Stella Saba's Natural Hair Story

My name is stella Saba and I have. Been natural for almost two years now. I did not do the big chop, all I did was trim the relaxed part, tho I was scared because automatically my hair became Afro, was unable to get it into a pony tail as I used to, then I did not even know my hair type, was still a leaner. In fact I did not know how to twist, my hair. My sister had to always do it for me,
But as time went on I got to realise that'

1-I had the 4c hair which by the way is the most hated hair among the natural hair community, because it is seen as ugly, dirty, not good looking, no curls, and nappy
2-natural hair is as expensive as buying human hair lol
3-you need to have patience when growing natural hair, there is no short cut to growing long natural hair
3-DIY products you need for natural hair is what we already have in our kitchen.  Funny enough but it's the truth examples are fruits ,all kinds of fruits and oils, and through there you can learn more on DIY natural hair products
4-learn to love your hair
 Hair especially for those with type 4 hair

 I did not have a hard time accepting my 4c hair, reason is Because I have always loved my hair right from the get go, but it was so sad to watch videos on YouTube about ladies who hate their type 4c hair and read articles relating to such issues also

One of my favourite styling tips is the twist out or just the mini twist, I love it so much because it's very simple to learn, it was the first hair style I learnt while learning about, my natural hair, and as time went on I began to watch lots and lots of YouTube videos to learn more about the different types of hair styles, that will fit my type of hair, and how to take care of my hair. But sometimes not everything you watch on YouTube even if it the same exact hair you have with the person. Sometimes you just have to be creative and be you own perfect stylist lol, especially in a country like Nigeria where wifi is a huge problem ,most times I just go on Instagram and hash tag the hair style I want and do and also be creative about it

Those with the type 4c hair always have a problem ,especially when it comes to products ,some people buy the most expensive products for their hair and at the end the hair will not grow or sometimes takes forever to grow ,it's always hard when you watch videos on YouTube and see all this big youtubers with brand name hair products, and you begin to spend your last kobo to get the same products just to achieve the same hair style, from my own experience, too much hair products in your hair is just not good, and having natural hair in a country like Nigeria it's a huge issue ,and very expensive

For example I know this lady who I watch her video a whole lot on YouTube, she uses all kinds of brand name hair products, but her hair still remains the same but sometimes people don't use products to grow hair but to maintain it, I'm a living proof that you use what you have ,your hair will still grow, I hardly use brand name products, except when my hair is shedding, aside that I use my local naija Shea butter .

My favourite hair products is the cantu Shea leave in conditioner, does not work with some people's hair but it works with mine, and also the Africa Shea butter, I use that also,am not a product junkie am the type that if you don't have money to buy the brand name natural hair products, you work with the ones you have. Pretty expensive to buy natural hair products, so most times I just use my normal conditioner and shampoo, the more people go natural, the more the products gets expensive

But before I go further I just wanted to let you all know that before I embarked and even after I embarked on my natural hair hair journey. My hair use to break comb, was pretty hard and for the fact that my hair was thick and full like a jungle, which made it even harder to comb through ,so I came up with something at that time I did not know was even a method to make your hair soft , so below are the methods and ways I used to make my hair soft

1-section my hair into 4 parts
2-apply any type of conditioner to each section and comb
3-leave in for like 30 mins
4-then shampoo and condition as usual
5-mix honey and any kind of oil, while hair is still wet
6-section hair into 4 parts
7-apply the mixed honey and oil into every section
8-leave in for 15 mins and rinse out
9-then style as usual

Also avoid anything that has to do with heat ,like blow drying and straightening your hair always. Breaks the hair, and if for once you want to use heat on your hair make sure you use heat protector spray, or you can try the Africa. Threading method. Leave it for hours or days and when you take the thread out your hair will be stretched

P.S
The methods to make my hair soft is what I do every Saturday to prepare my hair for the week , or you can do it every two weeks ,but when people see my hair they think I performed some kind of magic or use some miracle hair products.
Like I said earlier, natural hair needs patience, love and care. The way you care for your human hair is the same way you will care for your. Natural hair, even give it more attention

My protective hair styles, most times I get my idea from YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and Google, but most times when I see the style I want and it's a type 2 or 3 hair that was used to get that style I become creative. Now am a fan of the braid out and I turn it into a very beautiful updo, also braids, weave but protective hair styles does not necessarily have to be weave or braids but can be when. You style your hair and not able to disturb it for days.

I hope this helps a lot especially to those with the type 4c hair.

I also have a YouTube channel where I do video tutorials, you can connect with me more on my Instagram page.

Instagram/Twitter @mz_saba
YouTube stella saba
Facebook stella saba