I Fear Nigerian Hair Stylists

 I can do better than most

Two weeks ago, I decided to go to a salon to get my hair done. I argued with myself about this decision but arrived at the conclusion that not every stylists is as bad as I think they are. Maybe I would be lucky to find a stylist with a great personality this time; someone ready to learn new things. I would tell her what to do, she'll learn very quickly and I would introduce her to other Naturals. Fat chance!

 So I got my soft kinky attachment (extensions) and went out to look for a young stylist hoping that she would be understanding and patient with my kinks.

As I stepped into my salon of choice, the apprentice was really nice and ran out to call her Madam. Her 'Madam' was a pretty young lady with very good manners. Hmmm....*fingers crossed*

We hassled the price, I bought a coke and got comfortable. The moment I took down my scarf and undid the bun underneath, the complaints began; “Aunty your hair plenty o” . I said “Thank you. Na why I want big twists”.  

Twists after I was through

I described Havanna twists and she seemed to understand me. I gave them a sectioning comb, told them not to comb my hair, got comfortable and allowed the 'professionals' do their thing. Before I knew it, I felt a painful tug. 

“Yay!! Sister wetin na?” I screamed. And she said  something along  the lines of ”You know we can't plait it well if it is not straight”  

 “Oya give me comb.” I collected the comb, detangled my hair and focused on them instead of Africa Magic.

After all the pleading and complaints, my hair was finally done. She told me to add more money because my hair wasn’t what she expected 0_0. Without much talk, I paid her, with the knowledge that she won’t be seeing my break light again.

When I got home, I looked critically at what she had wasted my time doing and saw that some twists were much bigger than the others while some were already unraveling. Annoyed that I had wasted my time and money, I proceeded to redo most of the crown area. The hair at my edges was another concern so I had to patiently redo that as well. I then trimmed some of the fly away extensions and dipped the ends into hot water. Comfortable with my hand work, I put my hair in a bun and went on to do other things. Little did I know that more was to come.

 Already looking rough :(

By day 3 the twists at the back of my head - which I refused to undo because of the pain- became a major concern. I felt sores at the back of my head and at the hair line there were bumps!!! Chei wetin I don do so o? All because I did not want  to seat before a mirror and section my hair myself. All this wahala for what?

 I applied Shea butter daily and by Friday last week my hair line was clear. The moment I got home from work (10:00pm that Friday) I made sure I took the whole thing down. Oh, the relief I felt...

 

After take down

On Saturday I checked for anymore sores and found nothing. As I detangled, I thought about my poor diet during the month of February and the evil stylist; I feared that my hair would be coming out in chunks when I was done. But glory hallelujah the mane was still intact. 

Detangling in fear

Lesson Learnt: I would not allow anybody I don’t have a relationship with to touch my hair again!! Nigerian stylists have taken me to the hospital before and I don’t think I can have a repeat of that. The annoying thing is that you can not report them to anybody and they won’t pay for your bills. The best you can get from them is “Aunty abeg na…no vex. No worry, e go finish. Sorry  abeg.” Mcheewwww…if only sorry could cure alopecia.

Na so the story end. Now, I’m in five chunky braids and in two weeks I would be putting in kinky twists for the rainy season by MYSELF. Even though it takes me a whole week to finish, I'll keep at it. I think that is a better option than visiting a salon and going bald. Abi? 

The styles in the first two pictures were done by yours truly so I see no reason why I have to pay to look like gollum.

Anyone with a similar experience? Please share and tell us how you handled it.