On Monday we interviewed Eki who is one half of the blogging duo OreMeji. Read Eki's interview here. Today we are glad to introduce you to Tiwa who is the other half of OreMeji. Tiwa is an artistic young lady who is on her way to great things. Enjoy!
Name? Tiwa Adediji
Where are you from and where do you live? I'm from Nigeria and I currently live and attend school in the US.
What do you do? I'm a student.
What is your passion? I'm passionate about a lot of things, but to narrow it down, I'm an avid reader and burgeoning guitar-player. A big fan of the arts.
Where can we find you online?
www.youtube.com/TiwaDij: where I post guitar covers and;
http://www.oremeji.wordpress.com/: where I blog about a variety of things.
At one time you had your hair relaxed. Tell us why you decided to go natural? Well, I hadn't really been taking care of my relaxed hair properly, so it had extensive breakage and heat-damage. It was a sorry sight lol. I got tired of picking hair off my pillow every morning, so I decided enough was enough.
How did you go natural? Did you transition or did you do the big chop? Did anyone help you or encourage you? Going natural was a bit of an impulsive decision. Although I had been toying with the idea for a while, I didn't really think I would go ahead with it. However, one day, I was in the process of taking out braids from my hair. As I removed the first braid, a huge chunk of relaxed hair fell out with it. So I grabbed a pair of scissors and just chopped off all the relaxed strands, leaving only the undergrowth. I stood there for like 10 minutes thinking... "What have I done?!!" After I got over the initial shock though, I just kept on taking out more braids and cutting off the relaxed hair. I did this all by myself, in front of my bathroom mirror. No encouragement whatsoever.
Do you have a “hair mentor” or “hair crush”? I don't have a "hair crush" in particular. I generally just admire anyone who has healthy natural hair and knows how to pull it off.
What’s your natural hair regimen? I'm very minimalistic with my hair care. I'm really not a product junkie at all. I wash with Trader Joe's Peppermint Shampoo every 2 weeks and condition with Trader Joe's Citrus Conditioner. I moisturize A LOT with raw shea butter and pure tea tree oil, because my hair is dyed and it tends to dry out easily. That's pretty much about it.
Products you would wait in line for? Raw Shea butter. It works wonders for my hair, especially with regards to moisture.
How do people react to your natural hair? Positive, or negative or just odd? The reactions are generally positive. Some of my friends can't keep their hands out of my hair. One once said it felt like "touching the softest rug in the world'.
If you get negative comments who are they from and how do you deal with them? I've only ever gotten many negative comments. One negative comment that I can remember, ironically, was from one of my best male friends. He said "Why did you cut your hair? You were so beautiful before!". I didn't take it personal though, because everyone has their own perception of beauty, and I can't hold that against them. To each his own.
Comment about natural hair in your school. Do you feel awkward about wearing your natural hair to school? Since I had cut my hair in the safety of my home, I did feel a tad bit awkward going back to school with my TWA. I really didn't know what kind of reactions I would get. But that only lasted for a couple of days. I eventually grew comfortable with my hair and learned to flaunt it.
What hairstyles do you usually wear? Why? I tend to do a lot of twist-outs because they provide volume and body and I'm a sucker for big hair.
What do you like best about being natural? It's very low maintenance, at least in my case. I don't have to worry about breakage or getting retouched every few weeks. Because I can wash-and-go, I don't have to spend hours struggling with my hair every morning to make it look normal, like the way I did when it was relaxed.
What do you hate most about being natural? It can be limiting in terms of styling. But if you're creative enough, you'll find ways to switch it up and keep it interesting.
Have you ever had an “Ooops!” or “OMG!” or “Yeparikpa!” moment with your hair? Tell us about it. Yes oh!!!! Although this is common sense, I hadn't yet realized that moisture = shrinkage. I had twisted out my hair the night before and taken out the twists in the morning to reveal a beautiful curl pattern. I walked to class in the rain without an umbrella, thinking the curls would hold up fine. By the time I got to class, my hair had gone straight back to being a TWA. All that twisting for nothing! Tschewwww.
What do you say to students like you about being natural? It's definitely an exciting journey. I, for one, was amazed at all the new things I could do with my "new" hair. It's nice to get to experiment with different styles I couldn't try while I was relaxed.
Big Brother Africa or West-African Idol? West-African Idol. Why would I opt to watch people sleep and eat, when I could get a free concert on my TV?
Keep it natural!
Omozo
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