What's THAT on your head?!

Ah! To have a thousand naira for every time I've had that said to me, I'd have... erm a few thousand bucks maybe? lol  Seriously though, when I began wearing my natural hair out, I did get a few odd looks and raised brows, but for the most part, I got and still get a lot of curious, interested and even complimentary questions.

Even when I get the odd screech from a friend ' what is this one again on your head' I laugh and take it all in stride - I am loving my hair journey and for me, the good, bad and scandalous comments all make it that much more interesting.

The worst of the comments have probably come from my mum who one day after seeing my 'wash n go' which I'd painstakingly arranged and picked out; stuck her fingers in my hair and pushed my head back saying 'why in the world have you forgotten to comb your hair! O da bi Kunta Kinte!





She then follows up with 'I don't like it jo' to which I calmly replied that seeing as it was on MY head she really didn't have to worry about not liking it - I liked it just fine which was enough for me. See, the thing is after going through childhood and early adulthood being called names like 'Rojer Ramjet chin' (for my pointed chin) 'Bugs Bunny Feet' (for my flat feet) and 'Letter I' (for my lack of hips and butt in my early 20's) anything my mum has to say these days about how I look goes right over my head.





I did find something someone said to me quite insightful as to how we view ourselves based on our hair styling choices. After admiring my flat twists and 2 strand twists, she went on to say that I must be 'very bold' as it was only bold people who could pull off wearing their natural hair. This really got me thinking - are we all so afraid of what people will say and of being 'different' that we would rather just 'go with the flow' even when we're in dire need of a change? If the simple act of wearing my natural hair out makes me bold, what does that make others?

 I truly don't see myself as being bold - I just realized that I  needed a change to achieve certain goals and went ahead and did what I believed was best at the time.

Which brings me to another incident - 2 friends came into the store one of whom was seriously considering going natural and hadn't had a relaxer in a while. I spoke with her and could tell she was struggling with making a final decision - when I asked her what the problem really was, she said she'd been told if she went natural, she'd look like a monkey because her head was too big! At this point, her friend laughingly joins in 'yes, it's true!' ( I found out later that it was this friend who had told her she'd look like a monkey)

While going natural or continuing to have a relaxer is a personal choice, I find it totally weird - sad almost, that someone would equate having natural hair to looking like an animal- whether as a joke or not. At the end of the day, it is the hair we were born with abi? I haven't seen her since then but I hope she goes on to make a decision either way for herself - regardless of what anyone tries to convince her she'll look like.

On a lighter note - one of my stylists just asked a question - Whether it's true that when pregnant women touch other women's hair, it will most likely break off! She asked me this because according to her, her friend has just been fired from the salon she worked in because she's pregnant and people wouldn't allow her touch their hair *blank stare*

So all my preggie friends and mummies or those who've had their hair styled by a pregnant woman, what say you??

14 comments

  1. Loooooool @ 'O da bi Kunta Kinte'. I had a Fro hawk on last week and I heard the most ridiculous comments, but such things don't faze me. It's great to know you have a blog; been looking for a place where all your products can be viewed.

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    1. Lolllll! Yes o! Afi Kunta Kinte! I have a faux hawk at the moment :) the full range of products are currently being uploaded on our website www.klsnaturals.com. You can have a preliminary look but more stuff is being added on.

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  2. Kemolala,

    Since I'm not so far from you in the hairland status, I can only say "go on soun". I bet I get more stares than you though, at least, you still got hair. All I can say is everyone should do what suits them, be adventurous once in a while and anyway, it's just hair, it will grow back. Abi?

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  3. I'm telling you! India Arie's song comes to mind 'I am not my hair, I am not this skin, I am not your expectations , no.....'

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  4. Your mum's comment made laugh ehn... :)
    I am almost 4 months post relaxer and I am dying to BC. The only challenge is my hubby. I hope he will give me the go ahead to do it. I really don't care what people will say about my looks, I just want healthy hair, and the way my natural hair just curls up anytime water touches it gets me excited about starting this journey.
    Keep on rocking my sista. You have beautiful hair... I didn't think a naija woman could have this kind of texture without being mixed (dudu +oyinbo)... lol

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  5. ooooooooo! I know exactly how you feel in terms of seeing your hair curl up anytime water touches it! Just before I BC'd, I was beyond myself with excitement just looking at how my natural hair responded to water and conditioner.
    Thank you for the compliment too! loll you'd be shocked at the various textures complete dudu's like us have - God sure made us all beautifully different
    Happy Hair Journey!

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  6. I can personally relate to this. Back then in august 2013 when I had a 2 inch twa and wore it in a twist out for an exam. My sit partner was like ''so what is this one called?' It obviously didnt look like dread locs nor like combed out fro...Lol..at least I was happy he didnt ask me ''why'' I was keeping dreads. That would have been a major blow to my hair journey as i would just go n relax my hair ASAP. Gosh, I was such a weakling!

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  7. Awww! Don't be too hard on yourself! - I think most if not all of us, grew our confidence as our hair progressed and we became more comfortable. I'm sure you're rocking your hair like no man's business now!

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  8. I love your mom Kemi lol! The scene is exactly as my mom woulda played it. Lovin' your blog and all the ideas. Warm thoughts, Bunmi

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    1. lollllll. Yes o!!! My wonderful mum. Thanks sweetie xoxo

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  9. I saw you at your shop last week and your chin did not stand out! Not any more than mine anyway, lol

    It took me almost 2 years of thinking about the worst that could happen before I finally went natural, so I was already tired and mentally well prepared. It was annoying though to spend 20-30 minutes combing a twa and my mom would be like "Have you finished?" "Have you combed this hair?"

    At least after criticising, she would proceed to help me comb. And she actually led me to the realisation that I didn't need to comb and comb and comb. I rather needed to save my energy and just do some fluffing and focus on patting down perfectly.

    My friends have been understanding, though, and I'm not one to famz so thankfully, people don't come talk about my hair negatively to my face. :)

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    1. Hehehehe I think my face changes through adolescence and adulthood have kinda made my features 'settle' properly. Bless mums eh? And thank goodness for your friends too. It's always great to have a good support system when you're embarking on something new that is quite personal.
      Hope you stop by again soon! xo

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  10. What hair type do you have???

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    1. Hi! I have a mix of 4a and 4b curls..

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