With all the talk about natural hair going on now among the diaspora, a lot of people don’t know that the use of relaxers in African countries is actually still very prominent. This is what I explore in my documentary.
In telling the story of relaxers in Nigeria, my goal is to also tell a story of Nigerian women as a whole, bringing light to Nigerian culture and ways. Africa has a lot of under told stories, and the story of hair, especially as it relates to the natural hair movement happening in America right now, is one of them.
My Journey in Creating the Documentary
- I am a Nigerian American YouTuber living in America with relaxed hair who has received a bit of criticism in America for having relaxed hair in the rise of the natural hair movement.
- When gong back home to Nigeria, I could not help but notice the stark contrast in how relaxed hair was still accepted as the norm there.
- I felt passionate about bringing this story to light and understanding why this difference existed
- I embarked on this documentary to see how the meanings surrounding black hair change, if they do change, in the absence of a white presence in places like Nigeria, and to understand the reasons why Nigeria, like so many other African countries, still has a strong hold onto relaxers
- I was prompted to start my YouTube channel a few years ago to help improve the relationship other black women have with their hair through easy to follow tutorials and informative hair care videos. Now I want to use my platform to also branch into some much need discussions about black hair.
The Documentary
- After seeing a young girl openly laying down outside a market in Nigeria with relaxer on her hair, I was prompted to begin my journey to understand the use of relaxers in Nigeria by traveling around Nigeria, reaching out to and interviewing people from different generations, asking them about their hair.
- I start with my grandmother who was alive during the time when relaxers first entered Nigeria.
- As I pass through generations and hear the stories of different individuals from each generation, I am ultimately able to piece together the story of relaxers in Nigeria and understand how perceptions towards natural and relaxed hair passed through time and why the relationship many Nigerians have with relaxers exists as it does today.
