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Afro | Zikoko!
  • 21 Things Girls Who Don’t Wear Weaves Will Understand

    21 Things Girls Who Don’t Wear Weaves Will Understand
    *Note: Weaves here means “wigs, weavons and braids”.

    1. Having your hair touched by random people. Without permission.

    Stranger: “You look good girl! Is this all your hair?” *goes ahead to touch your hair*

    2. Being able to feel your scalp.

    You can actually touch and feel your scalp. No weavon tracks. Your scalp is not air-deprived, you can actually feel breeze in your head.

    3. Not having to do this.

    No weave-patting for you.

    4. You seriously loath Wash Day.

    Get ready to spend two hours making sure your hair is properly cleaned and deep conditioned and moisturized.

    5. Your edges are still young and thriving.

    Nothing is pulling them back to the past.

    6. You when it’s about to rain.

    Because you know your twist out is about to be destroyed!

    7. The nastiness of a smelly weave is not your portion.

    Carrying your hair for two to three months? God forbid!

    8. You get bad hair day sometimes.

    When your hair just refuses to co-operate with you.

    9. You get good hair day most times.

    When the deep conditioning and moisturizing brings out the best in your hair.

    10. You unknowingly causing trouble.

    When you sit in front of people with your big hair.

    11. You at night and during the day.

    When you have to put your hair in twists before you go to bed versus taking them down in the morning.

    12. Being a product junkie.

    Water, anointing oil and all other liquids are not your enemies. When you see a new hair product, you just have to try it out.

    13. Thankfully, you never have every weaveaholic’s recurring nightmare.

    When your extensions part ways with your scalp.

    14. The actual condition known as ‘weave addiction’ isn’t something that affects you.

    Because you’re all about the natural hair life.

    15. Your bank account is bouyant. No 100k, 200k Brazillian hair for you.

    You account balance isn’t affected by money spent on human hair.

    16. You’re all about the bonnet life.

    You gotta protect ’em curls and coils.

    17. When your hair pins disappear.

    Wherever could they have all disappeared to?

    18. When you have a failed twist out.

    The tragedy. They weren’t ready to be released to the world yet.

    19. When you perfect the twist out.

    Yaaasss!!!

    20. Sadly, you don’t experience the beautiful natural-botox effect of a fresh weave.

    The way that thing pulls at your face! No wrinkles in sight when you have a fresh weave.

    21. But thankfully this horror movie is something you’ll never experience!

    Or this.

    Or this.

  • How To Be A Woke Lagos Hipster

    How To Be A Woke Lagos Hipster

    1. Natural hair or dreads

    Adichie says hair is political. Yup. Afro, dreads, just let it grow and blossom baby. Must attend: that dreads convention each year. Must follow: Blogs, Instagrams, Tweeters about natural hair. Must do: Tell everyone just how great their hair is and welcome them to the other side.

    2. Stop wearing a bra

    Bras were invented by men to hold you back from freedom. Ditch bras. When people stare at you, hold them tits high by arching your back. Dazeet.

    3. Attend Afropolitan vibes

    Ignore all the western music and think about the live band bruh. That live band is lit. Don’t forget to tweet about how the bottled Palmwine isn’t fresh enough for you.

    4. Visit Terrakulture at least once a month

    You haven’t gone to an art gallery? How are you living without the appreciation of art? Rele also holds a couple of events.

    5. Tell us how awful international food is

    Can we just ban Domino’s? How dare you call chicken suya a pizza variant? *rolling eye emoji*

    6. Bogobiri on Thursdays

    Nigerian music is trash except when you’re bumping and grinding to it at Vapours on Friday. Bogobiri’s open Mic night is what authentic music should sound like — with proper content and etc.

    7. Complain about politics but don’t vote

    Tweet about how much light you’re not getting and how the roads in VI are bad. Don’t forget it took you 6 months to register your non-profitable business. But don’t vote. How can you vote in an election that’s already rigged?

    8. Tell us how Lagos is the most expensive city ever

    “Lagos is the most expensive city I’ve ever lived in”. Thank you Ms. Art internship in Monaco, we had no idea.

    9. Complain about the things Nigerians do

    This one is really important. Nigerians don’t give personal space. Nigerians eat too loud. Nigerians are too loud on the phone. Nigerians like to talk too much and any other thing you think only Nigerians are capable of doing.

    10. Complain about Ubers

    Nigeria just doesn’t have enough Ubers bruh. It’s always in surge pricing bruh. There are no trains in Lagos bruh. How are there no trains in Lagos?

    11. Be a writer

    Write sad poems. More importantly, write “African fiction” and attempt to describe the smell of Lagos. Argue about writing. Compare and contrast Adichie to Achebe and give yourself 10 marks for spotting the differences. Get into a creative writing workshop. Blame your singleness on the fact that nobody can love writers because they’re always sad.

    12. Start a blog

    Lagosdosgbe.wordpress.com or a URL with a Nigerian slang will be your collection of woes, p settings and the weird thing you bought in traffic. Tell your friends about it every time you have lunch with them.

    13. Be proud of your melanin

    Black is beautiful. That’s all I have to say. Tag every picture with #Melanin and #Slay. Ugh. Slay is so important. Never forget to slay.

    14. Patch everything with Ankara

    How else will you define yourself and your Africanness if you don’t have a lirru bit of Ankara and Dashiki pieces everywhere? Put them on your pockets, chest, forehead. Wear an Ankara bikini.

    15. Join the fitfam crew

    Sign up for Truppr and get on that Lekkoyi bridge. We’re not trying to accept our bodies anymore. That’s so 2012–2014. You must change that body and be fit and have enough Buffality. Dazz rai. Don’t forget to autopost your Endomondo, Runkeeper and Nike+ workouts. Everybody must know.
  • @ofilispeaks Is Publishing a Children’s Book About Natural Hair, In Honour of The Afro

    @ofilispeaks Is Publishing a Children’s Book About Natural Hair, In Honour of The Afro



    Afro: The Girl With The Magical Hair was originally a short story about a girl called Oghoghotionmwantiomesiemerijie (not a typo) or O…AfrO for short.

    Afro is from the far away land of Lolovita. Afro had the biggest hair in the kingdom and this hair, which was magical, by the way, helped her save a Prince from a random kingdom and kill a wicked Queen. She used oils on her hair to help her ‘fro grow so high.

    The story was originally available on Okada Books in ePub format.

    Afro - The Girl with the Magical Hair
    via Ofilispeaks

    The story is now being made into a real children’s book and will be published by Farafina Books. Both physical and ebook versions of Afro: The Girl With The Magical Hair is written by Okechukwu Ofili.

    Afro - The Girl with the Magical Hair
    via Ofilispeaks

    Okechukwu Ofili is the founder of e-reading platform, , an illustrator and a blogger at . Most people call him Ofilispeaks, because he is a public speaker as well. Okechukwu has also published other books including ‘How Stupidity Saved My Life’ and ‘How Laziness Saved My Life’.

    This book is particularly great because it not only celebrates the African woman and her natural hair, it is potentially laying the foundation Afro to be one of the few – or nonexistent – superheroes in literature for young black girls.

    The illustrations in the book are by Sharee Miller, an illustrator who aims for bright, colorful and whimsical designs and art geared towards children. In anticipation of Afro, some of Sharee’s natural hair illustrations are:

    And

    Look at this one.

    By all indications, the illustrations in the book will be as amazing as these ones.

    These images are equally as beautiful as those by illustrator Ekpemi Anni in her book My Lovely Hair.

    The release date for “Afro – The Girl With the Magical Hair” has not been set yet, but we will let you know as soon as it is.