Naijasinglegirl:
Warning: This post is long but an interesting read all the same.

As at last year, my relaxed hair was bra length long. My routine was pretty easy. I had a relaxer every 3 months, I washed my hair once in 3 months, never deep-conditioned, used soulmate hair cream and my signature style was a bun. Days I wore my hair out, I was the object of admiration. Everyone wanted to know my 'secret formula' on why it was bouncy, long and fine textured.

It all started when I stumbled on some flattering photos of girls rocking their natural hair on Instagram. I was blown away.
Please note the first time I ever had a relaxer in my life was the
year before I got into the university. Before then, I grew my natural
hair four times (past shoulder length at one point) but my parents
always had me cut my hair for one reason or the other.
My mom was my personal stylist. On days she took me to the salon, people never believed my hair was fully natural. In essence, my natural hair texture was soft, wavy-patterned and very manageable.

So you see, it was only natural I assumed if I cut my relaxed hair and join TeamNatural (no pun intended), my hair was still going to look amazing. During my transition period, those who knew me in reality begged me not to cut my hair so I was confused. Some days, i told people I was only stretching my relaxer while I told others I was transitioning.
During this period, my hair
experienced massive breakage and if there's is one thing I can't stand, it's unhealthy hair! I was combing my hair one evening when I suddenly grabbed a scissors and instructed my sister to cut off my 5months post relaxed hair. She thought I was joking until I ran the scissors from my forehead to my nape. That was the beginning of my natural hair journey.
My friend in diaspora told me so long ori (shea butter) was still in abundance in Lagos and water was free, my hair was going to be just fine.
I went to bed after my big chop and when I woke up the next morning, not only was a combination of shrunken natural hair with early morning face an eyesore, my hair was dry, hard and brittle. Same thing happened every other night. Experts online said it was because I was not sleeping with a satin scarf.
The day I tied a scarf, my hair was dry as usual in the morning and I found the scarf under the bed when I was sweeping. I never woke up to find the scarf on my head no matter how tight I tied it. On the other hand, those satin caps that makes one look like a prophetess are rare to find. Each time I enter a random shop to request for it, the bush sales girl either gives me a shower cap, a lacy net, a hair net or she just stares at me like I asked for snow.
Day time is no different, once the water I spray on my hair dries, the hair revolts by becoming 10 times drier. AC-rooms are currently off limits for me.
As for my cheap wigs aka protective styles, it wasn't long before they began deteriorating...
I resorted to braids.
The first time I went to braid my hair. I tied a scarf while I negotiated with the hair dresser. When we eventually agreed on N4000 for tiny braids, I gave her the money to help me buy attachments while I watched her baby. As soon as she left, I took off the scarf and ran my fingers through my hair.
Good Lord!
Honestly, if I were in her shoes, I wouldn't touch my hair with a 9 foot pole. The hair was so dry that I was certain it needed drones to braid my hair. I had to steal water from her baby's feeding bottle to soften my hair. As usual, my hair got worse as soon as the moisture evaporated even after I sealed it with stolen pear's baby's oil.
When the woman returned to see me without my scarf, she stood by the door and said if that's the thing I expect her to dig her hands, she won't collect anything less than N5000 even if I were her sister. I'm not even going to mention the unbearable pain I felt each time she parted and tugged my hair. I had to beg her to forget I asked for tiny braids and make big braids. (I'm sure naturals reading this are mad I'm not using the word 'install'. Sorry!)

Talk about INSTALLING braids, they no longer come out as neatly as they used to be when I was retouched. My braids currently defies gravity, making it look like I have horns and the only way to counter this is to pack them into a bun all the time. (How do I fix this?)

Once, I tried that thing they call bantu knots and by the next morning, my hair was looking like rat ate some portion with patches everywhere.
My hair has simply refused to look anything like the photos I see on Instagram.
And when natural hair girls talk about twistouts, fingercolling etc. I'm just in my seat like

What are these ones saying.

I don't even know if my hair is type3, type2, type1 or A4. All I know is my natural hair is type-comb-breaking.
To worsen matters, I can't afford all
these fancy products other girls are putting in their hair.

Except,

Ecostyler: I applied ecostyler gel on my way out one afternoon and as I walked past a shop with mirrored doors, no one told me to run back home to wear my wig. My hair frizzled, dried and tangled badly when I was washed out the gel.

Edge Control: I've never been able to achieve that perfect instagram hairline. Each time I apply edge control, my hairline automatically turns white making it look like I applied an excess of sure deodorant on my forehead.

D&L Leave in: Excellent detangler for a natural on a budget. It feels great and alters my hair texture for one hour or so. After this, my hair gets very dry except I keep applying.


Organic Mayonnaise: Honestly, I don't know what this thing does for me though I use it every month. I just added it to my collection so my products won't appear scanty. It was cheap too. LoL


Virgin Olive Oil: I used to have one among the crew but it finished recently. My pastor gave it to me during crossover service in church and despite the fact that it was anointed, my hair was still dry!


Coconut Oil: Homemade. My family is starved of coconut rice because of my hair. This is where all the coconuts we buy ends up.


Water: All thanks to water, I've rocked my natural hair out from my house to VI which is quite a distance. I stored it in a smaller bottle where I sprayed subtly at Gbagdaba and at CMS when the traffic lasted too long. I also sprayed it at my host's office when he went out briefly. Water is great but the terrible itch that comes with it is not beans oh. My scalp is dandruff prone which makes it very sensitive to water especially when I am wearing braids. Once, I had to excuse my date at silverbird cinema so I could take off my wig and scratch my head peacefully in the toilet.
I no longer use water since I got the leave-in.

ORI: This is the only product that works perfectly for my hair. It just had to be local ori of all things! The cheapest hair product! Na wa o. Does this mean my hair is ajepako?


Have I also mentioned my hair grows like that of Jimmy Neutron of cartoon network, making it look like I have three heads because my bigchop was not properly done. Now I keep doing minichops weekly and microminichops daily. I even have a tiny handy scissor in my wallet to rid myself of straying hair strands.

Talk about home remedies to make my hair more instagrammable. What has this hair not eaten for breakfast, lunch and dinner from groceries to junk food?

I have mixed ori with egg white and milk.
I have mixed hot ori with coconut oil and olive oil. Do you know a mixture of these 3 is equal to castor oil?
I have mixed coconut oil with coconut milk.
I also get tempted to beat an egg on my head in anger whenever I open the fridge.
A popular natural hair blogger rinsed her hair with beer and when a commenter asked if malt was fine, she said yes. That's how this hair drank Guinness Malt for dinner that day. I even mixed mine with peak milk. Very soon the hair will say it wants Orijin.
The other day someone said my hair was smelling like salad. This was due to the amount of fresh mayonnaise I used as conditioner.
I have also used the juice from ugwu leaves to rinse this hair. (Vitamins treatment)
I did the famous sugar solution rinse. God blinded soldier ants to my hair that night.
It's left for me to rinse my hair with maggi water or chicken stock. That's protein treatment right?

My mom is having her last laugh cos she was against me cutting the hair.
Been asking her how she managed my hair when I was much younger but she has refused to bulge although I'm still on the lookout for the famous cocosheen of the 90's
I'm definitely going to return to TeamRelaxed but that will be when my hair is long enough to pack into a bun.
In the interim, how can I make this hair more 'manageable and instagrammable? Please don't mention any expensive product. I'm currently waiting for the price of bentonite clay, cantu and custard to drop so I can buy them. One of the reasons I went natural was to save money now the reverse is the case. I'm considering a texturiser. Is it advisable or is what I'm going through just a phase every natural girl passes through?

who go help me summarize this textbook?

Wetin concern us wit ur hair.u can as well use shoe polish for it .

Hi OP
Just like you I went natural last year and cut my long thick hair and I don't regret it. I think you are using too many products in you hair.
I only use three products and my hair is soft. Shampoo, Cantu leave in conditioner and Olive oil. I do Bantu knots and some times I leave it afro style. I don't have to worry about too many chemicals in my hair. At the end of the day it might not be for everyone. So maybe you might be happier going back to relaxed hair.

U can use Jamican castor oil nd leave in conditioner

Ones hair management isn't supposed to be this strenous a thick natural hair hurts so much i know. I remember my experience back then in secondary school. It kept on breaking tail combs and still plaiting it was a herculean task. Getting a wonderful relaxer was one of the best thing that ever happened to me. I could stretch and steam my hair.

As a result, it softened. Treatments also helped a lot but knowing your hair type and texture is of immense importance as it determines what you use and what you shouldn't.

realGURU:
Gej till 2019

yea he will surely see 2019 by God's grace

BTW, op reminds me of foreign black women. They are always into this kinky, afro, natural hair thing. Well good for them.

Do whatever makes you cute and feminine.

angelTI:


You quoted the whole story for this yeye response

Lol @OP's story

Was goin to say same to him until I saw Ur post. Some pple are not just it.

sauceny:


Why not have a skin cut,aka mallam,aka gorimapa¿

And u had to quote the OP....

meen girls have problem sha..ecven d hair is a problem...
wen a guy cud go 1wk witout haircream...ororo i enuf


PROUD TO BE A MALE

I swear this girl funny die. . Cracks me up every time I read her posts. Babe, just bookmarked your blog right now. You are funny as hell.

Naijasinglegirl:
That's how this hair drank Guinness Malt for dinner that day. I even mixed mine with peak milk. Very soon the hair will say it wants Orijin.
The other day someone said my hair was smelling like salad. This was due to the amount of fresh mayonnaise I used as conditioner.
I have also used the juice from ugwu leaves to rinse this hair. (Vitamins treatment)
I did the famous sugar solution rinse. God blinded soldier ants to my hair that night.
It's left for me to rinse my hair with maggi water or chicken stock. That's protein treatment right?

Naijasinglegirl:
Warning: This post is long but an interesting read all the same.

As at last year, my relaxed hair was bra length long. My routine was pretty easy. I had a relaxer every 3 months, I washed my hair once in 3 months, never deep-conditioned, used soulmate hair cream and my signature style was a bun. Days I wore my hair out, I was the object of admiration. Everyone wanted to know my 'secret formula' on why it was bouncy, long and fine textured.

It all started when I stumbled on some flattering photos of girls rocking their natural hair on Instagram. I was blown away.
Please note the first time I ever had a relaxer in my life was the
year before I got into the university. Before then, I grew my natural
hair four times (past shoulder length at one point) but my parents
always had me cut my hair for one reason or the other.
My mom was my personal stylist. On days she took me to the salon, people never believed my hair was fully natural. In essence, my natural hair texture was soft, wavy-patterned and very manageable.

So you see, it was only natural I assumed if I cut my relaxed hair and join TeamNatural (no pun intended), my hair was still going to look amazing. During my transition period, those who knew me in reality begged me not to cut my hair so I was confused. Some days, i told people I was only stretching my relaxer while I told others I was transitioning.
During this period, my hair
experienced massive breakage and if there's is one thing I can't stand, it's unhealthy hair! I was combing my hair one evening when I suddenly grabbed a scissors and instructed my sister to cut off my 5months post relaxed hair. She thought I was joking until I ran the scissors from my forehead to my nape. That was the beginning of my natural hair journey.
My friend in diaspora told me so long ori (shea butter) was still in abundance in Lagos and water was free, my hair was going to be just fine.
I went to bed after my big chop and when I woke up the next morning, not only was a combination of shrunken natural hair with early morning face an eyesore, my hair was dry, hard and brittle. Same thing happened every other night. Experts online said it was because I was not sleeping with a satin scarf.
The day I tied a scarf, my hair was dry as usual in the morning and I found the scarf under the bed when I was sweeping. I never woke up to find the scarf on my head no matter how tight I tied it. On the other hand, those satin caps that makes one look like a prophetess are rare to find. Each time I enter a random shop to request for it, the bush sales girl either gives me a shower cap, a lacy net, a hair net or she just stares at me like I asked for snow.
Day time is no different, once the water I spray on my hair dries, the hair revolts by becoming 10 times drier. AC-rooms are currently off limits for me.
As for my cheap wigs aka protective styles, it wasn't long before they began deteriorating...
I resorted to braids.
The first time I went to braid my hair. I tied a scarf while I negotiated with the hair dresser. When we eventually agreed on N4000 for tiny braids, I gave her the money to help me buy attachments while I watched her baby. As soon as she left, I took off the scarf and ran my fingers through my hair.
Good Lord!
Honestly, if I were in her shoes, I wouldn't touch my hair with a 9 foot pole. The hair was so dry that I was certain it needed drones to braid my hair. I had to steal water from her baby's feeding bottle to soften my hair. As usual, my hair got worse as soon as the moisture evaporated even after I sealed it with stolen pear's baby's oil.
When the woman returned to see me without my scarf, she stood by the door and said if that's the thing I expect her to dig her hands, she won't collect anything less than N5000 even if I were her sister. I'm not even going to mention the unbearable pain I felt each time she parted and tugged my hair. I had to beg her to forget I asked for tiny braids and make big braids. (I'm sure naturals reading this are mad I'm not using the word 'install'. Sorry!)

Talk about INSTALLING braids, they no longer come out as neatly as they used to be when I was retouched. My braids currently defies gravity, making it look like I have horns and the only way to counter this is to pack them into a bun all the time. (How do I fix this?)

Once, I tried that thing they call bantu knots and by the next morning, my hair was looking like rat ate some portion with patches everywhere.
My hair has simply refused to look anything like the photos I see on Instagram.
And when natural hair girls talk about twistouts, fingercolling etc. I'm just in my seat like

What are these ones saying.

I don't even know if my hair is type3, type2, type1 or A4. All I know is my natural hair is type-comb-breaking.
To worsen matters, I can't afford all
these fancy products other girls are putting in their hair.

Except,

Ecostyler: I applied ecostyler gel on my way out one afternoon and as I walked past a shop with mirrored doors, no one told me to run back home to wear my wig. My hair frizzled, dried and tangled badly when I was washed out the gel.

Edge Control: I've never been able to achieve that perfect instagram hairline. Each time I apply edge control, my hairline automatically turns white making it look like I applied an excess of sure deodorant on my forehead.

D&L Leave in: Excellent detangler for a natural on a budget. It feels great and alters my hair texture for one hour or so. After this, my hair gets very dry except I keep applying.


Organic Mayonnaise: Honestly, I don't know what this thing does for me though I use it every month. I just added it to my collection so my products won't appear scanty. It was cheap too. LoL


Virgin Olive Oil: I used to have one among the crew but it finished recently. My pastor gave it to me during crossover service in church and despite the fact that it was anointed, my hair was still dry!


Coconut Oil: Homemade. My family is starved of coconut rice because of my hair. This is where all the coconuts we buy ends up.


Water: All thanks to water, I've rocked my natural hair out from my house to VI which is quite a distance. I stored it in a smaller bottle where I sprayed subtly at Gbagdaba and at CMS when the traffic lasted too long. I also sprayed it at my host's office when he went out briefly. Water is great but the terrible itch that comes with it is not beans oh. My scalp is dandruff prone which makes it very sensitive to water especially when I am wearing braids. Once, I had to excuse my date at silverbird cinema so I could take off my wig and scratch my head peacefully in the toilet.
I no longer use water since I got the leave-in.

ORI: This is the only product that works perfectly for my hair. It just had to be local ori of all things! The cheapest hair product! Na wa o. Does this mean my hair is ajepako?


Have I also mentioned my hair grows like that of Jimmy Neutron of cartoon network, making it look like I have three heads because my bigchop was not properly done. Now I keep doing minichops weekly and microminichops daily. I even have a tiny handy scissor in my wallet to rid myself of straying hair strands.

Talk about home remedies to make my hair more instagrammable. What has this hair not eaten for breakfast, lunch and dinner from groceries to junk food?

I have mixed ori with egg white and milk.
I have mixed hot ori with coconut oil and olive oil. Do you know a mixture of these 3 is equal to castor oil?
I have mixed coconut oil with coconut milk.
I also get tempted to beat an egg on my head in anger whenever I open the fridge.
A popular natural hair blogger rinsed her hair with beer and when a commenter asked if malt was fine, she said yes. That's how this hair drank Guinness Malt for dinner that day. I even mixed mine with peak milk. Very soon the hair will say it wants Orijin.
The other day someone said my hair was smelling like salad. This was due to the amount of fresh mayonnaise I used as conditioner.
I have also used the juice from ugwu leaves to rinse this hair. (Vitamins treatment)
I did the famous sugar solution rinse. God blinded soldier ants to my hair that night.
It's left for me to rinse my hair with maggi water or chicken stock. That's protein treatment right?

My mom is having her last laugh cos she was against me cutting the hair.
Been asking her how she managed my hair when I was much younger but she has refused to bulge although I'm still on the lookout for the famous cocosheen of the 90's
I'm definitely going to return to TeamRelaxed but that will be when my hair is long enough to pack into a bun.
In the interim, how can I make this hair more 'manageable and instagrammable? Please don't mention any expensive product. I'm currently waiting for the price of bentonite clay, cantu and custard to drop so I can buy them. One of the reasons I went natural was to save money now the reverse is the case. I'm considering a texturiser. Is it advisable or is what I'm going through just a phase every natural girl passes through?

Mehn!!!!

lwkmd



lol



Haha!!!



I Don fall inside well laf wan skata my brain

Now rolling inside dirty onisha gutter wit uncontrollable laf!!

oboi I Don poo inside my boxers, laf wan tear my bladder!!

Oboi my scrotal sac is leaking ohh see Wat laf has done to mi ohhh,pls someone help mi wit bucket ohh,my sperm is gonna leak finish ohhhhh


Sumone help wit vaseline,instead of it leaking and wasting,I gas use d other way out!!!!

Oya vaseline vaseline

Guys please I need y'all to vote for my blog at Nigerian Blog awards. I got nominated in 3 categories. No11, 18 and 28.


http://www.nigerianblogawards.com/vote2014.php

Guys please I need y'all to vote for my blog at Nigerian Blog awards. I got nominated in 3 categories. No11, 18 and 27.


http://www.nigerianblogawards.com/vote2014.php

Fabdedon:
Barb it

corektchic:
U need a leave in conditioner. It makes ur natural hair very easy to maintain. Like the one I use , u spray a Lil water on ur hair before application. U can do dat every day. It's abt 1k but I've used it for 3mnths now. It's called soft textures.

I use a leave in. Dark and lovely but my hair gets drier after two hours

Wendy80:


And u had to quote the OP....

Is there any punishment for such action¿

marylandcakes:
Hi OP
Just like you I went natural last year and cut my long thick hair and I don't regret it. I think you are using too many products in you hair.
I only use three products and my hair is soft. Shampoo, Cantu leave in conditioner and Olive oil. I do Bantu knots and some times I leave it afro style. I don't have to worry about too many chemicals in my hair. At the end of the day it might not be for everyone. So maybe you might be happier going back to relaxed hair.

certainly. I can't wait!

@kristen12 if you barb Gorimapa!


E no go funny ooo!

just let it be...dont do nothing....i just let it grow,not caring what people say...now i have very long rastas.. i like my hair

and you are a woman...your own will grow even more beautifull....

and even when you thiink its not that beautifull in the start,just cover it,like a muslim woman till its long enough..

dont be ashamed...the people that dont like natural black hair,are those ones that have self-hate in their hearth...

GET THE WHITE-PEOPLE OUT OF YOUR MIND.AND YOU WILL SEE,WHITE-PEOPLE ARE INFERIOR COMPAIRED TO US.....

sauceny:


Is there any punishment for such action¿

you are impossible.
Makes d thread unnecessarily too long na

Wendy80:

you are impossible.
Makes d thread unnecessarily too long na

Really,neva knew¿

Use early morning urine mixed with egg white(remove the yolk) and coconut oil with a lil bit of salt. You'd thank me later.

Iolite:
Go dreads, that's what I intend doing to my hair after transitioning and as for shampooing, try using African black soap AKA Ghana soap. Have u tried using glycerin and water? What about eucalyptus oil (silver bird) for the itch)?

Glycerin and waterr? Error!!!!!! They did nada for my hair. My hair is mega super COARSE and prone to DRYNESS.

NSG, abeg do this to soften your hair instead of using relaxer.

Ingredients:
Coconut milk
Lemon/Lime juice
Olive oil
Honey
Cornstarch or any thickening ingredient to avoid drips

Combine the ingredients and apply on your hair for 1-2 hours wearing a shower cap and a hot towel.

This hair straightening treatment will help loosen your curls and leave your hair soft and shiny

SHIKENA!!!!!!!!!!!!
Natural hair is lovely if and only if you understand its texture and characteristics.

You can try yoghurt and coconut milk as well. There are so many natural curl loosening recipes online. Google and choose the one that suits you.

You can try Maximum Hydration Method but I doubt you will do it because clay is one of the products to use and it's out of your budget for now.

My hair loves WATER!!!!! I green house effect-GHE (wrapping nylon bag on my hair to induce moisture) every day and night.

Study your hair and know what it wants. Fine hair needs more protein and less moisture while coarse hair needs more moisture and less protein.

Thank GOD I'm not a product junkie!!! For now, I use Cantu leave-in conditioner and it lasts for like 3 hours on my hair. After that, dryness comes in and so I GHE every time.

kristen12:
NSG O°˚˚˚ .
Thank God I read your post because I want to barb my relaxed hair and go natural. I really can't imagine myself going through this stress because of hair.
Instead I'll barb gorimapa.

Natural hair isn't stressful if you know how to manage it. I think what makes it stressful is the shrinkage, which causes tangles and breakage. Once shrinkage can be controlled, natural hair is lovely.

nanauju:
Dear OP, u didn't conduct ur research well enough to know that going natural is more expensive, time consuming and has lots of headaches attached. Forget all those pictures u see online, going natural is not for everybody

Yeah I agree it can be stressful but once you tackle shrinkage, it's easy peasy.

Wow thot I was the only one experiencing team natural torture, I mean every time I want to braid my hair, it's torture for my stylist and myself infact last month at her pleading I had to succumb to using texturizer on my hair after two years. I have bookmarked this page and will try all the suggestions... Thanks

nekaa:
LYour spray bottle( water and coconut oil mix) should be the best thing that happened to you since sliced bread.

Coconut hair makes coarse hair more coarse. She needs moisture to combat dryness. IMO, coconut hair is good for those with fine hair.

jackymfon:
Wow thot I was the only one experiencing team natural torture, I mean every time I want to braid my hair, it's torture for my stylist and myself infact last month at her pleading I had to succumb to using texturizer on my hair after two years. I have bookmarked this page and will try all the suggestions... Thanks

When I BC in January, I was tempted to use texturizer but I held back. I love the feel and texture of natural hair but just couldn't stand the shrinkage, tangles and dryness. I googled on ways to loosen tight curls naturally and I got more than what I wanted-yoghurt and coconut cream, coconut milk and lime/lemon, sour milk, henna etc.

Kemmia:
Use texturizer kit preferably organic, it does nt retouch d hair bt straightens it nd still preserve ur natural hair nd also makes it softer lye a relaxed hair

I would prefer you say it loosens the curls rather than it straightens it. All the same, I still prefer natural ingredients.

tchidi:
Men, I de ya shoes too... I have done all the tricks in the book, I got to 10 months, I applied relaxer... now I don start again. my only saving grace is I know how to do 'bantu knot', so I just knot and go...

Try coconut milk and lime/lemon curl loosening and softening conditioning treatment.

ferhyntorlah:
Try coconut milk and lime/lemon curl loosening and softening conditioning treatment.

I tried using coconut powder to get milk, added lime to it and.... mehn! my hair curled up so bad, I couldn't comb it.
Of all the things I've used on my hair, coconut milk and egg were the worst! My hair no just like them.

corektchic:
U need a leave in conditioner. It makes ur natural hair very easy to maintain. Like the one I use , u spray a Lil water on ur hair before application. U can do dat every day. It's abt 1k but I've used it for 3mnths now. It's called soft textures.

I have a question: is your hair texture fine or coarse? For this product to work for you, I'm guessing your hair texture is fine but for those like me with super coarse hair, it will only work for highest 3 hours and dryness sets in. All these hair routines: LOC, LCO, LOCO, LCOC don't work at all for me. L=liquid, O=oil and C= cream. They can only work once shrinkage has been tackled.