Most Nigerian girls love chemically relaxed hair cos it is softer and easier to manage. Others stick to wigs and weaves changing them with their moods.
For those who prefer to go the narrow laned way of natural hair, caring for natural hair can be quite daunting especially if you are newly natural or transitioning.
I'll love to encourage you by stating that with the right care, it can be a walk in a park. Many naturals agree that caring for natural hair is a journey and I'd add that it's a journey of self discovery but that's for another day.

Natural hair is very fragile. All the kinks and turns are bits prone to breakage. It needs tender loving care. If you hear a natural say her hair speaks to her, my dear she isn't loco...
The major problems or should I say challenges encountered with natural hair are frizziness, dullness and dryness.
By arming yourself with the right ingredients and products, you can solve these problems leaving you free to be divalicious
* Beyonce's Diva song playing in my head*!

Anyhoo, here are a few tips I personally use that works.  Lemme know if they work for you too and also the modifications that have worked for you. Sharing is caring....

1. Deep condition once a week.
 I deep condition on Saturdays or Sundays including massages,facial and body scrubs, manis and pedis... a girl gotta feel and look good right?! You can purchase off the shelf deep conditioners or make one up just for your hair!
I love the DIY approach to deep conditioning because there are no salons catering to natural hair where I live.
 I deep condition with a mix of mayonnaise, one whole egg,olive oil,multivitamin syrup and henna based condish by NaturVital.
You can also make use of avocados, Shea butter, honey...etc...my motto is 'if I can eat it,my hair can eat it too'!  Lol!
Make a mixture of these,apply to hair in sections from tip to root and shower cap it! Allow to stay in for at least 15mins before rinsing.

2. Shampoo.
There's loads of stuff on natural sites about sulfates or non sulfates... I don't really think much about it. I just like trying different poos and seeing what my hair loves.
For now my hair loves Aussie Moist shampoo, Motions conditioning shampoo, Organics stimulating Olive oil shampoo and Johnson's baby No More Tears Shampoo.
These are easy to come by in Nigeria. Whenever I run out of them and can't find to replace, the good ole black soap is my hair's first love.
You can request it to be made for you in liquid form.
 This make it look like shampoo plus it's packed with vitamins required for healthy hair growth and all the ingredients are fresh and natural!
Yummy!!!

3. Combing and Detangling.
Please invest in a good seamless wide tooth comb.
Do not be deceived that you can "brush" African hair like a weave..it will only result to Mega hair loss ( a case of Afro on comb,Afro on head ).
Comb gently from tip to root.
It is advisable to comb your hair when it's damp and conditioned to provide slip.
Spritz hair with detangler or a mix of two parts water to one part regular conditioner and a tbs of oil.

4. Puhleeaase avoid heavy pomades and gels especially on your scalp as it only makes the poor hair
sticky and attracts dust.
 Naturally, Afro textured hair isn't glossy because of the kinks and turns and naturally you want your hair to sparkle!!!
  Well, spray on some olive oil sparingly.
I notice my hair shines after a deep conditioning treatment and so I do not need to apply globs of sheabutter or oils to get it glossy.

5. For bedtime,invest in a beautiful color coordinating satin scarf or bonnet.
That way you'll keep your hair from getting tangled and dry while still looking good for bedtime...looking good is big business dolls! Part your hair into four parts, twist or braid (for those with longer hair ) and wrap with satin(just that for shorter hair)...who says we aren't royalty?!!!

6. Afro textured hair is a stylist's dream come true! It is very versatile.
Use accessories to create gorgeous looks. Haunt websites and blogs for inspiration.
You can dye your hair using the local 'lalle' found in the northern part of Nigeria for that extra oomph!  It imparts a red tint to hair.

WARNING!! Natural hair is larger than life and requires a confident person to rock it!!!

 Do you have what it takes?!!!

One of the best ways to help promote hair growth is fingercoiling. It is a great way to protect your hair for long periods with low manipulation. Finger coils work with any hair length and it's a good excuse to deep condition your hair since it requires adequately moisturised hair to come out beautifully.

The first time I decided to attempt fingercoils on my hair, I googled it up and searched for pictorials that would give me a detailed step by step tutorial with products to use...funny, it never seriously occured to me then to check out YouTube videos. I guess it was because data services in Nigeria isn't so stable and I didn't have the patience to wait for all the buffering to get a smooth video.

I did get a fair pictorial from Miss Jessies hair product use but I still had to improvise because these products are difficult or impossible to find here in Nigeria and I don't fancy ordering for a product and waiting ages for it to be delivered. I am an Aries and not the most patient person.

Anywhoo, armed with half baked info, I washed my hair with Aussie Moist Shampoo, deep conditioned with NaturVitale For Sensitive Skin with Sage and Ginseng  paraben and pthalate free condish mixed with oliveoil,mayonnaise and egg. 45 mins later, my hair was clean and superdefined and moisturised.

Then the real work began.
1. I cut a 1" small section of my hair starting from the back.

2. Applied a dot of aloe vera  to the whole length and sealed in with a little shea butter.

3.You know how you twist and twirl hair around your fingers when nervous...Well, I twisted the hair around my finger in a similar way from the roots to the end.
I didn't get the perfect coil the first time so I wet my hair with water and tried again. Perfect coil!

4. Repeated the same all over my head. Spritz with water, aloe vera gel, shea butter and twist.
Three hours later, my head had a beautiful mass of coils.