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I’ve known the smell of hair relaxers and setting lotions since I was 5 years old. No kidding. I dreaded the trips to the hair salon on Sundays after my compulsory Sunday nap. No matter how gently the hairdresser handled my hair, I always felt pain not because my scalp hurt, but the fact that my head had to be positioned awkwardly according to the hairstyle that was being made. Stressful!

For every phase of my life, there’s a hair story. I attended a Catholic primary school and the school management was extremely liberal when it came to hairstyles. All through my years there, my elder sister was my hairstylist. She saved me from the hairdressers at the salon and it gave us more room for bonding.

My mum took it upon herself to constantly shop for colorful and unique hair accessories to style my hair with. At school, my friends and female teachers always admired my hair because it was evident that it was well taken care of and the hair accessories were too pretty to ignore. Fast forward to secondary school; the story changed completely.

In junior secondary school, “shuku” was my go-to hairstyle. For my non-Nigerian readers, “shuku” is a hairstyle that’s in the form of a high ponytail. (Click here for a visual representation) Luck was still on my side given the level of liberty that we were accorded as regards our hairstyle. In a typical Nigerian secondary school, the social prefect chose a particular hairstyle for the female students every week. Failure to comply will usually result in punishments.

I switched schools in my first year of senior secondary school and my hair choices were now dependent on a teenager like me. I will probably tell you the story of how I rebelled in my 2nd year of senior secondary school because of a hairstyle in a separate post. For now, just know that I returned home from school one day and handed my mum a pair of scissors to chop my hair off. I was fed up and she knew it. The complaints had been rolling in and she was also fed up. She did the honors and we finished up the cutting process at a nearby barbing salon.

Gaining Total Control Over My Hair

There’s something about hair. It means different things to different people but I think we can all agree that it boosts our self confidence. Hair makes you feel good. Your hair has the ability to change your mood for good or bad. I was so particular about my hair as an undergraduate that I changed my hairstyle every 3 weeks or a month at most. I played with colors and lengths. I had the time and it also fit into my lifestyle back then. Short hairstyles appealed to me the most but they were more expensive to make than long hairstyles- they still are or no? Correct me if I’m wrong.

I have had very long natural hair, long relaxed hair, shaved hair, long relaxed hair again, short natural hair and now, low cut hair. I’ve had enough of hair so I decided to take it all off (most of it). Coco Chanel said and I quote, “A woman who cuts her hair is about to change her life.” I totally agree with this.

Cutting off My Hair

For the most part of my life, my hair choices/hairstyle have been determined by other people and I know they meant well for me. When most people ask me why I cut my hair, I always respond by saying, “I was tired…” Those trips to the hair salon as a little child, having to always make a new hairstyle every week or 2, the endless hours spent at the hair salon and the time spent on maintaining my hair does not fit into my current lifestyle. I’d rather spend all that time playing dress up, watching videos on YouTube or trying a new recipe in the kitchen. I love my hair but I would rather not stress about it and spend so much time on making it look good. My short hair is part of my identity and it has come to stay.

Ladies in the house, when did you start making your hair at hair salons? Did your school at any time determine your hairstyle? Do you or your relatives make a fuss about your hair or you don’t bother so much about it? Would you rather have long or short hair for the rest of your life? Let’s continue the conversation below.

PS; If you missed out on my previous post, you really should check it out here