5 Things I learnt at the Nigerian Natural Hair and Beauty show | NNHB recap
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I attended the #NNHB2016 show on Saturday, 19th of November. Yup! Look who's becoming a social butterfly!
Just kidding. This weekend promises to be full of shows that involve my bed and I.
Just kidding. This weekend promises to be full of shows that involve my bed and I.
As you know, I recently went natural in September (I mentioned it here) after transitioning since January 2016. Or was it February? I seem to be unable to keep track of these things. Having natural hair is still quite new to me so I was actually excited about this show.
Whilst thinking up a way to blog about this event, I realized the show was quite informative and left with a fuller head that day. However, seeing as I was very hungry & tired, it was hard to recall anything at the end of the show. When asked what I had learnt, I remember mumbling something about "4c hair needing butters and creams."
So, here's what I learnt in a more coherent manner:
But first, a recap...
As is my usual manner these days, I was late. I'm not even going to bother making excuses. By the time I got there, the workshop was in full swing but to get to place it was holding, I had to pass the exhibition area. On my way, I saw:
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And other cool stuff.
So on to the lessons:
1. I know Nothing.
Literally!
Okay maybe not nothing, but still! I thought myself quite knowledgeable until I attended this show. At first I was confused because so much information to process in so little time. But I caught on eventually. I think.
I learnt that I still have a lot to learn and that's what made me pay close attention.
2. It's not "just hair".
Normally, when people would rave about "wash days", I'd be like bruh. Relaxed people wash their hair too you know? Ain't none of them talking about days they wash their hair and you know, at the end of the day, is it not just hair?
But I think I get it now.
They're natural hair enthusiasts and are quite passionate. For someone like me who had her hair relaxed since she was but two years old, growing hair of a different texture is an adventure.
I actually went natural because I was getting bored with my hair. I didn't feel like cutting or dyeing my hair so I decided to go natural for something different. and also to see what the fuss was about. And now, some how, I find myself talking about twist outs, finger coils and length retention.
There's a community of hair lovers and people out there who take this stuff seriously that I never even knew existed.
3. I might not be dyeing my hair anytime soon.
The initial plan was to dye my hair blue the minute it was long enough but for some reason, I was stalling. I learnt that dyed hair requires way more care than I'm ready for right now and I just can't deal with unhealthy hair. I'd rather cut it off.
Ijeoma Eboh (the speaker above) talked about hair colour, dyes and Hair care. After learning the types of hair colour (temporary, semi-permanent, demi-permanent & permanent), I think I'll be getting the demi-permanent hair colour some time in the future as it lasts for only 12 washes.
4. The typical standard of Beauty is a veil of glamour.
In this day and age I mean.
When a person isn't particularly glammed up, certain assumptions are made about the person and sometimes, said person could even be dismissed, seen as irrelevant. But that's a story for another day.
I learnt to be more open-minded. Just because something doesn't fit into one's expectations doesn't make it any less of what it is. There are different kinds of beauty.
5. To be free of hairxpectations.
I've heard many a people talk about having 4c (coily) hair while they expected 3c (curly)hair. Or maybe it's all You Tube's fault?
I learnt to just take everything as it comes, dry, short, coily, ends that look relaxed for some strange reason, and embrace it all. But I'd still like hair long enough to be packed into a bun. No, I'm not complaining but it's my default hairstyle and I feel stressed without it.
Oof. Another long post. Sorry there were little to no pictures but it was already a wordy post. Why bombard it?
Pictures of me via @graysbibi
Event pictures via Gracey. Check out her review here
Full outfit post on what I wore coming up on Monday so stay tuned.
Also, how has your hair journey been so far?
This question is to #allthepeople- relaxed, natural, texlaxed, etc.
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12 comments
Seems like the NNHB was pretty informative going by your post as well as Wumi's....blue really? Lol... I definitely wanna experiment with my hair colour so far I've alone ever had Black and Brown hair, but ever since I lost my Afro, I've been thinking of experimenting with colours, do all these tips apply to us too? And what is texlaxed?
ReplyDeletequirksandoutfits.wordpress.com
I think Texlaxing is like relaxing your hair without it really relaxing? I'm not quite sure. I think they use a texturizer or something.
DeleteCurrently imagining you with a blonde afro, lol.
That t-shirt!!!! With the afro'd lady! LOVES IT!
ReplyDeleteI think you learned quite a bit. I'm still of the opinion that it's just hair, but that's my personal stance. Although if anyone asked me to relax my hair, I would ask, "After 10 whole years?!?!?! Hell no! This is who I am." Hehe, go figure.
Berry Dakara Blog
Whoa. 10 years?!?!? That's a really really really long time. You must be quite informed then.
DeleteI liked this post and I don't think its too wordy! Like Berry I love that t-shirt too.
ReplyDeleteLike you I haven't been able to keep track and I'm pretty sure I've been natural for over a year. I got bored as well, and was curious. There's so much information out there I barely know anything! Taking it seriously as from next year.
Well done social butterfly! Lol.
www.KacheeTee.com
Curiousity, yes!!
DeleteYea, that's what I said while typing this post. I've realized I'm perfectly fine this way, can't stress. lol.
That shirt!
ReplyDeleteBeauty standards mean nothing to me anymore. I've met way too many Gorgeous personalities that didn't come dolled up
www.middleclassnigeriangirl.wordpress.com
So true!!
DeleteThe part about knowing nothing is totally me! I just know my hair is sha growing so no problem LOL. Post that sexy outfit so we can drool.
ReplyDeletewumituase.wordpress.com
Drool! Hahahhahahahahahahahah!
DeleteI enjoyed reading this even though I'm not a naturalista. It really isn't easy. Lol. I might still cut my hair just cause I want to look different and maybe, just maybe go natural. I have really stubborn hair. Lol.
ReplyDeleteWww.laitanbee.com
Okay! I enjoyed the post. Im a naturalist, but sometimes i find it hard to Really have time for the hair so i just do tiny twists and leave it for about 2 weeks, thereabout. But in d process, i wash and condition. Im loving every bit of having my natural hair. And id need to know when any other event for natural hair is coming up. Thanks
ReplyDelete