Being Natural

I went natural in January 2001 while I was living in Lethbridge, Canada. And after a very brief encounter with a texturizer, I have been natural ever since. I learnt how to take care of my hair while living in Canada. There were few salons that catered to black people there and my sister did hair so I picked up skills from her. I also learnt about our hair from nappturality.com, other natural hair websites and reading lots of books.

I find being natural empowering, because over the years I’ve learnt how to take care of my hair and how to style it. Since I don’t visit the salon much, I save a lot of money by doing my hair at home. I enjoy the versatility of natural hair and I enjoy the fact that my hair is the healthiest and the longest it has ever been. Wearing natural hair is not always rosy. Sometimes it can be challenging but I choose to remain natural anyway.


Having natural hair in Lagos is neither here nor there. I don’t really notice that my hair is different anymore because I have been natural for about 8 or 9 years so it’s just part of my life. However, people are always asking me why. Just a few days ago someone asked my mother if I was S.U. (i.e. Scripture Union. It’s a Christian group in Nigeria). Funny!!! My mother’s reply: “not everyone can be the same, abi?” Yep, my mama is full of wisdom. Over the years I’ve come to realize that not everyone can or will be natural. But I would like for everyone to learn how to take care of their own hair whether relaxed, natural, loced or whatever. I hope this website will help in that way.

Meeeee,
Oghomwen