I know being super connected to the continent is in vogue right now – from tribal makeup at music festivals to dashikis – I get the appeal and I’m all for the unity of Africans regardless of how far back their continental ancestry goes.

But my natural friends, from a Nigerian girl who LOVES Nigerian food, y’all cannot be using our food ingredients all up in your hair.

First it was palm oil, which has been touted as a viable coconut oil replacement by the likes of Curly Nikki and former Fashionista of the Month, Marra even did a video on different ways to use it in your hair. Though I haven’t gotten around to trying it on my hair yet, I was ok with palm oil being a thing for naturals to try – it has a distinct smell and color so I was pretty confident it wouldn’t go “mainstream,” meaning I could still count on finding some at Trader Joe’s because it’s surprisingly cheaper there than at African food markets.

HOWEVER, I recently came across a video of one of the beloved sisters from My Natural Sistas, who made an okra hair gel. And I became very, very scared.

If anyone knows me in real life, you know that I STAN for okra soup. Like, I can eat okra soup every day of my life and be cool (and probably slim as heck because okra = a VERY healthy digestive tract ok??). The only thing – on some days – that might beat out my okra craving is suya. I will eat okra with stew. I will eat it with rice. I will eat it with a spoon and no swallow. I am committed to my okra.

Which is why I’m not down with sister Toni suggesting that folks go on out and buy up all the okra in the store to make some gel to lay their edges. There are so many darn hair gels on the market already!

Pretty please guys, don’t use okra in your hair. I need to eat it to live. And I cannot afford for the cost of okra to go up. Pretty please.

Sincerely,

A okra loving Nigerian girl who wants us to FALL BACK on all the DIY stuff for a quick second because it’s now tew much and I need to sustain myself for the next 100 years of my life. With okra.