Why you probably don’t get hair compliments

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So you decide today not to tuck your hair in. You walk into an environment with those long twists, fabulous twistouts, or gorgeous fro. You expect the whole world to drool with saliva just by looking at your hair, as you unleash its beauty in their faces.

As you step in there with your expectation at its peak, you greet people, they greet you, and it’s all over. Nada, nothing! No one mentions a word about your hair. Your inflated balloon of expectation is suddenly burst.

You are beginning to wonder, “Can't you see, can't you all see my lovely hair, why are you all silent about it, is this a conspiracy to make me feel bad?” If you don't take care, you even begin to feel downcast about the fact that you got no compliments about your hair.

One thing I would say is this. My dear friend, don't worry. The fact that you got no compliment, in itself, might be the greatest compliment. Shocking, right? This is because the most likely reason they did not compliment you is because they assumed it is not your hair. This is most likely true if you live in a place like Nigeria, where most people assume that once your hair is thick, long, and full, then it is must be a weave.

I can’t even begin to count the number of encounters I have had about whether my hair is mine or purchased from the market. You can read about one of such here. Sometimes I stay in a place for so long, and someone mistakenly takes a good look at my scalp and says “wait a minute, is this your hair?” And I am wondering, because it is not as if the hair is as long as Esperanza Spalding’s.

One day, I went for a shoot, and a follower of mine, who had just done the big chop, announced to everyone in the room pointing at my hair and saying “see, all of you who are wondering why I did the big chop, that is how my hair would look in future.” It was at that point everyone took a second look at the hair saying “Is that her hair? That can't be her hair.” And then the compliments started coming my way.

So when next you don't get compliments about your lovely natural hair, don’t despair - they probably thought you bought the hair off the rack. And that my dear, is the greatest compliment.