Aminah grew up under the shadow of her mum’s natural hair. Actually, keeping the hair is a norm in her household. It is something that is highly valued and respected, and her mum believes that African women are really blessed to have such hair.
“I wear my hair in an Afro because I think it expresses exactly who I am and where I come from”. Those are the exact words her mum responds with everytime she is asked why she hasn’t relaxed her hair.
Aminah loves to watch her mum talk about her hair, her natural afro hair. She loves the way her mum beams with excitement, one would think she gets paid for creating awareness for the afro hair.
“In my own opinion, I think keeping the hair all natural is a waste of time!” the fruitseller, Lydia, said to Amina’s mum on a saturday when they went shopping for food stuffs.
“Why do you think so?” her mum queried.
” First, it is stressful and challenging. I will have to spend hours detangling before one can even comb the hair. With the way things are here in Lagos, everybody knows that time is money. Who wants to spend 2 hours taking care of hair?? And it is expensive too. Last time I priced a moisturizer in the supermarket for 4,000 naira, and that was after begging the attendant. I had to leave eventually. So, I just see it as waste of time and money!” Lydia concluded.
“Oh well, the thing is that there are ways to take care of the natural hair with ingredients that you can find in your kitchen. But most people don’t know that. Our hair is very unique so it needs a different kind of care but with patience and consistency you will get to love it and rock it!”, her mum said.
“So mum, what ingredients are we applying to our hair today?” Aminah asked when they got home later.
“Just four simple ingredients!” her mum said with a smile.
It is no news that the natural hair movement is on the trend list, almost every black woman is doing this – even black men have joined the movement, an example is Adekunle Gold the sade crooner. Although they make it look easy and admirable, taking care of the natural hair is a huge task! It is not only time consuming but it gets tiring, the emotional and physical struggles a naturalista goes through isn’t talked about enough. Imagine investing lots of time and resources in your hair and it doesn’t turn out the way you want, that can be disappointing.
The bigger challenge is that not many people understand everything about the natural hair.
Many women believe that they need to get expensive products for their natural hair but that isn’t entirely true.
Check out this 4 amazing haircare ingredients that has been proven to be beneficial for the natural hair:
1. EGGS
Regular use of eggs on hair imparts ample nourishment, infusing dull hair with a healthy shine. Eggs help preserve hair’s natural oils, unlike shampoos which usually strips them away.
2. HONEY
Breakage is one of the most common hair woes that most of us deal with on a daily basis. You’ll be glad to know that one of the benefits of using honey on hair is that it reduces breakage. Honey is an emollient which helps seal moisture in the hair, thereby keeping it smooth and conditioned.
3. COCONUT OIL
Is there any thing this miraculous oil can’t do?
The vitamins and fatty acids in coconut oil helps nourish your scalp and penetrates the cuticle of the hair thereby making your hair healthier, thicker and longer.
4. ALOE VERA
Aloe vera contains proteolytic enzymes which repairs dead skin cells on the scalp. It also acts as a great conditioner and leaves your hair all smooth and shiny. It promotes hair growth, prevents itching on the scalp, reduces dandruff and conditions your hair.
With these four simple ingredients, you are on your way to having that adorable hair you have always wanted.
Let us know what you think about these ingredients in the comment section below
