AN AFRICAN GIRL'S NATURAL HAIR JOURNEY (4C HAIR)

Most black African girls can tell you a story similar to this one. Stories of how they came to learn and take care of their hair. Stories of life pre-internet and how they always wanted their hair to behave and lay straight. This is mine.

I have always had beautiful black hair but I never took care of it when I was younger. All I remember was wanting it to be bone straight and shiny. However, I have kinky 4c hair and the shrinkage and frizz was never my friend.
One thing I am grateful for is the fact that my mother kept me away from relaxers. My dad was also opposed to that idea and for some reason, he did not want me to shave my hair. He even bought me some natural hair oils that he would also use on his hair. My hair was always in cornrows or in an afro. Memories of my mother tugging and plaiting my hair on Sunday afternoons before the school week flood my mind. I had tough hair that would break and bend combs.

When my mother did not know what do with it, she would send me to an auntie's salon and she would wash and blow dry it to the point that it would be long and flowy. I remember people telling me that I had good black hair but growing up with boys, beauty wasn't something I spent too much of my time on. I loved wearing t-shirts, beanies and jeans and never gave any attention to hair. I actually never had any hair products or straighteners. My dad had an afro so I would use his comb to haphazardly comb my hair and attempt to put it in the tightest ponytail or bun.

I went to primary school and the girls with relaxed hair were those from rich families. I remember we would say, " Anne has chemical on her hair. Lucky girl". We had a pool in our school and the relaxed hair would be straight hair when it emerged in the pool. Ours would be a tuft of tangled hair which we would call "steel wool". I hated it! It was only later that I came to know that the coveted relaxers were not all that. They would damage people's hair and the hair would start thining after some time. Texturizing wasn't a thing back then.

When I went to Secondary School, I experienced the biggest hair growth of my life. We were only allowed to style our hair in a ponytail for the whole term which was like 3 months. I went to a very strange school and we did not break for mid term. We did not wash our hair for 3 months. 3 months!

You can imagine the dirt and gunk. Between those three months, we would add layers of oil and product on our hair to keep it shiny. The thing with 4C hair is it starts frizzing and tangling when it is too dry. It also starts flaking and breaking. We could not put any moisturizer on our hair because it would frizz and shrink. So the only solution would be to layer oils and gel on the hair. The gel was a bad idea. I could run my nails through my hair and the nails would have a lot of dirt. I don't know why dirty hair grows so fast. I know some people may argue with me on this but within 4 years, my hair was long when straightened. I also manipulated my hair very minimally and it was always in a bun. The minimum manipulation also helped with the growth and thickness. I managed to get some old pictures.

* I'm the one in blue*

After Secondary School, I went to University and it was my time to try all the hairstyles I had heard about. I experimented and changed my hair all the time. I braided, cornrowed and over straightened my hair. I was blow-drying my hair so much and I never took care of it. The more the smoke from the blowdryer, the better, so I though. My hair started falling off and I got so much heat damage from the straighteners, flat irons and blowdryers that my hair wasn't as long and as full as it was before. I would hop from salon to salon and this was a bad idea. In some Kenyan salons, some people learn by apprenticeship and watching so you may get someone doing your hair but they have never been to any professional school teaching them things they need to know. The result would be that you get someone who does not know how to handle your hair and the results may show. When people are braiding your hair, they pull you from all sides and your edges may suffer. From August 2014 to October, you can see how much hair I lost.
* When the hair had shrunk but it was still healthy*

* The hair was a bit full but on a downward trend. August 2014*

* My hair wouldn't even hold on a ponytail. October 2014

I started watching Youtube videos of black girls like me who had such thick and lengthy hair. I did not know 4c hair would grow past your waist. More than anything, I was not chasing length but I was chasing health. I went through the stress of living on my own and job searching after school. I lost some weight and my hair started falling off.

Hair started thinning. August 2015

Edges started thinning because of braiding and over-styling and snagging on the hair. I'm the one holding wine as always. August 2015

In May 2016, I shaved my hair. There was so much heat damage but my hair had reached a plateau in terms of growth. I wanted to start on a clean slate and so I shaved the sides. This was the second time my hair had been shaved since birth. I had been shaved when I was a few weeks old but that was it.

May 2016
Some months after shaving

I did not shave all my hair because I am pretty petite and I have a small head. I would have looked like such a baby if I shaved all of it. As the sides grew, I also trimmed the front. When I shaved, it was like I pressed the restart button. Before, I would use products labeled hair food with long ingredient lists. I decided to start using oils like castor oil, coconut oil and olive oil. I faithfully use these oils and I can tell you for a fact, my hair has grown like crazy. Within one year of taiking care of my hair, it is now full and it is in a small nice bob. Here's why.

• I trim split ends myself, I deep condition, detangle and use a wide toothed comb.
• I have only used heat on it once.
• I protective style with wigs and crochet braids.
• I do my own hair and visit the salon when I have to. I don't hop from salon to salon.
• I rarely use crazy products. I use shea butter, natural oils etc.
• I wash it weekly or every two weeks.
• I watch lots of videos on Youtube.I educate myself.
• I embrace my hair in it's unruly, coilly state. I love it!
• One thing I plant to improve is my diet. I have eaten very badly in 2017 but I want to change.

Protective style with a wig

Protective style with braids. After taking off the braids, the hair has grown some inches

I am looking forward to hear your hair journey is regardless of what your hair type is. I hope this inspires you to take care of your hair. Cheers to healthy hair growth.

Obviously, in terms of length and thickness, my hair is not where I want it to be but I know in a few months it will be like in the first picture or better!

Dec 2017 frowhawk
Dec 2017 straight