ABUJA- Mrs Adanna Enwezor, the Executive Director of Photizo Life Foundation, organisers of the Abuja annual Afro Hair Culture Festival, has urged Nigerians to shun harmful hair products.
Enwezor made the call on Monday during a pre-event news conference for the 2023 edition of the festival scheduled to hold from December 1 to 2 in the Federal Capital Territory(FCT).
According to her, Nigerians, especially women, need to be aware of the dangers of synthetized hair products and embrace home-grown healthy hair products and promote the African hair heritage.
Enwezor said many Nigerians were suffering from different hair-related health challenges because they failed to understand that many of the foreign products they use were not tailored for their hair texture and environment.
She said the annual Afro-Hair Culture and Beauty Festival was a flagship initiative of the foundation to curb help hair-related health problems, promote the virtues, values and beauty of Africa.
According to her the 2023 Afro Hair Culture Festival, which will hold from was being organised in collaboration with relevant stakeholders in the health sector to drive the ‘healthy hair campaign.’
“I am sure there are a lot of people out there who have had interesting experiences with hair relaxers and have had to deal with severe hair damage and all that.
“I was also a victim of that, and there was a time I was advised to be careful of what I was putting in my hair and my skin as a pregnant woman.
“According to the medical advice, what I was using on my skin and hair could affect the baby in the womb, and it is not everywoman that knows that.
“The African hair is beautifully curled, with good texture and colour, which makes it one of the most beautiful things that God has created about us.
“So for me, the African hair is something that we as Africans need to begin to embrace more, but a lot of Africans are in denial, and are refusing to accept it.
“In our effort to further to showcase the elegance of the African hair, we are holding this year’s festival for December 1 to 2 at the Transcorp Hilton in Abuja,” she said.
She said the event would also be a forum to expose hair-related health risks and encourage the use of more home-grown healthy hair products and lifestyle for Africans.
The organizers added that the event would also feature discussions that would present economic opportunities in the hair industry sub-sector. (NAN)