"I like BIG hair!" - Interview with Eki

Today we are featuring one of the Authors of the blog "Oremeji". Eki is a lovely and creative lady enjoying her natural hair. Enjoy!

Name? Eki Ogunbor

Where are you from and where do you live?  I’m Nigerian but I’m in the UK for university and visit Nigeria for holidays. I plan to move back when I’m through with school.

  

What do you do?  I’m an Accounting & Finance student in the University of Kent.

Where can we find you online? You can find me on my blog OreMeji. Check it out here. It's by me and my good friend Tiwa Adediji. We blog about our individual lives, our natural hair, fashion and other random things we feel the need to talk about. You'll love the blog because there is a lot of variety. You never know which one of us will blog today and you never can guess what we will say. Enjoy! Please also like OreMeji on facebook with this link. And of course you can find me on twitter! My twitter account name is @_gidigirl_ 

How long have you kept your hair natural?  A year and 3 months.

At one time you had your hair relaxed. Tell us why you decided to go natural?  I usually have the patience to sit down and do my hair, no matter how long it takes even if it’s "a million braids". But funny enough, I just didn’t have the patience to keep putting relaxer in my hair and having this fear of my scalp getting burnt because it’s painful and me and pain are not friends at all. I had to look for an alternative so I did my research and found out that people actually don't relax their hair and it looks even better and more versatile.

 How did you go natural? Did you transition or did you do the big chop? Did anyone help you or encourage you?  I did the big chop! My friend Tayo helped me because she has natural hair as well. I really appreciate her support ever since I made the decision.

Did you hide that you were natural or going natural? If so why?  At first I did hide because I didn’t want extended family members who didn’t know about it to keep asking the same questions over and over again and making a fuss about it. It would have been bad if I didn’t hide it. This is because some people who have natural hair have gotten some very bad reactions like “You look ugly now that you have kinky/short hair”. If someone told me that it could go both ways: I’d either be very rude to the person or I’d let it get to me and I wasn’t ready for that. Now that I’m fully natural and my hair is much longer, I wear my hair out in Nigeria and when anyone sees it they actually like it instead of hating because seeing me in the full blown Afro isn’t as shocking as the TWA.

What kind of response did you get from family and friends? Have their responses changed now?

 My relaxed hair was quite long so my mum and sister were upset when I cut my hair at first and it was worse because me with really short hair was a drastic change like I said earlier. Now that they’ve seen how much it’s grown and how healthy it looks, everyone loves it! One thing I don’t like is that they keep wanting to touch it and when they do they end up pulling and it gives me a headache later on. Smh.

 

What’s your daily hair regimen?  Hmm, you see, I don’t really have one. My hair is always in a style, It could be a twist out, blow out, weave, braids, twists, anything! However, I wash my hair whenever I feel the need to so I cannot say every 2 months or every 3 weeks. This is because there are sometimes I use some really greasy products that leave my hair heavy, smelly and sticky and I just wash it off. And there are times I have my hair in a weave for a month and I wash it after taking it off. My favorite style to have on is a blow out because I like BIG hair. When I have my hair out and I’m going to bed I use Miss Jessie’s Baby Buttercreme and twist it in big chunks then use my silk cap. I also try to oil my scalp properly as well, to avoid excess dandruff.

Did you ever feel awkward about wearing your natural hair to school?  No I never did. People would stare but when they are tired of staring they will stop. People usually come up to me to say nice things about my hair but no one has ever said anything nasty. We thank God for that!

What kind of comments do you get about your natural hair? How do you respond?  Like I said earlier I get nice comments and reply politely with a thank you or if I like their hair or anything they have on, I give a polite comment in return. Some people ask me for products that I use and all that and I respond politely. There are some people that are quite petty in the world that feel because they are comfortable with something then it is “right” or it’s the proper way for things to be. Some of these people have their hair natural and maybe because they use jojoba oil or shear butter and I don’t use these products then I’m wrong or I’m a disgrace to the natural hair community. Others that are relaxed believe relaxers are the ONLY way to survive in this life. These people fail to understand that people are not the same! I cannot stress this enough, A is not B and B is not C!  We are all different and have our own points of view, forcing people to see things our way and accept it as theirs is just going to cause unnecessary quarrel and tension and I hate it!

What do you like best about your hair?  Ah! I think this is the most difficult question here. I love everything about my hair, it’s thick, full and jet black. I think what I like most is that it’s healthy, it doesn’t give me stress and it grows quite fast. I don’t have any breakage problems or hair loss in the front of my hair. Everything is fine! My hair lives a very peaceful life and we understand each other.

Are you ever tempted to relax/perm your hair? How do you deal with this temptation? I’m NEVER tempted to. If ever I want straight hair, I’ll get a weave sewn in or use a hot comb! I think I might consider texturizing my hair later on in life if things become really hectic for me and I’m not able to handle it but I doubt that will be the case. Let’s wait and see!

Favourite hair products and products you cannot live without?  Water! Other products I cannot live without would have to be my glycerin and water mixture: it works wonders for me. I also like Miss Jessie’s line of hair products. I use Curls shampoo because it washes clean without stripping MY hair (it might be different for you). Coconut and Olive oil, and Mayonnaise as well. Kinky Curly Curling Custard and Knot Today are lovely on my hair especially Knot Today. I used the Curling Custard a lot when I still had my TWA. I use Aussie conditioners sometimes but not very often at all. I think I’m becoming a product junkie. I heard most natural girls go through this phase to see what works and what doesn’t.

What do or would you say to students like you who want to go natural?  Do Your Research and Be Patient! That’s the most important in my opinion. Watch videos, read books and articles. Most of all you should be patient while making your decision. Don’t do it for anybody or let anyone’s words influence your decision. It is YOUR hair on YOUR head not your mum’s, your friend’s or your sister’s. Be patient with your hair: if you disturb it and don’t take care of it, it will disturb you!

Thank you so much for the interview and for this blog as well because I’ve learned new things about natural hair through this blog and many others. Stay blessed. *Thank you for doing this Eki. You are a Star!*


Keep it natural!

Omozo