On Hair and Other Random Things...

Yesterday, after six months,  relaxer touched my hair again. WHEW! I felt so liberated. lol. Seriously, it was hell. Don't ask why I waited so long. I've very good hair, thank God. If not... Anyway, so I was basking in the beauty of my hair again when it suddenly occurred to me that relaxed hair is never appreciated these days. Every body celebrates only natural hair and some go out of hand to make a big deal out of it. Sometime ago, Chimamanda Adichie made a statement about how people with relaxed hair were trying so hard to be like white girls with straight hair. I was just confused. Natural hair is good, quite expensive to manage and may take a lot of time, but it is good. But what anybody does with their hair is their business. Personally, I believe the most important thing is healthy hair. Whether relaxed or natural, your hair should be healthy. Simple. I have very good, healthy and beautiful hair. (I'm a tad obsessed with my hair) I like to see ladies with their teeny weeny afros, it is always very cute but the true tests of natural hair comes when it is long. I know this because I had natural hair until I was about 15. IT WAS HELL. Kai, words can't describe. I felt something close to those previous pains again yesterday. I was relieving the memories. I always threaded the hair or put it in very tiny weaves that would make my delicate scalp swell. Why did I not cut my hair then anyway? So, I admire you natural sisters; your hard-work, patience and dedication to your hair is admirable. If I ever cut my hair, the moment it starts to grow well, I will relax it. By the way, being natural is NOT an excuse to look scruffy. On the other hand, there are many ladies with  extremely cute natural hair, it could make you swoon. My own be say when will relaxer become ridiculously cheap, since many people don't use it anymore? I dey wait am abeg. With all these noise, I only relax my hair twice or at most three times a year. Yesterday was my second time this year and I was happy it was done by a professional.


Speaking of professionals, I was glad and highly impressed at how well she handled my hair. My hair has never received such V.I.P treatment before. It was worth every penny  dollar. Speaking of which, hair is quite an expensive stuff in the US of A. I miss relaxing my hair for free back in Nigeria. My aunt is a professional cosmetologist and hairdresser and we lived together. Living with someone trained to do those things was the absolute best. We sometimes got facials for free. Anyway, thankfully my hair was well done yesterday. She trimmed it and I was happy she did. While she was trimming my hair, I remembered how my aunt always joked that since my hair was so much, it wouldn't hurt to cut some off. Smh. For some unknown reasons, I felt so great after my hair was done, it really can't be explained.

By the way, why are Americans so chatty? And by Americans, I don't mean oyinbos alone or African-Americans alone, I'm talking about people who live here. I mean, it's a great thing. But sometimes, you really just want to be calm and be left alone with your thoughts. But no, children and adults alike are capable of chatting you to boredom. grrrr. My hairdresser and her son  would just not let me be. They kept me company; talking with each other and making sure I chip into their discussion.

"Moma, is she like thirteen?"

I turned around to find out who he was referring to. It turned out homeboy was referring to ME. Thirteen? Thirteen! Me? Thirteen. That's just a little bit more than half my age oh. I just smiled to myself and continued with my blackberry.

"No, how can? She just looks young. She's not a child at all"

His mother replied him, laughing. Then she turned to me to ask me my age with her Liberian-American accent. I told her my age and even she was surprised.

"Wow, you see that! She's lucky though, when she's much older, she wouldn't have to worry about aging."

This woman was having a real conversation with her six or seven years old which was cute, if you ask me. I love watching adults have grown-up conversations with their little children. About 10 minutes and several petty questions later;

"You know my son likes you."

Pause. Seven abi six year old boy. I smiled. Then, I continued with my blackberry. Shout out to smartphones though, forever delivering you from awkward and boring conversations. hehe.

"You berra stop eavesdropping when adults are talking ok? and mind your business."

She told her son and we all laughed. Not like anything was funny. What is it with these small boys blushing when they see me anyway? Lmao. Abeg oh! I don't even know what else to do to look my age. Sometimes, it's amusing to see people marvel at the fact that I'm a college graduate. Other times, when people double check my identification cards, my skin crawls. About 3 months ago, my 27 year old cousin and I walked into a store to get some bottles of beer. It was a gift to her friend who was having a barbecue party. We walked into the store, homegirl (sales person) believed we were not old enough to purchase alcohol. Even after she saw I.Ds, she was still in doubt. She later apologized by telling us how pretty she thought we were. "You guys are sisters? you're both so pretty" LOL. We explained to her that we are cousins, collected our stuff, made payments and left. Thank God for good genes ^-^

Love,
Ifeoluwa.