My Hair Story (2) - African Naturalista

Continued from the previous post. Click this link if you missed it.

Two weeks later, I could not believe my eyes, my hair was limp, and had lost its full look. Every time I saw my hair in the mirror, I almost cried. I could not believe that the hair that was so much admired could actually look like this. Though people still thought it was okay because it wasn’t short, but I knew the hair was DEAD. And the flat-tong process was what started the process of killing it.

I decided that it was finally time to have a cute hair cut, the hair cut I never had the courage to get in the past. I was directed to a lovely woman whose specialty is to take care of hair, relaxed hair only. Not braiding, not fixing, just treatment of ladies’ relaxed hair, what dye to use and what not to use, etc. So, off I went to this woman, dyed my hair pink, cut my hair very short and felt exhilarated. It was a freedom from bondage! Not bondage of bad hair, but bondage from the long, healthy and relaxed hair that I had caged myself in. My long hair had become my idol and it was very bad for me. When I had this hair cut, I knew that I could do whatever I liked with my hair and not be scared. It is just hair and it would grow back!

Months later, the pink dye wore out and turned to gold, my hair started growing again, it was healthy again and I was happy. For the first time ever, I fixed my hair twice in 500 level. I graduated and life and my hair were good again.

I was posted to Benue state for my NYSC. I was deployed to a proper village. The one with, streams, mud housed, bicycles, pit toilets, etc, what I call a proper rural area. People, you know that in Benue, AIDS is very real. This is according to the Nigerian statistics and the villagers’ lifestyle attested to that fact. I came back home to pack my load after I had been deployed, I faced a short but very bad heart break so I decided to cut my hair off. The truth is that five hours before I cut my hair, I never knew I was going to cut my hair. I just woke up, made the decision to cut a once again, healthy hair. The barber hesitated when I told him to cut it off, saying some ladies come to cut their hair and start crying later because they think they made a mistake. I insisted and he cut the hair. He cut it to gorimapa level.

About five months later, the hair was long again, so I decided to dread my hair. I had dreads for two years. I felt so free, so much that I started dreading going back to relaxers. I later met J’odie, who used to be a friend back in school, I saw her in church with her natural hair and I knew I had seen the solution to my relaxer fear. You can read the interview I had with J’odie here.

After doing another Big Chop, I started fixing weaves, just so that my hair could grow enough to rock. This is because I never felt there was a place for short natural hair in the real world. I then met Aderonke of smooth FM and my illusion about that changed. You can read the interview I had with Aderonke here.

Ladies and gentlemen, that is how I finally came to the path of Natural Hair and since then, I have never looked back.

Thanks for reading

P.S: I am in the process of expanding my business, it has nothing to do with hair. I am currently opening it up for private placements. It is a business that is not affected by the power supply or fuel subsidy situation of Nigeria. Send a mail to hattylolla@yahoo.com if you think you might be interested in owning part of it.
Regards.