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If you live in a country like Nigeria, which has one of the strongest weaves and extensions culture in the world, you will understand how wearing natural hair to the workplace can be a struggle.
Berry has mentioned that a particular bank in Nigeria placed a ban on Natural hair, and I have done a post, presenting tips on how to wear your natural hair in the workplace without losing your mind.
We carried out a one-year poll on this topic, and the final results are in. See for yourself below. Again, I will mention that 76% of our traffic comes from search engines, so I therefore believe that most of the visitors are naturals, transitioning, curious about natural hair, or very interested in healthy hair care.
The majority mentioned that they would, and already wear their natural hair to work, while the next category would have worn it if the company policy would allow, amounting to a total of 87%.
It is so sad that 3% still think our hair is untidy, despite the fact that they visited this blog, but at least, that small percentage show that we have made a little progress. 9% think it doesn't look official, but I believe this category are prone to changing their mind sooner or later.
Out of the calls I receive from women about natural hair care, majority of the are concerned about how to make their natural hair look neat and suitable for the workplace. This gives me great joy, because a couple of years ago, the thought would hardly cross any woman's mind, apart from those who do it for religious reasons.
Again, like I said when I analysed the natural hair bride poll, even though we still have a long way to go, we have definitely come a long way.
… And this is what I call PROGRESS
I'd wear an afro everyday, if I could. Of all the styles I've tried, the good old fro is my favourite. It's just so ridiculously impractical, I can't even start. I remember reading the article about the certain bank banning natural hair and being so pissed off. I wore my hair out a couple of times, at work, (the last time I was in Nigeria)and got some really positive responses, even though I was going through what I thought was a bad hair day. One woman asked if my hair was relaxed?? That was the only weird hair related thing of that day. And I've seen lots of older women wear natural hair in professional spaces; mostly of the TWA variety.
ReplyDeleteSometimes I think we naturals can be a little too hard on ourselves when it comes to looking "presentable". The majority of us are new to this ( 1-3 years in getting used to a new hair texture is really nothing) and aren't used to seeing ourselves with our natural hair texture, in all its glory. I'm learning to come to terms with frizz, for example- and will ditch curl creams.
Sad, about the ban, right? Yes, I agree that many people are not use to seeing a different texture.
DeleteI think that the 3% may have said it's untidy because you said AFRO, which typically is the hair "unstyled."
ReplyDeletehttp://berrydakara.blogspot.com
But everyone cannot agree naa. The 3% is still fair.
DeleteFunny enough, just a week or so ago, I met someone who said natural hair isn't professional. This was because she had a hard time styling it and ultimately gave up and relaxed her hair.
ReplyDeleteLooll. So she just used the 'not professional' term to cover up her inadequacies, right?
DeleteNot professional? This is the 1st time I'm hearing this, come to think of it I have seen some unprofessional weaves in my time :-). I wear my hair out a lot especially during summer, just like every hair type, there are days I style it well, some not so well. Funny I get most of the positive comments from my Caucasian colleagues, the nearest to a compliment I've gotten from another African was "well you have pretty face so you can do whatever to your head????, well I'm taking it as a compliment. It has to be a change of mindset for our own to start seeing natural hair as a blessing...,
ReplyDeleteYes. It has a lot to do with mindset. We need to change our orientation, so we can see beauty for what it really is.
DeleteHmm, could it be that a lot of the 73% are located outside of Nigeria? I participate in polls on this blog and i'm not in Nigeria, so my poll wouldn't count.
ReplyDeleteI think those who think its unprofessional are newbies who just needs some time to get to know their hair and the politics behind it.
www.coilsandglory.com
You are right. A lot of our readers are actually outside Nigeria. Although Nigeria comes second on the list. The difference between United states, which is first, and Nigeria is sooo wide. When one aggregates all the sources, Nigeria's traffic is really small, when compared to the total.
Delete