'Embrace your own natural beauty': Loctician helps bring Center Court Hair Care & Beauty Expo to life

BALTIMORE - The ultimate hair and beauty extravaganza took over the heart of downtown Baltimore uniting experts from around the Charm City.

But there is one woman who is the force behind it all. 

Malaika-Tamu Cooper is what we like to call a leading lady. 

"Embrace your own natural beauty. What you see is what you get," said Cooper. 

She is the owner and operator of Dreadz-N-Headz, a place where your locs and natural beauty are set free.

"I've actually been doing hair since I was 9 years old," Cooper said. "And I've trained a host of loctations across the country and internationally."

She's seen the latest trends, products, and techniques from top professionals in the industry transform.

"Over the last, maybe 30 years, we have been reintroduced to our own natural Afro-centric standard of beauty," Cooper said. "And it has evolved into what we have today."

Cooper's own journey from having locs and then alopecia is why she fights for people to embrace their natural beauty. 

"I teach about what we call scalp mapping," Cooper told WJZ. "It's very traumatic to have hair that I've had in 1000s of magazines, across the world. Now to be involved. I'm embracing my baldness, I love it." 

Cooper's passion for hair is why she helped build Center Court Hair Care and Beauty Expo, alongside Derrick Chase.

"The vision is always to make Baltimore better," said Chase.

Their goal is to create a space where the community can connect with fellow beauty lovers, shop, learn and be inspired.

"With what she's done with natural hair was perfect, because she's also a part of the evolution of what that means to be Baltimore, and in particular, what it means to be a part of a culture that often is misrepresented," said Chase, the VP of operations of the Finn Group.

"To walk in and see the dawning and the education, and everything, to me is just as it does my spirit, a world of good," Cooper said. 

"She's given those Black women a crown," said Chase.

If you missed this hair show, do not worry– you can catch the next one. The Baltimore Natural Hair Care Expo will be held June 1 to June 2.