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Last year, I celebrated the second year anniversary of my natural hair journey  and shared the reasons for going natural and how that evolved over time. This year, I decided to invite other gorgeous natural haired ladies to also share their experiences.

I was fortunate to talk to four ladies- Oyin, Yemi, Tayo and Elissandra. Afterwards, we had a fun photo shoot with the talented Angela of A Oguns Photography.

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For some, going natural is only a trend or an experiment, for others, it’s a conscious decision to return to their own roots. However, there are even other ladies like the 2 I interviewed who have only known their natural roots.

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We might say hair is just hair, and that’s true, but we also can’t deny the role it plays in constructing and policing people’s identities, or their acceptance of themselves as wholesome human beings. For generations, a group of people were made to feel that their natural selves wasn’t a default. They had to strive to be something other than themselves. They had to manipulate and even harm themselves in order to fulfil another’s default, another’s standard of beauty. So I’m all for the natural hair movement.
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Of course, everyone’s different and thus, are natural for different reasons. But embracing ourselves, and loving our bodies as they are, isn’t a luxury everyone can afford. So here’s a celebration to natural haired ladies everywhere, who despite the hardships of being natural, or the stigma of having an afro, relentlessly carry on loving themselves in a culture that requires them not to or denies them the normality of doing so.

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I thoroughly enjoyed working with these ladies and hope their stories encourage you to fiercely and fearlessly pursue your own goals, hair related or otherwise.

 

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Check out the behind the scenes video I made and edited below:

 

Special thanks to Angela of A Oguns Photography who has time and time again created stunning editorials for SewaFolie; as well as the beautiful models.

And of course, thanks to God for grace and the life we live.

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