Who am I?

I just realised that my blog doesn't have much information on who I am. In case you would like to get to know me 'better', below is a synopsis of the lady behind the brand AfroMoriri. A cyber girlfriend (hopefully she becomes a real life friend) of mine who owns a blog called oliviazjournal.com interviewed me, so I found it worthwhile to share some of the answers I gave her with you; for the full interview feel free to visit her blog.

Introduce yourself.

I have a very unusual name – Daffodils, and usually get very interesting reactions to it whenever I introduce myself. Many times have I had people even say “no, your real name please, the one in your birth certificate”. I find it humorous and entertaining to have people doubt who you are due to their lack of knowledge or familiarity with certain words/names. My other name is Matlhogonolo and means blessings. The family I come from originates from Botswana and are of the Seele descent, so I am Tswana. My own family is in South Africa and resides in the city of Gold – Johannesburg.

When and Why did you return natural?

I first went ‘natural’ late 2009, but would do what we call a blow out (partially-relaxing) every 2 months.  That went on until 2011. In August on 2011 my hair literally fell off my head while I was removing braids. So I was compelled to shave off all my hair and start afresh. September 2011 marked the beginning of pure natural hair, however this was not a healthy hair journey I embarked on. All I did was braid my hair month after month, and the reason for that was I believed natural hair was hard to manage and the best way to deal with it was tucking it away. I didn’t want relaxers anymore because even when I had relaxed hair I spent 99% of the time in braids. The only time I took them off was when it was time to relax the hair, then a week later I would have new plaits done.  So I told myself I would go natural as I wasn’t wearing my hair out anyway. My healthy hair journey as a natural only started in May 2014 after I did extensive research on YouTube and Google.

 b) Do you find yourself making a “U-turn” sometimes later? (Back to relaxed hair 
etc) 

I doubt I will ever relax my hair bone straight but I do not rule out a healthier way of getting relaxed hair, i.e. texlaxing. To be honest I sometimes get tempted to relax my hair, usually this is in moments where I feel down about my hair, when I think it’s not progressing enough or when I feel lazy to put in the work for managing it. My ‘pick-me-up’ from these low moments is usually browsing through my photos. It always amazes me how much progress my hair has made by assessing photos, I get to appreciate progress in my hair line, hair thickness, volume, length, styling and overall health.

What does your “CROWN” (fro) mean to you? What story does your hair tell?

My crown reminds me that a woman’s hair is her glory. It reminds me to be confident and proud of the hair naturally given to me. It also reminds me that hair is not a measure ofwho I am and who I should be, but a reminder that it is part of my accessories of beauty. So I should enjoy its versatility and the freedom of expression it allows me. In a weird way, since going on a healthy natural path, my crown is like a little baby that I enjoy nourishing and nurturing. Yes I get odd moments of weakness like the one in the above comment but for majority of the time, I love and enjoy taking care of the jewel of my head.

What’s your hair routine & which products do you use?

My full regimen is available on my blog but a summary of what this entails is: a weekly wash, then a hydrating deep condition session followed by moisturizing & sealing in the moisture. Every fortnight I deep condition for protein replenishment. On a daily basis I spritz the hair with a mix of distilled water and extra virgin olive oil, castor oil and pure glycerine.  I don’t have staple products but generally use ORS, Shea Moisture and African Pride products.

What’s your biggest hair challenge and how do you deal with it?

Patience for finger detangling, in particular the detailed finger detangle I do once very 4 weeks or whenever my hair needs it. It generally takes me 4-5 hours and can be really laborious and boring. I try to watch tv series while doing it but please find me a miracle solution/product to never having tangled 4cHair. LOL!