Feature: More Nigerian women opt for synthetic hair to embellish beauty
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E-mail Xinhua, October 16, 2013
Although they are beautiful and can still sweep any man of his feet with their natural skin colors, more Nigerian women seem to be joining the bandwagon of female folks who use synthetic hair to embellish their beauty as days roll by.
At least, 70 percent of Nigerian women prefer to use the artificial hair, which are also curly and multi-dimensional, said Rekiya Subair, leader of the Wuse 2 Market chapter of National Hair-braiders Association in Nigeria's capital city Abuja.
"As hair braiders, we always prefer to use the artificial hair because it adds beauty to the work, to braiding or weaving of hair, " Subair said.
"In the days of yore, we didn't use it. But nowadays, more ladies are opting for the synthetic hair because you cannot carry a hairstyle with your natural hair for a period of three to four weeks. Braided artificial hair can last up to six weeks before you un-braid it and it would still look very neat and nice," Subair said.
According to the saying "looking good is serious business," women pay more to fix the synthetic hair on their heads than the cost of braiding a natural hair.
The lowest cost of fixing a synthetic hair, especially in Abuja, is about 20 U.S. dollars and many ladies from high society do not mind fixing their hair with 100 U.S. dollars or more, Subair disclosed.
This is because the multi-purpose synthetic hair come in different colors and can easily diversify into local and international hairstyles. It is important to note that many Nigerian women do not have long hair, hence the reason why they are keen to attach the synthetic hair to their natural hair.
The artificial hair is mostly preferred by the women because the weather in Nigeria is not always friendly with the hair, causing so much heat on the head and thereby putting the hair in unfavorable condition.
"On every head we use the artificial hair, we charge more compared to what it takes to work on a natural hair," the hair weaver explained.
"Some people come to make natural hair and pay more, depending on the hairstyle and the time it will consume. It is the artificial hair that looks more beautiful because when people come here and make natural hair they will say they can not open it at work or cannot take it anywhere as they would end up covering it because it is not beautiful enough for them. But when they use attachment, they open it anywhere, even at their places of work and it makes their beauty to come out very nice," the hair weaver explained.
Nigerian hair weavers have creatively given different names to different local and international hairstyles, depending on the origin and the statement the hair makes.
According to Esther Babatunde, an Abuja-based hairstylist, most popular hairstyles among Nigerian women include Twisting, Two Steps, Clapping and Suuku, which originated from local hair- weavers in southwest Nigeria.
Other hairstyles popular among the women in all parts of the West African country include Eleven Braid, One Million Braid, Feathers, Two-side Clapping, Suuku Ologede and Suuku Owo Ni Faari.
"We also do foreign styles like Ghana Weaving and many more because foreigners come here and we have to do it for them," Babatunde said.
To mix artificial hair with natural hair, local hair braiders or weavers usually spend at least two hours to make their customers look good. And the customers - not minding the huge amount spent to look good - are always willing to endure the time spent.
"This particular hair that I'm fixing will, if I'm not mistaking, take about three hours to be completed. It's worth it because I know that I'll look good at the end of the day. I usually spend nothing less than 8,000 naira (more than 50 U.S. dollars) on my hair," Jessica Tebez, a computer operator patronizing a local braider, said.
Meanwhile, after being used, the artificial hair damages the natural hair a lot and many women still feel bad about this, according to Madam Bridget Idowu, managing director at L'amour Beauty Salon in Nigeria's southwestern state of Lagos.
And large number of the male folks in the West African country seem to appreciate the artificial hair worn by the women because beauty, they say, is in the eyes of the beholder.
"They (women) definitely want to look good and not for themselves alone but all ladies want to look good so they can be attractive to the men. But, of course, as a Nigerian and Muslim, I prefer a lady wearing her natural hair," said Jubril Yusuf, a businessman.
Another Muslim faithful Abdulwahab Sani, who is a professional photographer, said, in Islam, it is not permissible for a lady to wear artificial hair because it defeats the purpose of the human natural hair.
"There are other styles that you can do with your natural hair which really have nothing to do with fixing weavon. The industry is large, it depends on how innovative, how creative and how dynamic you want to look at it," he argued.
In his opinion, however, Iginus Augustine, a public transport operator, said he prefers the artificial hair because it brings out the women's beauty.
Even when you are wearing your natural hair, it is still fashionable to tint it just to make you look different from other ladies, argued Uche Ude, a business woman.
"I primarily wear it to change my looks," she said, explaining the reason why she tinted her natural hair to golden color.
As the Yuletide season is drawing nigh, it is obvious that more Nigerian women will spend a fortune just to look good while the local hairdressers and the international manufacturers of the synthetic hairs that are being used will be smiling to their banks again. Endi
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