Natural hair in Nigeria... Meet Lola!

Hi Peeps, I'll be posting my styles from yesterday and today as soon as I've had a chance to upload the pictures. In the meantime, I still have all the other regular blog features to post.


So here's this week's Nigerian naturalista, my beautiful cousin Lola.

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I realised recently that most of my family - my sister-in-law, her sister and all my cousins but one who recently fell off the wagon in a fit of delirium (naming and shaming, Funke. Naming and shaming! Just kidding, love you really) - are natural, and most have been for a while. I like to think that it is in no small part due to me (oh, I'm so modest).


Of course, this gives me a huge pool of people to feature in this series, and we'll start with Lola, biggest Kinky Apothecary supporter and almost as obsessed with hair as I am.


Here's her journey so far:

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My name is Lola, My friends call me Flo. 9-5 I work in corporate travel, every other breathing moment, I write poetry and make art. I love animals, horses and dogs especially.

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I am NIGERIAN! A cultural hybrid of sorts, haha. Born in Lagos, but grew up in London, and spent many of my formative years in Hertfordshire. I moved back to Lagos just over 3 years ago. and love it here- despite a lot of madness.

Why I went natural

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I've been Natural since I was about 15 or 16. My mother sent me to boarding school with relaxed hair and I came home with it shaved off and new growth sprouting. It was usually covered in braids so she didn't notice for a little while. My elder sister went natural first, she used to rock a bright red TWA. We always used to giggle at her hair permanently dying our cream leather sofas with splodgy circles of pink!

I have two sisters, and Mum used to relax all our hair. I hated it- it burnt, smelled and turned my hair brittle and brown! My hair isn't the thickest or the strongest so the chemicals really were bad for it. The limper it looked the limper I felt. So I went natural. Getting my curls back liberated me and made me feel more bold. I looked more like "me", not trying to fit in or mimic all my caucasian friends with straight light hair that waved in the breeze- mine was kinky and coily and bounced as I moved.

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My natural hair in Nigeria

Before I moved back to Nigeria, I had absolutely NO idea about how to take care of my hair. I'd buy all sorts of "Afro friendly" products loaded with junk, drag a fine toothed comb through from the roots, lop bits off indiscriminately and pay extortionate amounts to clueless hairdressers. But when I did have my hair out, people thought it was cute or kitsch so I felt encoraged. 

Back in Nigeria, inspired by The Kinky Apothecary and other Naturalistas and Kinksters, I have a much better idea of how to take care of my hair and it's flourishing. Public opinion on natural hair is.... somewhat different here though.

How other people view my hair

Haha! One of my extended family members never tires of telling me "relaxer was invented for a reason". Some people get it, and appreciate me and my hair- some people don't. 

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Usually at work, I'm fine as long as my hair is plaited, twisted or up-done neatly. People tend to wince when I'm in full fro mode. Most often on a Monday morning when 'amebo' and nosey co-workers are fresh form their own salon torture they assault me with questions on when I'm going to "fix my hair" and don't find it funny when I reply that ... I don't think it's broken....

Before I went natural, I thought...

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...It looked like a heckuva lot of work! 

...That natural indigenous Africans and Nigerians did not have manageable hair that coiled instead of knotted unless they were mixed race. 

...That for natural hair to be manipulated, it needed to be drenched in oil and hair creams- seen the jerry-curl jenks family in "Coming to America"? I was petrified of being seen in public with a greasy oil spot halo.

When I did the big chop...

At first I was relieved. Then I was nervous wondering how long it would take my mother to notice.... 

It was more of a subtle transition than a big chop. I rocked afro kinky extensions for so long that by the time my natural hair was long enough to let out, she was used to seeing kinks and curls. Phew!

My “natural hair journey” 

I have definitely fully accepted my natural hair- and I have the most wonderful supportive cousin who has my back/ curls at every turn! 

I love my hair. I really do. I don't have aspirations of super long hair that reaches my bottom, but I do want healthy luscious soft hair that's a cute and manageable length.

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I am sooooo lazy with my regimen, I must do better! I aim to wash once a week (sometimes I go to 2 weeks).

Every two washes I deep condition, this could be anything from a mix of my favorite products or a blend of banana, avocado, lavender and coconut/ palm oil depending on what my hair needs (or what I've got in my fridge that's about to go off!). If I've twisted my hair away in a funky, yet protective, style or wrapped it up in braids, I'll spray it daily (ok, ok, whenever I remember and I'm not rushing off to work) with a mix of bottled water, leave in conditioner and melted shea butter. I learnt how to make banana oil and banana water  from cleaning boiling and cooling banana skins (lots of these in the freezer thanks to my 3 year old nephew Josh) so I use that too- it has a lovely yummy smell.

The natural hair scene in Nigeria

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The Natural hair scene in Nigeria has definately hit a "tipping point"! There are more and more of us running around everyday! It seems that the Kinky Apothecary and co have inspired people to be bold and show what they've grown! There were so few at first, and the whole "educated and cultured ladies have straight hair" society mentality now seems to be falling by the wayside. 


Kinksters are inspiring and emboldening each other. I have a friend whom up until last week I had NEVER seen without a full weave. Both her and her sister keep commenting on my hair and how much they love it (and keep trying to touch it). I bumped into her last week- in full fro mode accessorised with an adorable scarf! She said she's been natural for years- didn't  see the need to relax her hair with a full weave, but never felt bold enough to "show her hair in public in that natural state". Not bold enough, until recently.

Natural in Nigeria vs the world

There is most DEFINITELY a difference between being natural in Nigeria and other places I've lived, worked and visited- but it's more to do with the Nigerian mentality and lack of "boundaries"! Nigerians are very willing to foist their own personal opinions on you. It's not always just about my natural hair, people tell me what they think of the way I dress, about my weight- lack of weight or weight gain- marital status, accent and just about anything else that pops into their head. In England people are a lot more.... polite with their opinions and accepting of things that may not necessarily be the norm. 

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Thanks Flo for doing this without too many threats. I'll send you the N5k later for name-checking us! :)