Hairspiration! : Tosyn

Hey! 

My name is Tosyn Bucknor and I am a wordsmith (I love to work with words). I sing, write, and also host the morning show on Top Radio 90.9 as well as vlogs and podcasts. I stay busy! I live and work in Lagos and wow, I have done that all my life although I do love to travel!

I also love experimenting with my hair, health, face, etc. So I am one to try new diets, beauty tips, etc. I once tried the lemon water thing, the no-carbs diet, and even washed my hair with coke… Yup! You can read all about that on my blog www.tosynbucknor.blogspot.com

Have you always had locs? What inspired you to get them? 

I had my hair relaxed when I was in primary school, so no I have not always had locs although my dad and sister were born with natural locs. I hated salons, relaxing my hair, braiding etc. Like it took too much time and just stressed me out. Plus my hair was so tough that I could put relaxer on, sleep, wake up and it still would not have relaxed.

Hairspiration! : Lola

Hey Lola!

Hey Guys. I’m Lola (African Remy) and I’m a 24 year old Tax Consultant (trust me, it’s not as boring as it sounds). I’m based and was born in the UK – London to be precise but I’m originally from Ondo State, Nigeria and visit when I can (although I much prefer Lagos. Shhh… Don’t tell my dad).

What inspired you to return to natural?

Unfortunately, I don’t have a big, tear jerking story about a horrendous experience with a perm or breakage – I just missed my natural hair. I first relaxed my hair when I was 14 and kinda always missed the volume, the curls and just the feeling that I had lovely hair. So after university, with a little help from a beloved friend, I took the plunge.

Hairspiration! : Sandra

Tell us about you!

My name is Sandra Uzuegbu, I’m a doctor, with very strong glasses to show for it. I also love food, fashion, the arts, I love to try new things and I love to have fun. And oh yes, hair too.

When did you decide to transition? What was your inspiration?

My mum has always egged me to go natural but I thought I would have to cut off all my hair to do so. The fear.
I was researching black hair care one day and the search turned up not just relaxed hair, but many gorgeous natural heads of hair and some didn’t even have to chop it all off to get there. I knew then I would go natural but I wanted to grow my relaxed hair first. I decided in March 2014 after I reached my goal of waist length.

Relaxed hair. L- April 2013, R- March 2014

Tell us about your mane. Does he/she/it have a name? How would you classify your hair if you had to?

No name o. It already has a mind of its own, if it gets an identity who knows what will happen. Right now it’s midback to waist length, I don’t know for sure cos I won’t straighten it. It’s medium porosity, quite dense with a mix of thick and thin strands. I’m not really into typing but I would say 4b, 4c.

How long do you plan to transition for? How far have you gone?

Last relaxer was November 2013 so I’m 10 months into my transition. I don’t know when I’ll end it, I’ll just keep on trimming gradually and maybe one day it’ll feel right to cut.

New growth! 🙂

Are you a less-is-more person when it comes to your hair or do you go all out?

Less-is-more with hair products definitely. With wash days it changes. Sometimes I go all out and give my hair a treat, other times I just do the basics.

Do you follow a regimen? If yes, do share!

Oh yes. I deep condition and wash weekly, sometimes co-wash midweek. I moisturise and seal daily or every other day, I keep my hair up mostly and try not to manipulate it much between wash days. I do everything in sections.

What are your staple products?

Olive oil, Coconut oil, Shea butter. ORS Replenishing Conditioner is an old faithful but sadly it will be dropped when I use up this bottle as I’m going for more organic products now.

Tell us two things your hair cannot do without

Water and oil. Finish

Does your hair have any dislikes?

Flat ironing! Me and my hair fear the thing. If I want sort of straight hair, I stretch my hair with thread. My hair also dislikes black tea, tail combs, other people’s hands…

Hair nice and heatlessly stretched with thread

What has been the hardest thing about your transitioning journey? How are you coping?

The hardest thing is dealing with two textures especially when the new growth shrinks. It causes breakage. I’m coping by not combing, by being patient when detangling and by doing styles that can last all week.

What do you look forward to in your kinky hair journey? Are you afraid of or concerned about anything?

I’m not afraid at all. Just looking forward to having a big, intimidating afro and doing fluffy, curly styles.

How do you style your transitioning hair?

Twist and tuck, roll and tuck, twists. Buns too- they’re no longer the easiest since my hair now puffs up, but it helps to flatten it overnight with a scarf. For curly styles I use flexirods (bendy rollers), bantu knots and braidouts.

Curly Styles!

What is your hair to you?

My hair expresses most clearly my individuality. It’s one thing that’s 100% my prerogative. I do what I want to it and it stands out.

Have you received any negativity from others towards your hair? How did/do you deal?

I don’t get much negativity because people focus on the length at first. Then they’re like “oh nice, nice. So when will you relax your hair? Never? Like never?” Then they give my hair a doubtful look. I just let them know I’m ready for it and no, never going to relax again.

Do you have any hair goals- short or long term?

Short term- Minimise the inevitable breakage that happens when handling two textures.
Long term- A full head of big, healthy, all-natural hair

Before you go, could you share a tip or trick or a remedy you’ve tried & tested in your journey so far?

Throw on a headband or some other cute accessory like a scarf. No matter how crazy my hair is acting, an accessory makes it look chic. It’s my cheat code.

Protective Styles, Fun with Accessories

Are there any resources- blogs, books, anything- that you’ve found particularly helpful?

Natural hair blogs like thekinkandi, nappilynigeriangirl, glamlushhair, klassykinks, africanaturalistas give me the assurance that I can rock my natural hair with pride and sass.

A couple of my fave relaxed bloggers are also transitioning – justgrowalready, hardmashonatype. It’s encouraging to see them soldiering on.

Any last words to other transitioners in the building?

1. Be sure it’s what you want
2. If at any point you feel frustrated with your hair, just stop. Don’t do anything rash. Put it away in a protective style and do the basic moisturise & seal until you miss your hair again (and you will).

Do you have a blog, twitter, instagram or any other social media you’d like people to connect with you on?

Yes please 😀 naijagirlnextdoor.blogspot.com, and my personal Instagram account: @sandalily

Thank you!
🙂

—

Thanks Sandra!

Have a great weekend guys!

Love,

AB,

xx

Hairspiration! : Dika

Heyy, tell us about you! 
My name is Dika Aligbe and I’m an 18-year old college student. I live in New Jersey for the most part but Lagos, Nigeria is my home 🙂

What inspired you to return to natural?
I like really full hair so I didn’t want my hair to get flat after a perm. So i decided to go natural when i started growing my hair out after secondary school.

Tell us about your mane. Does he/she/it have a name? How many years have you been growing?
LOL. I haven’t named her yet. I have been growing my hair for approximately 2 years.

How would you classify your hair if you had to? 
Thick, full, really kinky and soft

Hairspiration! : Afoma

Hello!!

Hi! My name is Afoma. I’m a medical student in Ukraine and I also like to write short fiction and a bit of poetry, most of which are featured on my blog ihundasmusings.com (garra advertise, ya know *insert sloppy wink*) My family splits time between Abuja and Port Harcourt and I go to school in Ukraine so it’s hard to say where I live right now.

What inspired you to return to natural?
I was inspired to return to natural by bloggers like Ekene and all her hairspiration Fridays. For me, honestly, it was mostly curiosity; I had forgotten what my curls felt like and I wanted to rediscover. I was also immensely bored by relaxed hair and I just wanted something different and then I discovered ‘fro love on sites like Pinterest and Tumblr and my mind was made up.