SO FAR....

SO FAR till Today (28^th October 2011)


Sooooo!!! Its been 2 amazing weeks and every morning since, I have majestically…yes… majestically!!! strode into the bathroom to have a bath and co-wash  my hair (co-washing is the act ART of using only a conditioner to wash my hair). When I’m done with the "ritual", I stare into the mirror and admire the beautiful creation that I am... *sigh*... In these 2 weeks, I have already discovered that Nappy likes water A LOT, Tea tree Oil, Shea butter (not toooo much, but yeah), Olive oil and some placenta like that. J I also know that the hair at the back of my head is very coily (like these springs on push pens), in front it has looser curls and more stand-alone strands….in the middle it truly is an astonishing MIX of curly, coily and locked strands of hair. I TRULY am discovering myself… starting from the crown of my HEAD (will try n get down to the sole of my feet)!! J I also now know that some ingredients (e.g.  Sodium Laureth Sulfate) in shampoo aren’t very good for my hair (thanks to Ogor*) and so I have to consciously search for hair cleaners that don’t contain em…


However, a major “con” of this adventure with Nappy is that I may need “Intervention”..... {Hi, I'm Anu and I'm a 'PJ'...You: Hello Anu!!}....lol... (in “Napptural” world, that means I’m a "Product Junkie"). A only identify a Product Junkie by .. 1. The frequency of visits to the hair product section at the Super Mart (Mega Plaza) and… 2. Getting an email from your account officer asking if your ATM card was stolen!!! …*Sigh*… its bad L… *crying* …I have spent a GOOOOOOD amount of money buying hair products - Conditioners, conditioners, conditioners, conditioners, conditioners, shampoos, shampoos, hair custards, conditioners, hair oils, protein, conditioners...Yeah, I’m sure u get it... Nappy does get ALOT of conditioning (though am still yet to find a good leave-in conditioner)...… *sigh* … I know it’s a lot of cash but I just can’t help myself!!!... *insert‘can’t watch’ smiley*...


I actually “beef” Nappy sometimes cos she gets sooo much attention and pampering from me…*rolling eyes*… I’m sure other parts of my body are quite jealous but... "Not to worry “body parts”, I’m pampering all the way down to the sole of my feet!" *in Superman voice*..lol... I actually go online like every other day as soon as I get home to get new tips for Nappy-care….. he he… Ohhhh yeahhhh...forgot to gist y'all..lol...

Hmmmmmm...in the bid to "accessorize" Nappy o, na so I go buy some stretch hair bands ooo... lol... I wore them (used em to push my hair back thereby making my temple look bald...he he) on my first and second day at work after the Big Chop (grey and brown respectively) and after being called "Old Mama Youngie" by my boss, Ameze, who I fondly call "Oga mi" and Tobe my senior colleague (both of whom I'm really close to), I decided to try out an "unadulterated" Nappy...and... Lo and Behold!... A good chunk of my colleagues that wer all "No-No" before, actually preferred her without any extra, OMY (old mama youngie) hair band!!! Yayyy (not like it really mattered to me).... Awww... my natural 'ME' is actually 'FAB'BER!!... *wide grin*... *sigh*...


Now gazing into the bright side of things again, kindly be informed (lol), that with this bold step of mine (choosing to get to 'know' Nappy).....I can now shout from the roof tops that I am BEAUTIFUL, I am AFRICAN, I am CONFIDENT, I am BOLD, I am FREE, I am COMPLETE, I am COMFORTABLE WITH WHO I AM, I am NOT my HAIR and most importantly… I LOVE ME!!!... Just the way I was born, just the way God intended for me to look… No additional frills or strings attached….just plain ME. I honestly really can’t wait till my hair grows out and I can explore ALL the amazing, African (ethnic) hair styles for my natural, kinky hair ranging from Bantu Knots to Twist-outs (flat and braided) to Cornrows to…*sigh*...etc. The list is endless.



At this point am sure you can conclude that I LOVE my hair fiercely and deeply!!! That, and the freedom it brings. Granted, it’s only just hair actually, but the power of embracing the authenticity and true nature of my “glory” is JUST PURE BLISS!... be sure I'd keep you posted on the adventure…… Pictures of Me n Nappy below...

 Thats today actually!!

 My first day at work (thats d OMY band i was talking about)

 second day at work (last day with the band.. lol)

Sometime this week

 Sometime this week as well

*Ogor (Jobi Tutu) is a fabulous mentor in this Hair journey, constantly ready to listen to my rants and give really, really helpful advice*kiss kiss*

The BIG CHOP

16^th OCTOBER 2011
I got to the salon at about 12:30 pm straight from church to take out the ‘corporate dreadlocks’ that I got done 10 weeks prior. It was soo hard to take out though and as soon as it was out, I combed my now under-growth stricken hair (which i was growing out and did not intend to relax) and decided in about one millisecond to do the BIG CHOP. In one magical moment, I was sure I was sick and tired of attaching foreign bodies (South American, Indian.. to be precise ) and LYE to my hair and decided to return as some sort of ‘phoenix’ to my ‘nappy glory’… YAYYYY!!! Just as I was born!... The thought alone was like nirvana and besides my boyfriend isn’t around for another 11 months (he went for an  MBA in September).. No better time than NOW!!!!… I knew I was tired of trying to un-ME myself. I mean for Christ’s sake, these Caucasians don’t buy my African, kinky hair at cut-throat prices to put on their heads nowwww… (P.S Under duress, again, maybe in some 2 years or something, I may have to fix these ‘things’ again) but right now I am sure i'm taking the "fake" hair out…My thoughts exactly…

So I get into this uber dramatic conversation with ‘Mama Paul’, my stylist down the road, telling her in a nutshell that I’m cutting my hair. As expected, she screamed, threw some tantrums and even ‘trimmed ’the hair to satisfy me. But like they say, ‘if you want something done well, you’ve gotta do it yourself’. So… I get hold of the pair of scissors elegantly smiling at me on the table, and in a somewhat supernatural snap, I got all the relaxed ends out of a majority of my temple/front hair. Turning around to meet a horror stricken face, she knew just exactly what I was talking about. And without saying another word, in about 3 minutes, I had done the BIG CHOP…

Ok … soo I smiled at myself in the mirror… I felt soooooo good as about 5-6 inches of locks of my hair lay all over the floor and I looked at all of them and stuck my tongue out at them…lol.. I had never felt sooo FREE, LIBERATED and WHOLE before. I felt sooo complete as I embraced my ‘Black Heritage’… Jumping excitedly, I take a picture and update my blackberry display and typically, in a matter of 3 seconds post the update, I had about 25 pings at the same time… ATTENTION TIME!!! I knew already that I was gonna get a multitude of reactions but I dint care. I really was still contemplating fixing a weave on, but the responses I got actually made me bolder and sooo i decided to actually wear the TWA (Teeny Weeny Afro). However, like an anti-climax, I remembered that I hadn’t mentioned a word of this spontaneous decision to my boo… AAARRGGGHH!!... Im gonna be in trouble mehhnnnnn… I immediately pick up my phone and send him IMs telling him im sorry and that it would have grown back by the tym he returns.

Brushing the negative thought aside, I focused on the positive energy I now felt and attended to all my ‘fans’ of the moment, all dropping their irrelevant, good/neutral/bad feelings and opinions about my new look. I knew they’d get over it with time so I dint mind cause most importantly, I felt completely BEAUTIFUL!

As I waltzed out of the salon, I really didn’t wanna get home in a hurry so I went around looking for hair products and also got my eyebrows done. After all the wandering, reality set in and I took what seemed like the shortest stroll ever down my street (shortest because my dad has the exact same opinion Bayo has…oooh yeah.. that’s his name.. Bayo…the one who makes my world circular…*sigh* ). I walked into the living room expecting ALL the attack in the world and strangely my dad said in his oh-so-gentlemanly voice..”what did u do to your hair?” and I said “I cut it. The hair I just took out did a lot of damage” (so while it did SOME damage, I still lied) and he goes “Oh..ok..not bad..you just look a tad bit too young”. What!! That’s it?????... WOW!!! Life is indeed full of surprises.

Having crossed that "hurdle" (much easier than I thought), I knew the next one would be my mum, and then work tomorrow… I got to my bed and chatted with my boo a little… Trying to calm him down!!.. Sheeshhhh mehnnn!!! I thought this was MY hair!!... Anyway, I think I succeeded in making him a little calmer before I had my first nap with Nappy.....

17^th OCTOBER 2011

Sooo… I wake up at 4:45am, 15 minutes earlier than normal! Gosh! My first bath with my nappy glory…*sigh* I would not trade this freedom and peace I feel within myself for anything… Did a co-wash and made my first discovery – Nappy LOVES water!!!… WOW its sooo soft and as I work the Shea butter and Tea Tree oil in, it gets even softer…*another sigh*..  I am soooo excited and can’t wait till everyone sees Nappy (that’s my hair by the way)… My colleague picks me up at about 5:45am and on sight, she goes…”Anu u’re crazy ooo… you really cut your hair… you look the same tho” and with a wide grin, I say “Doyin, I haven’t been happier!”

The drive to work was constituted majorly of me just rambling about how much I love my hair.

As I strode into my office at about 7:50am (after a short nap in Doyin’s car), the screams started from the entrance… a multitude of comments and opinions came in – a couple of compliments but mostly “No-No’s” as they were in shock. I really didn’t care as the most important thing was ME – I was happy, I AM happy! And I thot to myself “They’d get used to it”.

My day was going by really great and the comments kept pouring in… whether GOOD or bad, I really did not care (really, really), I just loved the feeling and the attention *insert wide grin*… UNTIL Bayo decided he could not keep pretending that he’s okay with the hair and informed me about how LIVID he was n etc….*rolling eyes*.. Aaannyyywaaaayyy… I still had a great day J (though he told me to take d pictures off my BB status)…

I got home at about half nine and my mum was in the sitting room…(she hadn’t seen the hair) and as soon as I walked in…wait for it…wait for it…”Oh wow.. kilo se si run e(what did u do to your hair)? Did u cut it?” and I go “Yeah”.. n she goes..”Anuuu…mo ti bi eleyi na (A humorous way of saying “This my child!!”)”. After confirming to her that it makes me happy….She just smiled and said “Have a ball lashing out and discovering yourself, just make sure whatever you do won’t affect your career and that the police doesn’t come looking for you”. Yipeeeeee!!! My mum actually gets it!! I CAN do what I want as long as no one gets hurt.

On this note, I proceed to bed sooo happy and light headed, ready to really start Nushy’s Adventure of the Strands of Nappy!!!……

The story till the BIG CHOP

Sooo... let me take you through my story till I decided to do the BIG CHOP….

JULY 2010

No! Anu, I love my woman to have hair…Buh baby…No, I really cant stand hair-cuts on women no matter how nice it is…*sigh…

Ok..so that was a typical conversation between my boyfriend and I in the wee days of the month of June, 2010. It was pretty annoying cos we had only started dating in May and I’m thinking ‘Wait o…is it not my hair? *rolling eyes*’….Anyywaaayyy… I eventually had a “stylish” haircut in July (without his consent…by the way)… it felt sooo, damn good…I liked the cut even though I still dint have that ‘gratification’ I was searching for (frankly I dint know wot I was searching for) and I needed to find ‘IT’. Under duress(from my boyfriend..(dont roll ur eyes just yet cos I’m reaalllyyyy into him)), I only had the hair cut on for about a month and had to fix weaves and cornrows till my hair ‘grew back out’ and in..

FEBRUARY 2011

My boyfriend got me this really sleek Brazilian weave as opposed to all other wavy or curly ones and I just had to wear it for my birthday (Valentine’s day) soo I had to ‘lye’ my hair up… and as soon as I was done relaxing my hair… I just knew I could not do ‘this’ anymore and vowed to go No-Lye from that day. I decided I was going natural but resolved to ‘grow it out’ till it was long enough … Well...until i decided to do the "Big Chop" on 16th October, 2011  :) . (That's me in the brazillian weave on my birthday)

Introducing... NUSHY

Ok…so for a first blog entry I guess I have to introduce myself…sooo here goes..

An eccentric, sanguine-melancholy, Nigerian young lady, my name is Anuoluwapo Soloye… Anuoluwapo in direct translation to English would mean “God’s mercy is abundant” and my last name, Soloye would mean..errr.. never mind J….. `

Im just gonna cut to the chase and say I am currently finding myself and on that journey, guess what came along….the BIG CHOP (cutting off ALL relaxed tips of my hair after growing it out for a while to reveal a TWA (Teeny Weeny Afro))! First of,  lemme say I feel soooooooooooooo FREE and frankly, I haven’t felt more beautiful in my whole, entire (well..short) life.

I did the BIG CHOP on Sunday, 16^th October 2011 and I have had a ball since ...imma take you through the journey from this point...