Curls R Us: Jackie is Ab Fab!

shrinkage

My name is Jackie and I have been natural for 4 years. I am in the 4 hair type category with different curl sizes all over my head. The back of my head has the most even and tightest coils while the rest is pretty much all over the place in regards to curl size.

light flat-iron

Like most children in Kenya, I was natural growing up and had my hair either cut short by my mum or braided by our trusted stylist. It's not until secondary school that I had my hair straightened using a blow dryer. My school had a no braiding or relaxer rule. One had to either wear their hair really short or, in my case, a ponytail. So I was a straightened natural throughout my time there but I had a wonderful stylist who would shampoo, treat and blow dry my hair every two weeks. My hair was long and permanently straight and I remember getting into trouble with my teachers and having to prove that I was not relaxed.

3rd year natural: blowout

blowout using tension method

Curls R Us: Nkirote is Ab Fab!

Whenever I’m asked how long I’ve been natural I don’t quite know what to say because the truth is I have no clue.  

I come from a very pro-natural family so when I was younger I had natural hair but mostly kept it short. This was until a friend of my parents took me to get a relaxer. (Fyi if anyone tries this on my kids I will kill you with my bare hands!!).

Curl R Us: Vikky is Ab Fab!

Finger coils

My name is Vikky Wambui, I have been natural for 18 months and I am a product junkie!

I had relaxed hair for over 10 years before I decided to go natural...some may say that my hair looked healthy, but over the years it had started to thin, break & was quite dry despite regular trips to the hairdresser’s for rather pricey “treatments” (read deep conditioners) and using top of the range hair relaxing brands.

Curls R Us: Josephine is Ab Fab!

Hi, my name is Josephine and I live in Nairobi. I have been natural now for about one year and a bit. 

Tots R Us: Claire is a Curly Girl!

My daughter Claire was born with a head full of gorgeous dark curls, and she has been a natural curly girl since birth – not a drop of shampoo on this child’s head!  

Claire is now 2 years old, and it has always been really important to me to care for her curls, keep them natural, and teach her to love them from an early age.  

Curls R Us; Irene is Ab Fab!

My name is Irene Odipo Loderick, 36 years old, from Kenya, East Africa but currently living in the UK with my family. I have been fully natural for three years now and enjoying the journey while learning more and more about my hair.

Curls R Us! Ciru is Ab Fab!

My name is Ciru Barry, I'm the Director of Nairobi Pretty School and I have been natural 3 years.

I remember the day I had had enough of my hair as it was. My now husband and I had gone on a fantastic holiday to the Caribbean and, seeing that maintaining my hair for that period of time was going to be a big deal, I bought a wig. Biggest mistake!  The thing shed all the time and was a nightmare to maintain.  Worst of all, I couldn't put my head in the water when we went to the beach!  The poor man, I wonder what he thought.

The dreaded holiday Wig 

For years before that, I lived in braids, then graduated to weaves. When I got tired of those, too, I relaxed my hair, which ended up costing a crazy amount of money as it grew quickly and I constantly had to get it redone..all this time I worked in the Middle east.

Right about the time we went on holiday, I started seeing all these blogs and Facebook pages on natural hair and the big chop etc..it took me a while to brave up to the idea, especially because I didn't know how the Mr. would feel about it.

Eventually, though, D day arrived - May 17th 2011.