'I went natural because I was tired of visiting the salon' Mane Matters with Ifeoluwa

Hi Naturalistas,

How are you all doing?

Been a minute.

 

Here is a feature on a naturalista I have been stalking on Instagram for a little while. 

Enjoy!

 

Can we meet you?

My name is Ifeoluwa Omoyele and I am a naturalist 

What's your hair story? When and how did you decide to go natural?

I have always  been a relaxed hair person since I was a young girl at the age of 8years old from what I can remember, I decided to go natural because I was tired of visiting the salon to retouch/ relax my hair. Early year 2014, I went to my hairdresser to get my hair done. On getting there, I remembered I was complaining to her that I wanted to do something different and unique from what I usually do every time, so she said my hair was long over due for relaxing, that I might as well go natural so since that day I decided to join the naturalist group.

How easy was it for you to get information at the beginning given the oversaturation of content on the Internet? Was there any person that helped you through?

It was pretty much easy because I just went into transitioning instead of starting from the scratch meaning cutting my whole relaxed hair off, all I kept doing was having protective hairstyle mostly single twisting and braiding with extension.

Yeah, my hairdresser helped me from the start by advising me to do more of conditioning, steaming and protective hairstyles.

Work us through your regimen.

As I said earlier my regimen is deep conditioning, steaming, protective hairstyle mainly and twist out as well, also once in a blue moon, weaves (human hair)

What products does your natural hair swear by?

This might sound funny, the only product that works for my hair is a mixture of water and Shea butter because my hair hasn't been really friendly with any other products (maybe there will be one in future) and with the mixture of water and Shea butter I can get and style any natural hairstyle I want with my hair, you name it like: bantu knots, loose curls, tight curls and so on.

What's your favorite Made in Nigeria product and how do you feel about the progress 

we've made in recent times?

As of now I will say Shea butter because I haven't really tried or use any made in Nigeria product for my hair. 

How was the response from both family and friends? Did they give you a hard time coming to terms with your natural hair?

The responses has been good and great so far, even though some of my friends do make comments that they want to cut my hair off cause of its fullness and longitude (side face/don't touch my hair 😊but I still see it all as great compliments and pushes more to want to rock my natural hair always. 

Do you prefer to buy products from the store or whip yours yourself?

For me it is both ways because I have to buy the Shea butter and makes the mixture myself.

What hairstyle have you perfected over time?

Over time, I am now perfect in doing/ making bantu knots and twist out.

Have you tried any hair supplements before? What do you think about them?

No, I haven't tried any hair supplements before. 

Who is your Instagram natural hair crush?

I will definitely say myself 😊

Do you watch natural hair vlogs? Who are your favorite vloggers?

No I don't 

Have you been tempted to relax/texlax your hair? If not, what keeps you going?

No I haven't been tempted and I doubt I will ever be tempted to relax/texlax because I love 

the way my hair is and want to see more of the outcome of my decision so there's no going back for me.

Is there any particular hair experience/challenge you'd like to share with us?

Yeah there is and it was during my transitioning, my relaxed hair kept shredding off from time 

to time and I was not so happy about it back then because I thought I was losing my hair but later realised that for me to achieve what I want I have to let go of the relaxed part of my hair because it was too weak for my natural hair to bear, after the whole transitioning my natural hair came out beautifully.

Has social media influenced any of your hair decisions?

Yeah, just for hairstyles 

Protective styling or nah? What your go-to style?

Single twisting/ twist out

Do you read/follow the African Naturalistas blog? If yes, for how long?

Yeah I do follow African Naturalistas on Instagram. 

Thank for your time. How do we keep in touch with you?

You're welcome, Here is my Instagram handle: @ifeifonlaja and whatsapp number is: +447506005735.

To get featured on africanaturalistas.com, Send a mail to manematters@africanaturalistas.com

Enjoy the rest of the week.

'I prefer to make my own products so as to know what I put into my hair' Mane matters with Jane

Hi Naturalistas,

Meet Jane.

Who is Jane?

My name is Jane Ekanem, I'm a model, and an entrepreneur. I make Ankara bags, shoes, accessories, zip facinitators , hair flowers and paper crafts.

What's your hair story? When and how did you decide to go natural? 

Well, I saw a friends hair picture on bbm, and I asked her if it doesn't hurt her to keep such thick hair and she said no. She then told me what she does to make it soft and I was interested because i was fed up of relaxing my hair. Anytime i relax my hair, ill have to hurriedly put it in a braid or fix a weavon so it wouldn't tangle the nest week. And if that wasn't enough,  the chemicals in d relaxer,  Will always burn my scalp each time I relax , so much so that whenever mybhair is due for relaxing, i'll be praying as if im going to war so it dosent burn me lol...when I found an alternative which will grow my hair and will also make it easier to manage I had to go for it without thinking twice. Lol

How easy was it for you to get information at the beginning given the oversaturation of content on the Internet? Was there any person that helped you through? 

It wasn't that difficult for me to get information on growing my Natural hair... ever since my friend told me about it I became obsessed with YouTube videos, pinterest, and bbm hair channels... so much so that I got lots of information on how to grow and keep a healthy hair.

Work us through your regimen. 

I usually start out with pre-poo, most times a night before I wash or few hours to my wash time. I pre-poo with a mixture of coconut oil, and olive oil..next i shampoo my hair with dudu osun(black soap) ,then I condition with V05 conditioner, after which I cover my hair with a shower cap for 30mins then I detangle my hair and wash off the conditioner. Next I deep-condition with a mixture of mayonnaise, banana,avocado pear,egg,coconut oil and olive oil, after which i cover my hair again with the shower cap and leave it for another 30mins then i detangle and wash it off. Next I dry my hair a little with a t-shirt then I do the loc method which is the liquid,oil and cream , I then twist or braid my hair depending on what I want and leave it to air-dry overnight.

What products does your natural hair swear by? 

My leave-in conditioner and coconut oil... I just cant do without them.

What's your favorite Made in Nigeria product and how do you feel about the progress we've made in recent times?

I really don't have a favourite Nigerian made product but I'm so proud of how far we've come.

How was the response from both family and friends? Did they give you a hard time coming to terms with your natural hair? 

My family was very very supportive, infact they joined me lol

Do you prefer to buy products from the store or whip yours yourself?
I prefer to make my own products so as to know what I put into my hair.

What hairstyle have you perfected over time? 

Twist out is my goto hair lol

Have you tried any hair supplements before? What do you think about them? 

I haven't tried any hair supplements.

Who is your Instagram natural hair crush? 

@Naptural85 is my favourite IG crush.

Do you watch natural hair vlogs? Who are your favorite vloggers? 

My favourite vloggers are Yolander Renee,  naptural85, thechicnatural, April Bee,and cynthykay

Have you been tempted to relax/texlax your hair? If not, what keeps you going? 

I've never been tempted to relax, because I love my curls..

Is there any particular hair experience/challenge you'd like to share with us? 

No hair challenges at the moment.

Has social media influenced any of your hair decisions? 

Social media has really influenced my hair decisions.

Protective styling or nah? What your go-to style? 


I love protective styling. When I'm not on a protective style, my go-to style is the twist out.

Do you read/follow the African Naturalistas blog? If yes, for how long? 
I do read /follow the African Naturalistas blog for some time now.

Thank for your time. How do we keep in touch with you?

You can follow me on Instagram @Jane_Eky my business page @jekys_kreationz Jane Ekanem on Facebook thank you.

Till then,

Leeznijis

'I would love to have softer hair texture, less tangles and a massive growth of my edges'Mane Matters with Funmi Kehinde

Hi Naturalistas,

Meet Funmi.

Who is  Funmi Kehinde?

I have my background in IT and Computer Science. I am project Manager at a Tech company in Lagos. I also enjoy travelling and reading. I have been natural for over 5 years, My first Big chop was in Oct 2012.

What's your hair story? When and how did you decide to go natural?

I was inspired by my sister over 5 years ago to go natural, I also didn’t like the heat from the dryer when I had relaxed hair so decided going natural would be better.

I gave myself a big chop 5 years ago and started applying natural products which my sister gave to me on my hair. I learnt many tips and hair styles from her and I also used Youtube and some other blogs to increase my knowledge on how to care for my hair. Overall it has been an interesting, tasking and rewarding journey all together.

How easy was it for you to get information at the beginning given the oversaturation of content on the Internet? Was there any person that helped you through?

Yes, my elder sisters helped out with providing tips, bloggers to follow online and they also shared loads of products for me to try out till I could determine which was best for my hair type.

I definitely have them to thank for that.

Work us through your regimen.

Usually I wash my hair with Design Essentials detangling shampoo twice a month and also use their leave in conditioner. I style into a big bun and moisturize daily with water and Onaturals leave in conditioner.

I like to use olive oil and argan oil for my edges so they grow quickly. I rock my hair usually for 2 weeks before putting on a protective style which allows my natural hair rest a bit from all the styling and tugging.

What products does your natural hair swear by?

Design Essentials so far has been a win win experience for my hair. I have tried over 10 products which faired from good to bad and ugly lol but so far my hair has stuck with Design Essentials.

What's your favorite Made in Nigeria product and how do you feel about the progress we've made in recent times?

I have tried just 2 made in Nigeria products so far. My favourite are O naturals leave in conditioner- I totally love the fragrance and also Shanyi Organics – her hair milk is great!

I am very glad to see many made in Nigeria products, am yet to try so many of them and I hope to do so soon.

How was the response from both family and friends? Did they give you a hard time coming to terms with your natural hair?

No. they didn’t, all my sisters have their hair natural so it was quite easy for me to join the bandwagon so to speak. My mum is amazed by the length and how full my hair is daily and she loves it. My friends love my hair too and many of them went natural after seeing how great my hair looked. I can see my hair inspired them to leave the creamy crack.

Do you prefer to buy products from the store or whip yours yourself?

I prefer to buy because it saves me the time of having to shop for products individually and whip them up, although I prefer to whip my deep conditioner up myself every time.

What hairstyle have you perfected over time?

The simplest ones lol!  My hair high up in a bun, twists, Side bun, leaving my hair out in a fro (my favorite)

Have you tried any hair supplements before? What do you think about them?

No, I have not. I take Vitamin E though.

Who is your Instagram natural hair crush?

I have so many. Igbocurls since you asked for one.

Do you watch natural hair vlogs? Who are your favorite vloggers?

I do but I don’t recollect their names, I usually type what I need in the search bar, watch the video, try the hair style and off I go.

Have you been tempted to relax/texlax your hair? If not, what keeps you going?

Yes I was tempted to this January relax or cut my hair. I guess I was having a down moment with my growth but I had a chat with O’naturals founder and she motivated not to.

Is there any particular hair experience/challenge you'd like to share with us?

Yes, I would love to have softer hair texture, less tangles and a massive growth of my edges.

Has social media influenced any of your hair decisions?

Hmm not really, I usually don’t buy products as I see them. I tend to try more of hair styles I love on social media. I save them and try them on my own. If I can’t make them myself I take them to the salon for extra help.

Protective styling or nah? What's your go-to style?

YES! I love protective styling. My go to style would probably be big braids but these days am more into weaves because of the convenience and the time it saves.

Do you read/follow the African Naturalistas blog? If yes, for how long?

In the past, I use to follow a lot which I can’t seem to remember now. Nowadays, I don’t follow any except IG handles such as yours, Onaturals, Igbo curls, Kemi lewis, etc

Thank for your time. How do we keep in touch with you?

My IG handle is @funmikehindeng and you can reach me via email at fumikehinde969@yahoo.com

Thank you for the opportunity to do this and your patience.

What do you guys think about Funmi's mane and hair regimen?

Be sure to drop a comment.

p.s: Remember you can also get featured on the blog. Send us a mail at manematter@africanaturalistas.com and you would get a feedback as soon as possible.

Enjoy the rest of the week.

Leeznijis

Three Signs To Know Your Hair Needs Protein

Hey Naturalistas,

Protein, also called keratin helps to make up the hair strand.  

Depending on your hair care regimen, diet, and lifestyle, lack of protein can translate to your strands.  Healthy hair is ultimately a combination of great protein and moisture balance.

Too much moisture can result in weak, limp hair that is prone to breakage. Too much protein, also known as protein overload, can cause your hair to snap and break as well.

Most of the time, we have no idea if we are using a protein conditioner or a moisturizing conditioner. 

Conditioners with protein will have the following keywords in the title of the product. 

• Repair/Repairing Cream
• Reconstructor
• Balancing Conditioner
• Deep Repair Mask

Conditioners with protein will also have a few of these common ingredients

• Hydrolyzed wheat protein
• Hydrolyzed keratin
• Hydrolyzed silk protein
• Hydrolyzed Oat Flour
• Keratin
• Variations of hydrolyzed collagen
• Variations of hydrolyzed soy protein

However, here are signs your hair might need a protein treatment.

1. Limp curls or weak hair:

Are your curls just not “popping” like they used to and you can’t figure out why? A lot of naturals go through a period where their hair starts acting weird.  Moisture gets pushed down our throats at all time (which is great) but take one weekend to deep condition with some protein and watch your curls snap back. 

2. Consistent shedding/breakage:

Shedding is also a sign your hair needs protein. While lack of protein is not the only reason your hair could be shedding, it could be that your hair is slowly breaking off because it’s not strong. A light balancing protein conditioner will be ideal to whip your hair back into shape.  African Naturalistas deep conditioning mayonnaise is a good one to try.  

3. Long term use of heat:  

Heat damage occurs when the protein bonds in the hair are continually broken down due to extreme heat resulting in the permanent change of the hair follicle. In short, the hair is now permanently straight. In this case, you have no choice but to cut if off and start over.  However, if you haven’t reached the peak of heat damage where the damage is irreversible, a protein treatment should help.

 

Source

Enjoy the rest of the week darlings.

'My hair is me and is one of the things that defines me' Mane matters with Tomi

Hi Naturalistas,
Meet Tomi

Can you tell us who you are and what you do?

My name is Tomi Popoola and I am in my final year at The University of Nottingham studying Electrical and Electronics Engineering. I also have a YouTube channel that I love so much, focused mainly on me sharing tips and trick on natural hair!

What are your thoughts about natural hair?

I am obsessed! There are so many beautiful textures and it’s so versatile. I can literally have my hair straight today or curly the next. I love how many black women in this generation have embraced their natural hair and this just means the next generation can have amazing natural hair, without it being something odd or them not understanding or knowing what to do with it.

When/why did you decide to go natural?

I went natural about 2 ½ years ago. A part of my hair was damaged from a relaxer gone bad and it was just weird looking at healthy hair while the part that was meant to be my leave-out was damaged. I called my sister, gave her some hair shears and the rest is history!

Did you do a BC or you transitioned?

I didn’t transition, I did the big chop

What was the experience like?

At first it was a bit strange having my hair that low because I had never cut my hair before. Wigs were my best friend while I was still figuring how it all worked but then I became this natural hair junkie. I became obsessed with every product I heard about and just went crazy trying to incorporate everyone’s regimen into mine. I realized the hard way that not everything could work for me and this was when I finally started to understand my hair and treat it exactly how it needed to be treated. I am still a product junkie but it is specifically for my hair’s needs and I just love it!

What was/is your biggest fear about going Natural?

Will my hair grow? Will it be healthy? Will I have lush locks like naptural85?lool! I would watch length check videos just to see if my hair was growing right, one mistake I will advise you not to make. Yes, you can and should watch these videos because you learn a lot from them but they should not be used as any sort of comparison. Your hair is unique to you and that is what makes it beautiful.

Do you have a regimen you stick to? What is it like?

I follow a strict wash routine which requires a pre-poo if I am going to shampoo my hair, otherwise I co-wash my hair. I always use deep conditioners underneath a steamer, which makes my hair super silky and soft. I use cold aloe-vera juice to seal in moisture with a water based leave-in conditioner and coconut oil. A lot of the products I use vary depending on the weather (summer or winter) and I do loads of protective styling to retain length. Most people that know me see me in wigs more often than not.

What emotional struggles, if any, have you faced since going natural?

I honestly haven’t faced any. Except if you count me being lazy on a wash day or two as an emotional struggle, then no.

Do you think you are in it for the long haul or is it just a phase?

This is definitely not a phase. I have learnt so much about my hair and black hair in general from going natural and I love everything about it! Your hair is the healthiest, most versatile and at its best when it is natural so why would I ever want to go back?

There are people that definitely have negative comments about your hair, how do you deal with that?

I honestly have not gotten any hate comment throughout my journey but if I did it still wouldn’t bother me. My hair is me and is one of the things that defines me. Trying to bring someone down because of how they decide to wear their hair just shows a high level of insecurity in that individual. There is no need to pay such people any attention whatsoever.

What's your must have product and accessory?

I have so many so I will just list my top 5. My silk scarf, Amika tripleRx mask and Aussie moist deep treatment (best ever deep-conditioning combo!), coconut oil (currently loving the parachute brand), cold aloe vera juice (a must for sealing in moisture after washing).

What is your go-to style?

At the moment, I am on a hair growth challenge so all my go-to-styles are protective styles. I’m either wearing wigs or have my hair in an up-do that requires little manipulation.

What advice do you have for anyone just going natural?

Honestly, you can do it! There are so many tutorials, blogs and people (like myself) willing to help you through the process. When you properly take care of your natural hair it grows so healthy and longer than you could possibly think. If you’re not someone that can deal with your hair being super short, then transition up until you feel confident and comfortable enough to cut off your relaxed ends. Be patient with your hair, get to know your hair and what it wants. This takes time but you will eventually find what works for you and you’ll love it! Don’t compare your journey to anyone else’s and good luck xxx

Where can we find you? Your social media platforms…

My YouTube channel name is : Tomi Popoola https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCh2UR_6CXFf_4Ld1tBt4-sQ  

Both my twitter and Instagram handles are: @tomipopoola

Thank you for your time

What do you guys think about Tomi's mane and hair regimen?

Be sure to drop a comment.

p.s: Remember you can also get featured on the blog. Send us a mail at manematter@africanaturalistas.com and you would get a feedback as soon as possible.

Enjoy the rest of the week.

Leeznijis