This question has come in various forms over the course of my life. Is that all your hair? Is that your real hair? Ahn ahn, what did you put inside? What weave do you use? Are you mixed race? Because this hair is not full Nigerian hair. I’ve heard it all really.
But yes, all the hair in the photo above is all my real hair.
I’ve been natural since 2010 and it has been 7 great years in a relationship with my mane. I say relationship because when I had relaxed hair for 6 years before going back to my natural hair, I didn’t really care much for it. I just put Pink Oil, ran a comb or brush through it whenever I needed to and retouched my undergrowth at the salon when my hair was due. I’d get a deep condition treatment at the salon once in a while but there was no real routine and purpose behind it.
With my natural hair, I’m more attentive. I pay attention to products, techniques and routines.
To have healthy hair you have to do healthy things, same with skincare. You can’t assume that because you and Kemi are Nigerian, you’ll have the same hair and whatever works for Kemi will work for you. If not, then ah, Kemi has oyinbo blood or she has hair extensions and she is lying. You can’t just ask someone what cream they use, try it once and expect to have the same results overnight when the person has been using it for 2 years consistently.
Study your hair to know what works for you, your texture and your lifestyle.
You because you might be allergic to Coconut Oil and other products people swear by, this doesn’t mean there aren’t any products out there that can work for you.
Your texture because everyone has different textures, colours, elasticity, porosity and the rest of that hair science grammar. Trichology is real people!
Your lifestyle because I might wash my hair every two weeks in the salon because I only have time on the weekends and I find it stressful to handle my hair on my own. However, Kemi loves taking her time to wash her hair on a Monday because her lifestyle allows her to do that.
Some naturalistas prefer the do-it-yourself approach with their haircare but I’ve found that I’d rather work with a professional who knows what they’re doing. Someone who can guide me with the right tips for my hair and go the extra mile to check on me and my baby. Lol.
I go to O’Naturals hair salon religiously. Honestly, I hardly ever do my hair myself at home except Omozo Ehigie (Founder, CEO and Head Stylist at O’Naturals) and I have previously discussed exactly what I’m meant to do. This includes how to care for and maintain a protective style, treat dandruff (because I have quite dry skin on my scalp too), products to use and so on. A lot of the time when people ask about my hair or give me products to try, I’m quick to let them know that my hair really belongs to Omozo. We’re co-owners because the hair is on my head but really, my hair is a product of her expertise and patience and I’m grateful. Check out my #Eki4Jumia takeover for a glimpse into a Salon day for Eki at O’Naturals.
For 2017, Omozo and I decided to stay away from hair extensions, I wanted to know if it was really and truly possible for me to pull it off and I did. I’ll share my different protective styles over the course of this year in another post. For 2018, we’ve decided to try more colour and cut out heat totally from my hair care routine (which I’ll also share as a sequel to this post). I’m enjoying the yearly challenges and I’m excited about 2018 because of this.
I’ve always wanted to try colour but I’m scared of dying my hair because of side effects so I’m thrilled to see what Omozo has planned for my hair. After all, I trusted her to put glitter in my hair and I loved it!
Next week I’ll talk about my hair care routine and the products I use RELIGIOUSLY so stay tuned!
Hi Eki, I lovee your 2010 photo ??
You people should get someone to do something for bearded guys oh. We are jealous.