Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie on Black Hair

I’m in bed(yay) on my day off work(more yay). I’ll be honest I’m not intending to leave my room for a good couple of hours. I got my snacks, food and portable heater. I’m living the life!

A while ago I heard a future bride discussing whether or not it is possible  to have a natural hairstyle on her wedding day. In my head I was infuriated. How could she debate whether or not it was possible? If you choose to go for hair extensions, it’s your choice but it is definitely a possibility. In the light of day, I remembered that it wasn’t this ladies fault.

One of my favourite authors, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, is about to release a book I am super happy about. The novel ‘Americanah’ has taken the hair debate out of the black arena and made it a global political issue.On Channel 4, The New Yorker and the Ted Conference. Gosh, I love this woman.

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: Photographed by Akintunde Akinleye

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: Photographed by Akintunde Akinleye

I have heard younger girls being taught that in order to have success in a high powered careers afro hair is ill-advised? Is this is the legacy we are leaving? There is an impression that a natural texture is ‘less than’, ‘too eccentric’, ‘not professional’ etc etc. Sorry but what??!! What happened to breaking through stereotypes and being the change, not the problem. More importantly as a Christian I can’t help but wonder, where is God’s role in all of this? If you believe in God, surely He is the operating ingredient in our success. Hopefully people see the Creators work in our job interviews, not just our Brazilian………extensions.

We speak of being modern women, but contradict ourselves by agreeing and conforming with those who judge us by our hair. If God knows the future and destined us to attain to higher heights, surely He created in us all that we need. Choose your hair style, ANY hairstyle, because you like it. Not to cover up a beautiful natural work.

As far as I’m concerned, this debate is not over.

Hype about Americanah:

The Telegraph

Bella Naija

The Guardian

PS: Chimamanda if your reading, coffee sometime? I’ll even pay!

Basic black natural hair care?

The thing is natural black hair is a lot more fragile than it looks. People look at an Afro and reckon than that it is as strong and powerful as the feeling it gives off. The truth is the curlier the black hair type the more fragile it actually is. A little over 2 years ago I ‘went natural’ and stopped chemically straightening(perming) my hair. I had no idea how happy it would make me feel. I also had no idea what in the world I was doing.

It has taken me 22 of my years on this earth to realise I know nothing at all about my hair. This year I want to learn more about my hair. I started doing what everybody does, Googling and You-tubing. Unfortunately, I have the tightest curl type with rare friends in this community!  Very few sources talk about my hair type.

I have a similar problem with skin care, nobody talks for the people living with a history of eczema. Nobody seems to talk for the people who have annoyingly sensitive skin. And if I do happen to find great reviews, the products they are talking about aren’t available in the UK! So in the light of this, I have decided to be that person. From now on, if I find a product I’ll be sharing it and telling you my honest opinion. 

I thought I’d share this today. If you ever wanted to de-mystify black hair care, this just did it. Plain and simple. I wish I’d seen this 2 years ago.