Each person's relationship with their hair is unique. That's why we love highlighting many different perspectives here. Today, we bring you three stories: Nadia, Patience, and Ninia tell us a bit about themselves and their experience. Enjoy!
Nadia
The love you have for your hair makes all that simple.
Could you tell us a bit about yourself?
My name is MUKUNDE Nadia, I am a university student pursuing Business management and economics in the Department of Marketing at the University of Kigali.
How long have you been natural? Could you tell us how your hair journey began?
I have been natural my whole life I would say :)
It all started when I was a little girl. My mother would always take care of my hair with different protective styles, and she made it fun because every week she tried something new.
All this changed when I got into boarding school because I had to cut my hair, an experience that I didn’t like. After three years I got into a private school and I was able to grow my hair again.
I loved the fact that I could grow my hair again but you know going natural isn’t easy because you need to love, take care of your hair in every possible way and unfortunately, I was not ready for that. I treated my hair badly but I didn’t know what I was doing.
Luckily, my hair was thick and long for the first 3 years, but after those years, my hair stopped growing. I was given many ideas of what I should do for my hair to grow again such as trimming, moisturizing, etc.
I decided to trim because people would tell me that it will help, with the help of some protective style and some hair products, my curls were finally defined.
Do you have any natural hairstyle that you prefer most?
High puff is my forever favorite style.
Did you have any challenges with your curls?
As I said, natural hair needs attention, patience, and love. When it comes to being natural, there are some things you need to endure.
There are good and bad days, but one thing that could be really frustrating is finding hair products that work with your hair. Finding time and protective styles you have to do every night can also be frustrating.
The good news is that the love you have for your hair makes all that simple.
Thanks for those tips! Where could people find you?
You can find me on Instagram @mukunde_nadia
Patience
When you find one that works for you, stick to it
Could you tell us a bit about yourself?
My name is Patience, I am 23 years old and I live in Kigali-Rwanda. I am a student at Mount Kenya University pursuing a course in Mass media and communication
Share with me the journey of your hair, how did you decide to change relaxed hair to natural hair?
Well, there is not much about my hair journey because I just started recently but all I can tell is I always knew I would go natural.
I never liked relaxed hair not because it is a bad decision to do but I personally loved natural hair.
It is very hard to maintain natural hair, but it is so refreshing to see and so beautiful when done well.
It is important to have a proper routine that will help your hair grow, by using shampoo, a conditioner, and any in-shower products of your choice.
What challenges have you faced on this hair journey?
There is breakage, having bad hair days, having to wash your hair more often, shrinkage, not knowing what to do next, picking hairstyles. It can be tiring sometimes.
What are products would you recommend to someone who is just getting started with natural hair?
When it comes to recommending products, it is always good for a person to know their hair type, which will help them know the products that will work for them.
There are different hair types;
There is wavy hair where 2A which is thin wavy hair, 2B which is medium wavy hair, 2C which is the hair; curly hair where 3A which has loose curls, 3B has medium curls, 3C has tight curls; kinky hair where 4A is soft, 4B is wiry, 4C is extremely wiry.
So by knowing this, you try different types of products, and then when you find one that works for you, you stick to it.
Thanks for those tips! Where could people find you?
They can find me on Instagram @m__patiencee
Nina
Treat your hair as you treat yourself
Could you tell us more about yourself?
I'm Ninia, 20 years old, I live in Kigali-Rwanda. I'm a student and a worker, I love looking good, especially when my hair is gorgeous!
Looking at your natural hair now, what can you say?
I have beautiful natural hair and yes I admire it, as a see it looks healthy and good and that’s because I give it time and care. I can say that the more I invest in it the more I achieve more from it.
What are some challenges you faced?
That’s a great question indeed, there are two challenges I face: One is that natural hair requires much time and care. I could find myself busy and that could disturb me somehow. The other is that Natural hair products are expensive and the salon is also expensive.
Which products did you use?
Well, I don’t have permanent products but for now, I use Cantu products and when am busy I just go to the salon.
Anything else?
Treat your hair as you treat yourself. For us ladies, hair is a big weapon/asset we have.
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We always love to hear different perspectives. These ladies have shared theirs, do you have one? Shoot us an email info@irabacosmetics.com, leave a comment here, or DM us and tell us your story!
Also, be sure to try our approach to natural hair care. We're determined to adding more ease to natural hair care!