What exactly is my hair care responsibility?
The fact is that most
of us grew up with other people taking care of our hair. In
Nigeria where labour can be cheap, getting someone to wash and style your
hair can be easy. Our mothers might have been the ones to wash our
hair but most times than not the responsibility of styling and maintenance was someone else's job. This sort of slipped in as a habit and now that we
are older, a lot of us are still over dependent on hair stylists who sometimes know very little about afro-hair care.
I have met women who think it is tight fisted or broke ladies who wash their hair by themselves. Its no wonder why a lot of us actually rock severe 'iya iyabo' like it is a style that has always being in season.
If you can give yourself a bath each day, then please
work up liver to take some responsibility for your hair.
Since we all know that a lot of our hair stylists know next to nothing about kinky or
permed hair it is our responsibility to:
1. Educate them or direct them on what to do with our hair, and
2. Take proper care of our hair first before letting them style it.
To elaborate more on this, two extremely laid back naturals have given me the permission to share the error in their ways.
ELN #1: Ms P
I
met Ms P in 2012 and we have stayed in touch since then (you know how
naturals connect easily).
Three weeks ago, she called me to
come style her hair. We agreed on a date, which was tight for both of
us, but knowing how our schedules where we decided to stick to
the plan. On our appointment I was so disappointed to find her with damp hair that was tightly coiled at the roots because it was not properly stretched. We met at 12:00pm and she was to go to work by 2:00pm!! Her excuse was that she came back very late from work the previous day
and could only wash her hair early that morning. Harmattan had gone so there was no way she could have air dried her hair and be ready for our appointment by 12:00pm.
We attempted to
quickly blow dry her hair but when I started braiding, the
roots did not look neat at all (sorry, I forgot to take a picture)
roots did not look neat at all (sorry, I forgot to take a picture)
Solution:
Instead
of braiding and leaving her with rough hair, as it was not my fault (na
so our hair stylists dey reason na) I decided to
smooth her hair and thread it so that when next we meet styling
would be easier on both parties.
RESULTS
ELN #2: My Sister
Believe it or not this really is my sisters hair. Yes, all four of us seem to have different hair textures but that is no excuse for why her hair looks the way it does.
Now,
this yeye girl decided to wear her hair out like Resane Babalwa of
Sisterhood. When she got back home, she did not moisturise and braid or
even thread to keep the kinks protected....no....not my sister, she went
straight to bed like that. I refused to wake her up because I have this
suspicion that I make my sisters hair lazy. They take care of their when
in school but when they are around me, its like they don't even try.
Its seems like my 'hair talk' is only to be applied in school and never at home.
Back
to my madam, by the next morning, I had to restrain myself from
telling her what to do but by evening I couldn't take it any more. I
sat her down, sprayed on some water, patiently detangled, and braided
her hair. The funny part is that detangling was not as difficult as I
expected. I then proceeded to give her the LumoNaturals henna mix
treatment I had promised her.
This child needs to start paying me, because she keeps saying "when you are here nko? why should I bother?"
No be her fault sha, there are dishes I do not eat until she is around:)
Why are my stressing both ladies?
Simple, I have told them times without number to take care of their hair before sitting down for me or anyone else to style their hair. Why?
1.
Time: When we refuse to take proper care of our hair, we spend a
lot of time trying to smoothing out kinks that could have taken us a
few minutes to stretch.
2. Knots and Breakage: The results
of poorly maintained natural hair. Keep the knots away by properly
detangling and stretching natural hair after washing and before sleeping
(when you wear the fro out)
3. Slow growth: Your hair would take a longer time to get to your desired length if it keeps breaking off due to neglect.
4.
Wastage: I had to take four trips to Ms P's, no thanks to
her care free attitude towards her hair. I mean, she could have washed
her hair days before I came. Abi? (one love Ms P :))
5.
Frustration: Unkempt natural hair can frustrate both you and the hair
stylist - who might know very little about your hair type and its needs.
Keep those tears at bay, take care of ya hair ya self :)
6.
Cost: Both of this ladies are my people, but if they were clients best
believe I will charge them double for their negligence.
My Opinion...
While
it might be someone else's job to style your hair, it is your job to take proper care of it. Know your hair texture and what it responds to. With the knowledge at your finger tips it will be easy for you to tell others
what you want instead of complaining.
"While it might be someone else's job to style your hair, it is your job to take proper care of it."
ReplyDeleteTruth! Taking care of your hair is what you should do between salon appointments.
Gbam! You talk the correct words: between- salon - appointments. That's when a lot of us neglect our hair the most and then blame the resulting damage on a person or technique.
DeleteAh my sis does like yours o! She only became really interested in her haircare when she started getting compliments...lol! But I know how much hair she wouldn't have lost when I went kamikaze on damaged ends. Snip snip snip.
ReplyDeleteSharing this post!
Lol...we need to leave these girls to suffer small so that they will learn lesson ^_^
DeleteThanks for sharing :)
Excellent post.
ReplyDeleteNice post!! Howeva, sb lyk me who lives in a small town in ondo-state don't have access to Natural stylist lyk u, don't knw hw 2 mke my own hair and don't have access to natural hair product, can't but b a lazy natural :( . I need help!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteHi Namesy. Don't mean to intrude but I can't help but disagree with your comment. First of all, you may not necessarily need a 'natural stylist' but if you take care of your hair, it would be much easier for a normal stylist to handle with proper directions from you (be fussy,if you must, it's your hair).
DeleteSecondly, knowing how to make/style your own hair is progressive from the easy peasy 'packing' and twisting to the more intricate styles and you can learn most if not all of it online with a little dedication.
Third, even if you can't access 'products', I'm a firm believer in DIY and mixing up stuff. You can use online recipes or craft some of yours. I'm sure there are natural foods and items reputed to be good for hair in your area. Research them, find out what makes them good, the pros n cons and find a niche for them in your regimen.
You may not have it all but you can have a lot. Practice makes perfect. No excuses.