"I must confess I have hand in hair syndrome.'' Mane matters with Adetuke Morgan

Hello Naturalistas,

Today we bring you the smiling Adetuke

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

Hey Guys, my name is Adetuke Morgan and I’m a young creative Nigerian lady with many interests and hobbies. I’m currently serving my country as an Assistant class teacher in a Primary School. I’m done with NYSC on the 16th of October though so my Corper tag will soon expire. I’m a writer, blogger and blog at www.tukesquest.blogspot.com , Saxophonist, Actor (sometimes), Model (Sometimes), Smiler (Most times), Foodie (All the time), World Explorer, Afro Bearer and Theatre Lover ☺

With Relaxed Hair

AN: What's your thoughts about natural hair?

I Love Natural Hair and I must confess I have hand in hair syndrome. My hair is really soft and fluffy, it’s really hard to stop my hands from having a feel of it’s cotton wool like goodness, hehe

AN: Why did you decide to go natural?

BC

I’ve always loved my natural hair but had to texturise my hair at the age of 9 for my cousin’s wedding; she wanted us flower girls to rock the same hairstyle. My hair was still pretty curly though and when I did cornrows to school, the tips twirled in a really cute way. I always wondered what my natural hair would look like as most of my cousins on my mum’s side rocked their afros. Plus, my hair started to become flat and lacked personality after a while. Also, around that time, I wanted to be known as a Female Saxophonist and I thought natural hair would differentiate me from Yolanda Brown, a pretty popular black female saxophonist with relaxed hair.

Flat twists

AN: Did you do a BC or you transitioned?

I BC’d in August 2011, my last relaxer was December 2010. I got heat damage in December 2011 as I straightened my hair using a hot comb for a wedding, but the lady at the Salon didn’t use a heat protectant. I BC’d again in August 2012 as I had gotten tired of the 2 textures, it was an impromptu decision, I went to the tailor’s, saw a salon nearby and went in and told them to cut off the relaxed ends.

AN: What was your transitioning experience like?  

I remember I just wanted to chop off the relaxed ends and have fun with my curls. The heat damage caused me to lose some interest in hair care, but lucky for me I had friends around that were hair lovers. One of them did Bantu knots which turned out amazing as you can see in the picture below.

AN: Any fears about the BC?

Well, I used to be really tomboyish and I knew walking around with a low cut wouldn’t really help matters. However, I knew at the back of my mind that I could do braids if I wasn’t comfortable with my appearance.

AN: What has your experience been?

It’s been an interesting journey, I wish I had started earlier to be honest. I like the versatility that comes with being natural plus I’ve upped my make up game too so I don’t feel intimidated/feel like a youngster when my hair is out.

AN: What was/is your biggest fear about going Natural?

Twists outs

My hair not growing

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

Definitely the Long Haul

AN: Do you have any hair regimen you stick to?

Even though I’ve been natural for a while now, I only started following a regimen this year after attending NITC8. This is my regimen:

* Co-wash once a week with my Simple/Giovanni Smooth as silk/Herbal Essences Hello Hydration conditioner

* Deep condition once a month with the Organic Root Stimulator Hair Mayonnaise that my mum uses

* Protein treatment when I feel like with the product at the Natural Hair Salon in my estate

* Shampoo twice a month with my Giovanni Smooth as silk Shampoo or Elucence Volume Clarifying shampoo

* LOC method before I cornrow at night and then I massage castor oil into my edges in the morning

* My spray bottle has a mixture of water, glycerine, conditioner, extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil, sweet almond oil and tea tree oil. My frequency of spraying it depends on how my hair feels

* There are some tweaks being made to my routine though, I’ve never tried an Apple Cider Vinegar rinse or used Rhassoul clay or done a protein treatment with food stuff like avocado and eggs, will do so soon to see if they make a difference.

AN: Whats your go-to protective style? 

Box Braids or Kinky Twists but I don’t do them as often as I used to, I really don’t like hair on my neck especially with the heat in Lagos. My go- to style is a puff though, many variations of the afro puff.

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

I brush them off because as my hair grows longer and fuller, people tend to admire it more. Plus, it’s my hair, on my head, what I do to it is my business and not theirs tbh.

AN: What’s your must have product and accessory?

Hmm, it’s hard to say one so I’ll say a few.

Must have product is probably my spray bottle, eco-styler with argan oil, black Jamaican castor oil and my ceecee’s curls whipped shea butter

My must have accessory is a stretchy band, bows and my satin bonnet. (I didn’t use a Satin Bonnet for about 3 months because I had lost 2 so I was punishing myself, I didn’t realise the damage I was doing to my hair with this so-called punishment o!)

Afro

AN: Whats you advice to anyone planning to ditch relaxers?

Go for it, the results will surprise you. You only live once, might as well give Natural hair a try.

Thank you for your time.

P.S: If you want to get featured kindly read this post and email to manematters@africanaturalistas.com with the the subject as ''Mane Matters" and you will be gotten back to. Thank you!