In a market in the Chadian capital, N’Djamena, customers gather at Ache Moussa’s stall to treat their long plaits with a special paste in an ancient ritual. Each strand of hair, from the root to the end, is coated in a traditional mixture of cherry seeds, cloves, and the most essential ingredient: Chebe seeds.
Users claim this recipe makes their hair grow longer and look more lustrous. Local and natural hair products are becoming more popular across Africa as people steer away from chemical cosmetics, which are widely feared to cause cancer. Moussa applies the mixture and styles the client’s locks into a Gourone—a traditional hairstyle consisting of several large thick plaits and thinner braids.
The ritual has been passed down from generation to generation for ages. “We inherited the skill from our mothers, who also learned it from our grandmothers,” Moussa said at her stall in the Al-Hafia Market. “In the village, our mothers exclusively braid our hair with Chebe powder.”
Chebe Haircare Recipe
Moussa’s recipe is simple: She roasts and crushes the seeds of the Chebe tree, a shrub found abundantly in the mountainous Guera region in central Chad. She adds cherry seeds and cloves, also ground into powder, “for the fragrance,” creating a heady, spicy scent that “lingers even after washing.”
Moussa charges 2,000 Central African francs ($3.20) for each hair treatment. The United Nations ranks Central Africa as the second least developed country in the world, so only some can afford This service.
Take Your Time
A hair appointment for a Chebe treatment lasts for hours. “The fact that Chadian women who use Chebe have such long hair is not because Chebe is a miracle product,” said Nsibentum, a self-described “hair specialist” from Congo-Brazzaville.
“They have a raw material that is almost non-existent in Africa but especially in Europe, and that is time.” Nsibentum has gained popularity on social media across the continent for his videos and lectures on traditional African hair rituals. He says the Chebe ritual has a bad reputation among many people as a long ordeal that a customer has to “endure”. But he advised: “It’s the time you spend on regular care that will make your hair grow.”
‘Natural’ Hair Look
Manoubia Abdel-Nasser Kadergueli, who created her brand of Chebe hair products, says Chadian women “are trying to go more natural” in their hair-care practices. The trend towards a more natural look emerged in the United States in the 2000s. Kadergueli makes hair products in the courtyard of her family home with the help of her cousins.
Together, they clean the seeds and grind them into powder and oils. Once a week, she sets up shop in a hotel lobby in central N’Djamena, where most of her customers come from abroad. Among them is 50-year-old Aloys de Gonzague Niyoyita. He lives in Canada and buys from her stand whenever he visits Chad.
The length and healthiness of his dreadlocks “are thanks to these products that I use,” he said. “People ask me if it’s my real hair, and I say “Yes.” For hair specialist Nsibentum, “this product has almost become a source of national pride”.