curly, The NaturallyCurly Network, social engagement, mobile, social network, community, curly hairstyle, Austin, marketing, social media

###

3