By Anino Aganbi

The beauty of every woman, they say lies in the hair. The African woman takes pride in the uniqueness that is found in carrying natural, well groomed hair. For some, it is a sign of our identity while others may carry their hair in its natural state either because it is fashionable or for a whole lot more reasons.

Natural hair supporters go one step further to say natural hair is a nod to being a real African but what does that really have to do with being black? Are people who perm or straighten their hair being put in a different box from those who go natural? To a lot of people, it is a thing of choice.

Gone are those days when you are mandated to carry a perm because it might be easier to manage or just because it is fashionable. Interestingly enough, the Afro look is coming back in vogue. So, watch out ladies. Eyitemi Ogunsakin, a mother of one spoke on the issue, saying, “I decided to keep my hair natural because hair relaxers were not working for me and it was difficult for me to get it relaxed. So I felt the best thing for me was to cut off the permed hair.

Although, there are some hairstyles I see on others that fit them and long for such but because of my natural hair which I dreded, I can’t do them. The natural hair is not open to you fixing weave-ons that you can leave a bit of your hair out. Asides that, it is very easy to carry. It takes a lot of money to handle.

There are people who buy a lot of stuffs to maintain their natural hair, there are a lot more ways to do it. It is time consuming, expensive. For me, because I am on dred-locks, I go to the salon every two weeks to wash my hair and buy some expensive things to take care of my hair. I decided to go natural in 2005 knowing fully well that there is some stigma attached to a woman being on dreds.

I wanted to do it long before I got married. If you want your natural hair to look nice, then I would say it is not cheap. It is the same thing if you want your skin to look good without using a very expensive body cream. So it is really not cheap”.

Mrs Toyin Nwaokolo also aired her views. She states, “I was tired of adding chemicals to my hair and going under the dryer. Besides, natural hair is in vogue. I am enjoying carrying my natural. I do not have any regrets going on my natural hair because you can play around and do all sorts with it.

I have a very soft hair and do not issues with it. I could decide to comb it out, twist it or even pack it. Going on  natural hair is expensive to maintain because you cannot use the same shampoos and treatments as you do with the permed hair. It is more expensive to maintain. I hope to enjoy carrying my hair in its natural state for much longer than I am thinking of”.

Also speaking Paulina Nzeh adds, “I decided to go natural after reading Chimamanda’s “Americana”. Later on, when I started carrying my natural hair, I discovered it was soft and curly and that there was no reason I should have relaxed it in the first place. Retouching just makes it sleek and longer but I really love my hair in its natural state.

Keeping it natural is painful but I do not have any regrets. I do not see myself in the nearest future retouching my hair. I try to wash my hair every two weeks and use coconut oil on it. I also avoid using anything chemical on my hair. The natural is no longer the deeper life thing but the feminine thing.

I do not believe keeping your hair natural is cheaper. I have not been able to give my hair the full treatment it deserves because of money. There are a lot of treatments that can be used for the natural hair and they are all expensive. I was advised against using the normal shampoo as there are shampoos made especially for the natural hair. Maintaining your natural hair to grow longer might actually differ as a result of individuals. I think keeping your natural hair is the way to go but it might be difficult for people with a strong hair texture.