Influencer marketing in the last 5 years has been in demand. Buying is made more accessible when someone you trust recommends a product. We humans buy with emotions, yes but what makes it easy to pull out your debit or credit card is trust.

If an influencer says a particular product is why she has maintained her sweet sixteen 16 looks, then her followers will trust she wouldn't deceive them. With thousands to millions of followers across all socials, people will be more inclined to buy anything they recommend.

But that trust in public figures can be taken advantage of very quickly. Most influencers see influencing as a job, which it is. However, their followers don't always understand that their recommendation is purely business. Although, some influencers do not compromise their integrity or deceive their followers to make money.

Ngozi is one of those few influencers. She is a Nigerian YouTuber who creates content around everything natural hair. She steadily helps Africans break the stereotype that African hair doesn't grow long. She has achieved this impossible feat with her own natural hair and is on a mission to help others do the same.

And from her 200k plus followers on YouTube, over 120k and 20k on Instagram and TikTok, respectively, it's evident she knows her onions.

We sat down with Ngozi to debunk some myths about African hair and also to share her knowledge of what works

IS THERE A TIMELINE FOR GROWING A PARTICULAR HAIR LENGTH?

The normal inch that anybody should grow in a month is half an inch. But some people grow more than that or below it. It can be due to environmental factors or genes.

I have friends who started growing out their natural hair at the same time I did. One of them has longer hair than I do and the other one has shorter hair length than us. We grow hair differently and there's no timeline to it. The only effective way to increase hair length is to minimize manipulations and hair breakage.

DO HAIR PRODUCTS OR ROUTINES HELP BOOST HAIR GROWTH?

Products do not help you grow your hair from the root. It helps you to maintain the hair you already have and also allows you to maintain a healthy scalp.

Products can help you stop breakage by strengthening your hair so that you can retain the inches you grow out monthly. Growing half an inch or more with less shedding will result in longer hair automatically.

DOES CHILDBIRTH CAUSE EXCESSIVE HAIR BREAKAGE OR IS IT ONE OF THOSE UNFOUNDED FACTS?

A friend of mine recently gave birth and she had the most absurd hair loss I've ever seen.

When it comes to postpartum hair loss, hormones are the biggest culprit. Pregnancy is different for everyone. To you, it might be hair loss and it might be extreme hair growth for someone else. And there is nothing anyone can do about it. But it grows back with time.

ARE TEXTURIZERS DIFFERENT FROM RELAXERS? AND ARE THEY SAFE FOR NATURAL HAIR?

Anything that tampers with the texture of your hair is not good for your natural hair. Texturizers are low-budget relaxers. If you don't want the texture of your hair altered, and prone to breakage, please stay away from texturizers.

For me, it's no longer considered natural hair once the natural state of the hair has been altered by chemicals.There are better ways to achieve a softer hair, one of them is investing in moisturizers or leave-in conditioners, and also having a hair routine. Staying natural is a personal decision. If you make the change because of a trend, you won't last.

AS A PROFESSIONAL AND AN ADVOCATE FOR NATURAL HAIR, WHAT ARE THOSE HAIRSTYLES THAT ARE THE REAL PROTECTIVE STYLES?

Protective style can be different for everyone. It's supposed to protect your hair. So, If a hairstyle hurts your scalp, pulls on your hair, gives you bumps and the pain results in a headache, then it's no longer a protective style. A protective style should tuck your hair in and protect it from manipulations. Braid can be a protective style if it's not tight on your scalp or pulls your hair.

There are two different types of protective styles. Long-term and short-term protective style. Long-term protective styles are the ones you can carry for a longer period like braids, Faux loss, crotchet, etc. But short-term protective styles are the opposite of the long-term. They are those styles you can do over the weekend to let your hair breathe, styles like flat twist, loose twist, Bantu knots, or cornrows

DOES KEEPING DIRTY HAIR GROW YOUR HAIR LONGER? SOME HAVE ARGUED THAT DIRT GROWS HAIR, WHAT’S YOUR TAKE?

It doesn't. If it does, washing your hair while on braids will not be a thing to trend. Not washing your hair can cause your pores to clog which will affect your hair growth. A clean scalp promotes healthier hair and growth.

Everyone has a routine that is best for them. The goal is to be consistent with it and not look at what is trending. On the days I use edge control to style my hair for content creation, I resist washing my entire hair if it's been washed a few days prior. What I do instead is wash the part I applied edge control.

WOULD YOU ADVISE NATURALISTAS TO PREP THEIR HAIR BEFORE GOING TO THE SALOON OR AT THE SALOON?

I always advise people to learn how to take care of their hair themselves. That's what my platform is about. I teach people how to treat their natural hair better because I believe that you take care of your own. Before you get your braids done, prep your hair at home. It's your hair and you know it better than anyone. If you like it stretched before braiding, you can use the traditional threading method to stretch your hair a day before installing your braids, instead of using heat on your hair.

Most stylists don't know how to care for natural hair. It's extra hard work and I don't blame them. That's why you must learn to do it yourself.  On occasions you have to use heat on your hair, always remember to apply a heat protectant. A heat protectant is to your hair what sunscreen is to the skin. It protects the hair against heat damage.

I also advise my followers to speak up when the stylists are not doing what is asked of them. It's not easy to stand up to them but it's your hair and you are paying for the services.