O'Naturals

20 Widows Get Makeovers courtesy of Omotola's Foundation OYEP

2012-01-27T01:15:00.000+01:00

I got this story from Bella Naija.

Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde is one of Nigeria's most talented actresses and has starred in many successful movies. She has now shown us that she also has a BIG heart. In honour of her Mother, who passed away 10 years ago, She gave 20 Widows amazing makeovers through her OYEP Foundation (Omotola Youth Empowerment Programme).

The businesses that donated resources to this are: Fresh Look Spa, H and H Spa, House of Tara, Every Woman, Civita and Mossy Ella Bakers. Hair was done by Ugo Igbokwe of Make Me Beauty and pictures were taken by pioneer photographer Kelechi Amadi-Obi. Check out some pictures below and see more on Bella Naija.

Picture Source: Bella Naija

Keep it natural (and inspired)!

Omozo

R-A-N-T - By Cabella

2012-01-25T19:47:00.001+01:00

Really? Randomly experimenting on the multitude of ways to make my hair conform are no more my priority. Residing in the forefront of my brain are the pain and turture of relaxer creams. Relaxation was far from my mind when those jars popped open.

Attitude. Agonizing over whether my hair is straight or soft or curly enough is now in the past. Admittedly it took me years to shake off those thoughts. Affectionately loving my hair. And the beauty of it, and me, I no more doubt.

No way! No need to interrogate me about my hair choices. Neither you nor I have it all figured out. "Nice weave" I'll say to you and to me you'll say "Nice Fro". Now we can all have a nice day!

Time out. Trust me, I take a step back from all the stuff out there. To just care for me and my hair. Twists will do for now. Two weeks later, I'll try another ... or maybe the same hairstyle. This is no contest Darling! Teach yourself to chill and just simply do you.

Cabella

"Having locs makes a lot of sense for me" - Interview with Bibi

2012-01-23T23:20:00.000+01:00

My "Napp radar" went off one day while on a work assignment with a colleague. And that's how I accosted Bibi. Bibi allowed me to ask her some questions about her locs and her natural hair journey. And at some point Tinu, my colleague, also got into it! Bibi is a business owner and she owns and runs "Be Dazzled Events" in Lagos Nigeria. Her email address is: bedazzledng@gmail.com. We had so much fun with her that we ended up being late going back to work! Ooops! Enjoy.

Please introduce yourself and tell us a bit about your hair

My name is Bibi and I have had my locs for 3 years and 5 months. I decided to grow locs because I prefer natural hair and I don't like going to the salon. I don't do my hair myself. I am too lazy for that! I have a friend who has had locs for 8 years and she says I should do my locs myself and I say "Nah I am too lazy for that!" My hairdresser is really good. His name is Jato. He is inSurulere off Adeniran Ogunsanya. He is pretty good. But I hate that they put meunder the dryer because I hate the dryer. But they have to put me under thedryer so that my hair can dry after re-locing.

Bibi on misconceptions, starting locs, and hair growth

When I was in university, there was this stereotype that if you have dredlocs you must be un-serious and smoking weed. So I waited until I finishedschool. Just before I went to serve in the NYSC, I started my locs.

You see people get it all mixed up and wrong. There areplaces where you get your locs started and they put a lot of rubbish in yourhair! You hear of toothpaste, Gulder, Stout. They mixed a lot of rubbish andput it in my hair and I hated it. There was no difference between me and a bum:my hair was smelling horrible! And then you have flies following you. It washorrible! And then you find out that the best things for your hair are thenatural things. Shea butter that’s all. You don’t need all that rubbish. Just Shea butter.

You know all these guys are always trying to tell you that theywill make something for you. “It will make it grow faster” and all that. Then you ask “What’s insidethat stuff?” and he says “It is a special thing” and then I say “You know what?I am not in a hurry. I am enjoying it. It will grow when it is ready to grow."And I like short hair. It will grow when it is ready to. So it started growing byitself.

Bibi on stages of her hair growth

The best part was when it started standing. Then itstarted falling because it was growing. Then it started dropping.

Tinu, my colleague: But right now your hair is very long. I don’t know. I know it is full. I can’t see the back soI don’t know how long it is. I show her the picture of the back of her hair and she smiles.

You should have seen me when I started packing it. I wasfeeling so cool with myself when I could pack it in one! I would put it in aMohawk. Sweep it up to the side and pin it. I had so many pins. I would put mylocs in a Mohawk. I was so cool. Too cool for school!

Bibi on why she has locs

Having locs makes a lot of sense for me. People ask me“Don’t you get tired of it?” People cut their hair because they get tired oftheir locs. That’s not me. What’s my business with Yaki and Brazillian andPeruvian and all those things.

Tinu: You save a lot of money

I do my hair once a month. Do you know what that means? Ispend money once a month, one day a month to do my hair! I can swim anytime. Ican pour water on it anytime. I can do anything I want to do at anytime and Idon’t have to spend N150,000 (approx. $900) per week, times two, for serum and all that. Youwomen have wahala (wahala is Nigerian slang for problems/troubles/issues/difficulties)!

Bibi on products and hair routine

My friend says that there is a particular brand or product apart from Shea butter that I can use but I don’t pay attention toall that. I keep it simple. I use Head and Shoulders. She says Ishouldn’t be using Head and Shoulders. But I use Head and Shoulders becausethat it the only thing I know that fights dandruff and that’s all. Head and Shoulders, Shea butter and maybe once in a while I put in some Organics hairspray.

Bibi on what her family thought when she started her locs

What did they say? They said I was mad! Then my cousin said she wanted to get locs too and then they said to herthat one mad person is enough per family!

And one more thing

Going natural is a mind change more than anything else. Going natural or getting locs starts with a mind change first before a "hair" change. If you don’t want to play with yourhair all the time get locs.

Keep it natural!

Omozo

Gbadebo Street - Ojota Lagos

2012-01-21T23:52:00.001+01:00

A small street in Ojota, called Gbadebo Street (off Ogudu -Ojota Road), is home to suppliers and retailers of plastic and chemicals for household, cosmeticand beauty products. It is not posh like some other streets. The roadis bad, cars are double parked, and it can be dirty. Hmmm … okay sounds likemany streets in Lagos! However, it is a gem for those who produce home-madeitems like hand wash, shampoos, conditioners, disinfectants and dish washingliquid; just to name a few. I had the honour of being a tour guide for NN andScrewy Hair on their first visit to Gbadebo Street.

We met up and headed to Ojota to see what we would discover atone of my favourite streets in Lagos. Wehad our shopping lists and so onward we went. The lady I buy plastic from didnot have the jars Screwy Hair wanted for her oh-so-nice Screwy Hair Butter.Just as Screwy Hair was about to wear a frown I jumped in front of her andcommanded her to “smell my hair!” I asked her what she smelt and with a biggrin and hands raised she squealed “Peppermint!” I had purchased a jar ofthe peppermint scented Screwy Hair Butter.

Screwy Hair and Natural Nigerian shopping

Then we strolled down to purchase some natural ingredients like Glycerin and Castor oil. We wentto my “Customer” Kemi and she was gladto see us. And then NN gave us a quick tutorial on testing for the purity ofthe chemicals we were buying and the importance of your supplier knowing whathe or she is selling to you. Plus these natural products have a shelf life which means they also go bad. So don't buy too much at once. These are things I really had not thought toodeeply about. However, if you are making products to sell to other people youbetter start thinking about these things. I am sure NN would not mind educatingyou for a small consulting fee! *wink*

Candy coloured spray caps

Our adventure was not over yet. We strolled some more andfound an inner street, off Gbadebo, where I found some yummy-candy colouredspray caps. NN and Screwy Hair saw me running back to the car. I had to get mypurse! I made my purchase while the ladies kept “window shopping”. At the endof the 4 hour tour, we sure had contributed to the economy of the street. Wewaved good-bye to Gbadebo Street after what was definitely a good outing.

Keep it natural!

Omozo

Tips on accesorizing your daughter's hair

2012-01-20T23:34:00.001+01:00

Thanks to Beads, Braids and Beyond, here are some tips on accesorizing your daughter's hair. I have added my own commentary in italics.:

•Do try to limit accessories though. Don't use too much because they weigh down your child's hair and too much accessories can be distracting to others around. Imagine the "clanging" of your child's beads as she turns her head in class!

•Soak rubber bands or elastics in Extra Virgin Olive Oil or melted Extra Virgin Coconut Oil. If you do not have time to soak them, quickly dip then in and use them like that. Soaking them reduces the possibility of the rubber bands snagging on your daughter's hair.

•Do not make ponytails too tight and do not wrap the rubber bands around the ends too many times (when she has beads or barrettes in), wrapping them a million times is unnecessary. It also puts too much stress on your daughter's hair.

•Try not to keep rubberbands in her hair for too long. Whether they were soaked in oil or not.

•Try using hair snaps on the ends to hold beads in place instead of rubber bands. Check out these hair snaps

•Chose ponytail holders carefuly because: Ponytail holders are not created equal!

Here is a video on hair snaps.

Then check out this video on how to make a party bow at home. Really easy and simple!

Keep it natural

Omozo

"It is the best thing ever!" - Interview with Fatima

2012-01-19T22:44:00.001+01:00

Meeting Fatima was exciting. Interviewing her was really inspiring and shocking too! She seems to break a lot of "hair rules". She is pleasant and gentle and I guess she is a rebel in her own right! Enjoy.

What is your name? Fatima.

What state are you from? Kano state in Nigeria.

And Fatima you are a full Nigerian? Yes 100%. No mixture. Pure Nigerian!

You know there is this fallacy that Nigerian women and black women cannot grow long natural hair. That's not true! I don't have any foreign blood in my ancestry.

How long have you had your hair natural? My whole life. I've never done anything to it.

Okay so you've never relaxed your hair? No.

How come? Well it started from my Mom not allowing me relax my hair. She had really long hair and she used to relax it and do other things to her hair and it went bad. She used to go on and off relaxers and then in her forties it stopped growing. It just stopped.

Wow!

So she just banned me from doing anything to it. And I just never did. When I finished secondary school, she told me that I could now do whatever I wanted to do to my hair and I was so used to having full hair that I just decided that there was no need to relax my hair.

You said your routine is simple - you don't really do much. It is very very simple.

Okay so what do you do? I don't really do anything to it. Sometimes I don’t even comb for three days or maybe a week.Whenever I take out my weaving or braids I steam my hair. I always do atreatment. I don’t use extensions on myhair for my braids or weaving because my hair is long enough. But if I don’t doa treatment or steaming, I just wash.

With what? Anything.

So you just pick any shampoo? Anything.

You just use any conditioner? Anything. I use any brand for my hair. There is this really nice onethat I like. It has carrot oil in it.

Is it a shampoo? No no no. It is a whole range. I know my salon in Abuja usethat brand a lot.

Okay so you just go to the hair salon and get your hairdone? Yes I allow them take charge. I don’t really have anythingin particular that I do. I try and use leave-in conditioner from time to time. And whenever I amstraightening my hair I always use a serum to protect my hair from the directheat. Apart from that really I am not too fussy.

How often do you straighten your hair? Really I do it about once a month o. I am quite regular. Thething is it does not last long because of the humidity. It lasts for about 3weeks.

How often do you trim your hair? Once every three months because of split ends really. I takeoff about an inch.

How long do you keep in your hair styles? Emm … whenever I am tired … I don’t … I think the key to itis not being fussy with your hair too much. People tend to think natural hairis stronger than permed hair. But it is the other way around. Natural hair isvery very fragile. So I was reading somewhere it is very important that youdon’t tamper with your hair too much. So when I braid my hair or when I doweaving, or something, I keep them in for like 2 or 3 weeks. I don’t oil it, Ijust let it be. I don’t put oil on my scalp, I just use a spray on my hair andscalp. So I don’t really touch the hair at all, I don’t bother it. Maybebecause I use a scarf as well, so it helps.

I was going to ask about that! So it helps. It helps. The thing is I use a scarf and sometimes my hairshows. But still, I still have to maintain my hair and make sure that I havenice looking hair at all times even though I use my scarf. [Fatima covers her hair with a scarf during the day because of her religious beliefs]

At night you tie your hair with a scarf as well? No I don’t.

Do you sleep with a satin scarf? Silk scarf? No I don’t.

You just sleep with a regular pillow case? The thing is I can’t sleep with anything covering my hair. Wow! A lot of people advice me to do it but I just can’t.

So for you it is the other way around. During the day yourhair is covered but at night … I let it breathe.

Whereas for some of us during the day we leave our hair out and and atnight we now cover it. Okay. Wow. That’s nice.

Do you have any sisters? I am wondering if their hair is like yours or different. I am the only girl. I have brothers. I am a cross between my mom and dad. My mom had really long,full and tough hair and my dad on the other hand, had really long and silky andvery Fulani type hair. Very thin and scanty really. So I am somewhere inbetween.

Any final thoughts? I think people should just try being natural, having naturalhair. Some people say it is tough but I say when you get used to it, it is thebest thing ever!

Keep it natural!

Omozo

Hair Conditioner Claims: Should you take them seriously?

2012-01-18T23:57:00.000+01:00

This article was taken from Jc at Natural Haven and she addresses the formulation question: why do products within a brand have similar ingredients but claim to do different things?

She uses Herbal Essence products as examples and breaks it down well. She concludes by writing "In short, ingredients only tell you part of the story. The second part is the claim and the third and most important part is the actual test. Read the ingredients, read the claim and above all, TEST the product."

Read full article here.

I know we are not all scientists however, it is important to educate oneself and be better informed. When you are better informed, you make better choices.

Keep it natural!

Omozo

Styled for a wedding

2012-01-16T23:44:00.001+01:00

I attended some weddings some weekends ago and really like the hairstyle I wore for them. I achieved the style by putting my week old twists into Bantu knots. I sprayed my hair with my leave-in spray (combination of water, glycerin, and Eucalyptus oil). I also wanted my hair to be a bit damp and air dry my hair with the Bantu knots in. I find that I get better curl definition when my hair dries with the Bantu knots in.

The next day, I took out the Bantu knots and twists. I decided to sweep one side in and pin it with small bobby pins. I also pinned up the back of my hair with bobby pins because I did not want the back to hang down. Then I finished it off with a hair jewel on the side swept section. I really like the way the style turned out!

I kept the style in for 3 days. I did not take out the bobby pins to sleep. Before sleeping, I would lightly apply some shea butter mix then put on my hair net and sleep on my satin pillow case. The next day, take off my hair net, fluff lightly and roll out. Easy to maintain.

Keep it natural!

Omozo

Hairstyles of protest

2012-01-14T23:13:00.001+01:00

What hairstyle do you wear when protesting a government decision?

Check out the Protesters on the bridge too!

Workers in Lagos, and most of Nigeria, were on strike from January 9 - 13. During those days rallies were held in Lagos (and in other locations) to oppose the Federal Government's removal of the fuel subsidy. So my brothers and I went to Ojota where big rallies had been taking place all week.

My 'Napp Radar" was on (of course) and I wanted to see how many natural haired ladies would be at the rally that day. I spotted 2 and got their pictures.

Locs of protest

I like the shape of her cut. Check out the Channels TV news truck: top right

Bantu knots for me! Protective style for the harmattan

Keep it natural!

Omozo

Stuff Naturals Say

2012-01-13T19:44:00.002+01:00

I watched a few of these and I think this one is the funniest. I know I have said some of this stuff ... Who am I kidding? I still say a lot of this stuff! "I've got 99 problems but a perm ain't one" Hilarious. Enjoy.

Keep it natural!

Omozo

Nse Ikpe Etim talks about her new movie, "Phone Swap", and natural hair.

2012-01-12T13:54:00.002+01:00

In Kunle Afolayan's latest movie, Phone Swap, Nse Ikpe Etim plays the lead female character. Her character's name is Mary and this character wears locs in the movie. So I caught up with Nse Ikpe Etim on the set of Phone Swap to talk about hair and her new movie.


On the set of Phone Swap

Tell me about your natural hair journey?

It basically started with menot wanting hair. I would say that I always shaved my hair.I never really hadhair and when I started [growing it] I would wear a weave. And then a year ago,Kunle approached me to do this movie, PhoneSwap. Now I was wondering, [since] the character wears locks, how are wegoing to do this? You can't get locks in one year. Well, not a torrent of lockslike was described in the script. But I felt, if I wanted to become thecharacter, I had to become natural. It took a long time to make up my mind,because I realized it's going to be difficult. So I used to talk to a girlcalled Adedoyin. I would go on and on about it. She said, "Natural hair isbeautiful". I was like okay.

So I started just weaving andwearing wigs and everything. And then I had to lock the hair with the fakelocks. It's been very difficult. My hairwould break. I would feel uncomfortable because sometimes you don't know whatto do with the hair. And I just went on and on with the hair and before youknew it, right now I'm more comfortable in my skin.

I'm sure I could have beenable to pay rent with the money I've used to buy hair and the debts you incurfrom having to buy hair when you've got hair. It just doesn't make sense to me.And a lot of the money can be put into good use. If you don't have anythingbetter [ to do with it] then give it up to charity. This is not me trying to bean activist for hair but this is me being as realistic as possible. When you've got hair I think you should flauntyour natural hair -- the only thing that makes us truly African and trulybeautiful. And kinky hair is beautiful. I would say that it was Kunle Afolayanthat literally led me to natural hair.

Prior to this script, had you ever read a script wherethe character specifically has natural hair? What did you think?

First , it was wow, okay thisis natural hair. And I'm wondering, well we can fix the locks, we can dothis. I was looking for ways around it. But you know when you look for a wayaround something it is never that thing. I decided to grow my hair, so even if I had toadd an extension It would still be natural. If I take off my locs now you wouldfind that my hair is natural. And I've got thick hair. My hair is healthy -- you know when you havehealthy hair that is really full and nice.

What do you think about the fact that Mary has locs?What do you think that says about her character?

Strong. A strong character.Ithink very few people can carry things that are their own. I don't wear a lotof extensions. I used to wear the hair, yes which, because of my profession, Imight have to wear a wig or an extension but me as a person, Nse, I like myhair, a lot. Someone laughed at me when I had no hair and I said, "I amnot my hair". And the person said, "No Nse, you are your hair". (Shelaughs)


Courtesy Bella Naija.com

Going back to what you said earlier, why was it astruggle, going natural?

It would be a strugglebecause we are used to a perm. We are used to looking slick. Because you thinknatural hair can never look sleek. But what natural hair would look likeis beautiful. You can't explain it. Therewould be no description. There would be nothing to describe it. It would be a woweffect.

I remember when I did the WowMagazine shoot and I kept saying I wish my hair were slightly longer. And thegirl asked why. I said because it is natural and she said, "We can use it,your hair would work". But I said, "Not yet, the time hasn't come".But you know what, time comes when you want it to come. So I think the time hascome.

So Are you looking forward to it? Looking forward to wearingyour natural hair out?

I can't wait to finish thefilm, take off my hair and walk the red carpet with natural hair. I think Iwould do a movie with just my hair. Yes, I'm gonna do it.

When I look at our Nollywood films I never see our [natural] hair and even when itis an epic movie, they have relaxed hair and then they put something on it.

I remember when I did Black Gold I was meant to be an activist, a lawyer -- about twoscenes or three scenes. And the makeup artist said, "Your hair?" I said, " Cornrows" and she was likewhat?

I said, "Weave the hairgo back."

They thought why would youwant to appear like this in a movie?

But I am African. How else doyou appear? I am an African lawyer; I'm this and that. This is the only way theother people, the white man, or whoever is watching, would think, I'm connectingto my roots.

I think this movie inparticular, yes Phone Swap might be aromantic comedy, might be anything you want to call it rom com, give it all thebig names, the only thing I know it has done and it will do is connect us toour roots.

First the clothes are veryus, the hair is us. We have Lydia [Forson] carrying her natural hair. So it'slike we are promoting us. It is a film by us for us. When I say a film for usby us, I mean for us comfortable in our skin... A film by us for the world.Yeah.

So finally what has the whole experience taught you inregards to natural hair?

I'm comfortable in my skin.I'm not worried about not being me. I am able to be me, as I was created to be.I do not need any thing, any additives -- yes maintenance. But I work with whatI have; I am not looking for what I do not have. I'm not Caucasian. I amAfrican and that's it.

Stuff Relaxed Girls Say to Natural Girls

2012-01-11T22:43:00.000+01:00

I just had to share. I know we have heard one or two of these before. Enjoy the video!

Keep it natural!

Omozo

Naturals on the set of Kunle Afolayan's movie, "Phone Swap"

2012-01-09T17:22:00.000+01:00

Last year, I had the opportunity to visit the set of Kunle Afolayan's Phone Swap.
It was refreshing to see a lot of naturals on the set (by my standards, there were a lot). And the naturals included both crew and cast. Very cool, I thought.

Another interesting thing about the movie was the fact that the writer, Kemi Adesoye wrote the female lead, Mary, specifically as a character with locs. I got a chance to talk with Nse Ikpe Etim who plays Mary, about hair and movies. (I'm sure many of you must have seen Nse Ikpe-Etim spotting her natural hair around town. )

I also got a chance to talk with Lydia Forson, the Ghanaian actress who is also in the movie, about her natural hair. I'll be putting up Nse's interview first and then Lydia's interview will follow. Stay tuned beautiful people.

http://phoneswapmovie.com/

New Year Hairstyle

2012-01-07T11:12:00.000+01:00

Hello Everyone,
Happy, happy New Year. I pray that you have a blessed 2012. And I pray that it is all that God wants it to be for you.

I started out the New Year on a good hair note. I really liked the hairstyle I wore on New Year's day and I thought I would share it with you all. It is an up-do. I cornrowed the front and did a twist + Bantu knot out at the back. Then I pulled the hair up. The hair do has lasted all week, which I'm very pleased about.

Happy New Year! Tips for the year 2012

2012-01-01T21:12:00.000+01:00

Happy New Year to everyone! Thank you for your support in the past year. We sincerely appreciate the feedback, comments, and love we have received from our readers. Here's praying that 2012 will give you more and better than your best hopes and dreams.

A new year is a good time to gauge where you are versus where you want or hoped to be. I bet many have been stressing over what they did not do and what they could have done in the past year. Here is my take on it all:

1) Thank God. Count your blessings because I am sure you have some things you are happy about. Maintain an attitude of thankfulness and gratitude to God.

2) Give yourself a break. Sure you did not do all you planned - get over it and move on! You have another chance. Be thankful for that!

3) Set REALISTIC GOALS for the new year. Do not make new year resolutions because once the year gets old, those resolutions go down the drain (usually takes about a month)! Set life goals. For example instead of planning to go to the gym every day, plan to go 3 times a week or better still plan to get "active and stay healthy by taking tennis lessons 3 times a week". That way you've got some grace to miss up to 4 days!

4) Humble yourself and be accountable to someone. You cannot do it alone and that is a fact. Ask people to hold you accountable for your life goals. It helps to motivate you when you know you have to answer to someone else.

5) Serve other people. It is not just about you. There are so many gifts and talents you have that will bless and be of benefit to other people. And I bet there is someone near you, that God has set up, waiting to be blessed by no one else but you. Do you have a kind word? Do you have ready-to-be-replaced and well maintained clothes? Hair products you are not using? So go out there and be a blessing!

6) Do one thing new for yourself in 2012. Just one thing. You will remember it for a long time. It will delight you especially when you are having a tough or rough patch.

7) Trust God. God loves you and His love for you is deep, wide, long and very BIG. "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. (Jeremiah 29:11). This is true - believe it!

So go on and have a thankful, trusting, giving, selfless, humble, realistic, and graceful new year!

Keep it natural!

Omozo

Hairdos: Lice - Abi's Loc

2011-12-30T23:06:00.000+01:00

Hairdos: Lice

Saturdays came fast! My hair was loosened and washed every other Saturday. I really liked this hair time because the water cooled my head and I loved thesmell of the shampoo. My happiness was always short lived because it also heraldedthe painful process of having my hair weaved. Grandma had given me a sample of her hair making skills two weeks ago and I knew I was in serious trouble!

At4:45PM, Grandma called out my name. She had the adiagbon, the ilari and iyari (coconut oil, one toothed comb andhair comb) by her side. I put my stool down and reluctantly sat on it. And just like the first time, she clamped my head between herlegs and started weaving my hair. As if this wasn’t painful enough,intermittently, she would release a foul blast of wind straight into my faceand no matter how hard I wiggled, she would hold my head down and keep weaving.

I cried and cried till I was weak. My mothercame out several times to ask her to be gentler but Grandma ignored her. Thethird time my mother came out, Grandma admonished her: "Look Mama Tope, if you comeout one more time, I will leave her head alone and if you like carry her tothose who charge you! I know you will look for any excuse to spend my son’smoney but no one can say I didn’t try to curb your reckless spending!". At this my poor mother rubbed my back andwent back into her room.

And so by the time Grandma finished my hair, my facewas swollen and I looked defeated. I staggered to my parents’ room where mymother, on seeing me, grabbed me to herself. I begged my mother tocut my hair, but she said she couldn’t as it would only give Grandma anotherexcuse to complain about how she disrespected her. And so the torture continued. At 4:30PM every other Saturday, just before Grandma weaved my hair, my mother would leave to attend the officers’ wives meetingsshe never used to have time for. The pain never got better and there wasn’t atime that Grandma didn’t pass wind. I thought it would never end.

Salvation came in the most unlikely way. Ihad moved into a new class for a new term when a little mixed race girl,Lucinda Ramos-Whyte, joined our class. I was the smallest in my class but when Lucinda arrived, I became the second smallest. Mrs Okondore, our class teacher, putus to sit together at the very front of the class so we could see theblackboard. For a couple of days, Lucinda didn’t speak toanyone and Mrs Okondore would sit with her at break time and go through thelessons with her. One day, Mrs Okondoreasked us to share a book and read from it together. So we had no choice but toput our heads together and look at the book.We smiled at eachother, I offered her sweets and by long break,we had become firm friends. I taught her all the games I knew like ‘ten-ten’ and ‘my mother told me’ and she taught me hop scotch and single Dutchskipping.

One week to my appointment with Grandma, Lucinda’s dad came to our class to speak with Mrs Okondore. He was very talland skinny and he spoke very slowly. After he left, Mrs Okondore went aroundthe class inspecting us and telling us what she had discussed with Lucinda's dad. Lucinda looked at me sadly asshe asked me if I still wanted to be her friend. I threw my arms around herlaughing: of course I would still be her friend!

As soon as I got home, I ran upthe stairs into the kitchen where I knew my mother would be and announced proudly "Mommy,I have lice!" I didn’t care about shaving my head to gorimapa and hearing the gorimapa song being sung for me because Grandma would never have to weave my hair again. Icould almost sense the relief in my mother’s eyes. That evening my hair was loosened and a scarf tied around my head. Mom bought some head lice medicineand took me to Oga Barber whose shop was down the street.

Ifelt no sadness when he cut my hair to a short comb through. He applied themedicine and combed the lice out. I sat waiting for him to give me gorimapa but he just smiled and asked meto stand up and go with my Mom. I looked up at her as she led me back to thecar. "This should be easier for you to manage abi?" I nodded happily. "Thank God!" She exclaimed. "Why don’t wego to Apapa Amusement Park next Saturday?" We both laughed happily as wereturned home: lice free, hair free and definitely pain free.

Abi

Christmas Hair

2011-12-27T16:30:00.001+01:00

Hello beautiful people!

Merry Christmas and a very happy new year.

I wanted to quickly share a picture of my holiday hairstyle.

It is a twist and bantu knot out.

I confess that I had completely neglected my hair in the last two weeks leading up to christmas. Very very bad. So I decided to wash and do a deep conditioning treatment at the salon. I went home and put my hair in twists and bantu knots on Christmas eve. The style you see was the result after I unraveled it on Christmas morning.

The hair style has been holding up nicely. I think it is partly due to the weather in Jos. I'm in Jos right now and it is cold and very dry. No humidity whatsoever! And I am on day three of this style. Amazing!

How did you wear your hair for christmas? We'd love to see your pictures and share them on the blog. Send us an email if you would like to share your hairstyle with us.

Huggies!

Kinky Apothecary's Birthday Bash - More Pictures

2011-12-26T18:42:00.003+01:00

On Sunday December 18 2011, Kinky Apothecary celebrated their 18 month anniversary. It was great! And as promised, here are some more pictures. Read our previous post here. Enjoy!

Nibi & Ms. Fizz: Organizers of the event

Accessories galore

Twists

Puffs

O'Naturals Guest Blogger, Ibhaze, and her micro-braids

Natmane and her signature braid-out

Is this your hair? Yes it is!

Creative hairstyles

He likes women with natural/un-relaxed hair.

2 year old Locs!

Cheesing for the camera

Natural Nigerian is camera shy but not her hair

We were all there!

Keep it natural!

Omozo

Tips For Your Holiday Hair Styles

2011-12-25T00:25:00.001+01:00

It is holiday time and many parties are scheduled forattendance! And as always, we wonder what to wear and what to do to our hair.What style will be “holiday” or “Christmasy” enough for the events to beattended. Don’t fret or worry. Unless it is a hairstyle contest, I am sure whateverstyle you come up with will be F-A-B!

Here are some tips to help you:

(1) First decide how you want to look and thendecide the style that will help you achieve this look. For example do you want tolook glamorous or simple and chic or fun and ready to party?

(2) Up-dos of any kind are usually considered glamorous.Buns can accomplish your simple and chic look while curls can make you look funand ready to party. Hey how aboutcombining curls and an up-do? What would that give you? Glamourously ready toparty!

Twisted bangs with a corn-rowed out back

Corn-rowed out back

Roller set curls


Front of roller set curls with pinned sides

Bantu knot-out up-do

(3) Accessories help a great deal in giving a stylea festive look. Try adding some hair pins that glitter when the light hits them.

(4) Finally, do not neglect the basic principles ofgood hair care during this festive season. You don’t want to start out next year lamentingabout how you did not take care of your hair properly during the holidays. Somoisturize properly, pay attention to the ends of your hair, sleep with a satin or silk bonnetor pillow case, do not over manipulate your hair, and do eat healthily anddrink lots of water. And do have a happy and memorable holiday period.

Twisted Bantu knot-out: side swept. Ready to boogie!

Merry Christmas!

Keep it natural!

Omozo

Natural Nigerian offers some hair products too!

2011-12-21T20:00:00.001+01:00

There is a lot of growth taking place in the natural hair community in Nigeria, especially in Lagos. One of the growth areas is the availability of hair products. Natural Nigerian, who we interviewed here, now sells those natural products we love. She has sent us her price list so our readers can order what they need.

Natural Nigerian offers hair loving ingredients and a few more things.

All Prices are in Naira

Herbs
• Horsetail Powder (0.5lb/227g) ____________________ 1,500
• Nettle Leaf (Organic) (0.5lb/227g) ____________________ 2,000

Oils
• Hemp Seed Oil (8oz/237ml) ____________________ 2,100
• Flax Seed Oil (8oz/237ml) ____________________ 1,600

Soaps
• Pure Castille Soap
o Tea Tree (12oz/354ml) ___________________ 1,800
o Peppermint (12oz/354ml) ___________________ 1,800
o Lavender (12oz/354ml) ___________________ 1,800
o Almond (12oz/354ml) ___________________ 1,800

Clays
• Bentonite Clay (0.5lb/227g) ____________________ 1,700
• Rhassoul Clay (Micronized) (0.5lb/227g) ____________________ 2,200

Essential Oils (not recommended for pregnant women or children)
• Holy Basil (Tulsi) (0.5oz/15ml) ____________________ 1,700
• Carrot Seed (0.5oz/15ml) ____________________ 2,000
• Tea Tree (0.5oz/15ml) ____________________ 1,550
• Rosemary (not suitable for hypertensive individuals) (0.5oz/15ml) __________ 1,750
• Lavender (0.5oz/15ml) ____________________ 2,000

Others
• Organic Aloe Vera (8oz/237ml) ____________________ 1,400
• Flax Seeds (0.5lb/227g) ____________________ 1,600
• Vegetable Glycerine (4oz/118ml) ____________________ 1,200
• Organic Apple Cider Vinegar (8oz/237ml) ____________________ 1,200
• Tom's of Maine Beautiful Earth Deodorant Stick (Aluminum ' Free) 2.25oz ____ 1,450
• Tom's of Maine Deodorant Stick Unscented (Aluminum Free) 2.25oz _______ 1,450

Tools
• Huetiful Portable Hair Steamer with Facial Attachment __________ 33,000
• 8oz/237ml Spray bottle with trigger sprayer __________________ 650

Book
• The Science of Black Hair by Audrey Davis-Sivasothy ___________ 7,700

Orders and Contact Information
Want to place an order? Write to orders@naturalnigerian.com. If you are wondering how these ingredients/tools will benefit you or how to use them, please send an e-mail with your questions to: info@naturalnigerian.com . We can also be found at http://www.naturalnigerian.com/.

Delivery
Delivery to most parts of Nigeria is available. Just write to us with your location.

Keep it natural!

Omozo

Happy Anniversary Kinky Apothecary!

2011-12-20T00:33:00.001+01:00

On Sunday December 18 2011, Kinky Apothecary celebrated their 18 month anniversary. It was great! The energy was super (or was it my energy?), the venue was cool, the champagne was bubbling and the cupcakes were yummy! The cupcakes had surprise cookies in them: how fabulous is that?! Everyone was happy to be there and I felt a sense of unity among the people in attendance.

The men who attended were supportive and we had a male speaker who came up to say why he prefers women who have natural/un-relaxed hair. Not sure how many ladies took his phone number *wink* but he got a thunderous applause when he was done!

One thing that caught my eye was the array of hair accessories worn by the ladies who came to the event. It showed boldness, creativity, versatility and ladies just having fun with their hair!

Hair Accessories Galore!

I'll post more pictures later.

Keep it natural!

Omozo

Curls allowed?

2011-12-17T21:54:00.000+01:00

This article is from the Guardian UK. They quoted Natural Nigerian who we interviewed in November of this year (read it here). I wonder if this is true or if it is a bit exaggerated. I guess it depends on who you ask. What do you think? Read on!

In a world of dramatically contrasting poverty and wealth, it's a rare common denominator: the one social status symbol of choice that cuts across Nigeria's vast class and culture groups is hair extensions. And the longer and straighter, the better.

They are so popular that few women in the buzzing commercial cities of Africa's most populous nation openly wear their hair in its natural, curly state. "We're never taught to look after our natural hair, and it's something you're supposed to learn as a child, the way you learn to tie your shoelaces," said Yemi Akinrede, 28, who struggled to persuade her own hairstylist not to straighten her curls on her wedding day.

Another woman, a blogger known as Natural Nigerian, said women stare at her open-mouthed in salons, where Nigerian stylists usually try to drag their combs through her hair saying "sister we have to control this!"
Some Nigerians have reported that they have been warned to "do something" about their hair at work. Black women in the US and South Africa have pursued successful workplace harassment cases in similar incidents, saying it amounts to discrimination.

In Nigeria, that puzzles many. "South Africans like natural hair because they're not fashion-conscious," said a Lagos salon owner, Abogo Ugwokeghbe. "But Nigerian women like the latest fashion," he added.
Scores of them visit his popular DSalon Downtown chains to straighten their hair. Sodium hydroxide, the key ingredient used in the bi-monthly process, irons out even the toughest afro curls — but burns the scalp if left on too long. It's considered a worthwhile risk, with some perceiving it as a necessity in a hyper class-conscious society. "No rich man will marry a girl with village [unstraightened] hair," declared Esther, 18, a rural migrant to the capital, Abuja, as chemical fumes wafted off the cream smothered on own scalp in the Natural Beauty salon, a four-seat outfit in a crowded market.

Another popular practice is the application of extensions known as weaves. Strands of hair are attached in a weave-like pattern. Market vendors generally claim to sell genuine versions of the most popular weave, known as a Brazilian — and made from real human hair.

Nigeria's love affair with human hair extensions emerged, via the US, back in the mid-1990s. Then, a handful of boutiques such as Aunty Funmi's sold imported extensions priced in dollars, highlighting those wealthy enough to afford them. Locals still call expensive extensions "Funmi" hair. Now it's no longer reserved for the rich, extensions are worn by market women and students, part of Africa's growing middle class. But not all hair is equal, as customers who live in penthouse suites and shantytowns jammed into DSalon Downtown testified. "At the moment, the fashion is to have Beyoncé's hairstyle," Ugwokeghbe said. "But it's like buying rice. You can buy rice in the market, or you can buy rice in the Sheraton."

That's where people like Sehomi Bellow come in. "There's no sign advertising my shop is because most people can't afford the prices," explained the owner of the exclusive Lagos-based hair boutique, Silkalyn, before reeling off the qualities of dozens of extensions displayed for sale. "Malaysian hair is similar to Chinese, very strong," said Bellow, who branched out into neighbouring Ivory Coast and France after opening his shop three years ago. Costs vary from $300–$800 (£194 –£515) and beyond – a third of the average person's salary — and depends on the origins: Russian manes are particularly sought after for their blond hues but "only celebrities can afford it", while Peruvian hair is catching on quick. The most expensive, remy, is hair that's been "remitted" — offered by Indian women at temples. "It all comes from one person's head only and it's the most valuable thing that Indians have, so they give it to God as a thank you," said Bellow.

Such hair is always retailed in long bunches, increasing its price as it's sold by the inch. "If your hair is short and you go to the temple, they will just take a razor to it — [it's] no use. God isn't interested by this short hair. God wants the one that takes two years to reach your bum-bum, that is well looked after and strong," said Bellow.

So, apparently, do millions of Nigerian women with money to spend. But for some, the translation of breakneck economic growth into designer hair is little to celebrate. "It's like a hangover from the colonial days when the ideal was a woman with long straightened hair, the black woman's equivalent of a blond bombshell. And it's like the further away we move from that ideal, the less beautiful we are," said Akinrede.
Natural Nigerian points out exceptions: "Black American women can wear their hair natural in Nigeria. They'll be forgiven for it because they're seen as exotic creatures."

Keep it natural!

Omozo

Oh, Baby! An Interview with J'odie

2011-12-15T07:31:00.000+01:00

How long have you had your hair natural?
~I don't have accurate records as to exactly how long I've been natural, because at the time, it was an emotional decision of "out with the old and in with the new"...but I think it should be about three years now. Plus, this is the second, but permanent kinky journey I'm going through. I went kinky around 2005, jerhi curls in 2007 and back to kinky after a while! I turned back to jerhi curls, because I didn't know how to care for my kinky hair (as I do now) and because someone told me my hair would bounce back to being kinky once I stopped...that's a lie!!! I had to cut my hair and start afresh!

Who or what inspired you to go natural?
~ I believe it was a soul search. I was in Unilag then, and no one around me, apart from certain religious sects (which I wasn't part of) had their original natural hair. Everyone in my family that I knew permed their hair, fixed weave-on, no one influenced me or dropped the idea, so it really was from "within". Here are some questions I was trying to answer: Do I have to perm my hair to be termed "beautiful"? Is something wrong with African hair? If nothing is wrong with it, why does it seem we are being programmed to change the texture? If something is wrong with it, nature/God must have made a major error, but I doubt - is there something we are missing? What are we missing here? How can I find out?..... So, one of the ways I chose to find out was to go on a kinky pilgrim.
Here I am...each phase, making discoveries. It's been interesting, yet I believe I haven't even started yet!

What inspired the song, Kuchi Kuchi(Oh Baby)?
~ After my producer laid a zouk beat, on one of our sessions, he gave me to write a love song or something. He wanted us to try a different procedure and style, because we had been working, from other angles. For about a month, I couldn't write to it, because I wasn't in love :) I actually write best when I "feel" what I'm writing about. Love for one's baby was the only kind I could relate with, even tho I'm not a mother yet. But God just did it for me! It all starts, flows and ends with God! So, inspiration for the love of one's baby came at about 2am one morning and for that period, I almost could see through the eyes of a mother. The picture will be clearer when I become one.

I really like your music video for the song Kuchi kuchi (Oh Baby).
~ Oh, thank you ;)

I noticed that even your singers in the video are wearing traditionally inspired hairstyles (thread). What inspired that video?
~ I don't take credit for that one... My video director actually thought that up. At the time I even did the video, there were so many challenges, I couldn't even think. Didn't even think I would have a video then. Didn't think it was possible. God!!!

What type of freedom has natural hair given you?
~ though I'm still searching, natural hair has given me the freedom to be more innovative and expressive in the most organic way. Like I said, it's not just a surface thing - that is "hair style" in itself. I believe there's an energy behind it. I used to care too much for my own good. Now, I still care, but I'm more at ease. Apart from some basic privileges of not having to buy expensive hair extensions, or going under the heat (at the salon); I've come to realise that I'm more in touch with my Africanness.

What do you enjoy most about being natural?
~ Uniqueness! It's strange how "fellow Africans" say "wow...is this your hair? It's lovely!!" And I'm like "thank you, but you'd have something like this if you don't perm"

Do you feel like your natural hair makes you stand out in the entertainment industry?
~ it sure does. How many females in the entertainment terrain can dare not-fixing? It may look "ordinary", but it takes guts!

What is your hair regimen?
~nothing yet so special.
I wash with a hair conditioner (just a normal conditioner - not the expensive type)
Dab my hair, then apply a little leave-in conditioner, some coconut oil and castor oil - I do all these while it's damp.
I comb my hair damp, as well - it's softer.
I usually pack in a bun, or pin it up or plait "calabar"...
When I want to give it a break, and one should, I either make a wool-inspired style or really chunky braids to avoid breakage.
I have a fanpage on facebook (I Love My Kinky Hair) with some pictures, as well as hair care systems.

Do you have a hairdresser or do you do it yourself?
~I know how to style my hair. I only employ the services of a professional when it's something I can't do.

What are the hair products you cannot live without?
~ I can live without all of them :)
Honestly, haven't found that "magic product" yet...maybe it's out there though!
The most important things to my hair, right now, aren't hair products (company-made - if that's what you mean), they are natural substances. Like I said, I use coconut oil, sometimes, shear butter. I don't have a particular conditioner that I can't do without. If one isn't available, I buy another that I can use to wash my hair - instead of a shampoo, which is said to be harsher on kinky hair.

What are some of the projects you are working on right now?
~working on new songs that I believe are from my soul. The album isn't coming right now, because I'm not satisfied with the present result, meanwhile, will be releasing more singles, God being my strength!
U can check on progress from time to time on www.jodie.com.ng

What can we expect to see from you in the near future?
~ expect evergreen music...
Also expect more accurate kinky hair care systems that will make kinky more manageable than even perms. Nothing is Impossible!

Finally The Kinky Apothecary's Birthday Bash

2011-12-14T17:26:00.001+01:00

We interviewed Nibi (read interview here), the founder of The Kinky Apothecary, and she hinted that they would be celebrating their birthday on December 18th. The time has come! Yaaaaay!!! You know it is going to be another natural hair meet-up in disguise. So for those who missed the meet-up organized in November here is another chance. The event is titled: Champagne, Cupcakes & Curltalk. Check out the invitation from Nibi:

Hello,

The day is fast approaching, and we're getting very excited here at Kinky Towers. The program is being finalised, the cupcakes are being baked, and all the last little bits are coming together.

Please find the flyer attached with all the event details. Tickets will be available from Thursday from Colours in Africa, and Bogobiri House. To reserve tickets before this, either call one of the numbers on the flyers, or dropmailto:kinky.apothecary@gmail.com) or Miss Fizz (missfizz87@leaveinthekinks.com) a line. A limited number will be available on the day.
Don't forget to send the flyer out to all your friends. Looking forward to seeing you all there!

Nibi xx

There you have it! I am also looking forward to seeing you there too!

Keep it natural!

Omozo

Beautiful Model becomes bald after using hair relaxer

2011-12-13T17:08:00.000+01:00

Although this is an old story; it is a reminder that relaxers can be extremely dangerous. O'Naturals does not advocate the use of relaxers. However, we are not naive and think that everyone will stop using relaxers. So if you do choose to use relaxers, please use caution and the utmost care. The majority of us who have used relaxers can narrate a similar story to this one even though it may be on a less disastrous scale. You know, that story of getting burned after getting a relaxer.

This link was sent to me by Natureal Rox in response to the post "Mommy is my hair fine?" (Thank you Natureal!). Read the story of Isabella Broekhuizen who was once a Model but cannot do that anymore because of the damage to her hair from using a relaxer.

Isabella before going bald (Courtesy: thankgodimnatural.com)

Isabella: now bald (Courtesy: thankgodimnatural.com)

Keep it natural!

Omozo

Why did you not comb your hair?

2011-12-13T16:12:00.000+01:00

I went to work like this one day.

A colleague asked why I did not comb my hair. So I went home and combed out my hair and it looked like this.

So my dear colleague: which would you have preferred that I showed up to work with?

Keep it natural!

Omozo

"Mommy is my hair fine?"

2011-12-12T23:20:00.001+01:00

While chatting, swapping stories and laughing with my sisters, my older Sis (Prof Mom) told us that her older daughter had asked her "Mommy is my hair fine?" Of course Sis immediately told Little Niece that hair is fine. After some time, Sis thought about the question and felt it was a bit odd. Little Niece is four years old. Sis asked Little Niece a series of questions and discovered that Little Niece's teacher had commented that her hair was not fine.

As Sis was telling the story, I was putting on my gym clothes and sneakers while removing my rings, prepping for the invitation to head over to Little Niece's school and give her teacher some 'education' on natural hair. Thank God Sis is mature and was in her "church mind'! Sis said she would ask Little Niece's teacher about the comment.

Sis went to the school and spoke to the teacher. The teacher said that she told Little Niece that her hair was "rough" and that she should tell her mommy to make her hair. Then Teacher proceeded to give Sis some advice. "You should relax her hair. It will make her hair nicer". Gun shots in the air!!

Sis, still being mature and in her church mind, carefully explained to Teacher that the locs she had on her head were not extensions but REAL locs. Little Niece's Dad has an afro, Little Niece's Aunties have natural hair, Little Niece's sister has natural hair, Little Niece's Grandma has natural hair. "You see where I am going with this Teacher?" Sis asked. "NOBODY is getting their hair relaxed. So remove that from your mind. Plus, her hair is not rough. It is curly and frizzy. When did curls and frizz become bad?" Sis educated Teacher some more about natural hair. Finally, Sis told Teacher to give Little Niece notes instead of telling her things that make this little four year old feel unsure of her God-given beauty.

Prof Mom and her family

*Still in my gym clothes just in case someone needs some more education*

Keep it DEFINITELY NATURAL!

Omozo

First Treasure by Cabella

2011-12-11T14:00:00.000+01:00

I stroll over to the bed and smile at my Friend's wedding shoes and handbag. There are a few things scattered around the handbag: handkerchief, lip gloss, sample size perfume and a small card. I pick up the card and open it. I sit on the chair in the corner and smile.

Ogechi and I were assigned to carry out a transformation project at a small company. We met all the employees except one: Hamza. When Hamza was introduced to us, he shook our hands, briefly muttered something and walked away abruptly. I looked at Ogechi and arched an eye brow. Ogechi rolled her eyes and shook her head.

We spent time with the employees at their desks, shadowed them on their jobs and ate with them at their cafeteria. But our interactions with Hamza were always so awkward. One lunch time, Hamza came to our table and asked if he could sit down. We said yes and he did. He ate his lunch without saying a word to us. When he was done, he got up, looked at us, wished us a good day and left. I was sure he was playing a psycological game with us to wear us out and frustrate our work.

Hamza was a man of no words. So imagine our shock when he said "I respect that you keep your hair natural." Ogechi choked on her water and I fainted! Well ... Ogechi did choke on her water. We were having after work drinks and somehow got into the topic of hair. I am not sure how it got so heated but it did. Ogechi and I were the natural hair advocates and everyone else was not. Eyes were blazing, tempers were on the brink of exploding and voices were raised high. We were out-numbered and unless one of us was Rambo, it did not look like we would escape alive. Then Hamza took a sip of his drink and said "I respect that you keep your hair natural". That was when I fainted.

I woke up in the cab taking us home. "What Hamza said was nice" I said to Ogechi. She hissed. "I am not sure why he behaves as if he is too much. He does not talk to anyone. Very snobbish" she finished. I thought about it. "Maybe you make him nervous" I suggested with a grin. "Me? Is it not two of us that go there? I beg, he is a snob!" Ogechi said as she turned to look out her window. I stared at the back of her head for a while. "You like him o!" I squealed. "Ogechi likes Hamza!" I started to sing. The cab driver let out a loud "Ha!" Ogechi glared at me but offered no denial.

I had guessed there was something up when Ogechi started wearing lip gloss to work after we started the project. She made her hair once a month but now, it was every two weeks. She said she was on a "hair growth mission". I did not argue because I could not figure out why she was making all these changes. Now it was clear: my friend had a crush on Hamza. And Hamza's behaviour gave no indication that he was interested.

Six months had gone by and we were packing up to leave the small office we had been given for the project. Lunch was full of "thank yous" and "we'll miss you" from the staff we had worked with and grown to like. As always, Hamza was there and said nothing. As we packed up our laptops and other equipment, Hamza walked in. He nodded at me and walked over to Ogechi and handed her a card. She opened it and kept her head down for a while. She looked up at Hamza with the biggest smile I had ever seen on her face and said "Yes". I thought Homeboy did not just ask her to marry him! "I will not be able to go home and change" Ogechi said. Hamza smiled and said "You don't need to change. You are perfect as you are."

Eighteen months later, and for the first time, I see the card Hamza gave Ogechi that day. Ogechi walks out of the bathroom to put on her wedding dress. She has tiny diamond and silver pins in her hair and when she moves, they glitter. She looks perfect. I get up to help her into her dress. I pick up the card and hand it to her. She smiles exactly as big and as brightly as she did the day she first got it. "You kept it" I say. Ogechi runs her fingers over the card gently and holds it to her chest. "Yes I did" she answers.

This is what the card says:
Ogechi
You take my breath away
When you smile
You disarm me
Your confidence inspires me
And I see beauty in your hair
Please have dinner with me tonight
Adoringly,
Hamza

Cabella

Body scrubs and soaps made in Nigeria

2011-12-09T16:33:00.001+01:00

There are many teasures in Nigeria. I think the hair and body care tips and regimens used by people all over the country can be counted as treasures. There is a gap when it comes to cataloguing these things and so effective ingredients and beauty tips are being lost.

Natural Nigerian (NN) caught up with a young woman who commercially manufactures skin care products using Nigerian grown ingredients and recipes. NN met Maryam formally at the natural hair meet-up. Maryam recently launched a line of skin care products called Nature Zone. Check out the link below for NN's interview of Maryam (interview here). I have already emailed Maryam to order some products to try for myself.

Maryam is also the sister of "Stella" who was interviewed by Ibhaze for our Nigeria Fashion Show blog post (read it here). Both women have long natural hair. Hmmm ... Maryam may have to look into selling the products they use for their hair. I would buy it!

Keep it natural!

Omozo

From Bantu knot-out to a French Braid - My hair in 2 weeks

2011-12-07T23:59:00.000+01:00

I started out last week with a hair-do that I was enjoying. I corn-rowed the front and back then joined them together with one big braid to get an Alice band look. I twisted the rest of my hair and put them in Bantu knots for curls then took out the Bantu knots in the morning.

As the week rolled on, I started getting bored with it. Am I saying that one week is now my tolerance for hairstyles? Hmmm! That may be a problem o! So from the earlier style, I allowed my hair get a bit "wild" for an event over the weekend.

I fought with myself when I thought of going to work like this. Since I was not looking for an excuse to get fired, I quickly french-braided the back to make it less scary and less confusing *wink* for my colleagues at work.

I will keep this style till Friday and then change it to something else. I may have a new style in mind - we'll see.

Keep it natural!

Omozo

Interview with J'odie (Oh Baby!) Coming soon

2011-12-06T20:28:00.001+01:00

We are sooooo excited! We will be featuring our interview with Jodie. The singer of the popular "Kuchi Kuchi" (Oh Baby!) song. This song has been topping the Nigerian pop charts. Jodie also won Best Highlife Video and Video of the Year at the 2011 Nigerian Music Video Awards. My 3 year old niece loves this song and even has a dance for it!

Jodie has natural hair and we were able to catch up with her ... You'll learn more from the interview. Till then, enjoy the video.

Keep it natural!

Omozo

One of the best decisions I've ever made - Interview with Dana

2011-12-06T18:30:00.000+01:00

Dana is such a breath of fresh air! I was really excited when I noticed she had natural hair. Ready for a laugh, straight forward and loving every day with her natural hair: meet Dana.

Name? Dana Alexander.

Where are you from and where do you live? I was born in Canada (LaSalle, Quebec to be exact). I currently live in Mississauga, Ontario. My parents hail from Trinidad and Tobago.

What do you do? Consultant at a software company.

What is your passion? I love working with kids. I currently teach step at Church (Kingdom Covenant Centre - KCC - in Canada). The group of girls on the step team are between the ages of 9 and 16.

How long have you been natural? Almost 2.5 years!

At one time you had your hair relaxed. Tell us why you decided to go natural. I could no longer stand the burning sensation of relaxer left too long on my scalp followed by the agony of having the hairdresser haul and pull my hair with a flat iron because the relaxer didn't work to get it straight enough. I realized that my hair just was not meant to be straight. When I was young I had very long hair (it was halfway down my back) but over the years the relaxer, and my ignorance when it came to taking care of my hair, worked together to leave me with a slightly thinned out, brittle, flat mess. Also, at one point, I had a bald spot in the middle of my scalp. That was my lowest point but it was years before I understood what it meant to be natural...and I'm so thankful I know now!

How did you go natural? Did you transition or did you do the big chop? Did anyone help you or encourage you? I had initially planned to transition but then on July 1, 2009 I decided to bite the bullet and just chop it all off. I got a bit impatient. I didn't tell too many people what I'd planned to do and those I told were not sure it would be a very good idea.

Did you have any challenges when you were transitioning or trying to decide to go natural? If so what were they and how did you overcome them? Actually the hairdresser I went to for the big chop tried to persuade me to not cut it off. She was really horrible actually. She told me that I'd look like a man and look terrible. She wasn't very nice at all and I haven't been back since (not even for a trim).

Do you have a “hair mentor” or “hair crush”? I love Janelle Monae's signature style and actually tried it myself once or twice. Other than that I love seeing beautiful curls, coils and large afros on anybody! You can get a lot of inspiration all around you (even while traveling to work). ;)

What’s your hair regimen? No real regimen to speak of (this is bad I know!). I currently co-wash with Garnier Fructis conditioner and when I'm behaving myself, I deep condition with mayonnaise. I moisturize with Rose water and Jamaican black Castor oil. I sometimes put a few drops of Jasmine oil in the Rose water or Castor oil.

Products you would wait in line for? Castor oil, my hair loves it! I had to experiment a bit as I quickly found, after going natural, that I react to Jojoba oil and Coconut oil and I already knew that my skin didn't like aloe vera (all the good stuff!). The other thing I cannot live without are bobby pins: lifesavers!

How do people react to your natural hair? Positive, or negative or just odd? At first when my hair was very short I received a comment or two that were not nice. Someone just looked at me and said "I don't like your hair". You would think it would have been someone from my workplace where I was the only black employee but it was another young black female that I guess just was not down with the curls.

I haven't gotten negative comments in a long time thankfully. In fact I tend to get compliments even on my worst hair days now! LOL. But back when my hair was short I had to just ignore the negativity and remember why I went natural: no more burnt scalp!

Comment about natural hair in your place of work. Do you feel awkward about wearing your natural hair to work? Everyone at work seems to love my hair. I have to start training some people to stop putting their hands in my hair though. :( I'm the only black person in the company and it is a professional environment but I don't feel awkward about my hair in the office. I think part of it is because of how I wear my hair and the fact that I am very comfortable that the styles I choose suit me well.

What hairstyles do you usually wear? I almost always rock a twist out pinned into a fro hawk. It's such an easy style because you just twist the night before then spend a few minutes the next morning untwisting, fluffing and pinning! Just this morning I tried a dry twist out for the first time and loved it!!!

What do you like best about being natural? On my worst hair days I receive compliments. Thank God for bobby pins!

What do you hate most about being natural? Ummm...nothing comes to mind.

Have you ever had an “Ooops!” or “OMG!” moment with your hair? Oh yes! Before a fancy event (with THE PERFECT dress) I decided to try mini twists. They weren't actually mini but were a lot smaller than my usual. Unfortunately, I'd made the twists on wet hair so when I finally untwisted just before the event it looked as if I had no hair on my head because it was all shrivelled! Bobby pins to the rescue! They salvaged the look a bit but though my hair was shoulder length by that point, it looked like I had short hair. :(

Why are you still keeping your hair natural? Being natural helped me to realize how important it is for me to take care of myself. It was a concept that I didn't get before. But when I became natural and I couldn't quickly apply some cream or heat to "make it all better", I learned that it takes time to take care of myself and that time is worth it. There are days when I REALLY don't want to twist my hair or take the time to deep condition it but I know I'm happiest when I've done everything I must to give myself the hair I deserve.

What do you say to people like you about going natural? DO IT! It's one of the best decisions I've ever made. There are so many resources online to help guide you. For a while I was practically addicted to YouTube as I learned how to care for my hair and looked up tutorials on how to style it.

What's next for you on your natural hair journey? I have a couple of goals. 1. Go Rihanna/Sharon Osbourne red (love it!). 2. Have hair so long that it lays down by itself. :)

Dancing or singing? I love them both!

Keep it natural!

Omozo

Hairdos: Mother, Grandmother and I - Abi's Loc

2011-12-02T19:21:00.001+01:00

Hairdos: Mother, Grandmother and I

I’m sitting on my little stool, in the living room, my heart beating just a little bit faster as the long hand on the clock creeps up. Somehow my armpits feel a bit wetter. I know that the door will creak open and ... and the door starts to creak open. I shoot off my stool and race into my parents bedroom and go under the bed. I had been planning this hideout for a while and I was certain that this time I won’t be caught.

"Tope"! My name rings out and I unknowingly shiver. "Why must we do this every time? I know you are hiding somewhere and sooner than later, I will find you, so why not come out and just let’s be done?" The voice fades off and I start to relax but the voice comes closer. "Honestly I don’t have time for this. When I catch you, it will not be funny!" The voice bounces all over the room until it bends over to my hideout and a hand shoots out and grabs me by the leg. Grandmother pulls me to the living room while rivulets of tears fall down my face.

Going to the hairdressers always took so long and ended unsuccessfully because I have a tender head. It had become a bi-weekly nuisance. One day, my mother snapped when she came and found me screaming like a lamb while being held down by one hairdresser as the other tried to weave my hair. She paid the woman and marched me into her car with my hair uncompleted.

We got home and my Grandmother, who lived with us, looked at us with a smirk on her face. Mother and her were not the best of friends and mother tried her best to keep out of Grandmother's way. "So you have given up?" Grandmother beamed at my mother. My mom shook her head and said forlornly "I don’t know what to do. Maybe I should just shave her hair." I trembled at the thought and whined a big "no". I knew what happened to children who had shaved hair in my school. Everyone said they had head lice and teased them with the ‘gorimapa’ song.

Grandmother came to my rescue. ‘Let me finish it up for her and I’ll do her hair from now on. At least you will not have spend my son’s money needlessly." Grandmother ended somewhat triumphantly. Mom looked at her and let out what sounded like a grunt. I followed Grandmother willingly. Grandmother sat on the big chair and I sat on my little stool in between her legs.

Grandmother’s fat thighs suddenly clamped down on both sides of my head; holding my head so tight, I couldn’t hear anything. Her hands came over my head and like little needles poking at my head. It took me a while to find my voice because I was in shock. She finished up the weave just as my mother came out to see what was going on. "There! You see! Straightforward hairdressing. Done. All that money wasted when you had a true professional at home. And you, shut up!" Grandmother pushed me towards my mother, stood up re-tying her big wrapper around her waist and walked out of the living room.

"You see what you’ve caused now? Hmm? Mama will have something to say anytime you have to get your hair done! Left to me, I’ll just shave your head!" Mother said as she pulled me to herself and wiped my face. At that, I shouted "no". She echoed my voice. "No?! But every time you get your hair done, it is drama and disaster. What am I to do with you?" She scooped me in her arms and carried me into the bedroom where she gave me some paracetamol for my rising temperature and a cold orange Tree-Top drink. So I lay in my mother’s arms wondering how the next hairdressing time with my Grandmother was going to be. I didn’t have long to wait, it was two weeks coming.

Abi

Kinky Apothecary Price List

2011-12-01T20:08:00.001+01:00

We got lots of queries about the products and pricing for the products that The Kinky Apothecary (read interview here) carries. Nibi has graciously provided us with a price list for the products they carry. All the prices are in Naira. Contact details: Phone: +01-765-4546 ((Mon-Sat, 10am-8pm) or Email: kinky.apothecary@gmail.com

CLEANSERS

Aubrey Organics Honeysuckle Rose Shampoo (325ml).………N2,800

Aubrey Organics White Camellia Shampoo (325ml)…………N2,800

Giovanni Smooth-as-Silk Deep Moisture Shampoo (250ml)…N2,800

Giovanni 50:50 Hydrating-Clarifying Shampoo (250ml)…….N2,800

Dr Bronner’s Pure Castille Soap (237ml)…………………N2,000

- Unscented

- Peppermint

Dr Bronner’s Pure Castille Soap (474ml)………………...N3,000

- Tea Tree

- Peppermint

- Almond

CONDITIONERS

Aubrey Organics Honeysuckle Rose Conditioner (325ml)……..N3,100

Aubrey Organics White Camellia Ultra Smoothing (325ml).....N3,100

Aubrey Organics GPB Conditioner (325ml)………………..N3,100

Elucence Moisture Balancing Conditioner (1l)……………….N7,500

Giovanni Smooth-as-Silk Deeper Moisture (250ml)………..N2,800

Giovanni 50:50 Hydrating-Calming Conditioner (250ml)……N2,800

LEAVE-IN CONDITIONERS

Giovanni Direct Weightless Moisture Leave-in (250ml)………N2,800

Taliah Waajid Protective Mist Bodyfier (237ml)…………..N2,800

MOISTURISERS

Taliah Waajid Curly Curl Cream (117.5ml)…….…………..N3,000

Kinky Apothecary Whipped Shea Batter

- 250ml………………………………..…………..N1,800

- 100 ml ……………………………………………N1,000

100% PURE UNREFINED OILS

Organic Castor Oil (100ml)………………………………N1,800

Jojoba Oil (100ml)………………………………………N2,200

Avocado Oil (100ml)…………………………………….N1,800

Grapeseed Oil (100ml)…………………………………...N1,500

Sweet Almond Oil (100ml)……………………………….N1,500

Fractionated (liquid) Coconut Oil (100ml)………………….N1,500

Vegetable Glycerine (100ml)……………………………….N1,500

Rosemary Essential Oil (10ml)……………………………N2,000

Lavender Essential Oil (10ml)……………………………N2,000

NB: Essential Oils should be avoided during pregnancy. Rosemary Essential Oil should be avoided y those with High Blood Pressure.

STYLERS

Fantasia IC Olive Styling Gel (591ml).……………………N1,500

TOOLS

Spray bottles………………………………………….…..N500

Satin Bonnets………………….…………………….……N500

Conair Shower Comb.……………………………….……N1,000

Hair Dryer Diffuser……………………………….…….N2,000

DELIVERY INFORMATION

We deliver on Wednesdays and Fridays, provided you have placed your order before 5pm the previous day.

Delivery is free within Lagos for orders above N3000. Orders below this attract a N500 delivery charge to Ikoyi, VI and Lagos Island, and an N800 charge to Lekki and The Mainland.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you wish to arrange a delivery outside Lagos. We might be able to accommodate this.

Keep it natural!

Omozo

Mega Shoe Sale in Lagos Nigeria this Saturday

2011-12-01T20:01:00.001+01:00

I just had to share this! Someone I know went to this shoe sale and got 4 pairs of NEW shoes for Ten Thousand Naira (that is approximately USD$62 for the 4 pairs). You have to at least check it out. Go early because Lagos Babes like a good bargain.

Date: Saturday 3rd December 2011

Time: 10 AM

Venue: City Mall Onikan, Lagos

Contact: For more info and general enquiries BB Pin 26E0AD85
Call 08023965129
Check out their Facebook Page

"I just love all kinds of natural hair|" - Interview with Nibi (Kinky Apothecary)

2011-11-30T14:16:00.000+01:00

Nibi is the founder and owner of Kinky Apothecary - Lagos' first one-stop kinky hair shop. Nibi was interviewed on BGLH in 2010. She is gracious, approachable and excited about the growth of "natural hair awareness" in Nigeria. Meet Nibi.

Name? Nibi.

Where are you from and where do you live? Born in Lagos, raised in London, live somewhere between the two.

What do you do? By day, I am the Head of Corporate Finance for a large West African property development group specialising in low and middle income housing projects. By night, I run The Kinky Apothecary, Lagos's first one-stop natural hair products shop! Hence why my blogging has had to take a back seat over the past few months.

Where can we find you online? My blog: http://thekinkyapothecary.blogspot.com/ or my facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Kinky-Apothecary/120837131266405

How long have you been natural? 12 years with a wobble about 4 years ago where I texturized and immediately started transitioning back.

Tell us about Kinky Apothecary. What made you decide to do this? How has the journey been so far? Location? Hours of operation? Well, just to clear something up, the Kinky Apothecary has not, up until now, had a physical store. What the Kinky Apothecary is, is a supplier of natural hair products, and natural hair consultancy. We sell brands such as Aubrey Organics, Giovanni and Taliah Waajid by delivery. We have just entered into a few more deals with some well-known brands, so our product range is expanding rapidly in the next few months.

We are also in the process of developing our own line, and have a couple of items already on sale, and we supply a variety of carrier and essential oils. Customers call or email for a price list, and we deliver all over Lagos and we've even had some deliveries to other states too (as far as Maiduguri). But now after 18 months of this, we now finally have our own shop, which we will be launching at our December 18th event, and from early next year we will also have a concession at another shop on the mainland. We're just working out the finer details.

I started The Kinky Apothecary because after the texturizer blip, I was on a real healthy hair crusade, and would read all these websites like Curly Nikki and BGLH, but could never find the recommended products in any shop in Lagos and when I looked for alternatives, everything I could find contained mineral oil, silicones and sulphates which I wanted to avoid. I realised there was obviously a demand, and so decided to build my own company selling only products which are free of ingredients I feel are undesirable for a variety of reasons. I also wanted to develop a platform where we were not only reliant on these imported products, but to encourage locally made products as well. We have so many amazing ingredients growing right here in Nigeria. It was when I bought a tub of Shea Butter from the UK and thought 'hang on a minute...' that it clicked. Yes, I am a little slow! So I am always on the look out for natural hair and skin mixologists who have products they would like me to stock.

Also I would get people stopping me ALL the time, asking me about my hair, wasn't it hard to take care of, saying that they loved it and that they would really like to go natural but didn't know where to start or that their hair was "hard", and so I realised there was a real need for a consultancy and developed that side of things by organising our Champagne, Cupcakes and Curltalk workshops (featuring my 3 favourite things!) which we started 18 months ago! Since we started I have encouraged a lot of people to go natural, or wear their natural hair out, and I can't help feeling a little proud of that somehow.

We're actually having another one of those events (and 1st birthday bash) in Lagos on December 18th in conjunction with the ladies from Leave In The Kinks.

The journey has been extremely tough. The business grew so quickly, which I am only grateful for, but considering I also have an extremely demanding full-time job, at times it has felt like I was doing too much. A lot of the time, I just have to remind myself every day of what my goals are, and try not to get sidetracked or disheartened the odd time things have gone wrong. But I have to say it has been an incredible learning experience, and I have met so many wonderful people as a result of setting up.

What's next for Kinky Apothecary? Well we are opening our first store, actually. And we do have LOADS of exciting things coming up, which I can't really divulge at this stage. For example, I just agreed to a deal with one of my favourite product manufacturers of all time, and I really can't wait until we start stocking them!!

From your perspective, what is the natural hair scene like in Lagos / Nigeria? The natural hair scene has changed a lot from when I first came back. It is still not the norm, but I have started to see more and more naturals coming out. Even people who were natural before under their weaves have started wearing their own hair out more. However, we still have a LONG way to go!

At one time you had your hair relaxed. Tell us why you decided to go natural. I get asked this question a lot, but because it was so long ago, I actually can't really remember. I know there was a trend with people chopping their hair off and texturising at the time. I chopped, and liked my hair as it was without the chemicals, so kept it as it was. I also remember a friend of mine had really damaged relaxed hair and had gone natural and I LOVED her twists and wanted them too. I also hated relaxing. I have a really sensitive scalp and would get burned every single time. I also liked the way my hair looked for about a week after relaxing, but then it wouldn't be so great after that, and I just hated the whole maintenance thing. Having to do something to it every 6 weeks, I just could not be bothered.

It was nothing political, and nothing really I thought deeply about. I just felt like being natural, so I didn't have a touch up for 3 months and then chopped. I have nothing against relaxers on anyone else. It was just that for me I just could not be bothered, and now I am more aware, I just would never put chemicals on or near my scalp again.

Do you have a “hair mentor” or “hair crush”? I actually have loads of different mentors and crushes, because I just love all kinds of natural hair. Of course there are all the usual like Shinghai Shoniwa from The Noisettes, Janelle Monae, because she is just so funky, Yaya from America's Next Top Model, Corinne Bailey Rae. But I also frequently have hair crushes on people I see on the street. Big curls, small crinkles, inch long TWA's, huge afros. Love it all. And whenever I see another natural rocking her hair with pride, I usually can't help but smile.

It was quite funny actually, the other day I walked past this girl with really lovely natural hair. I tried to pretend I wasn't staring and calmly walked by, but when she had passed I turned round to admire it in its full glory, and realised that she had stopped and turned round to do exactly the same to me. We both laughed and struck up a conversation and hair tips, and ended up swapping email addresses.

What’s your hair regimen? Although I always tell my customers the importance of having a hair regimen, I am embarrassed to say I don't really have one as such *slaps wrists for not practising what she preaches*. But I guess what I am always trying to tell them is that different things work for different people, so they have to find their own groove!

I wash once a week, usually. Definitely no less frequently than every 2 weeks and that is a struggle- I only do that if my hair is in twists. But what I wash with changes all the time. I make sure I deep condition my hair at least 9 times out of every 10 I wash, because I have very porous hair that craves moisture, and despite this new trend of scientists saying there is no real benefit to leaving conditioner on for longer, I can ALWAYS tell the difference. My staple is Aubrey Organics Honeysuckle Rose, sometimes with Olive Oil and Honey added in to give it an extra punch. I try loads of different conditioners, because I always make sure I try out products before I sell them. However, I always come back to my old love: Aubreys! As I said, my hair is really porous, so I can have moisture retention issues. To counter this, I give myself a mild protein treatment every few weeks with the Aubreys GPB. This is a really mild treatment, so if I ever feel I need more of a protein boost, I do a treatment with eggs, mayonnaise and olive oil.

I always wash my hair in sections now- cowash or shampoo each section, apply my conditioner, detangle with my fingers or a seamless wide-toothed comb (I alternate hand and comb every other wash), then I twist, cover with a plastic cap to deep condition, and rinse in twists. I haven't washed loose in a bout a year now, and this has really cut down on tangles.

For my go-to braidouts and twistouts, I untwist each section to apply my leave-in, and twist it back up to dry partially. Then I go through each section to make smaller twists or braids with my Kinky Apothecary Whipped Shea Batter, which is a souped up Shealoe- it is water based, and contains a variety of oils in addition to the Shea and Aloe. It looks and smells just like coconut cake batter, so I am changing the name to that. I do experiment with different things sometimes, but this is my standard 'I don't have time for anything else' regimen

I also sometimes play around with Ayurvedic clays when I have the time, and have just perfected a shampoo bar and a clay-based conditioning mask which are going to form part of the Kinky Apothecary line. They are being debuted at the December event. A few months ago, I also started using the line that we are about to start stocking. It is actually torture that I can't say what it is.

Products you would wait in line for? *wink* Ooh, I can't answer that without giving away the big secret of which products we are about to start stocking! Ask me again in 2 months, but let me just say, I LOVE every single product they have ever made!!!

How do people react to your natural hair? Positive, or negative or just odd? Usually positive, even people who think they don't "like" natural hair, mainly because people like big hair, I guess. I do get the odd snide comment, but because I can honestly say I actually am totally in love with my hair, those comments tend to irritate me for a second and then roll off my back. Some statements have been made, however, that I find so amusing that I still repeat them years later. Not because I am upset by them, but because I am just astounded and actually amused by the ignorance. But I can safely say my hair is definitely always a topic of conversation- good or bad!

If you get negative comments about your natural hair who are they from and how do you deal with them? When I first moved back to Lagos 5 years ago, I would get unwelcome comments from colleagues all the time. Now I'm the boss, those comments have stopped suddenly... to my face anyway! Lol!! I do have the weave brigade dropping snide comments once in a while, but hey. Really doesn't bother me that much

What hairstyles do you usually wear? Braidouts and twistouts because I like to keep my hair stretched. Pulled back or in an updo for work (I also sometimes wear my chunky twists and braids to work. Don't judge me!). And out in its full glory at night or at weekends.

What do you like best about being natural? It's so versatile. I still get amazed at what it can do. I derive pleasure from playing around with it. I just think it looks best on me. I feel like I have a bit of a healthier lifestyle because once I started choosing healthier options for my hair, it filtered down to all other aspects of my life, down to what I eat (although you will pry cheesy wotsits from my cold dead orange fingers!)

What do you hate most about being natural? It's all just a part of who I am. Yes sometimes I get frustrated when detangling. I have to say shrinkage does my head in, especially in this Lagos humidity! You get ready for a night out and within 30 minutes it is a completely different hair style. But I would still take that over anything else! Apart from that, there is absolutely nothing I hate about my hair.

Have you ever had an “Ooops!” or “OMG!” moment with your hair? Tell us about it and how you resolved it. So many, I don't even know where to start. Now they really only tend to be failed twistouts or braidouts, so I just pull my hair back and sort it out the next day. But I have had some disasters in the past.

Oh, I just remembered one! When I tried to dye my hair myself, in the first year I went natural. I bought a permanent box dye from the chemist, rushed home and, barely glancing over the instructions, proceeded to haphazardly slather it on to my afro (I didn't really know much about sectioning or shingling, even though looking back, that's just common sense). The colour was totally wrong for my skin tone, so much so that I almost gave myself a heart attack whenever I passed a mirror! And, gasping for breath between fits of hysterical laughter, my cousin pointed out that I had completely missed a patch and was walking around with a dark circle on the back of my head. I booked an emergency hairdressers appointment for the next day where they managed to tone the colour down a bit, and then pretty much just twisted my hair for months until it grew out. The two-toned twists looked quite cool though, almost as if I had done that on purpose.

What do you say to people like you about going natural? I always tell my customers that it can be tough, it can be frustrating, but don't give up before you've tried all the options. Look at the products you are using and the ingredients in them, and that might be what's causing issues (my hair does things now with certain products that I never thought it would). Also NEVER compare your hair to other people, everyone's hair is totally different, and fabulous in its own way. And finally, if it doesn't work out, and you know you've really tried, then really don't beat yourself up about it. We are all individuals with choices for a reason. If you find that the creamy crack is the best way for you after all, then do you!

What's next for you on your natural hair journey? I'm actually thinking of going for the chop (I'm at mid-back length now). I look at people with short hair starting their journeys and I do feel a bit jealous remembering the journey, and getting excited comparing lengths to a few months before and talking about how much it had grown (I know, its weird when I think about that awkward stage where I couldn't do anything with it). I think I may start with an inverted bob first (cut the back and keep the front long, as I have already started trimming more off the back so the front catches up) and then if I am still feeling scissors happy, I may chop it all off. But whatever I do, I will definitely continue to embrace all that is fabulous about being natural!

Keep it natural!

Omozo

Augusta's Curly Locs - By Ibhaze

2011-11-30T11:40:00.001+01:00

Augusta and I work at the same office. Augusta has lovely locs and for some reason I never thought of interviewing her for the blog! Imagine that. So I asked her about styling her locs and here is what she said:

"I have had dredlocks for four years now and trust me apart from the initial thrill that your hair is long and beautiful, not to mention all natural, the reality dulls the thrill. I am bored. Same look, same mirror image. It's all a boring tortured circle. I decided to spice my looks up but what do I do? Hmmmmmm. I made cornrows with my dredlocks, for a change. Then I remembered what a friend told me once (my dear Ibahze). She said that I should wet my hair when it is in cornrows. So day two of my cornrowed locks I wet my hair and allowed it to air dry and then applied baby oil to it.

It looked funny when I went out but I braved it up with fashionable droopy earrings. Then came day 4. I had a date, so I decided to take out my cornrowed locks and voila! I got curls! Real curly girly curls! I looked so hot I couldn't stop staring and smiling sheepishly at me. Very simple way to look diffrent when you are tired of your straight locks and it is something that can be achieved over the weekend to make people oooh and ahhhh over your locks come Monday. Now I am loving this new and easy discovery. I have learned to spice up my looks and the curls can stay in for a minimum of two days.

Who says your dredlocks can't look divaliscious?"

Ibhaze

A Gift - By Cabella

2011-11-26T22:17:00.001+01:00

My friend Ivie was laughing so hard tears streamed down herface. She is one person who laughs well at my jokes. I smiled and leaned overto hug her. Hospital beds can be so awkward for intimate moments. “Please getme my laptop” Ivie requested. I got her laptop and she shuffled to one side ofthe bed so that I could sit properly. She began to show me pictures of hairstyles.There must have been about fifty of them

When she was done I put the laptop away and looked at her.She had shown me pictures of herself with twist-outs and braid-outs. “Ivie, Ithought we were going to pick out a wig?” I asked. “I know.” She started “Iwant my hair back and since that is not happening I want awig that captures the way my hair was.” How do you tell someone fighting cancerthat they are asking for too much? Surely two requests: to survive cancer and awig are not too much.

Ivie had told us about her cancer after it was detected thesecond time. The first time it was detected she traveled and told us she was takingsome time off. Taking time off from Lagos stress needed no further explanation.She was gone for a year. By the time she came back, she had lost some weight,cut her hair and seemed quite refreshed.

Life went back to normal for Ivie and for a fewyears she was well. Ivie called herclose friends to her parents’ house in G.R.A Ikeja one weekend and told us shehad cancer, again. Again? I remember staring at her and thinking that she wastoo nice, too kind, and too righteous to have cancer ... again. She did her bestto give us the “don’t worry, I have fought this before and I will fight it again”speech. She was not convincing.

“The Ivie Cheer-leading Squad (TICS)” is what we calledourselves. We read all we could about the cancer our friend had. We took turnscalling and visiting her daily. Whatevershe needed, we made sure she got it. Now she wanted a wig similar to her hair before her hair fell out because of treatment. “I am sure we canfind something close enough to your hair Ivie” I reassured her even though Idid not believe it.

I sent an email to TICS regarding Ivie’s request and waitedto hear back. “I can donate my hair” one of the TICS wrote back. I had not evenconsidered that! Three of us had long enough natural hair and donating our hairwas a perfect idea. The other members ofTICS agreed to cut their hair in support. We searched for a company that makeshuman hair wigs for cancer patients. They had never done an “African-American”human hair wig before and they were excited too. We found out we needed aminimum of ten inches of hair. Some of us had to grow our hair some more beforecutting. On and on it went; getting information, arranging how we wouldcut and send the hair to the wig maker, raising money for the wig because itwas going to be a custom made order. We were excited and anxious. We prayed dailythat our friend would not die but would recover and soon grow her own hair.

Courtesy: http://www.takepart.com/article/2011/09/01/cancer-survivor

Not all of us could present Ivie her wig. The other membersof TICS dialed in via Skype. Ivie was awestruck. She could not say a word. Wecried and laughed as she put on the wig. The wig fit her well. “Thank you” shewhispered barely loud enough for us to hear.

That was five years ago. Members of TICS hold a memorial servicefor Ivie every year. I am not sure how long it will last. Today only half of usare here. We share memories and look at pictures and pray for other women battlingcancer. And we cut our natural hair every other year and send to the companythat made Ivie’s wig. Surely two requests: to survive cancer and a wig are nottoo much to ask.

**Author’s Note: Characters andevents are fictional. Any resemblance to actual characters or events is purelycoincidence**

Cabella

"Natural Hair is H-O-T and it makes me unique" - Interview with Natmane

2011-11-25T16:59:00.000+01:00

Natmane got us revved up during her presentation at the natural hair meet-up last Saturday. She made us laugh and reflect on how we and other people see our natural hair. Meet Natmane: enthusiastic, confident and 'no-nonsense'. Enjoy!

Name? Natmane.

Where are you from and where do you live? I am an Edo girl from Benin City. Oba Otokpeye! I am based in Abuja, the Federal Capital City of Nigeria.

What do you do? I'm currently a National Youth Corp member.

Where can we find you online? You can hail me at http://www.deepbrownkinks.blogspot.com/ and recently, http://www.iheartmyhair.com/.

How long have you been natural? I've being natural for 2years and some months.

You write a blog on natural hair. How long have you had your blog? What made you decide to do this? My blog was created in December 2010. I had to blog on natural hair because my friends (and strangers) would see my hair and go "ooh I love your hair what did you do... can you do it for me?" And I would tell them that their hair could look huge if they had natural hair. The next sentence would be"Eya! I can't go natural o. The wahala is too much. You must have good hair. My story different". So I created DBK to let Nigerian Ladies know that with patience you can be beautiful, funky, professional and Natural!

From your perspective, what is the natural hair scene like in Lagos / Nigeria? I'm not so sure about Lagos since I've been to Lagos twice. But I can tell you that most of the fierce naturals reside in Lagos. I'm sorry but Nigerian girls really enjoy following trends even though it costs them their lives (you know what I mean shey?). So yes the natural hair scene in Nigeria can be a bit boring since na only you dey waka for road with big hair. But from the feed back I've been getting, a lot of ladies are willing to try something new and some don't want their daughters to get hooked on relaxers. Hopefully we will get more naturals on board in the years to come.

At one time you had your hair relaxed. Tell us why you decided to go natural. I went natural because my hair was limp and sad. My permed hair would just hang down and I loved my hair at ATTENTION!! I had lost my edges and after reading sites like BGLH online and CurlyNikki there was no other way to go than natural!!

How did you go natural? Did you transition or did you do the big chop? Did anyone help you or encourage you? When my hair was relaxed, I had a touch up every 4 or 5 months. So when I decided to go natural I did what is known as a mini chop.

To answer your third question: I had no encouragement and I cut off my hair myself using normal scissors. Everyone refused to help me cut my hair even the Barber. Funny shey? Well that comes with living in the North. The barber told me he was scared because a Muslim lady had cut off her hair in rebellion to her husband and the Oga (husband) dealt with the innocent Barber. So if my father could "come and give permission" he would willingly do it for me...Ehn!! I wan craze...I vex red....walked into my bathroom and cut off the hair!. Shey na just hair?!

Do you have a “hair mentor” or “hair crush”? I just Love the way Siraj Nuri wears her hair. Erykah Badu is too much and when I newly went natural, Natural belle was the best hair blog on the Planet :)

What’s your hair regimen? Hmm...I change regimens as the weather changes. For now sha I wash my hair weekly or biweekly, deep-condition after each wash , thread my hair and style. I tend to take better care of my edges and ends in the harmattan months. So I apply my fav. oil or butter to my ends in the mornings and before I sleep. Moderation is the word. By sleep time I braid or thread my hair. That's after applying the oil or butter.

Products you would wait in line for? Screwy Haired Girl's Butter.

Where in Nigeria do you get the hair products you use? I get most of my products from markets, village markets and Sahad Stores.

How do people react to your natural hair? Positive, or negative or just odd? I believe that people will react to you based on the image you have of your self. When I newly went natural and had to deal with the "should-I-really-be-doing- this" stage. I used to get hateful comments. The reason, I felt, was because I was not truly feeling my new look. But then I watched Jill scott's live performance on T.V one time like that and noticed that she was all smiles. She wore her fro with pride. And I thought to myself: that is what I should be doing. This might sound odd but I got more positive than negative comments after that decision.

If you get negative comments about your natural hair who are they from and how do you deal with them? He! He! ...negative comments come from just about anybody; family, friends, strangers (who should be minding their business by the way). What do I do? He! He! ... I can be a thick Benin girl at times so when that Edo moment comes I have a serious reply for them. Like this one time this obviously bleached girl was just horrible to me so I went "you dey bleach o you dey bleah...yellow fever" in public (That's Fela by the way). If she had a gun she might have shot me...lol! But seriously, I advice that ladies just Ignore those negative people. You are a gem. Don't waste your time and energy replying those ignorant of your beauty (this also applies to me lol).

Comment about natural hair in your place of work. Do you feel awkward about wearing your natural hair to work? No I don't feel awkward. I've spent some time in the corporate Nigerian scene so I've developed this "either accept me or live me alone: attitude. I get complements and I get negativity. But who cares na me get my hair. No be so?

Courtesy: Natmane

What hairstyles do you usually wear? Why? Hmm! Question...I wear a fro, curly fro, updo's, fake dreads, single braids(one-one ^_^), Ghana braids....anything I feel like doing. Why? Because natural hair allows for versatility so I will try every style that inspires me.

What do you like best about being natural? Versatility.

What do you hate most about being natural? Nothing...hate is a strong word.

Have you ever had an “Ooops!” or “OMG!” moment with your hair? Tell us about it and how you resolved it. Yes I've had plenty of that. Like I tried to do a roller set in rainy season and my hair was a MESS!!. Anyways time was not on my side so I went out with my crazy fro:). But most times I solve that with a head wrap!!

Courtesy: Natmane

Why are you still keeping your hair natural? Because it's HOT. It's me and it makes me unique.

What do you say to people like you about going natural? Naija babes!. Natural hair can be an interesting journey. Enjoy each phase of your journey and work what God gave you. Sometimes you might be tempted to perm it again.But that is quite normal. Stay strong and keep on trying to get information and inspiration. Most importantly wear your fro with pride and a smile.

What's next for you on your natural hair journey? My sister I no know o. I've being thinking about cutting my hair recently but hey...I love this length too. I'm currently working on finding ways to wear my hair in it's shrunken state. That way when it gets hot all I need to do is pour water and waka!

Favourite dessert place in Nigeria? My favorite Lagos spot is the Life house....yes I'm hooked. I love Africa and anything that represents my Continent to the fullest has my vote.

Thanks so much Natmane.

Keep it natural!

Omozo

"I am doing nothing that goes against who I want to be" - Interview with Natural Nigerian

2011-11-24T09:47:00.000+01:00

I squealed when I met Natural Nigerian (NN) for the first time. Then I gave her a big hug and squeeze. She probably thought "Na who be dis o?" I am one of her secret blog followers. She was gracious and accommodating. Meet Natural Nigerian, full of knowledge, industrious and very gracious. Oh and she is camera shy! Enjoy!

Name? Natural Nigerian.

Where are you from and where do you live? I am from Anambra state and I live in Lagos, Nigeria.

What do you do? I am a blogger talking up a storm about things I am passionate about.

Where can we find you online? http://www.naturalnigerian.com/. I am on twitter @naturalnigerian and on facebook, just search for me by name as I have a page as well as a proper facebook profile.

How long have you been natural? I can’t say I really remember. The last time I relaxed my hair was in December 2008. I transitioned under the cover of dreadlock extensions and at a point cut off all of my relaxed hair. I suspect this was late 2009.

You write a blog on natural hair. What made you decide to do this? Actually, my blog is about many things. Hair is just a part of it. To fully understand what I blog about, please read this post. The only thing missing from that is that I also like to talk about social issues. I have recently spoken about slavery in Nigeria, our population issues and disallowing mental abuse in our lives.

I started the blog because I had spent a lot of time reading and researching about living naturally but was consistently unable to find information online from my fellow Nigerians that were relevant to those that actually live in Nigeria. A lot of the information was more relevant to those living in countries abroad. This is important because to note because Nigeria has a wealth of information which isn’t necessarily getting preserved. The way our ancestors lived is slowly being replaced by western methods. While I am all for importing best practices, I know that we will lose a lot if we fail to record ours.

Anyhoo, I was bursting with all my findings and I thought that it would be a good idea to give access if not to the information, to a longing for it so that others will find it easy to embrace a more natural way of living. I haven’t quite done it but it is still the plan.

From your perspective, what is the natural hair scene like in Lagos / Nigeria? It is a growing one. A very misunderstood one, but it is catching on. At the meet up, we actually had a room full of people – even the relaxed ones - that were perhaps thinking of going natural. Clearly, there are people here in Lagos that are interested.

At one time you had your hair relaxed. Tell us why you decided to go natural. It was an unconscious decision. While I was pregnant, my hair was in protective styles most of the time. I probably used a relaxer just once in the entire 9 months. By the time I had my daughter, my hair was long and lush in a way I hadn’t seen for years.

I realize now that it was the hormones that had probably locked my hair in a growth phase so that I was not losing hair. Thinking that it was the lack of relaxers, I decided that I would not use a relaxer on the usual 6-8 week schedule but put myself on a new schedule of twice a year. After 2 years, I stopped completely and here I am – natural.

How did you go natural? Did you transition or did you do the big chop? Did anyone help you or encourage you? I transitioned under the cover of dreadloc extensions. No-one helped or encouraged me. I don’t think I knew anyone else that was natural. My mum and sisters all have relaxed hair so this was something that I did on my own.

You and Screwyhair recently organized a Natural Hair meet-up. What was the motivation behind organizing it? What was it like organizing it? I had reached a point where I found myself constantly thinking that it would be nice to be in the same room with people like me where we could swap information and learn from each other. I had been mailing Screwy Hair Girl pretty much since I found her blog and I thought she might want to be involved so I sent her a mail asking if she would be interested. Thankfully she said yes. Meeting her, getting to know her, working with her has been eh, natural, for lack of a better word, lol! She and I made a really good team along with Sherese Ijewere and Natmane. I feel really lucky to have metthese really wonderful ladies.

Organizing it was great and took me out of my comfort zone quite a bit(I have never even thrown my daughter a proper party). I was out of town quite a bit so I had to keep in touch via Blackberry Messenger, phone calls and e-mails. Although we hadn’t ever attended a meet up, we had a lot of ideas. We had a lot of help along the way – it was as though all the stars where aligned. A chance meeting led us to a member of our team, a friendof mine who lives near the venue gladly let us invade her space and evenoffered food when members of the team met there. The venue owner was also veryhelpful – helping with publicity and providing us with equipment to help withthe event. Once the post was up that there was a meet up in themaking, we had people tweeting it, posting it on their blogs and helping inevery way to promote it. I can’t thank them enough because they were also partof the team.

Do you have a “hair mentor” or “hair crush”? Nah! The only one I had turned out to have extensions and texturized hair, lol! I still love the way she carries it though.

What’s your hair regimen? To start with, I can’t say that I have bought a lot of the products that appear to be popular among naturals as I like to make my own things.

Water and Moisturizing: Starting from the inside, I drink a lot of water so that I can stay hydrated. This helps my entire body (including my hair) to function properly. I mist my hair about 3 times a week with a mix of water, Aloe Juice (which I really think is the best thing to have happened to my hair) and sometimes glycerin. I layer some leave in conditioner and seal everything with shea butter or a heavy oil.

Washing: I try to wash my hair at least every fortnight. I would do it weekly if I can manage it. I use black soap that I have mixed with oils. I use the oils because some black soaps can be drying. I also have used a bentonite clay based shampoo which works wonderfully. Due to the fact that it is expensive, I have bought the clay and will mix up a batch everytime I want to have a bentonite treatment.

Conditioning: I make my own deep conditioners and leave-in conditioners. Whenever I wash my hair, I make and use a moisturizing deep conditioner. The only time I don’t use a moisturizing deep conditioner is when I make and use a protein conditioner about once every 6 weeks.

Extras: I tend to like using herbs (e.g. Stinging nettle, Comfrey, Basil e.t.c) to make rinses. Flax seeds to make a gel. Organic Apple Cider Vinegar to rinse off build up, reduce the pH in some homemade concoctions and bring my hair close to its acid pH. Once in a while I will use Cassia Obovata as a hair treatment.

Stretching: I used to twist my hair but thanks to Natural Mane, I havereturned to threading and it works perfectly. No more knots at the end of myhair like I used to get whenever I took out my twists. It is all perfectlystretched out.

Products you would wait in line for? None. I have moved away from being a product junkie to being an ingredient junkie. A move that I think has really helped me. Also, because I make quite a bit of my own products I find it difficult to be excited about the ones that are available.

If you ask me what ingredients I would wait in line for though, they are: Aloe Vera Juice, Bentonite Clay, Apple Cider Vinegar and, Shea Butter. All these ingredients can be used for hair and skin.

Where in Lagos do you get the hair products you use? I raid my local Indian store for Henna and Vatika Coconut oil. For bagging my hair, I have bought cheap plastic bags in Balogun Market and then those pins that every natural uses? Cheap and cheerful at Balogun Market as well. I also have just recently bought a LOT of most of the things I use. I will retail some and keep the rest for myself.

How do people react to your natural hair? Positive, or negative or just odd? I find that my hair is something that really polarizes people. The ones that like it really like it. The ones that hate it really hate it and think that I am just eccentric.

If you get negative comments about your natural hair who are they from and how do you deal with them? I get negative comments all the time and I have gotten used to it. I have only gotten upset once and that was with a senior work colleague. He asked if my hair didn’t smell because it was natural, declared that he would get me a wrap as he thought I should hide it from others and made more really obnoxious statements. I went away, stewed for a while and then placed a call and made my feelings known. He came back to apologize. My frustration was that he was a black, Nigerian man who clearly had a rural upbringing and so should have known better. He also has very young daughters whom I imagine would be encouraged to relax their hair as early as possible – and worse, may have their Nigerian-ness stripped away from them in a bid to fit in with their father’s class aspirations.

Comment about natural hair in your place of work. Do you feel awkward about wearing your natural hair to work? Not at all. My scaly thick skin doesn’t permit it, lol! However, there are more Peruvian hair extensions on display than natural hair. Also, my friend who works in the same office and rocks locs has said that she has been told by well meaning friends that her hair may stand in her way of getting a promotion.

What hairstyles do you usually wear? Why? I have admitted several times that I am style challenged so I tend to wear protective styles like cornrows and very recently, Kinky twists. I did pick up a few points from Natmane at the meet up and have challenged myself to wearing and styling my hair for the next 3 weeks at least.

Courtesy www.naturalnigerian.com

What do you like best about being natural? The fact that I am being me. I am doing nothing that goes against who I want to be.

What do you hate most about being natural? The instant cause and effect repercussions of falling asleep at the wheel. I really can’t get away with anything. If I don’t moisturize my hair, it definitely gets dry. If I don’t detangle properly, tangles form that may lead to hair breakage. It keeps me on my toes which I sometimes love, sometimes dislike.

Have you ever had an “Ooops!” or “OMG!” moment with your hair? Tell us about it and how you resolved it. Actually, it is the poor people that have had to deal with my decidedly unstylish hair styles that have had OMG! moments. Not that I blame them, lol! I used a protein treatment sometime ago on my hair which left it hard and very difficult to work with. I have since learnt to be less heavy handed with the protein.

Why are you still keeping your hair natural? Because I love it and I really couldn’t think of having it any other way. I have done a lot of studying, scouring through journals and all the evidence points to the fact that Afro hair suffers when it is put through chemical treatments. To have really healthy hair you need to leave it natural.

Also, I have a young daughter who has natural hair. I think it is my duty to be her role model especially as she has to come to terms with the fact that her Caucasian friends have longer hair and some of her Nigerian classmates and friends are not all on board with natural hair. Even at the age of 6.

Last thing (I promise), I do not miss the scalp burns from relaxers, the hot dryers from roller sets and the long wait at the salon. I actually save money by washing/styling my hair done myself.

What do you say to people like you about going natural? Try it at least once and do it properly.

What's next for you on your natural hair journey? Learning to style it properly so that I can stop scaring babies!

Tinsel or Jacob's Cross? Ah, Omozo wrong question as I don’t really watch TV.

May I end by saying that it was a huge pleasure to meet you. You give off a lot of positive energy and I imagine that you bring a lot of light into people’s lives. You are really amazing.

Thank you very much NN.

Keep it natural!

Omozo

"I am totally in charge of my hair" - Interview with African Naturalista

2011-11-23T11:24:00.000+01:00

African Naturalista is one of the Nigerian natural hair Bloggers we met on Saturday at the natural hair meet-up. We are featuring her today in this interview. She is straight forward, stylish and generous with her experience and knowledg of natural hair. Enjoy!

Name? Atilola Moronfolu.

Where are you from and where do you live? I am from Osun state but was born, bred, buttered and still live in Lagos.

What do you do? I am a consultant, a writer and an editor.

Where can we find you online? My main blog is atilola.blogspot.com, this is where I do all my talking, writing, humour posts, etc. My natural hair blog is africanaturalistas.blogspot.com, where I blog about natural hair and its care.
My twitter handle is @hattylolla

How long have you been natural? I have been natural for almost four years. I used to have dreadlocks and cut it all off last year and rocked the fro.

You write a blog on natural hair. What made you decide to do this? I started my blog on natural hair because I kept looking for natural hair blogs that had to do with the kind of hair Nigerians have, but I never found any. I never found Natural Nigerian and Screwy hair before then. If I had found them then, I probably wouldn't have started mine, due to laziness. All the blogs I found were by African Americans, and as we know, their hair type is different from ours in most cases. After I searched for some more months, I just decided to take the bull by the horn and start it, so I could help other Nigerians and Africans. That is why the blog title is African Naturalistas.

From your perspective, what is the natural hair scene like in Lagos / Nigeria? The natural hair scene in Nigeria is growing, but it is still not large enough. Most people don't think they can successfully manage their hair and there is so much misconception about natural hair in Nigeria. Also importantly, it is not totally accepted in the workplace, as one’s colleagues will see one as strange.

At one time you had your hair relaxed. Tell us why you decided to go natural and how you did it. Did you transition or did you do the big chop? Did anyone help you or encourage you? I have had a very low cut almost all my life. When I got into university, my goal was to make sure my hair grew long so I started growing and relaxing it. Not long after, I realized that I did not like relaxers. But I did not have the courage to stop relaxing because I did not think there was any way out and my hair had grown so long so fast. In fact, I was a ‘hair role model’ for a lot of people.

Not long after I graduated from university, I became tired of the whole hair making thing, so I finally got the courage to cut my hair and had a low cut. Later on, I decided to lock it, intending to go back to relaxers about 5 years later. About 6 months after I had locks, I knew I would forever "dread" going back to relaxers. When I saw the possibility of being natural, I knew that a solution had come for me. No one helped or encouraged me. How could they when I did not know the direction which I was going with my hair?!

Do you have a “hair mentor” or “hair crush”? I don’t have a mentor or crush but I love so many people’s hair. I am looking out for Natmane’s hair length in the mean time.

Natmane of deepbrown & kinks blog

What’s your hair regimen? I spray my hair with a mix of water and olive oil every morning and night. I use Shea butter mix to seal every morning and use Castor oil to seal at night. I wash every 2 weeks, because that’s when I take out my twists. I have been twisting my hair for the past 3 months and I intend to continue till I get Natmane's length and then I might change from twists to other styles. I use my prepoo mix before washing and then wash with castille soap and conditioner. I then use the ACV on my hair and wash it over and over with Tea Bag extract water.

Products you would wait in line for? Liquid Castille soap.

How do people react to your natural hair? Positive, or negative or just odd? Actually, I get a mixture of the three reactions.

If you get negative comments about your natural hair who are they from and how do you deal with them? The negative comments are few and I honestly cannot be bothered. My own duty is to make my hair as neat as possible and your duty is to mind your business.

Comment about natural hair in your place of work. Do you feel awkward about wearing your natural hair to work? I don’t feel awkward. I was the first lady to ever carry dreadlocks to work, defying the policy. I wore wigs for a while until I could put my locks in a bun and I just pretended to myself that my hair was braided. I guess I escaped a lot of sanctions because I am a client servicing staff and I move from site to site.

What hairstyles do you usually wear? Why? Recently, I have been wearing twists. This is because my hair is too "wild" for a afro right now and I can't leave it messy because of work. My braids don’t last for a long time and I don’t want a hairstylist to mess up my hair. So I just twist every two weeks. Next year, I’ll think of something else.

What do you like best about being natural? The fact that I am totally in charge of my hair.

What do you hate most about being natural? Nothing.

Have you ever had an “Ooops!” or “OMG!” moment with your hair? Tell us about it and how you resolved it. Yes I have. I mistakenly mishandled my hair, resulting in hair loss. I scolded myself and learnt from my lesson. Some Saturdays, when my hair chooses to be too disobedient to pack up, I just cover it with a beanie and leave the house.

Why are you still keeping your hair natural? Because I love it that way.

What do you say to people like you about going natural? It requires discipline, commitment and dedication, and it is definitely worth it.

What's next for you on your natural hair journey? To keep on reading and keep on learning. I want to know how to weave my hair, so that’s my next goal.

Going to the beach or going to the Movies? Going to the movies because I love watching movies, lol.

Keep it natural!

Omozo

Twist and pin curl Tutorial

2011-11-22T16:31:00.001+01:00

I have been getting tons of enquiries about the above hairstyle. I am happy that the style is a hit. *Grinning widely* The style was inspired by Saleemah of Hydratherma Naturals. I saw it and modified it a bit. Check out the Hydratherma link to see the YouTube tutorial on how to do the hairstyle.

Saleemah's twist and pin curl

I have also styled some ladies' hair with this hairstyle.

Yes I styled these ladies hair! :)

How I accomplished my style

1) Cornrow the font and back of my hair. Decide how high you want the style to look and cornrow accordingly. Twist the ends of the cornrows.

2) Twist the rest of your hair.

3) Put your ends in bantu knots / china bumps / robo-robo / periwinkle.People call this different things.
4) Close the gaps by pinning sections together or by sewing them together.

NOTE: If you feel your hair is not thick enough to cover the gaps properly like Saleemah's hair (above), consider adding extensions for bulk and not length.

I went to a salon in Lagos Nigeria called 1st May. This Salon is in Ogudu GRA - Ojota. The hairdresser's name is Kate (0808-661-7756).

That's it! Please try it out and let me know how it turned out - even better if you send pictures *wink*.

Keep it natural!

Omozo

"I love the texture of my hair, how it feels. I love how I look with natural hair" - Interview with Screwy Haired Girl

2011-11-21T07:09:00.001+01:00

O'Naturals was at the Lagos Natural Hair Meet-up that took place last Saturday and got to meet the organizers. We asked for interviews and they agreed. Such gracious ladies! We will also be featuring natural hair bloggers who blog from Nigeria. Today, we feature Screwy Haired Girl: soft spoken, professional and funny. Enjoy!

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Name? By day, I'm Nike Taylor. By night, I'm Screwy Haired Girl.

Where are you from and where do you live? My father's Yoruba and my mother's Igbo and I've lived in Lagos Nigeria all my life (if you don't count the 10 years I was away in Washington, DC), so I'm from Lagos. I moved back to Nigeria in 2007.

What do you do? I'm 3 things: A single mother of one high-spirited 12-year-old boy; Chief Operating Officer at AbOriginal Productions, an entertainment content production company and; Creative Director at Zahara Creations, a brand and graphic design company that's part of the AbOriginal group of companies. I've also just started my line of all-natural Screwy Hair Butter that contains no chemicals or preservatives.

Where can we find you online? You can find me in 3 places online:

- Screwy Hair, my natural hair blog - http://screwyhair.wordpress.com/

- Twitter - @screwyhair - Email - screwyhair@gmail.com

How long have you been natural? 12 years, which is one year less than my sister.

You write a blog on natural hair. What made you decide to do this? It was a way for me to really learn about my hair and how to take care of it in a new climate. The climate in the US made my hair care easy; for years, my everyday style was a fro, with long braids or twists for winter or when I needed a break. So when I moved back, I thought hey, I can keep wearing my hair out everyday, right? Wrong: months later, my hair was breaking badly, with split ends, and I lost a lot of length. Sounds crazy, but I ignored it for the most part because I had a stressful job at the time. I had it in weaves, cornrows, fros (for going out), or braids/twists until early this year. I could do that because it somehow still looked good in a fro.

I started my blog in February and as I blogged and surfed other natural blogs, I realized my relationship with my hair wasn't healthy, so my hair wasn't healthy. So at about one in the morning on April 25 this year, I took out a pair of hair scissors and cut off about 8 inches, leaving 2.5 - 3 inches of hair. Best decision ever. My hair knowledge has grown with my hair and we're now a loving couple, who just have occasional fights :-)

From your perspective, what is the natural hair scene like in Lagos / Nigeria? It's growing and being natural has become more of a serious decision than a fad for many women now. When I first moved back, I hardly saw any naturals anywhere; at the office, the grocery store, the cafes, or the clubs, and the one or two I did see lived overseas and were just visiting. Then a couple years later, I started seeing a few more naturals, but then half or all of them would go back to a perm months or a year later. But now, the community seems to be growing by leaps and bounds and there's a greater sense of permanence. There aren't just TWA's now; I see a lot of inches on women these days. Waiting for the brothers to catch up :-)

But do you know the most beautiful thing I now see? Little girls with healthy natural hair instead of a relaxer, even if their moms still have perms.

At one time you had your hair relaxed. Tell us why you decided to go natural. There was no big, life-changing decision, no spiritual awakening for me. I've just always loved to play with my hair. I've had it in every haircut under the sun (including a not-on-purpose fade), baby curls, weaves, braids, spray-on color, texturizer, locks, name it and I've probably done it. But being natural makes my hair so versatile and is the longest hair commitment I've ever made. Also back when I went natural, natural hair wasn't that common at my college (outside afrocentric circles), so it was nice being different.

How did you go natural? Did you transition or did you do the big chop? Did anyone help you or encourage you? Big chop. No active encouragement, but my sister had gone natural a year before and I thought, hey I haven't done that before! I was home for Christmas in 1999 and walked over to a neighborhood barbershop one day. After he finally agreed to cut it down to about a half inch, I had it put in small middle-back-length twists before I went back to DC. I took the twists out 4 months later. I know, I know, way too long! And found I absolutely LOVED the texture of my unprocessed hair.

You and Natural Nigerian recently organized a Natural Hair meet-up. What was the motivation behind organizing it? What was it like organizing it? The meet-up was on Saturday. (It was great meeting you!) A couple months ago, Natural Nigerian emailed me the idea of hosting a meet-up. I've been natural a good while but never attended one and I was excited about being part of planning one. We chatted and found we had the same motivations: we wanted to create a place for naturals to come together to support each other, learn about their hair, and share their experiences so that we could all learn, but we also wanted to embrace both naturals and non-naturals. (We don't have an "us and them" mentality. After all, almost all of us had a perm once.)

Organizing it was a lot of work, but you know we naturals love to talk hair, so it was fun work. NN and I had a great team: Sherese Ijewere (a nutrition consultant and meet-up presenter), and NatMane (blogger at http://deepbrownkinks.blogspot.com/ and meet-up presenter). We all shared the same meet-up goals and worked well together, juggling our day jobs with planning the event. Three other women were a vital part of making the event a reality: Sherese's friend through whom we met Sherese and to whom we owe so much, a friend of NN's, who helped quite a bit, and the lovely Ugoma Adegoke, owner of meet-up venue The Life House and the most helpful and pleasant venue owner I've ever dealt with. We also had a lot of unexpected help from folks online who took it upon themselves to spread the word via blogs, tweets, Facebook pages, and word-of-mouth. Thank you, so much!

The 3 weeks before the meet-up were a whirlwind of activity for me because I suddenly had a lot of work deadlines and I struggled with my health, but somehow we didn't miss any meet-up planning targets. (Thanks, ladies, for giving me time to design the flyer!). All the work, long nights, and lack of sleep were well worth it: we had a better-than-expected turnout, everyone had a great time, and we all learned from each other.

Do you have a “hair mentor” or “hair crush”? I don't really have a hair mentor, but oooh, girl you know we all have several hair crushes! My sister's one, as are youtubers Sera2544, MsVaughnTV, Ahsiek1118, and RusticBeauty, the Black Girl with Long Hair ladies (bglhonline.com) and the women featured on their blog, Ms GG (FroStoppa.com), JenellyBean (kinkycurlycoilyme.com)...I have a long list of hair crushes and they all have coily hair.

What’s your hair regimen? My hair is naturally porous, so I need heavy-duty conditioning, but I discovered it doesn't like a lot of manipulation. What I do:

Every 2 weeks (or whenever I finally get to it), I work in a lot of olive oil as a pre-poo treatment, then co-wash in four or so sections with any VO5 conditioner. I then do an apple cider vinegar/bottled water rinse (to balance out my hair's pH and smooth my hair cuticle), dry well with an old T-shirt, then work in a honey/coconut oil/glycerin deep conditioning mix, put my hair in large twists (to minimize tangling and breakage) under a shower cap and thick scarf (to catch the drippy mess), throw on a headwrap, and go about my day. Because I have hard water, I buy a couple bags of pure water and use them to wash/rinse my hair. I don't use warm water because I'm a little lazy and room-temperature water works the same way.

Several hours later, I work in a Forever Living Products Aloe-Jojoba Conditioner for a few minutes and then rinse out the entire DC. I then section my hair into 8-10 parts and then do a bunch of twists in each section to air-dry, spraying each with a vegetable glycerin/bottled water mix and working in some Motions CPR Triple-Action Leave-In Conditioner gel, my olive oil/coconut oil/jojoba oil mix, and my homemade shea butter mix. This is the only time I ever comb my hair. I air-dry my hair and only undo the twists when I have to go out.

Every night, I twist up my hair and sleep in a plastic cap (to lock in moisture) and a satin bonnet. I sometimes put aloe vera gel on my edges in the morning. Every other night, I work in some water/glycerin mix, oils mix, and hair butter before I go to bed.

Products you would wait in line for? Hmm, I used to be a product junkie, but I don't use a lot of products anymore. So I'd stand in line for apple cider vinegar, coconuts (to make coconut oil from, if the trees in our garden aren't in season), and vegetable glycerin.

Where in Lagos do you get the hair products you use? Again, I don't use a lot of products. I use VO5 to co-wash because it's in every grocery store and supermarket. Apple cider vinegar's also in every store. I get shea butter from the east or from a girl who brings it in from Ghana and my mom gets honey from the east as well (and sometimes from the north). For coconut oil, we buy coconuts from the market to supplement the ones in our garden. I get glycerin and jojoba oil from the US. My Motions leave-in is from the US, but I'm only using it till it runs out. I make my own hair butter.

How do people react to your natural hair? Positive, or negative or just odd? It's been a mixed bag: In the US, I got a lot of questions from people of other races and they were mostly positive and born out of curiosity. When I first moved back to Nigeria, there weren't many naturals around at all, so I got lots of stares, especially at my son's school LOL. People sticking their hands in my hair to check for tracks became normal (which is one reason why I have a lot of hair butter and oils in my hair) and I got a lot of questions about why I wear my hair this way or if I was a music artiste. I've gotten a few negative comments, but they're generally amusing and the overwhelming majority of reactions and comments have been positive.

If you get negative comments about your natural hair who are they from and how do you deal with them? I tend to forget the negative comments unless they're really funny. The ones I remember right now were from my wider circle of girlfriends in Nigeria and I just laughed them off. I usually just try to pull people out of the dark, if they'll let me.

Comment about natural hair in your place of work. Do you feel awkward about wearing your natural hair to work? I've been natural for quite some time, so there's no awkwardness for me. I now work for industries that allow for personal expression and I worked for nonprofits in the US, so I've never felt constrained by my job. My stint in corporate Nigeria kept me in a perpetual state of stress, so for convenience I had braids and weaves all the time, but I didn't feel my hair wasn't professional.

What hairstyles do you usually wear? Why? My go-to style is a faux-hawk twist-out, but I only wear my hair out maybe once or twice every couple of weeks. Most of the time, it's in twists that I tuck in (to protect my ends) and I wear a beanie or headwrap. I used to do Ghana weaving and braids a lot, but they damaged my edges, so I no longer plait my hair. I don't do weaves either because they wrecked my edges even more.

What do you like best about being natural? I love the texture of my hair, how it feels. I love how I look with natural hair. I love taking care of my hair - whenever I can get around to doing so :-)

What do you hate most about being natural? Coming home after a long day and having to twist up my hair to go to bed if I've worn it out. So I sometimes do it in traffic, with people in other cars staring into mine :-)

Have you ever had an “Ooops!” or “OMG!” moment with your hair? Tell us about it and how you resolved it. I had a big "ooops!" moment when I texturized my hair years ago a few, but the biggest "ooops" and "OMG" moment was a few months ago when I tried to give my son and me a banana/honey/oils deep conditioner. I used the wrong type of banana and it took hours to wash out most of the mix from my son's hair and mine. My mother said I should've used eastern bananas instead of the Yoruba bananas I used. My back hurt for days.

Why are you still keeping your hair natural? I love it the way it is and I've learned how to care for it, so why not?

What do you say to people like you about going natural? Going natural is a choice. It's a fantastic choice that for most people broadens their knowledge about hair and health, and it helps you begin to appreciate what you put on your hair and body as well as what you put into your body, but it's still a choice. If you've got coily hair like mine, it's a lot of work. But when you love your hair right, it'll love you back.

What's next for you on your natural hair journey? 24 inches or bust :-) Okay, on a serious note, I now love my hair, no matter the length. I'm not as length-obsessed as I used to be and I'm just enjoying the ride. I also want to blog more often and help black women and men understand their hair better through my experiences.

Glo Naija Sings or Maltina Family Dance All? Um, Sons of Anarchy :-) Because bikers are cool :-)

LOL! Thank you Screwy Haired Girl.

Keep it natural!

Omozo

Hair Nightmare - By Cabella

2011-11-20T19:16:00.001+01:00

I fell out of bed because my phone alarm would not shut up even though I kept pressing the stop button. I spent about ten seconds on the floor cursing the phone. When I was done, I looked at the time. It was 8AM! I was late for work. I bumped my head on the chest of drawers as I tried to get up. Why was it so close? I paused, muttering to myself a little prayer "Oh God, please don't let it be one of 'those' Thursdays." Then like a bullet I got ready for work in record time - 30minutes. Don't worry I took my bath.

I had missed the company bus so it was going to be taxi today. I walked quickly to the main road to flag down a taxi. Finally one stopped and I negotiated the fare and got in. Before driving off, the driver asked "Madam shebi everything is okay?" I guess he had seen the lump on my head. "I am late for work" I answered as I dialed my work to say I was running late. "At least traffic would have cleared by now since it is 8:45AM" I consoled myself.

We hit Third Mainland bridge and the enemies of progress had set up camp! Gridlock. Go-slow. No movement. I wanted to cry. This could not be happening. I really wanted to cry. I honestly contemplated getting out of the taxi and taking a motorcycle. I reasoned that I should just stay in the taxi patiently since I had called work to say I was running late. Afterall, the bridge may be free in front. I was convinced so I relaxed a bit. I soon fell asleep.

Source: http://www.ugometrics.com/2011/09/new-wave-of-persistent-traffic-on-3rd.html

Traffic was flowing better when I woke up: not as fast as I would have preferred but it was moving. I noticed people looking and grinning at me as they drove by. I had been drooling as I slept so I embarrasingly wiped my mouth and face. Then I pressed the bump on my head hoping that the swelling would not be so noticeable. Even Mr. Taxi Driver kept glancing at me through the mirror. "Oga wetin?" I asked him. He looked away and kept driving.

I more or less jumped out of the taxi when I got to work. 11:15AM. Gosh! I was annoyed but I could not say with whom. I threw the money at the taxi driver and yelled "Thank you!" as I ran into the building. I had a presentation at 11:30AM so I did not have time to saunter in. I ran into my office with my colleague hot on my heels. "I know I am late. I am sorry. Thank God we finished and practised this presentation last night" I blurted as I got my laptop ready. "Cabella ..." my colleague started but I cut him off "It is okay I will not be flustered. Let me just get to the meeting room and I'll be okay." My colleague stepped in front of me and blocked my way. "You are not going anywhere like this" he said sternly. He led me to the bathroom mirror in my office. I screamed! My hair was still in plaits tucked inside my hair net! I had left home like this? How?

I screamed again and I fell out of bed because my phone alarm would not shut up even though I kept pressing the stop button. I spent about ten seconds on the floor ... thank God it was only a nightmare!

Cabella

Lagos Natural Hair Meet-Up was NAPPTASTIC!

2011-11-20T16:36:00.001+01:00

Before I start I have to a give a loud applause to Natural Nigerian (NN), Screwyhair and Natmane. *Still clapping*

We were there!

Mommies and Babies

The Natural Hair meet-up took place yesterday, Nov. 19, 2011 from 1:30pm - 5:30pm at The Life House (33 Sinari Daranijo St., Victoria Island Lagos, Nigeria). There were definitely over a 100 people who attended. About 70 people signed the guest book. I kept looking around to see who was around. There was a time people were standing at the door because there were no more seats! It was cool. I asked NN if she expected so many people and she said "No".

Afros Galore

NN started the event by teaching us some really basic and foundational science of hair. There were so many things I did not know until yesterday. You can 'mechanically' close your hair cuticles by putting your hair in between your palms and kind of stroking your hair in a downward motion. Who knew?! Needless to say, I am better informed about my hair which means I should have healthier hair by the next meet-up. *fingers crossed*

Updos

Funky not Freaky Hairstyles

Then Screwyhair came up and spoke to us about various ingredients we can easily mix at home for our hair. Another eye-opener for me. You know those banana hair recipes? Well thanks to Screwyhair's experience *chuckling*, I need to ask for 'Ibo bananas' when I go to the market. I did not know that!

Makeovers too

Sherese Ijewere (our trained and practising resident nutrition consultant) informed us that healthy hair starts from within. Okay some of you are rolling your eyes and saying "Duh! I knew that." Well did you know that our Nigerian Abakaliki rice is mega nutritious? Yes no need to buy imported rice o! Contact Sherese (0806-875-4464) if you want more info on health and nutrition.

AFGMS Alumni representing!

Natmane came up and gave us major motivation! It was excellent. And after the pep talk, she educated us on good hair care practises and showed us how to do a style for work.

I met some of the bloggers I follow - online celebs. They were all so gracious and I met Nibi of The Kinky Apothecary (The first one-stop kinky hair shop in Lagos). And as you can imagine everyone was checking each other's hair out and asking questions about products, regimens and, styling. I went with Ibhaze (Friday's guest blogger) and she said I was like a kid in a candy store / play pen. I totally agree Ibhaze.

Bonus! Just had to take a shot - beautiful body art

If you are thinking that you should have been there: You are right. You should have been there!

Keep it natural!

Omozo

"The Napp Edition" of The Nigeria Fashion Show Nov 17, 2011

2011-11-18T15:54:00.001+01:00

The Nigeria Fashion Show runs from November 17th - 19th. Venue: Muson Centre, Onikan Lagos Nigeria. Runway shows are 12 noon and 6 pm on all days. Exhibition runs from 9 am - 8 pm. We asked a fellow Napp, Ibhaze, to check it out and let us know how it went and here is her report. We interviewed Ibhaze here and she gave us a hair tutorial here.

Salut!

Omozo called me to invite me to the Nigerian Fashion Show. She asked me to go "A-Napp-Hunting", and I’m glad to say that I found a few natural sisters who were nice enough to let themselves be attacked by my questions and my hand in their hair (after asking of course lol) and by my camera. This was my first attempt at interviewing people so I apologize if there isn’t much “meat” for you guys on their hair care regimen and such. Enjoy!

Meet “Stella”!

She is a nice lady who wanted to be kept anonymous. So I’m sorry, I can’t reveal what state she comes from for her to have this type of hair texture. She is Nigerian and this is definitely her natural hair. When I asked what products she uses for her hair, she told me I would be very surprised and she was right. Her hair care routine is very simple.

She washes every 2 weeks with Moroccan oil and conditioner. She applies olive oil in her hair and that's it! She sleeps with her hair wrapped up in a scarf (not necessarily a satin one). She has been natural all her life and intends to stay that way.

“Stella” and her sister will be at the Natural Hair meet-up in V.I. this Saturday 19/11/2011. Her sister makes skin care products for black skin with goat milk. Definitely try to attend this event!

Here’s Bimbola.

I practically tackled her at the end of the event to ask her a few questions, more because of her sunny disposition than anything else. :) Bimbola has been natural and loc'd since 2009. She started her locs by rubbing the foam on her head. As her hair grew longer, she palm-rolled with Jamaican wax. It takes her about 3 hours to re-loc her hair. She uses an anti-itch serum to control itchiness. She washes weekly with “Light Dread” shampoo. She’s another one who takes it easy on her hair and just lets it do its thing.

Hello Ngozi!

One of the models who strutted the runway and she definitely did an awesome job. Not only that, she stood out completely from all the others thanks to her "no-hair" style. Ngozi ("Zika" to her friends) cut her hair in 2008 when she started modelling. She cut it so she could have the low cut style as her signature.

Ngozi never wears wigs nor does she make her hair at all. She usually leaves a bit of a fuzz on but she goes completely bald for fashion shows. She has no plans to grow her hair until she leaves the industry. And I would advice her to keep it short and sweet even afterwards. :)

Hey Patience!

At the end of the fashion show, I snuck into the exhibition centre where designers displayed their creations. As I was looking round for my target, I found Patience and her lovely mane. She was really nice and friendly even after I’d separated her from her friends and shot my questions at her at crazy high speed. I’m sure I spotted a desperate look in her eyes as she watched her friends walk away, leaving her in the hands of a maybe slightly deranged hair-loving freak.

But, she obediently nodded and let me take her picture. I had to follow up via sms as she was scared ... umm ... KIND enough to leave me her number. Patience cut all her hair off and started her locs 5 years ago following a personal traumatic experience. She washes every 3 weeks with a conditioning shampoo.

She says it’s not easy to have a particular look for a long time so when she gets bored, she styles her locs differently, or changes the colour of her hair. Each time Patience changes the style or colour of her hair, she receives nothing but positive responses from people and she gets inspired this way.

REMINDER: Lagos Nigeria Natural Hair Meet-Up this Saturday (tomorrow)

2011-11-18T14:18:00.001+01:00

A friendly reminder that there is a Natural Hair Meet-Up this Saturday (tomorrow). It is definitely going to be awesome. See you there!

Keep it natural!

Omozo

Temple Muse Lagos Store Launch

2011-11-18T12:48:00.001+01:00

Temple Muse launched their flagship store in Lagos on the 5th of November (No 21 Amodu Tijani, Victoria Island, Lagos, Nigeria). They will be carrying African design brands including: Tiffany Amber, Maatano, Lanre DaSilva-Ajayi and Odio Mimonet. We hope that items from more African designers will be more accessible to the Nigerian shopper. Check out Bella Naija for more info and pictures.

I noticed two ladies rocking their natural hair in the pictures. O'Naturals would like to interview these women. So please, please hook us up if you know them. Thank you!

Courtesy: Bella Naija

Keep it natural!

Omozo

Kissing leaders showcased on Benetton's new 'UnHate' ad campaign

2011-11-16T20:09:00.001+01:00

Benetton's sales have been declining over the past years and they have come up with this ad campaign to "JOLT" their consumers into purchasing their products. Of course they came up with an ad campaign that has people talking and some complaining. The Vatican has already issued a very very stern rebuke.

Benetton launched an "UN HATE" ad campaign which shows various world leaders kissing each other. So Barak Obama (USA) is kissing Hugo Chavez (Venezuela) and a picture of the Pope kissing one of Islam's leading figures, Ahmed Mohamed el-Tayeb, the imam of the al-Azhar mosque in Egypt, was hung from a bridge near the Vatican earlier today (Wednesday).

We know that the fashion industry is prone to pushing boundaries. However, will this campaign make consumers go out and buy Benetton's products? Will the products fit the message of the ad campaign or will it make consumers 'hate' Benetton's brand? I remember the United Colours Of Benetton ad campaign that used multiple races to showcase their innovative use of colour in their clothes. Not sure what they are trying to do here.

So I wonder: do you have to be controversial to sell your products?

Check out this Huffington Post link for the pictures. Also check out Wall Street Journal's write-up.

Keep it natural!

Omozo

T-Mobile's "Welcome Home" commercial

2011-11-13T23:12:00.001+01:00

Just because it is heart warming! Enjoy.

Keep it natural!

Omozo

Confessions of a Nappy Head

2011-11-13T21:38:00.001+01:00

I shall borrow a line from Usher. These are my confessions:

1) I sometimes comb / brush my hair when it is dry ... and I don't always start at the ends.
2) I don't read the ingredients on the containers of the products I buy.
3) I don't know my hair type (4a or 4b or 4c and 3a combo) and I honestly can't be bothered.
4) I take my satin pillow case with me on ALL my trips so that I can lay my hair on it.
5) I don't understand "sealing" so I don't do it ... well maybe I am doing it and I don't realize that I am doing it.
6) I have tried flat twisting several times and I still do not know how to do it.
7) I add Castor oil to ALL my 'store bought' hair products: shampoos, conditioners, gels etc.
8) I used to wash my hair with conditioner only but now I don't believe it is effective.
9) I refuse to help my friends or family relax their hair: my cousin thinks this is taking "this natural thing" too far.
10) I sometimes want other people's hair because of the texture and/or the length.

What are your Nappy Head confessions?

Keep it natural!

Omozo

Church Membership Required - By Cabella

2011-11-13T21:04:00.001+01:00

One Saturday a month, my Mommy and I go to the market together. She buys things for the house and I sneak in some items that I don't want to pay for myself. It is a great mother-daughter time in the hot, crowded, busy and sometimes smelly market. I cherish these Saturdays with Mommy.

I woke up because my Mommy called me to say she was waiting for me outside. I had overslept. I brushed my teeth, put on some "home clothes", packed my hair up in an afro puff and ran outside. No earrings and no make-up. On this particular Saturday, our rice customer had traveled and she had her cousin in charge of her shop. Madam Cousin informed us enthusiastically that our customer had traveled for summer. Rice retailing must be lucrative.

Painting from : http://www.artseaprovence.com/tag/market-in-nigeria/

Madam Cousin was quite an enthusiastic lady, I thought, as she gave my Mommy and I more attention than our customer usually does. I sat down for the usual pricing (bargaining) that buyers and sellers in Nigerian markets do. Mommy was reaching into her bag to count the money to pay for her purchase when her phone rang. She excused herself leaving me with Madam Cousin. "So you attend Deeper Life?" asked Madam Cousin. I was not sure she was talking to me so I looked around before answering. "Ehn?"

"It makes me so happy when I see young women like you taking their spiritual lives seriously and embracing modesty" she continued as she sort of stroked my arm. My natural hair, home clothes, no make up and earings were tell tale signs of my church affiliation. "I want my Mommy!" I muttered under my breath. She was still staring and smiling at me. For some reason, I felt that telling her my look of the day was as a result of over-sleeping and not deep Christian values would disappoint her. So I smiled back.

Mommy returned in time to deliver me. I jumped off the chair and turned in the direction of escape (which really was anywhere away from Madam Cousin). Mommy was startled by the way I leaped off the chair and gave me a questioning look. I did not say anything. Payment was made and our purchases were given to us. As we left, Madam Cousin asked me "Will you be at the joint service at DLCC this weekend?" Really?! I turned to her and answered politely "Unfortunately I will not be able to attend. God bless Madam."
"What was she asking you?" Mommy asked me as we drove home. "Nothing. Minor case of mistaken church membership" I responded.

Cabella

Milk & Honey Hair Smoothie Recipe

2011-11-11T16:56:00.001+01:00

Here is a recipe I found on Breakink New Ground. This recipe was created by Mahisha Dellinger the founder of the Curls product line. ~~As per the instructions, you can use the mix for styling~~. This is a rinse out not a styling product. Let us know how it works for you.

Ingredients:

* 1 can of pure coconut milk (rich moisturizer - hydrates, conditions and de-frizzes hair)

Ripe Avocado

* 1 ripe avocado (natural source of protein - chlorine robs the hair of protein)

* 2 tablespoons of pure honey (conditions and adds sheen)

* 2 tablespoons of olive oil (hydrophobic oil that acts as a barrier to chlorine and salt water)

Directions:
Add ingredients to blender. Mix at high speed until your concoction reaches a smoothie consistency.

Store in refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. You can warm up your hair smoothie in the microwave before next application...just enough to de-chill.

Substitutions:
Feel free to substitute the olive oil for any natural oil of your choice.

Honey

Add more oil for extra dry hair, e.g. 1 tablespoon.

Add more honey for hair that needs more sheen, e.g. 2 tablespoons.

Instructions for Use:
Section hair into 4 segments.

Generously apply evenly to hair, from root to ends concentrating on ends...as they are the most prone to damage. Leave in for about 15 minutes then rinse off.

Smooth hair into a protective style (e.g. braided ponytail, or bun).

Keep it natural!

Omozo

Shampoos: Hate 'em or Love 'em (Part 2)

2011-11-10T22:16:00.001+01:00

*I AM NOT A SCIENTIST OR TRICHOLOGIST. THIS POST SUMMARIZES WHAT I HAVE READ & UNDERSTAND REGARDING THE TOPIC*

I had hoped that this 'shampoo' post would be one post but it ain't working that way! Yesterday (see post here), I left off asking the question: What to do when you want clean but not dry hair? To answer that question I would ask another question. What is priority: clean hair or hair that is not dry?

Your answer will determine your decision. Your answer does not have to be static. By that I mean perhaps today you want clean hair because you have major build-up. And then maybe next month you don't want dry hair. Can you have hair that is not dry and still SLS shampoo clean at the same time? I wonder that too but I honestly don't know.

If clean hair is your goal then use a shampoo with SLS to get it clean. According to Natural Haven, There are shampoos out there that combine SLS, SLES (Sodium laureth sulfate, or sodium lauryl ether sulfate) and cocamidopropyl betaine which produces a suitably cleansing and low irritation formula.

If you do not want dry hair then try doing a pre-shampoo oil treatment like coating your dry hair with coconut oil before washing. I read that it can take as long as 12 hours for the coconut oil to penetrate the hair shaft so you should factor this into your routine. Olive oil is another oil that penetrates the hair shaft. However, you should not neglect using a conditioner after shampooing your hair.

Castor oil

I use a method that I have not proven scientifically. Never-the-less, the results are what I can testify to. I dilute my shampoo with water and add Castor oil to it. I then use it to wash my hair once or twice depending on how dirty I feel my hair is. The result is clean hair that feels softer than when I washed my hair with shampoo only.

I think the main point is this: you need to find what works for your hair which may be a combination of ingredients and techniques. This combination may change over time and that is okay. So sulfates, SLS and surfactants may not be as evil as you thought they were.

Keep it natural!

Omozo

Shampoos: Hate 'em or love 'em (Part 1)

2011-11-09T17:37:00.000+01:00

*UPDATE: I AM NOT A SCIENTIST OR TRICHOLOGIST. THIS POST SUMMARIZES WHAT I HAVE READ & UNDERSTAND REGARDING THE TOPIC*

Shampoos! Sulfates! Surfactants! SLS! These are words that float around the natural hair community. Some say they do not use shampoos because they are too drying. Some use conditioners to wash their hair. Some use sulfate free shampoos. And on and on it goes. I found myself getting confused and not knowing what to do about all this stuff. I am not a scientist and just needed some general information to guide my decisions.So I read up on these things and here is what I found out - summarized.

Shampoos are made for cleaning hair. Shampoos contain surfactants that clean the hair. Shampoos clean the hair by breaking down the oils on the hair which allows the oils and dirt to be lifted up and removed from the hair.

Surfactants are used in shampoos and they are responsible for breaking down the oils on the hair. More specifically, it is because of sodium lauryl sulphate (SLS) in shampoos that shampoos clean hair leaving it without oil.

Washing your hair with warm water and no shampoo will not be as effective. Note: sulfates, surfactants and SLS are usually used interchangeably by consumers although they are not really the same thing.

Now, some women with natural hair complain that regular shampoos dry out their hair. Our natural hair is prone to dryness because the oils do not travel down our strands because of the curls and kinks in our hair. So having to deal with something seems to increase the dryness of our hair is not appealing. As a result, some people wash their hair with sulfate free shampoos or with conditioners (i.e. no-poo method). The challenge with these two alternatives is that they are not as effective in cleaning hair as shampoos with SLS.

1) Sulfate free shampoos usually contain cocamidopropyl betaine which is a less irritating surfactant. It will clean but not as effectively as SLS: meaning your hair will not oil free.

2) Conditioners contain surfactants (like behentrimonium chloride, behentrimonium methosulfate and stearamidopropropyl) which are designed to deposit onto hair, smooth the cuticle and create softness. This means that they do not actually clean the hair. They are designed to be used after shampoos to reduce the dryness shampoos may cause. They are not designed to clean.

Some extra reading here, and here.

So what to do when you want clean hair but not dry hair? We will talk about this tomorrow. Till then ...

Keep it natural!

Omozo

I don't want to relax my hair again - Interview with Mommy

2011-11-08T12:57:00.000+01:00

We interviewed a woman who is very special to us: Our Mommy! It was a bit awkward asking her the questions and getting her responses but it was fun. Enjoy!

Natural and simple

Name? Mrs. Florence Ehigie. You call me Mommy.

Where are you from and where do you live? Edo state and I live in Lagos Nigeria.

What do you do? I sell drinks.

How long have you been natural? 3 years

At one time you had your hair relaxed. Tell us why you decided to go natural. I was getting too many sores and wounds from relaxers. I would not wash my hair for a month after retouching because I was afraid of the pain and my hair would smell badly. So I asked myself why I was going through all this wahala at my age!

How did you go natural? Did you transition or did you do the big chop? Did anyone help you or encourage you? What is "big chop"?

Omozo: It is when you cut off all your hair at once and start growing your natural hair from scratch.

Mommy: Okaaay. I cut it all off o! Big chop.

Do you have a “hair mentor” or “hair crush”? As in people that have hair you admire or like. I like you and your sisters' hair.

What’s your hair regimen? Simple

Omozo: Please explain

Mommy: Sorry. I wash my hair every morning then I put the hair spray you made for me. Rub it in well. Then I comb my hair. You see - simple.

Products you would wait in line for? Olive oil, Shea butter and of course the hair spray you made for me.

How do people react to your natural hair? Positive, or negative or just odd? You see I had very long hair - you remember? I was getting tired of relaxing and so I started to tell your Dad this. He did not want me to cut my hair. Anyway, one day I went to the barber and cut off all my hair. Your younger sister saw it first. Your Dad was not happy at all and complained a lot about it.

We went out for an event and I wore big earrings and a trouser suit. People at the event kept complimenting my hair and I think that is when he started to accept my hair. I think his problem was that I cut it short. Many people were shocked that I cut my long hair. Even me sometimes I look at the mirror and wonder if I am beautiful with this short hair.

Of course you are beautiful Mommy!

Beautiful Mommy

Comment about natural hair in your place of work. Do you feel awkward about wearing your natural hair to work? I own my own business so I have no problems in that area.

What hairstyles do you usually wear? Why? I keep my hair short. It is easy for me. Plus the heat is so much that I fear how it will be if I have long hair.

What do you like best about being natural? I don't have to relax my hair again.

What do you hate most about being natural? I think I have sensitive scalp. I always have my hand in my hair, touching my hair and picking my hair because of the curls. So my head hurts. I never touched my hair when I was relaxing it so I did not have this problem.

Mommy playing with her hair

You have HIF: Hand In Fro Syndrome Mommy. *She looks at me strangely*

Have you ever had an “Ooops!” or “OMG!” moment with your hair? Tell us about it and how you resolved it. Hmmm! One day I went to fix a weave. It was so painful because it was too tight. I was uncomfortable. I think your Dad was laughing within himself. After some time he told me to remove it and that my short hair was better. I took it off after a very short time.

Why are you still keeping your hair natural? Ah! Do you want me to relax my hair again? I don't want to relax my hair again.

What's next for you on your natural hair journey? I don't know. Maybe I will let it grow long. It is getting hotter these days so I will see how much I can handle. Otherwise, I will cut it again. Even now I feel like cutting it again.

Dancing or singing? Dancing AND singing! They go together!

Thank you Mommy!

Keep it natural!

Omozo

Loving your hair begins at home - By Cabella

2011-11-06T21:09:00.000+01:00

Once in a while I go to a hair salon to get my hair twisted or braided or styled. I don't do this often because it can be a hassle most of the times. So I prep my hair at home before embarking on the salon journey.

On one of those salon visit days, while sitting and getting my hair twisted, a little girl came in with her Mommy. The little girl was about eight years old. She waited patiently as her Mommy talked with the Salon Manager and then the Hairdresser. The Hairdresser got excited when she saw the little girl - I think she is a regular customer. I was beginning to think the little child was some sort of celebrity. I began to run through the child actors I had seen in my beloved Nollywood movies. I could not place her face. Ah music videos! Nothing. Never-the-less, I kept staring at the child 'codedly' through the mirror.

I could not believe my good fortune when the Hairdresser placed the little girl in the styling chair next to me. I too got kind of thrilled. I cannot say why. I was checking her out with side eye. She looked at me. Busted! I smiled. She smiled and said "Good afternoon Ma". And she is polite too! "Good afternoon my dear" I responded, realizing that I sounded older than my age. I smiled awkwardly and faced my front.

The little girl's Hairdresser came back and let down the child's hair. I almost choked on the juice I was drinking. The Hairdresser had let down lovely dredlocs that spiralled down to rest just below her shoulders. When the child had come in I thought that she had braids that had been wrapped into a bun. I coughed a few times until my Hairdresser swiftly moved me forward and hit my back twice. "Madam sofly o" she said as she gave me one last blow on the back. I glared at her, eyed her through the mirror and muttered "Break my back o".

The little girl had come in to get her locs re-twisted and palm rolled. She sat patiently and sipped on her canned Milo drink. I kept glancing at her as the Hairdresser worked on her hair. Part of me was checking to make sure the Hairdresser did not do anything "unacceptable" to the child's hair and the other part was just looking in admiration.

The little girl's locs were a little longer than this

That was the first time I was sad to leave the salon. When my hair was done, I turned to my Hairdresser and asked "Now now?" She did not even answer me. Rude girl! *Hiss* I paid for my hair and turned towards the little girl. I hesitated for a bit before walking up to her. "You have really lovely hair." I told her. I wanted her to be confident about that. "I know" she answered with the biggest smile ever. "Oh? How do you know?" I asked the child, amused and curious. She took a sip of her canned Milo drink, looked at me from the top of her straw and said "My Mommy and Daddy told me". Now what do you say after that?

Cabella

Natural Hair Meet-Up in Lagos on November 19th, 2011

2011-11-06T19:59:00.000+01:00

Lagos Napps can cheer and start planning the hairstyles they will wear on Saturday November 19, 2011. Why? BECAUSE THERE IS A NATURAL HAIR MEET-UP HAPPENING ON THAT DAY! Natural Nigerian and Screwy Haired Girl are the Masterminds behind this Hair Hook-Up *cue evil laugh*

Natmane did a lovely post on the venue (The Life House).

So mark your calendars and clear it up because I am sure it is going to be 'hair-raising' fabulous! All puns intended.

Keep it natural!

Omozo