SHORT HAIR/ NATURAL HAIR/ AFRICAN HAIR

African hair possesses quite the characteristics if you ask me. For any one who has grown African hair and kept it natural, they’ll tell you of the very many factors with which its consistency is determined. Everyone I know that has natural hair has had that day of frustration where the hair just won’t get into shape. You comb, twist, turn but somehow, it’s not how you pictured it to look.  There are many stories of what our moms used to do with their hair back in the day. Hair irons were hardly heard of, but they knew the concept of heat and what it does to the hair to give it a smooth texture, make it flat and easy to style. The used all sorts of local iron boxes which used charcoal, they used hot bottles, and lots of other hacks. If you look at the pictures from back in the days, you will know what I’m talking about. If all these iron hacks didn’t favor someone, then they settled for an Afro, which after several years of revision got to look like a Mohawk.  

With our Kind of hair, you have to avoid certain things that could take it out of texture and look. Rain and wind for example. The former is will embarrass you because the effect isn’t reversible immediately. The later, well, it depends on the intensity and direction the wind was blowing to. Once I combed my natural hair to go attend a birthday party. We took bodabodas to the venue, but I can’t quite describe how I gathered my hair later. But all I know, I made it through the night.

Chimamanda in her book Americanah says if Michelle Obama didn’t have straightened hair, Barrack wouldn’t have won as president of the United States.  When I first read this, I gave out a big laugh, but on careful thought, it actually made some sense. During the book tour, many people expressed their shock to this fact. Many actually confessed to the belief that Michelle had straight hair. I want to laugh right here because even when I never thought about to it before, it’s a realization I have now.

We have beautiful hair I must say, but you have to actively know your hair type and find the real hair products. Been searching for long and I’ve not found what I like. Maybe I haven’t looked harder? Many people will tell you that the frustration has caused them to plait their hair all the days of their lives. When the style is old, they walk into a salon, get the hair unplaited, washed and plaited right immediately. It’s quite some work if you ask me, but it always pays off quite well.  So recently, I decided to try something different.  I cut my hair!

First of all, I’m glad I got to do this especially at such a time in my life. The biggest driving force was the fact that lately I’m trying out new stuff, and I’m here to say I wish I did this quite earlier. Of course, I’ll grow my hair again, and plait it again, and possibly cut it again, but for now, I’m living it. Biggest best underrated experience so far is the fact that I get to stand under the shower and let water freely fall from my head(hair) to my toes. My last memory of this must be from like 8 years ago. Many females can’t relate to this, but it should be my newest good feeling. No matter the weather. I got many ‘Why did you cut your hair?” reactions, many people were shocked but I wasn’t. I was excited, biggest reason because my head didn’t turn out to look like a potato. If ever you feel like trying out something new, add this to your bucket list. Lately I take longer showers, and I probably look in the mirror longer than before. I like it.  I forgot to mention about how there’s no morning- late for work flex, it only takes a minute or less and my hair is in shape. NO BAD HAIR DAYS!

Currently, there’s lots of hair products for our kind of hair. I know because I have seen DIY videos of people and the product is always amazing. Again, I haven’t tried on myself because I don’t invest as much time in my hair, but maybe when the desire to grows, I should find myself a “hair mentor”