Anyone who has decided to rock an afro or is in the process of doing so knows that it is no walk in the park. But the initial hurdles shouldn’t deter you.
Hugely popular, natural hair blogger and vlogger Aisha M has incredible insight when it comes to natural hair. She shares her secrets and tips regularly on her blog, My Fro and I and her YouTube channel. We sat down with her to get tips on how to manage this tricky transition…
1.Prepare yourself
Start looking at media that features women who look like you. When I chopped my hair off I was worried about looking like a boy, I won’t look cute, that girl on the billboard has a weave etc. So you need to definitely start getting used to seeing women with natural hair.
2. Research, research, research!
Go online. There’s a massive natural hair community. Even though it’s very small in South Africa, you can still learn very valuable steps online.
3. You need to decide if you’re gonna transition or if you’re gonna chop it all off.
Those two options have different habits that you have to get used to. Taking care of transitioning hair is very different from taking care of freshly natural chopped hair.
4. Acknowledge the difference
Looking after natural hair is very different from taking care of relaxed or processed hair. T has its own needs, products etc. and you need to adapt to those changes. You can’t treat it the same way you’ve always treated your hair.
5. Be patient
Give it time. You need to relearn how to take care of your hair. It is exhausting initially and you will get frustrated when it isn’t looking the way you want it to. But you need to pause and remember that you’re starting something new.
Her lightbulb moment when going natural
Learning that I mustn’t comb my hair when it’s dry. It’s the one thing I always tell my readers. Don’t comb your hair when it’s dry because it breaks. And that’s the one thing that pushes us kinky haired girls back to relaxers and processors. Comb it when its wet with a wide tooth comb or your fingers. That’ll detangle it.
