My Natural Hair Journey | Tuke's Quest

My Natural Hair Journey

Let’s start from the very beginning, a very good place to start! When you read, you begin with ABC, when you sing, you begin with Do Re Mi.

Enough of the Sound of Music Singalong, it's hair talk time

Story Story....story
Once upon a time...time time

There was a little girl called Adetuke Morgan, she had beautiful, full and soft Natural/Virgin hair. It was so nice and fluffy and she rocked it without abandon. One day, her cousin told her she was getting married and that she would be on the bridal train as one of the flower girls. She travelled all the way to Ibadan for this wedding and was told she had to texturise her hair so the band could fit. She was in primary 5 at the time so about 9 years old, (2001).

From that day on, she started texturising her hair. She then started relaxing it in her Senior Secondary School and the hair lost all its texture. It wasn't as thick as she wanted it to be and it didn't curl up at the ends.
Toothpaste Model Smile Black Girl
This picture was take in 2008








2009

2010

It didn't really grow from 2008 to 2010, it became more limp and flat and she just didn't like it. Plus she always wondered what her natural hair would look like.

So she big chopped on the 6th of August 2011. She even got my Dad’s barber to round it all up. She rocked it a little but not that much, did braids to Uni,  probably Afro Kinky (her signature style). She tended to keep braids in for 3 months i.e. until the next school holiday when she knows she’ll be in Nigeria.

August 2011
She got home that Christmas and was really excited with the growth her hair had made. It was thick, full, dark and she loved it but not everyone around her did.
December 2011
Natural Hair and Straight Haired Black Sisters
December 2011
She was going for Daddy GO’s son’s wedding in camp and her mum was like she should go and straighten the hair because it looked rough. she wishes she didn’t go, she wishes she just tied gele or just blew the hair out. The hair was straightened using a hot comb and it smelt really funny as the lady, Tope, was straightening it. It smelt like it was getting burnt and she asked why, the heat was turned down a little but the deed had been done. Thank God for the different Natural Hair Saloons that have cropped up in Lagos now, they would never make such a mistake.

She had straightened she natural hair once before and by the end of the day it had reverted to it’s natural texture or at least started frizzing up. The day of the wedding was odd, the back was reverting but the front remained straight. People said she should give it time. After much googling, she realised she had heat damage.

She was extremely upset, disappointed, saddened and hasn’t done her hair in that salon since then. She quickly did box braids in the hope that things would improve by the next holiday. The growth wasn’t great and in England that Easter, it was quite hard dealing with two textures.
April 2012
She did braids again in April, took them out in June and her Tanzanian Baby, Corina, did Bantu Knots on her hair which she loved. Look how beautifully it turned out. I would definitely recommend this style for people with two textures as it blends them together.
Bantu Knot Out on 4c Hair
June 2012
She did afro kinky again, took them out and her hair was really full but she was tired of the two textures. She was in Nigeria for summer and loved leaving her fro out when she was home. She went to the tailor one day in early august, saw a random salon nearby asked them to cut off the relaxed tips. The back was obviously much longer than the front and the lady talked her into evening it all out. So I left there having just done her 2nd big chop in August 2012.
August 2012
Luscious 4C Hair Afro
August 2012


October 2012
December 2012, stretched by cornrows
December 2012, shrinkage (wash and go)
The heat damage caused her to care less about my hair. She threw many of her products away when she was moving back as she was only allowed 23kg and already paid for extra luggage. She actually hasn’t even got a conditioner to her name at the moment but just goes to the Salon when she want to deep condition/get a protein treatment/wash/blowdry.
Styling TWA for work

Flat Twists and Two Strand Twists

At the moment she has 
Cantu Leave in Conditioner
Black Jamaican Castor Oil
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Coconut oil
Beautiful Textures curl defining pudding
Cocoa Shea butter mix from Savvy Hair and Chic
Amy Naturalle Shea Butter Mix
Spray bottle filled with leave in conditioner, water, glycerin, coconut oil and extra virgin olive oil

She is ready to start taking proper care of my hair, it’s out in a puff most of the time and she uses the LOC method when it’s out.

She did a protective style last weekend, not sure how long it'll be in for, but it does save time in the morning as she doesn't have to take out her cornrows in the morning and fluff the fro out.

She's going for a Natural Hair event today and is pretty excited. She's taking her cantu daily oil moisturizer for the product swap. Hoping to win something.
She plans to leave there a more knowledgeable person with products she's won from the numerous giveaways J
Beautiful Afro on a Happy Black Girl
April 2014

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10 comments:

  1. Haha. Detuke, you plan to leave there with numerous products from giveaways.
    Btw, when you moisture your hair, you use a liquid, oil and cream. I just use water and olive oil to seal. But, my hair gets dry easily and the oil just makes my hand oily when I touch it. Do you know what I can do to keep my hair moisturised?

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    Replies
    1. Lool, i didn't even win anything o, but I took part in the product swap and exchanged 2 products i don't like for a giovanni shampoo and a clarifying shampoo. I think you should add glycerin to your spray bottle because it retains moisture and a leave in conditioner will help too. Make sure the portion of water is much more than the oil in the mix. You can then use shea butter or a butter mix to seal in the moisture. Do you deep condtion your hair?

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    2. I deep condition sometimes. I'll try the LOC method to see if it works and maybe a leave-in. I use Shea butter but it makes my hair feel funny after sometime so I stopped using it daily to seal

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    3. Oh, okay. Is this pure shea butter with nothing in it? I'll get you this really nice whipped butter mix my friend's sister makes so you can try it out, are you coming back for Summer? Oh yeah, they told us yesterday not to use tap water in our spray bottle as it has trace elements which aren't good for the hair. So, use distilled or filtered water.

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    4. Thank you Detuke. I used distilled water so hopefully I'll continue. I'm not coming to Nigeria. I really like your protective style in the post you wrote after this one.
      Btw, could you write some posts on your NYSC experience? Thanks again

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    5. Awww, ok. Thank you :) I need to write about them o, it's been an extremely interesting year. I even have some theatre reviews that need to be edited, will put them up soonish :)

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  2. Aww, lovely post Detuke.

    Talk about a journey lool. I just got frustrated one day, tried to transition and chopped the relaxed ends off later

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    Replies
    1. Lool, Thank you Ify.Yes o, it has really been a journey. Wow, you're brave o! Chopped it off yourself? Deep!!

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  3. Your hair looks pretty lush! Stopped relaxing January 2012, Did the big chop one beautiful day in Nov 2012, Been natural since then, I am probably the laziest natural i know. Thinking of loc'ing (dreads) my hair now though. Xx

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Abby, not too long after I did mine then. Would love to see a picture of your fro in all it's glory :) oh, wow, I'm too scared to loc my hair, I'll now have to cut it all of when I'm tired of the dreads. A less permanent alternative is to do yarn braids with wool, it looks a Lot like Dreads!!

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