Naturals in The City

You haven't been told but my Mom is quite the nagger. I've been going back and forth with her on whether or not I should get the 'big chop' done and cut off all my permed hair. This would be a very easy decision if I had the option of braiding my hair in the way I like until I feel it's long enough to be an afro. Since this is not granted I have no intentions of cutting my hair.

In result, my Mom and I went for a Healthy Living Healthy Hair exhibition/public speaking event. There they spoke about many things, some in which I felt were directed especially towards me because many of the bad habits they mentioned, I was an expert at. The first speaker; Osa, spoke about healthy living and how it's not easy, especially when you aren't doing it for yourself. She explained that you won't fully succeed if you're losing weight for the sake of the people around you rather than for yourself. You won't have that happiness when you reach a goal, instead you'd have determination to lose even more weight, which may or may not turn out well. Another thing that I found very helpful was that, she didn't talk about how it was easy, or how you should run everyday and go to the gym everyday  she was realistic. She said, if walking is for you, walk. If running is for you, run. Don't be intimidated by other's success, go at your own pace, you'll reach your goal at your own time. I gained a lot from her, she looks great.

The next speaker was the host herself, Ife Amaka owner of natural nigerian. She spoke to us about the different things you can do to your natural hair.She spoke about how many people look for products to take care of their hair, but you physically need to take care of it regularly, products do 20% of the work, and you must do the rest. The products are just a booster, but until you truly give your hair the time of day, you will not have true healthy hair. She gave tips on different substances to use like Henna, known as 'Lali' that you can even find in Sokoto. Henna strengthens your hair and can also be used as a natural hair dye if you are aiming for red hair.Other products like Coconut Oil as well do a great deal of help. She spoke about so much more, but for more information check out her blog : naturalnigerian . Overall, it was a great day, I even got to taste Zobo for the first time, with a little ginger twist! Here are some pictures:

p.s. sorry for the terrible quality pictures, I'm awaiting a new good quality camera x

-Zoe