Folks at the Malawi Natural Hair Convention say black girls can grow long hair, one just needs to  take care of it.

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Well, as of December 2018, I had kept my natural hair for about 9 years and while relatively long and thick,  it hadn’t grown past shoulder length. I got tired of chasing length and decided that I should enjoy my hair at whatever stage that it is. Otherwise I would be very very frustrated and might end up relaxing it and regretting the day after. 

When I read an Instagram post on @Malawiannaturalhairconvention, the length chasing voices came back in my head. They were offering hair consultations and I decided  to give it a try because: 

1. I took one look at the hair on these ladies👇. Its out of this world gorgeous. Talk about hair goals!!!

2. They are from Malawi, and you know if  there is anything natural hair related that is Malawian,  I will find a way to be a part of that. 
3. I had wiiiiiiished I could attend the hair convention but couldnot. So a chance to interact with them and get the information from convention directly was hard to pass up

So  I sent a DM saying am interested in the hair consultation.  

Wongile (lady with gorgeous hair in the red dress) is the one who does the consultations.

She told me she doesn’t do free consultations any more and I totally agree with that mindset. Everybody needs to know their value, otherwise society will undervalue you. There is a whole industry that has grown out of this natural hair movement and if she wasn’t taking advantage of that with the hair she has, I would have asked her to start doing so immediately. The consultation is 2500 Malawi Kwacha for an hour. She told me that at the end of it all,  I would have a hair regimen to follow and she would let me know what products to avoid depending on my hair type.  

Like I said, I have been natural for a while, and while I follow some sort of routine, I kind of went with the flow and I tended to try whatever I see on YouTube from the little glimpses I take, when I get a chance.  

So I told myself that the worst that could happen is I would learn a few new things. The biggest plus, we did it online! I could be part of this from where I was 🤗🤗🤗

Before we started the consultation, she asked that I  do a porosity and strand density test. Yep, after 9 years, I was finally going to learn what that was all about. She told me what to do and we set up the appointment. 

The consultation  

I learnt so much and that in itself was a nice surprise. She finally put the pieces together for me.  

I learnt that my hair is low porosity and I have thin strands. She gave me a hair regimen based on my hair type and walked me through each step. 

After that we went through the products I was using. I even took pictures of the ingredients of the products . She told me what was good for my hair  type and what to avoid buying in the future.Guys, my product junkie days were over  

This lady has saved me money from all the products I could have bought because I saw it on YouTube but aren’t necessarily for my hair type! So yeah 2500 Malawi Kwacha is nothing compared to the amount spent on future unnecessary products. In addition, as I tried the new products  I could contact her and ask questions. And that is still part of the consultation.  

Fro’s reaction

I started with my DIY protein treatment the very next day. It has been just over a year and i loooooove the way my hair has reacted. Wongile asked me after some weeks and my answer was “My hair is happy”. I sent her a picture and she could tell. She stressed that the key is consistency and so far I have tried to stick to it. 

The one thing I still have difficulty in digesting was to avoid braids because they aren’t good for length retention – my hair is too fragile. I looooove braids so this was devastating news.   I must admit I have braided my hair twice in the past year already since I started this.

Full disclaimer: I braid my own hair and so am gentle with myself and my scalp. I was extra gentle just from the guilt. 

What am doing with my hair now 

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My go to protective style now is twists with just my hair because I can pretend they are locks.   I love locks and I do not have them because

1. I just can’t commit to a hairstyle that long term 

2. Where I live, it would not be very easy for me to find a good loctician, and

3. If I did find one, they will cost me an arm and a leg. And I love my hair, but not that much. 

I do my hair myself and am very gentle with it. My hair is fragile and noone will handle it as well and as gentle as I will. Yes saloon visits in these parts don’t come cheap as well. I keep my twists in for a maximum of two weeks and I try never to miss a wash day which is once a week. I could talk about each step but I have learnt that what works for me will not work for other hair types thats why its worth doing the consultation.

Length

While all this started because of length chasing demons,  I deliberately did not do a length check for a whole year. And even when I did it, it wasnt a proper check of inches like others do. So I will let you guys be the judges.

But know this, whether my hair grew or not, I would do this hair consultation again and again. I can’t recommend it enough. My only wish was if I could have done this face to face as am sure it would have been even much more informative.

#frofridays