Who are the true naturals?

#TBT

So yesterday, I heard about a massive sale on virgin hair by a big retail hair store in Lagos. Being the cheap person that I am, my attention was drawn to the word SALE. LOL.

So, I thought to go have a look; if the price was right I would get me some exotic virgin hair.

I did find something that was good for my wallet. I got two bundles and closure 10 inches natural color, which was made into a wig.  I wanted to have it colored to a light brown but story changed when I asked how much that would cost. (I can color my hair myself! MTCHWEE)

Feeling content, I showed my boyfriend my new acquisition and he said “but are you not natural, why do you need this human hair stuff?" And I said “because I have natural hair doesn't mean I can't wear other types of hair. His response was “NO! That doesn't make you a true natural". We had a long conversation about the matter and we agreed to disagree. 

Our conversation brought to mind an argument I saw online once within the natural hair community. There was #teamnaturalwithoutanyextensions, #teamnaturalwhowearextentions #teamnaturalwhodonotGAF (I made up the hashtags)

Postpartum hair loss

Hey guys, so in my previous post I talked about how I lost a lot of hair around my hair line mainly the front edges. I had thought it was dues to the tight weaving I had subjected my self to.

Turns out, I was wrong.

I saw a post on instagram on why TY Bello cut her hair and it got me thinking about my sudden hair loss. So I did a bit of research and it turns out I am experiencing postpartum hair loss.

I did not know this but a large number of women experience hair loss especially around the front parts of their hair, between three to six months postpartum.  This is exactly the areas where my hair has disappeared. I know this to be true because even though I am virtually bald in two spots in the front of my head; the amount of hair that is in my comb after I comb through is very unusual.

The explanation for postpartum hair loss is simple. Our hair grows in the process of growth - resting -shedding. During pregnancy, due to increased levels of estrogen, hair loss is reduced and the growing and resting phase for hair is lengthened. The hormone prevents our hair from shedding as much as it usually would. This is why most women have fuller longer, lusher hair during the months of pregnancy. After the birth of the child, the estrogen levels drastically reduce and this increases the shedding phase.

The good news is that this phase is over soon. Most women say their hair returned to it's per-pregnancy fullness before the child's first birthday. 

Operation grow my edges

So after the loss of my already naturally scanty fragile baby-hair edges, I am on a mission to re-grow them.

So far, so good. as you can see in the picture, it looks like the hair is growing out. Trust me it was worse than this, I literally had bald spots.

My plan is to:

1. Stop any hair style that pulls my hairline- the above hair style was done so loosely I didn't feel any pain or tension.
2. Increase low manipulation and protective styles- I will be using wigs, weaving (corn rows) and braids with "brush" in front
3. Increase the application of tea-tree essential oil and Castor oil to my hair line- I find that this mix works well for me. It improves the growth rate of my hair and also helps with itchy scalp.
4. General TLC for my hair- for me this means weekly deep conditioning, protein treatments and dogonyaro (neem leaves) rinses

I know it may take a while, so I have to be patient and gentle with the process.

For all hair types growth process it is important to set realistic goals; my goal is healthy hair. Healthy hair trumps long hair in my books.

Protective styling with wigs

Yeah.... you read right, WIGS. I don't know if it's just me but wigs have an old mama stereotype. 

Not anymore; wigs are a great way to protect your natural hair…. ask me, I would know. I have been rocking wigs since the beginning of the year and they are literally a life saver. Also more young women I've discovered also wear wigs, so they are not uncommon. Quite a few celebrities wear wigs and have wig lines/brands too.

Now one can get virgin hair or synthetic wigs in different styles, lengths and colors. 

I am not one of those natural sistas that believes that wearing any other hair than yours isn't being a true natural. Just like life, our natural hair journeys differ. I braid my hair, wear wigs and weaves; I pretty much do anything I want to do with my hair that won’t cause damage. And for right now, it wigs. 

The few benefits I've found are;

1. I can wash and deep condition my hair every weekend
2. I don't have to worry about smelly hair from sweat from the gym
3. They save time and effort; just put on the wig and go
4. My natural hair is in cornrows so reduced manipulation = more length retention
5. The cornrows are done up nice and loose so not pulling on my hairline
6. It is easy for me to base or moisturize my scale and hair if I feel the need to
7. I can switch up my look as I feel
8. Most importantly, fresh air can touch my scalp lol..... you know how hot it gets in Nigeria
9. Caring for the wigs aren't difficult; just wash, condition and air dry as directed.  

 Wearing wigs is a great protective style and can be quite economical too. It's a good way for both relaxed and natural haired women to save their hair, hairlines and some money. 

5 questions I get about my hair

So my hair texture is the Bentley of natural hair..... I joke, I joke lol. But my hair is quite nice (clears throat). I mean it soft, silky, coily, has nice shine, etc. etc. lol. It’s no wonder I get asked a lot of questions about my hair from curious everyday Nigerians.

So I thought it would be nice to write about the top five questions I get about hair:

 1. Is this really your hair?
Yes it really is my hair, and this question is usually followed by "Are you mixed race or have white blood in your family?" No, I am fully black with nice hair I guess. “So how do you get it to look like that?" I do the regular natural hair stuff (insert a side smile)

 2. What products do you use?
Gosh I hate this one, because I use the most inexpensive conditioners, hardly any shampoo but lots of natural oils. Then I have to explain my hair regimen.  

3. My hair is very hard, do you think I will be able to manage it in it’s natural state?
I usually say “yeah you can; it’s a little tricky at first and needs some getting used to. But once you understand your hair, it’s a walk in the park”

4. How best do I move to the natural hair side?
Its either you cut it all off or your transition, choose what you are most comfortable with.

5. Why do you change your hair style so often?
Well because I am a black woman, I am a Nigerian woman and because I have the options and the luxury of having different styles of hair.

My hair is not a trend

If you live in Lagos and like most parts of the world, all you need is but one eye to see how mainstream natural hair has become. In Lagos you can't go anywhere without spotting a few young fashionable natural haired ladies. This "trend" has become so widespread that the brothers know how to spot the different kinds of hair. Even in my family; more and more relatives of mine are either natural or transitioning. 

I have been natural since the middle of 2011; I transitioned for six months then I big chopped in the beginning of 2012 and big chopped again in 2013. For me, natural hair was an escape from the damage I had done to my hair with relaxers, hair dyes, straighter and a general lack of proper care. At the time going natural seemed like the next logical step to take due the breakage and lack of growth I was experiencing. My hair is quite soft and silky even in its relaxed state I figured being natural wouldn’t be such a bad idea. 

5 tips to make your twist- out last longer

I got this from bellanaija.com written by Jennifer  Obiuwevbi. I think it is good information. My twist- outs don't last the whole week, I think it is because I don't do tip 4. It is important to know that you don't need a lot of products and styling to ensure your twist-out last longer.

Previous twist-out

previous twist-out

1. Always make your twists using smaller twists. Smaller twists generally last longer; this is because the fact that you are using smaller sections, means the twists will be stronger and firmer. Big twists are a bit too chunky to control and have a lot more volume to work with.

So instead of using big sections, start out with small sections and do this all around your hair and then follow your usual twist out process. It may take longer than usual, but at least your hair maintains its shape longer.

2. After you have applied some water and your desired products, some of us can become impatient and take the twists out before they dry completely. If you do this, your twist would not be as firm as they’re meant to and will come loose way to soon.

Instead let them dry out, overnight if possible. When you’re about to take the twists out, touch each strand all the way to the root to check if it is dry. If your twists are not dry, leave them in a little while longer until they are.

3. If your twist outs start to look frizzy and loose, apply a few spritz of water to sections of your hair and add some curling pudding to them, re-twist and leave to dry overnight.

4. Always re-twist your hair before you go to bed. They don’t have to be exact but they should be twisted enough that they keep the curls intact.

5. Always sleep with a satin or silk scarf. This is so your twists are in a slippery casing so they don’t get tugged and come loose while you sleep. Be sure to use satin or silk because other fabrics could strip your hair of moisture and cause breakage.

If I could add one more tip, it would be to leave your hair alone. Stop touching it all the time; I know this because I am so guilty of this. Playing with my hair removes the curl pattens.

What else do you do to ensure your twist-out last longer? 

Protective style - Threading

Hair thread

African threading hairstyle

Threading hair style

 Honest to God, I had been thinking of threading my hair as protective style; I wasn't too sure about it. Then a few days ago, I saw the below picture.

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

 In-case you do not know who the lady above is; she is Chimamanda Ngozi Adechie. Natural hair sista, Nigerian and award winning novelist. She wrote "Half of a yellow sun" (now a movie) and "Americana" (which I totally loved; still think of the characters and their lives) also she wrote the "Thing around my neck" (I am yet to read). So in one word she is totally awesome!

Anyways, back to the topic of threading as a protective style. So threading hair is the simple process of wrapping sections of hair with thread, the sections can then be bent to different patterns and styles. I think that this style originated in West Africa. These days only high school and "local" girls thread their hair.
Threading  is a great protective style can also be used for stretching natural hair.  

So I was thinking about threading my hair, wondering if I am confident enough to pull off the look and how manageable the hair style would be. Then I saw the Picture of Chimamanda; and I totally love how kick ass she is. The style is also similar to that of a crown.
However, as lovely as her natural hair looks in the thread hair style, me and she no be the same (she and I are not the same). The amount of pain is not equal to the duration of which I can keep/maintain the hair style. Besides how professional will it look? As you most probably can tell, I am still thinking about it but kudos to Chimamanda for being  confident and rocking her threaded natural hair style.

Natural in the city; a trend or here to stay?

If you live in Lagos, you should have noticed the rise in the number of ladies going au naturel. Now I am sure in other cities in Nigeria there is also  rise but I live in Lagos now and can only comment from my experience here.  

So natural hair is on the rise; more and more Nigerian women are doing the BC and starting out the journey of self-discovery and hair and all that jazz. You don’t have to be an overly observant person to have noticed all the kinky sisters walking around Lagos. Because believe me we are everywhere. I mean everywhere; from TWAs to big in your face afros to twists outs and two strand twists, we are everywhere.  So the "trend" has caught on, I don’t think it is a bad thing. But the thing with trends is that they pass and if ladies are doing because it’s a trend then once this trend moves on what happens then? 

I worry that if one does not go natural for pure love of one’s hair and self then one can easily be swept away with the tides. I hope that ladies are going natural for their own personal reasons and they have truly seen the light. As much as this may be a trend I believe it is a good trend. We have not won yet but we are getting there.

I remember seeing picture of my mom when she was younger with an afro. And it wasn’t just her, everyone in that era had afros and afro puffs. Then came the relaxers and weaves and human hair and now looks like we are right back to the beginning. You can also say that this will mean another cycle has begun, maybe, but I doubt it. We now know more about our hair and the benefits of keeping it in its natural state.  May be on the return of the relaxer only the true converts will stand tall, flying the natural flag (lol)

I really don’t like it when people say “oh your hair is natural, it’s in vogue now or it’s the trend”. NOPE! I went natural because my hair didn’t do so well relaxed and I didn’t help the situation by flat ironing and coloring it. I am happy I went natural; do I think of relaxing my hair again? Not in this life time.

Quick Natural Hair Tip- knots

One of the many issues a nappy haired girls have to deal with is knots. We can get single strand knots or multiple strand knot. I find that after I finger detangle I still find some knots. Best way to deal with the knots is to use a sharp pair of scissors and nip the knot right at the point it  starts to knots. This will prevent further breakage, knotting and split ends.

Have you heard of sisterlocks????

Sister locks

baby siste rlocks

  

Dread locks

 I feel like I have been under a rock! This past weekend I went for a natural hair meet up organized by NaturalNigerian held in Lagos, where I sat next to a natural sista with “different looking hair”. As it was a meet up and we were there generally to talk about our kinky hair I engaged said sista on her hair. She had very small or fine locks called sister locks. I had never seen or heard of sister locks so I proceeded to ask a kazilion questions much to her slight irritation after like the tenth. After admiring her hair and bombarding her with my questions I did a little research of my own.

So what are sister locks?

Sister locks are tiny uniform locks that are the result of a precision parting grid, and
the use of a specialized tool used to place the hair into its locking formation.  The
sister locks method does not require the use of waxes or jells.  The small size and
parting grid form about 400 easily styled locks

I have relaxed, transitioning, short natural hair?

Sister locks can be started with your relaxed length left untouched or short natural as long as you have 1 1/2 inches of natural hair at the root. As your hair grows, and is set into a locked pattern, your relaxed hair will be trimmed away.

How long does it take to lock?

In an idea situation, your "Initial Locking Session" will take about 15 hours.  Your
hair length, density, and head size determine the actual amount of time it will take
to start your Sister lock.

Like dread locks, are they permanent?

During the first 6 months of development, Sister locks can be removed.  Removal will
likely take more time, and be more costly than your Initial Locking Session.  Most
Consultants will not lock your hair if removal is a great concern.  You should be sure
that the Sister locks method is right for you.

How do Sister locks differ from other locks?

Where Sister locks are true locks (a matting of African, kinky, tightly curled, nappy
hair), they differ from "dread locks, dreads, or traditional" in the technique used to
form them.  The sister locks method uses a precise parting grid, and a tool to produce
small easily styled locks.  Sister locks does not use any waxes, jells, creams or hair
extensions, so everything that can add weight, stress, or hamper your hair growth is
removed.  

I like actually like sister locks, looks more versatile than dread locks. I would advise anyone who wants to lock to get sister locks. What do you think ?   

check out www.sisterlocks.com for more info