So I went to Naturals In The City (5th Edition)

Hello lovely ladies and gentlemen.

I was really excited last year to hear that there was a quarterly naturals meet-up in Lagos. For various reasons however, I was unable to attend any of them (found out too late, was out of town or 'Blame it On the Rain' like Milli Vanilli, who by the way were natural - or wait, were their locs/braids as fake as their music?) Anyways, the point is that THIS TIME, I made sure my schedule was cleared in advance and I was determined to go and see for myself.

It was an extremely hot Saturday afternoon, and I wasn't sure what to expect. I walked in to see a secluded space, buzzing with girls like me "OMG, your hair is so nice... How did you get it done like that... My hair's dry and brittle and I don't know what to do... My dad hates my hair... I need glycerine... Do you use shea butter... Ah ah, I'm buying 5 hair accessories, dash me one extra." (That last one was me :p)

The first person I encountered was Ms. African Naturalista herself. Up to that point, we'd only communicated via email. But we recognized each other immediately, giving each other hugs and she said she thought I would be much taller (I'm 5'2"). I went there with a budget so while I perused the different vendor stands, the only things I allowed myself to buy were hair accessories. I still managed to overspend - but hey, pretty headband trumps Sunday lunch.

After hanging around the vendors for a bit, it was time to go inside for presentations by Natural Nigerian, Eden Life Nigeria, and more. Some of the things they talked about were:

• Heat and Natural Hair - Natural Nigerian spoke about different sources of heat, how to prevent heat damage, and what to do before blow-drying natural hair.
• Cosmetology/Aromatherapy and Natural Hair - Ms Freddie is a teacher and cosmetologist, who shared on the different essential and carrier oils that are used in hair care (both relaxed and natural). Lol, her teaching background made the session funny, as she'd say something and almost bark out "Ok, write that down!"
• The Man's Perspective - Two gentlemen spoke about their preference for natural-haired ladies. I'm not sure I can say that they speak for most Nigerian men, but it was nice to hear that some guys prefer this look/lifestyle.

Unfortunately, I don't have pictures of my own, so I'll share the ones I found online. All pictures are from Natural Nigerian's website.



African Naturalistas stand

Yours truly pointing out my pic on AN's flyer (side note - I gotta lose weight NOW)

 

For more pictures (and LOTS AND LOTS of hairstyles to copy), check out the post on Natural Nigerian - NITC 5 In Pictures.

Make sure to attend the next one, when it happens :)

Berry