How Chimamanda Ngozi-Adiche's natural hair influenced us

Chimamanda Ngozi-Adichie views on natural hair influenced an entire generation of young women

You have heard it before; an afro is a black woman’s crown. However, it is not a crown that is easily maintained.

Natural hair is stubborn and hard to tame.

Natural hair can be so difficult to maintain Pulse Nigeria

As technology advanced, relaxers, hair straighteners and curlers became a thing. Though, a true naturalista applies only organic products on her hair.

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie was first known as a prominent author. Purple Hibiscus her first book was a recommended texts in secondary schools in Nigeria.

However, sometime around 2015 - 2017, Chimamanda became famous as a feminist icon.

One of her famous lectures 'We should all be feminist' made her renowned. She had just released 'Dear Ijeawele - A Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions' in 2017. In that book, she elucidated what it meant to be a feminist.

I was on the university campus then, she pointed out how meritorious natural hair was.

Many young ladies started transitioning from relaxed hair to natural African hair. She wasn't the sole reason of course. But in my opinion, she sparked the trend.

In an interview, she spoke about how her sister told her that for an internship interview she had to straighten her hair to look professional.

She began to ponder on why she ever even had to keep her hair straighten. Who came up with such standards anyway?

Then she decided to leave her natural hair without trying to apply heat to it.

She said she wished it was happily ever after with her. But she discovered that she did not like her natural hair. She felt it was ugly and started tying turbans. Thereby, defeating the purpose of going natural.

The decision to keep natural hair might seem noble but the journey is never easy.

A natural hair journey can be a turbulent one and almost all naturalistas have a similar experience as Chiamamanda.