Sis, Let’s Talk Hair (The Real Talk You’ve Been Waiting For 💁🏾‍♀️) - Hair Care Series (Day 1)

Hey there,

Welcome to a deep dive into the beautiful, wonderful, sometimes confusing world of Afro haircare! 💫 My name is Itunu Odekunle, Founder of Havah Haircare— a fine Nigerian girlie, wife, and twin Mom, thriving in the Netherlands. I’m genuinely so excited you’re here—and I promise this is gonna feel more like voice notes with your favorite cousin than some stiff, science-y lecture on sebum and cuticles (although we’ll get into that too, because, you know—balance 💅🏾).

So, let's start where all good stories begin: the beginning.

Now, I don’t actually remember my first relaxer— which says a lot. It was just…what every girl did. Somewhere between that burning scalp and that sizzling flat iron, we were all trying to “tame” something that didn’t need taming in the first place. Growing up in the Netherlands, where the standard of beauty was blonde, glossy, and Eurocentric, I internalized pretty early that straight hair = beautiful hair. Period. No footnotes, no alternatives. Just facts (or so I thought).

So I became very good at chasing that standard: chemical straighteners every few months, heat styling every other week—girl, my hair was on a schedule.

But then…social media happened. I stumbled across Black women in the US doing the Big Chop and rocking their afros like crowns. At first, I was just nosy. Let me just watch one…okay, ten…okay, two hundred videos. And then something shifted: I saw me. Not what I’d been conditioned to be, but the version of me that had been hiding underneath heat damage and relaxer creams.

Eventually, after a year of research and second-guessing (and convincing myself that my ears weren’t too small to go short 😅), I chopped it all off. And I felt FREE. Like “run-through-a-field-in-a-movie-montage” free.

But sis. Listen.
Once it started growing? Whew. Reality hit. Detangling sessions turned into arm workouts. Products weren’t working. I was confused. And tired. So… I went back to relaxers. Yep. Again.

But something was different this time. My hair grew longer than it ever had before—even with the chemicals. That’s when I realized: it wasn’t the relaxer stopping my growth before… it was the lack of care. Once I figured out what my hair needed—moisture, consistency, and a real scalp routine—I cracked the code. I eventually did the big chop again and this time for good.

Now? I’ve got twin toddlers (yes, two— send help! 😅), and even after postpartum hair loss, I managed to grow it all back in a year. 🙌🏾

If my hair story tells you anything, let it be this: it’s never too late to start over, try again, or grow back stronger—literally and emotionally. Whether you’re mid-big-chop, in your TWA (teeny weeny afro) era, deep into protective styles, or just staring at your curl pattern like, "what are you??" —you’re not alone.

Over the next 5 days, we’re going to get into:

• How to treat your scalp like the queen she is 👑
• What actually causes growth stagnation (and how to fix it)
• The truth about products, routines, and styling for real-life naturals

Get ready to learn, laugh, and love on your hair like never before.
You in? Let’s go. 💕

Talk soon,
Itunu 
Founder, Havah Haircare
✨ Yours Truly ✨