Natural Hair in the Nigerian Diaspora...Ronke

Hi all,

Hope everyone had a fab weekend and is ready for a productive week ahead. This week's Nigerian Naturalista is Londoner Ronke Lawal, Founder of RSL Management Services, a marketing and PR agency based in London. When I first set up The Kinky Apothecary 2 1/2 years ago, I was featured on BGLH, and through that was contacted by a number of people, Ronke being one of them. She's one of the few I've remained Facebook friends with, although we still haven't gotten round to meeting up in person yet. We must rectify that soon!

Photo courtesy of subject

Photo courtesy of subject

Why I decided to go natural 
I've been natural for roughly 12-13 years. Relaxer was never really my friend. The breakage used to be ridiculous and to be honest it just never suited me. There were a few occasions when I'd relax my hair and it would be like "wow so lovely and glamorous" especially after a good retouch but after the first week or so it was just silly. Plus even though relaxer was supposed to be the main-stay as a lady in our household, actually taking care of it in terms of a healthy routine was not something really discussed. We could never afford to go to the really good hairdressers either so to be honest it was inevitable that my hair would not be happy with the chemicals. It was interesting to see/hear the reactions from friends and family though who were waiting for me to relax it again....they are still waiting. It's so bizarre given that it's hair that grows out of our heads, and surely we should all decide how we wish to style or wear it. I suppose culturally that is something we need to get over: full acceptance of the full scope of our hair's capabilities no matter how one chooses to style it. 

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My hair and my job 
For the past 3 years I have been the CEO of the Islington Chamber of Commerce which was extremely demanding. I have had to attend a high number of meetings and public facing forums and was quite often the only black woman there. I would change my hair style a lot so it got to a point where people would ask silly and quite frankly awkward questions. Wearing my afro out would probably get less comments than my weaves, though the afro-kinky twists may have had a few concerned that I had become a "rasta". You must bear in mind that even though this is 2012 the English establishment is not as diverse as one would hope. I tend to wear styles that I do not have to concern myself too much with though, as I am often too busy to take care of my hair and do not wish to be defined by it. As long as it looks good then I'm good!  

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My experience of being natural in Nigeria? 
I've been to Nigeria since I went natural, but I had a protective style of cornrows for 2 reasons: firstly I'm exceptionally lazy when it comes to my hair and did not want the stress (plus I wanted to get it done in Nigeria - some of the best braid stylists in the world) and secondly because I was going with my mother and she was panicking that I would rock up to Lagos with an afro like an "unkempt heathen". Quite bizarre but that's Nigerian mothers for you!

Photo courtesy of subject

Photo courtesy of subject

Challenges encountered since going natural 
When it comes to hair styling I am pretty lazy, I love rocking new styles but to be honest I just do not have the patience so this has been a great challenge to me. Which means more often than not I will rock a protective style or a weave particularly as I can be so busy with work and business.

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My routine 
I tend to leave my hair out for about a month between weave or protective styles now (for about 2 years though that was not the case: I'll be honest, I let work take over so was weaving it up all the time). I wash and condition and use good shea butter based products. I have also discovered the benefits of using pure oils like Coconut oil and castor oil. I plan on getting a steamer too when I can, as I know how important that is to hair health. I am more concerned with my hair health than its growth at present, so anything I can do to maintain its health is paramount. 

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My natural hair idols 
EEEEKKK! I'm never very comfortable with the term "Idol" - purely because one has to gain full self-acceptance and inner peace with one's own beauty before looking towards others. I do admire those people who have maintained their integrity in the public eye though, figures like India Arie, Janelle Monae etc. I would love to pinpoint more corporate, public-facing executives who embrace their natural hair or at least go against the status quo in some way. Susan Taylor, former editor of Essence Magazine is one such example. Interestingly enough she recently gave a speech where she commented that people often ask her why she doesn't change her hair style more, to which she stated that she is more than simply her hairstyle, that her work and her passions go beyond this. I love that! 

Photo courtesy of subject

If you'd like to hear more of what Ronke has to say, check out her website: www.rslmanagementservices.co.uk, and blog: http://www.ronke-lawal.blogspot.co.uk/

Thanks a lot for giving us your views, Ronke.