What do you mean it's not your own hair? You went to the market, bought it and paid with your own money- of course it's your own hair. Just as the shirt I am wearing is my own shirt.

Tolaaaaannni:

Lol its not a fight, but trust me their are some "natural" (I hate that term by the way, i don't think you need to differentiate about people who have natural hair or relaxed hair. It creates just another barrier in the black system.) girls out there that are annoying as hell.

I get what you mean. It shouldn't be a big deal really but it doesn't hurt to call it what it is. If its relaxed, its relaxed. If its natural, then that's what it is. However, it doesn't mean that people should hate on each other. Let's respect each other.

[b][/b]I went Natural in December, 2006 and I haven't looked back. Over the years I have tried and found products that work best for me so maintenance is not an issue. I am even considering growing dreadlocks all because I want longer hair. I intend to grow my dreads for up to 3 years after which I will loosen them and make yanga with my LONG NATURAL HAIR!

Meddler: Wud like to connect with natural hair sistas in Abuja or any where in naija. We are a rare breed to all the brazilian hair, indian hair, peruvian hair chicks. If you are proud of ur heritage and embrace ur "naturalness" then come in and let's hang for a while. Tell us what works for ur hair and ur hair routines (if you have any). Looking forward to ur responses.

I have much respect for ladies like you. I am tired of all those long brazilian weave wearing Naija ladies that look like masquerades parading the streets.

Egba girl:

Same for me! I was totally fine while it was still about 2-3 inches but when it started growing, I decided to get a fade to avoid having to deal with it but it grew back and now I have about 5inches and I really dont know what to do with it. I usually just twist mine up from time to time or wear it out in a fro depending on the weather. Im trying to do didi olowo soon and towards the end of the year, Im getting locs!!!

Having natural hair is fun! but it's also quite crazy. There are many videos on youtube that can help and there are blogs and websites etc. Depending on what you want, you can just google it and see what comes up. What Ive learned since I went natural is that you need to find what works for you cause everyone's hair is different but you can never go wrong with natural products like natural oils (olive oil, coconut oil etc), aloe vera, avocado, honey, bananas, eggs, shea butter (ori) etc.

If you live in naija, then my best advice is to not live it out for too long. Do something to protect your ends like braids or didi or something and once in a while, wear it out. If you dont mess around with it too much, it grows faster. Btw, DC your hair from time to time, It's amazing. Watch your diet too. Drink lots of water and fruits & veggies

My sister, all this wahala for hair! I simply got tired and chopped mine about 18months ago. Call me old, but I have been blissfully rocking my 'Anita Baker' cut with baby curls ever since. I am almost certain I am not growing my hair again! Na big stress abeg!

Tolaaaaannni: I swear to God,I hate that term Natural sisters/ Natural people , and how they have their community and association and crap. Even here in abroad they are annoying as hell. What is so special about natural hair that they need to connect with each other and talk about it. AT THE END OF THE DAY RELAXED HAIR AND NATURAL HAIR ARE JUST HAIR! nothing special about it. Plain and simple. Hair is Hair. It shouldn't be worshipped or idolized.

. I used to know a girl who called herself a natural sister and for reasons I could not understand felt she was more African than the rest of us back in the day, funny that the same girl slept with every dog on a leash! Anyway, she went into one of her self righteous speeches one day and I got so pissed that I told her she may need to read 'The Virgin' as she needs to learn some other African traditions, suffice to say she never spoke to me again

I'm sorry if I offended anyone. That was not my intention. I believe its up to you how you decide to wear ur hair. I created this topic as a support thread for other naturals (yes you have to differentiate it). The fact is that most of us b4 going natural had little or no clue about natural hair maintenance. Its not easy and to be honest can be a bit fustrating. So for those willing to share their experiences pls keep em coming. I've been natural for 5 yrs but keep learning new things everyday. P.S. I think a natural hair gathering in naija wud be a nice way to meet fellow naturals.

jerseyboy:

You won’t find a decent man with that hair on your profile pic. Oyibo hair patched on black skin women make them look like baboon and gorilla

laffing in Calabar. until my natural hair is long enough 4 me to leave like that, am sticking to oyibo hair.. I already v a decent man

Tolaaaaannni: I swear to God,I hate that term Natural sisters/ Natural people , and how they have their community and association and crap. Even here in abroad they are annoying as hell. What is so special about natural hair that they need to connect with each other and talk about it. AT THE END OF THE DAY RELAXED HAIR AND NATURAL HAIR ARE JUST HAIR! nothing special about it. Plain and simple. Hair is Hair. It shouldn't be worshipped or idolized.

Lol.......yet it is making you angry?

I stopped relaxing and cut off all my relaxed hair about nine years ago.

It was quite liberating to wear short natural hair, but I found I had to go to the barbers quite often to keep it looking neat as my hair grows fast.

I have had my moments of being frustrated with my hair, but have enjoyed learning about products and techniques that suit my African hair better, because a lot of the time, Black hair in its natural state is not well catered for, even with mainstream black hair products.

OP....this thread was a great idea and much needed IMO.......thank you.

Many more Black ladies are choosing to wear their hair naturally or at least transition out of perms.

Its encouraging and you really get to know what your hair really looks like after years of either hiding it or changing it with harsh chemicals.

Don't get me wrong, there are relaxed heads that look lovely to me, both long and short, especially short though.

For me, I got to love my hair in its natural state..........for me its vital and something I can pass on when I have kids.

That what they naturally have is just as beautiful, even though it may look different.

^^^ That's nice to hear. It's something I'd like to pass onto my kids as well. At least have them know their natural hair and how to take care of it before they decide to style it themselves when they get older.

I envy you all lol. You're all so courageous. Maybe there should be a thread for long-term transitioners. I'll be the first to admit that my hair owns me. I can't imagine big chopping

Abi o. A natural hair convention in Abuja every one come with your hair maintanance product let's share Idea and styling tips.

Meddler: Wud like to connect with natural hair sistas in Abuja or any where in naija. We are a rare breed to all the brazilian hair, indian hair, peruvian hair chicks. If you are proud of ur heritage and embrace ur "naturalness" then come in and let's hang for a while. Tell us what works for ur hair and ur hair routines (if you have any). Looking forward to ur responses.

I have got the best looking, healthiest and strongest hair in my grade.

I smoke weed regularly and massage the ashes into my scalp. It keeps my hair growing straight and strong.

You can do it too, just remember this routine below

INHALE

EXHALE

INHALE

EXHALE

Then MASSAGE

Cheers

blackbalang: laffing in Calabar. until my natural hair is long enough 4 me to leave like that, am sticking to oyibo hair.. I already v a decent man

You actually look good. You have a great sense of humor too. I was hyperventilating. Black women have no idea how sick men are of these Caucasian caricatures they perch on their head. Under the African sun the look dirty and smelly. Majority can’t afford decent looking ones. House girls, pepper sellers, students, old mammys etc have half of their nappy curled up hair in full ugly display. It takes a confident and sensible black woman to buck this trend. Good luck to you sister.

I have 4b/4c natural hair type. I moisturize my hair everyday using Aussie's leave in conditioner and Jamaican black castor oil (the smell stinks but it works wonders). I DC every weekend with Aubrey's organics GPB or Lutrasilk shea butter. I sometimes do a hot oil treatment with Jojoba oil depending on how brittle my hair is. I shampoo my hair once in two weeks with Giovanni smooth as silk shampoo.

yogun: i have been natural since dec, did d BC last wk, i live in lagos and have been using more shea butter. wld appreciate more good hair products advice.

Check this blog out. http://deepbrownkinks..com/p/product-find.html

hannydarl: Abi o. A natural hair convention in Abuja every one come with your hair maintanance product let's share Idea and styling tips.

Brillant! That makes two of us I'm based in Abuja too. That will be so cool. This is a pic of hair as of May 2012 (I straightened my hair and lost a lot of hair in the process. So its no longer this long ) . I was actually shocked to see it that long. I usually don't do length check. My hair grows fast (I just realized that) but I'm very bad at retaining length. The key to growing long healthy hair whether relaxed or natural is retaining growth. African hair grows but we manipulate our hair so much that we end up sacrificing length.

yogun: i have been natural since dec, did d BC last wk, i live in lagos and have been using more shea butter. wld appreciate more good hair products advice.

One of the best thing that has happened to my hair since I relocated back home is having all these natural products at my finger tips. My staple hair cream is shea butter (raw) mixed with all natural coconut oil freshly pressed (you can smell the coconut) and Argan oil (got that during my vacay in Morocco). The most expensive product in all that I mentioned is the Argan oil. Everything else cost me less than N500. You can't beat that price. Find a good conditioner and shampoo. I tried Afro hair shampoo and conditioner and it was not bad at all. Although the best conditioner have used so far has been the Tressemme (sp.) Moisturizing conditioner. It is the bomb. But I haven't sighted it since I came back home. I still place orders for it from the States. I'm trying to get all my products locally because it saves money and effort in d long run. I even heard that black soap is good for the hair. But you probably have to hunt down the real stuff not the commercialized ones.
Hope this little bit of info helps.

Lmao! For hair too ssuperior and inferior dey? Na wa ooo.

Erm, well I have been natural(sort of- minus the colourings, shaving, perming a section etc) for almost 2years now.

Decided to cut my hair again completely few months ago to start all over again.

Erm, basically I just wash it and that's it. Sometimes I use indian hemp on it.

I have stopped using all sorts of products on it.

My hair=literally wash and go.

It's growing nicely.

@Medler, I am based in Abuja too. Okay let's see how many more we are here in ABJ. My hair pic comming soon.

Natural hair is nice but those i c it on are usually so conservative so people just look down on them. Iv bin transitioning for 20mths now, i style mine very differently and its bin both fun and frustratin but my hair is growing like weed! No body knows much about transitioning in Naija so my hair is a mystery lol. They kip askin if im natural or not. @meddler you must organize something for Lagos too after Abuja o.

girlsupersonic: Natural hair is nice but those i c it on are usually so conservative so people just look down on them. Iv bin transitioning for 20mths now, i style mine very differently and its bin both fun and frustratin but my hair is growing like weed! No body knows much about transitioning in Naija so my hair is a mystery lol. They kip askin if im natural or not. @meddler you must organize something for Lagos too after Abuja o.

I'm hoping enuf ppl express interest in it. It wud be fun meeting up.

There's already a natural hair meet up in Lagos. I think its organized by a blogger called natural Nigerian. She also sells various natural hair care items.

Hey folks,,,love this thread. I have always had bad hair day ''everyday'' since forever and can not point out at any time in my life my hair grew past a certain length. Whenever i cut to start regrowing, it grows for a while, then it just stops growing, weakens and then the front starts receeding,,,frustrating innit?
Well, some 3 weeks back to the chargrin of everyone who saw me, i cut off all my hair,,,like practically shaved it off (Zainab-bba-style)and resolved to start growing it all naturelllll,,,,well so far, its grown faster than anytime i can remenber and i have been washing every day when i have my bath and then moisturize with shea butter,,,am still amazed.

Can't wait for it to add a few more length cos i intend to lock the hair for a minimum of 2 years and see how that works,,,,,,,PLEASE ANY IDEAS AND ADVISE ON HOW BEST TO START AND MAINTAIN DREADLOCKS??

Thanks again for this thread....

My hair been unprocessed since secondary days. I rock my hair in twist, braids,twistout and I flat iron it once a year. Bc natural hair hates heat, humidity, and moisture during rainy season I rock braids (Senegalese twist) all through out. I wash my hair every 2 weeks, twice a month and only on the weekends. Condition it with what ever oil or butters I have(coconut,castol, palm oil, shea butter, aloe vera)and wear a shower cap for an hour so that hair can absorb the oils. After detangeling I stretch by dividing my hair and plaiting it with thread I leave the plaits in all day or overnight. Then style it, usually twisting it then pulling the twist into a bun for work. I leave my twist in for a month I wash it, and re- twist the front and edges. At the end of the month I untwist everything and rock the coils for a day or two(it barely last 2 days) and start all over. I have been reading on "prepoo" my hair and have tried it once a week with good results.Yes there are so many styles and option for natural hair, but my hair is very coarse and I like to keep it to minimum to avoid breakage.

HD62: [b][/b]I went Natural in December, 2006 and I haven't looked back. Over the years I have tried and found products that work best for me so maintenance is not an issue. I am even considering growing dreadlocks all because I want longer hair. I intend to grow my dreads for up to 3 years after which I will loosen them and make yanga with my LONG NATURAL HAIR!

I intend on having dredlocks too and i was wondering if it is possible to loosen them after a while.Is it really possible to loosen them?
How would i go about that?

Millyonaire:

I intend on having dredlocks too and i was wondering if it is possible to loosen them after a while.Is it really possible to loosen them?
How would i go about that?

From what I have heard, you have to cut it and start all over again. . .that's what has stopped me from really going for dreds. . .apart from the fact that I suspect I would look like Medusa.

Sisi_Kill:

From what I have heard, you have to cut it and start all over again. . .that's what has stopped me from really going for dreds. . .apart from the fact that I suspect I would look like Medusa.

Nothing wrong with looking like Medusa, awon boiz go just dey fear fear ni jare

Sisi_Kill:

From what I have heard, you have to cut it and start all over again. . .that's what has stopped me from really going for dreds. . .apart from the fact that I suspect I would look like Medusa.

Ok,thanks.

Millyonaire:

I intend on having dredlocks too and i was wondering if it is possible to loosen them after a while.Is it really possible to loosen them?
How would i go about that?

yes you can loosen them. It takes time though. You will lose some hair in the process. Look on youtube for ideas.

Can you unravel dreads after years?

Oh, isokay, answered already

Bt the hair you loose might be like you didnt gain much length. Its risky. @meddler was your hair relaxed as at the time you took the picture?

girlsupersonic: Bt the hair you loose might be like you didnt gain much length. Its risky. @meddler was your hair relaxed as at the time you took the picture?

Nope my hair au naturale and it wasn't straightened either. Imagine if I was more conscious of retaining rather than just growing hair. My hair wud have been waist length by now.
Anyway I'm back on d bandwagon. Washed my hair on Sunday and can't get over how soft my hair is. Its ridiculous. I should deep condition more often. I made my own DC consiting of Conditioner, honey, argan oil, shea butter and castor oil. Mixed everything up and left it on my hair for 30 mins. Amazing results!

My hair now. Was cut like 4inches short in december and as at today before washing. This is what it looks like though it curls back to half this length when washed.