#TravellingWithCurls - Switzerland

Have you ever travelled somewhere with 100ml allowance?

Imagine having curly hair, with a 100ml allowance, crazy right!?

I've travelled in that style and let’s just say it’s not fun having to rationalise your hair products!

I’m here to share and change that, by giving you first hand info on hair and beauty stores that I have personally visited and connected with local curlies in that country, follow along on this journey and find new places to go that cater for the naturalista, curly, afro haired girls like us on your travels.

First stop is..

Tropical Zone - Hair & Beauty store

Located in Basel, Switzerland

I would like to connect hair and travel together something I have such love and passion for, more specifically Afro Curly hair. I was able to connect and reach out to @tropicalzonestore_basel after finding them through @theseasonedside on Instagram and visit the store in January 2020 on my solo travels.

I had the pleasure of meeting and being greeted by the lovely ladies who work at Tropical Zone, who gave me a big hug upon my arrival and offered me food and drink; their kindness, welcoming and hospitality was warming and inviting, they gave me a tour of the store and explained that this is the biggest hair & beauty store in the Basel area that cater to the afro hair community and has been here for over 4 year and the owner (black owned Ghanaian) has been in the business for 18 years!

Tropical Zone literally has a fully stocked supply of hair products and if you travel with 100ml allowance like I did over the weekend that I visited and have big hair no need to worry because your favourite go to hair products were all there!!

Well impressed to have found and come across this gem in Basel, they also have a store in Bern, Switzerland and do delivery, so if you’re a curly girl in Switzerland or visiting the country this is a go to for hair products and even bonus hairdressers and Afro/Caribbean foods, fabrics and fashions all in the one store with lovely staff.

Location: Tropical Zone

Clarastrasse 30, 4058 Basel, Switzerland

@tropicalzonestore_basel

Not only did I visit Tropical Zone, but I connected with @theseasonedside a local curly girl where we met up at Klara in Basel (the first person I've met in real-life via social media) after also finding her on Instagram prior to my trip to Switzerland.

It was such a natural connection, we hugged and chatted for hours about HAIR, future travels, African print fabrics, dressmaking and RICE haha.

Fun fact: J prefers rice & peas and I prefer Jollof rice.

J identifies as an Afro-Swiss mixed curly girl who has always been educated about her mixed Ghanaian/Swiss culture from her Swiss mother and how to take care of her natural curls after going through a faze of relaxing, straightening and colouring her hair, J big chopped in February 2016 due to hair thinning around the edges from being over treated with Cortisone and antibiotics.

She has since embraced her natural curls and also does protective styling with braids; the hairdressers she recommends in Switzerland are Curl-ish who are in Zurich where she gets her hair cut once a year and other hairdressers Curl HQ and Coiffurefreestyle for braiding and blowouts.

Follow my Swiss Curly @theseasonedside on Instagram

If you would like me to visit your country and you have curly hair, let me know, via curlleatravel@gmail.com I’d love to connect with you and your country on where you go to get your hair done and where you buy hair products!!

Thanks for reading

Lea x