‘‘Well, ladies, we African women, are late to the hair party’’…. Enchanting Naturals.
If I could get a dollar for every time I have addressed this question with clients, I should have some good cash stacked up for a cozy organic vacation in some naturally serene place. OK, jokes aside, lets straight down to it.
Truth be told it can seem overwhelming initially when you walk into a mall and come across dozens of products all screaming organic, herbal, natural or ethnic and fighting for the money in your purse. But ladies we all know not every product carrying that tag is good for African hair so that scraps out that argument.
Secondly, the prizing of the above listed products. I remember when I first went natural in 2014, and decided to do some shopping. Then I just left a job with a multi-national company and was expecting another with the Nigerian Government in Abuja, the nation’s capital. Due to the fact that I was so certain of a new, higher paying job, I splurged over 55,000 buying natural hair products. From shampoos to conditioners to gels, I bought it all. I even purchased Molasses, liquid Amino and Greek yogurt because I was then busy doing the maximum hydration method. More on that in another blog post.
Any ways needless to say, I grew my hair long not from my zillion products but with the consistent dedicated care I gave to it. Sure the products must have helped in one way or the other, that’s their job after all. However, despite this huge spent in less than three hours of hair shopping, my answer to the above question is a big NO. NATURAL HAIR IS NOT EXPENSIVE AND HERE’S WHY.
Firstly, women all over the world are known to splurge on their beauty. Yes men do it too but hey, we know how this story goes. Women of other races, Indians, Chinese, French, Spanish and so on have for decades practiced what we are now getting serious with. They have been doing hot oil treatments, deep conditioning treatments, clay rinses, and so on. Popular Indian-Hollywood Actress Priyanka Chopra Jonas once mentioned how her Grand Mother used to force her down to do her hot oil treatment. She comments on being thankful for it now in her thirties and credits her shiny locks to those childhood hair beauty routines. In contrast many of us can probably remember our Grandmothers forcing us down to get our hair permed. Or combed like it’s some aggressively and without love that the headache drives us to sleep early that day.
Likewise, in adulthood we simply followed the tradition and replaced our mothers and Grandmother’s hands with that of the saloons who quite frankly did worse because they could care less whether we have hair on our heads or not, so long as there’s enough to sew some dandy weavon to. We spent thousands of cash on expensive human hair weaves rather than purchasing authentic products for our hair and giving it the tender organic love it deserves. Needless to say, ladies, we African women, are late to the hair party. You might want to let that perspective sink in a bit.
Then top it off with the reality that mineral oil, dimenticone, parabens and all the waa waa ingredients we are encouraged to avoid as naturals are bad for everyone. Whether you’re Natural, Relaxed, Asian, American, Native American. Regardless of ethnicity, bad ingredient is bad ingredient and natural ingredient remains the best. Period.
MOVING FORWARD COMPARED WITH STAYING STUCK
So now you’re natural. Compared to buying relaxer kits and keeping up with the sales of expensive weaves, you now stock a few wigs, buy some legit products and pamper your hair. On several occasions you alternate CONFIDENTLY between wearing your hair in a fro, styling it beautifully and creatively, using braids as protective styles and using weaves a few times in between. Meanwhile your self-confidence and esteem is blooming, your hair is blooming, and off course your health is also blooming because this is largely a chemical free journey.
I’d say ladies, this is worth it and no, its not too expensive. Your hair is after all a part of your body and deserves to be taken care of as well. Moreover, the illusion that you need 15 products or more before your natural hair can thrive is just that-an illusion. With 4/5 legit right necessities, your natural hair/hair care journey not only begins but it thrives.
So what are your thoughts? Because my perspective is that natural hair is not expensive but we only perceive it as being so, because we are late to the hair party.
Ready to get your hair party started affordably? Check our shop session for the legit affordable natural products to achieve this or leave a comment if you need a specialized list to make it easier for you to choose.
With love always,
Written by Enya for Enchanting Naturals.
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