This month, Best Kept Secrets Salon celebrated the successful completion of its first-ever 4C Hair Boot Camp, a groundbreaking program designed to empower girls ages 10 to 15 with the skills and confidence to care for their natural, textured hair.
Held over two weeks (August 5–8 and August 12–15) at 2060 Yellow Springs Road, the camp brought together dozens of young participants eager to learn and embrace their natural beauty. Each day, campers engaged in hands-on training led by salon owner and beauty industry innovator Kim Abernathy, whose 30+ years of expertise in natural hair care made the experience both educational and inspiring.
Over the course of the camp, girls explored:
- Natural hair styling and maintenance
- Locs, curling, coiling, and braiding
- Parting, detangling, and understanding curl patterns
- Flat twisting techniques and more
Each camper received a full haircare kit and daily lunch, ensuring they had both the tools and the support to continue practicing at home. Live Q&A sessions and one-on-one instruction helped transform what could have been an intimidating skillset into an empowering, joyful experience.
For Abernathy, the camp was about much more than teaching technique:
“It was more than a camp — it was a confidence-building, skill-sharing introduction to a world where Black hair is celebrated, understood, and cared for.”
Parents and participants alike left the camp praising the sense of community and self-assurance it fostered. Many girls walked away not just with new skills, but with a new outlook on their own natural hair.
Best Kept Secrets Salon, which has been serving Frederick since 2009 with three Rosemont-area locations, plans to continue building on the success of this inaugural program.
To learn more about future programs, follow @bestkeptsecretsalon on Instagram.