Interesting Observation: Coarse hair generally grows longer without much care?

[kblc06]

Do you find this to be true?

Something I have come to notice is that people who I would consider supergrowers whose hair grows at a faster rate and longer lengths on the board and IRL generally tend to have very coarse hair. And by coarse I mean that they have very thick, thread-like strands of hair. It doesn*t matter if they are 3a or 4z. I have even seen such people with 4b coarse hair relax every 4 weeks, flat-iron & curl their hair daily and wash once every other blue moon and have BSL-MBL that looks visibly healthy and thick.

In a nuclear holocaust their bodies would be blown to smithereens, but their hair would still be there all thick & lush like. This is not limited to just blacks either because I have noticed that races such as Indians and people of Asian descent who generally have coarser hair, grow their hair to much longer lengths without much care.

 

[FindingMe]

interesting...i have very coarse hair and have never had an issues growing it long or keeping it relatively healthy. i know my coarse hair doesn't twine and wrap around each other as much as some of my finer haired sisters (I.e. I don't tangle much when it's in it's natural state...) so this helps me retain length I think...

 

[msa]

I agree with your observation. The only caveat is that it seems that the coarser haired folk tend to have drier hair, which could be a problem. I've noticed that coarse haired people with more natural sebum tend to do the best (like my sister).

 

[poookie]

I'll believe it. it's easier for fine hair to snap and break off if you're not careful. i do protein at just about every wash in an effort to beef up my strands, but i'd imagine life would be easier if i had coarse hair

 

[Lucia]

Sounds like a good theory, I've done alot of bad things to my hair, realxed, colour, highllights, blowdryer, curling iron/hot rollers almost daily, and pretty much all at the same time, and I still had hair on my head, even when it was damaged it kept on growing, not like now of course. I don't know how coarse it is, or how to figure that out but I would guess since I have to go out of my way to destroy it, I guess it might be coarse but I never thought of my hair as coarse like Asian hair.

 

[locabouthair]

NO ITS NOT TRUE!!!!!!!!

I swear I must have the coarsest hair known to man. I have strands that feel like wire and I had a friend told me one time my hair cut her I have been struggling to get past NL!! I did have a lot setbacks though. As a little girl my mother and grandma tried almost everything to make it grow and it wouldnt budge past my ears. The longets it ever was was SL.

ALL the women I know that have grown their hair either really long have fine strands or normal strands.

My aunt and I have the same hair type but she can grow her hair past her shoulders but I havent (at least not yet). She has normal/fine strands but I dont.

Now this is NOT to say that I coarse hair will not grow, because I have gotten some growth spurts but I STILL believe people with normal/fine strand retain length better. Im not talking about 4a vs 3b. I'm talking about the diameter of the strands.

I have discussed with a couple of people on the board who have fine hair and wish they didnt have it. No one believes me that coarse hair is NO picnic. The dryness is REDICULOUS!!!

I also believe that there are few people with really coarse hair. The majority have fine and normal strands IMO.

 

[vkb247]

Do you find this to be true?

Something I have come to notice is that people who I would consider supergrowers whose hair grows at a faster rate and longer lengths on the board and IRL generally tend to have very coarse hair. And by coarse I mean that they have very thick, thread-like strands of hair. It doesn*t matter if they are 3a or 4z. I have even seen such people with 4b coarse hair relax every 4 weeks, flat-iron & curl their hair daily and wash once every other blue moon and have BSL-MBL that looks visibly healthy and thick.

Coarse hair has more cuticle layers so it would generally retain length better because it can take more than finer hair. But I don't think that it generally grows at a faster rate because it is coarse.

 

[Junebug D]

Yes, but it's a retention issue, not a growth issue. Coarse hair has more cuticles, so it can withstand more wear and tear. However, I don't believe that the difference in strand size is enough to make null the texture differences. The best at length retention are probably those with straight, coarse hair (common in East Asians). The hardest to maintain length would probably be those with fine, kinky hair (common in African Americans).

 

[kblc06]

Coarse hair has more cuticle layers so it would generally retain length better because it can take more than finer hair. But I don't think that it generally grows at a faster rate because it is coarse.

This is true. I guess what I meant to say is that their retains length much more quickly and with greater ease. Thus their hair appears to "grow" more quickly. But then again, the people I*ve seen with coarse hair tend to have faster growth rates (~ an 1 in or so per month)

 

[SweetSpirit86]

I can agree with this. My hair always grew fast...and even with my bad practices I still retained quite a bit of length. I wish I could find my old pictures lol. Tangles weren't really an issue (now, is another story...but it's short and curly)...but good LAWD dryness always has been.

 

[msa]

I also believe that there are few people with really coarse hair. The majority have fine and normal strands IMO.

I agree except I think coarse and fine hair are both out of the ordinary and that the majority of people just have normal strands.

 

[MontegoBayBaby]

Is that it? My strands are very coarse. And, I have to say prior to coming to this board I never did anything with my hair on a regular basis(dc, moisturize daily etc) but have always had midback length hair. Also, b/c my strands are so thick if I do have breakage issues, hair loss is obvious by looking in the sink etc but not by looking at my head. But I think there is a limit to it b/c with that said why has my hair only ever grazed my waist and never hit it or surpassed it. I thnk if I actually took care of my hair it would have been waistlength long ago. I also don't think my hair grows fast but it does with stand abuse for quite awhile prior to breakage I guess. Interesting observation!

 

[MAMATO]

I do have coarse hair as well, and my hair is very resistant but not dry because I tend to have a high level of sebum secretion. My scalp stinks if I dont wash it weekly.

 

[anon123]

For those of you who say your hair is coarse, allow me to ask you a question. Do you find it to be true that your strands are thicker than 1 ply of a 2 ply sewing thread? I don't know how one knows that their hair is coarse. The only concrete test I have read says that you take a sewing thread and separate the 2 plies. If your hair strand is finer than that, you have fine hair, same as that you have normal hair, and thicker than that you have coarse hair. My strands can feel quite wiry so I want to say coarse, but when I did that test, even the thickest of my strands were not as thick as that 1/2 a sewing thread. The thinnest of my strands were much finer.

 

[Southernbella.]

It's definitely true for me. I just posted the other day about how resilient my hair seems to be.

 

[MAMATO]

Oh my, oh my...thanks for the test, now I can officially confirm my hair is very coarse and I've just been through a moisturizing DC

 

[MAMATO]

It's definitely true for me. I just posted the other day about how resilient my hair seems to be.

I told you, from the moment I saw your natural hair, I knew we were hair sisters

 

[Optimus_Prime]

I would agree. I've never had trouble growing hair. Ms Chicoro kindly explained this to me when I was new to fotki and the hair boards. She said that she and I both have thick hair strands, as seen under a microscope.
I feel kinda like MontegoBayBaby, now that I know how to take care of my hair and see it growing, I'm kinda mad thinking of how much hair I done grown in my life that I didn't know how to care for.
I have shaved my head before, I used to run relaxer all through the length of my hair, total application time of 45 min, etc and my hair never fell out or thinned.
Now I know that all I need to grow my hair to my goal lengths is time and conditioner.

 

[poookie]

my thinnest strands are spider web thin, and my thickest are... well.. thick spider webs

so coarse hair sounds like an absolute dream to me!

 

[SweetSpirit86]

Just did the "string test" lol. Some of my hair in the front is the same width as the 1ply. The rest is normal.

 

[IDareT'sHair]

I've done alot of bad things to my hair, realxed, colour, highllights, blowdryer, curling iron/hot rollers almost daily, and pretty much all at the same time, and I still had hair on my head, even when it was damaged it kept on growing, not like now of course. I would guess since I have to go out of my way to destroy it.

This was Me. I was a Weekly Client at a Salon for 20-25+ Years. And had horrible things done to my hair for the sake of "Style" -- Fast Forward to Nov '08 I am now finally paying the price. My Hair has never suffered this much. And at times I look at it now and question, if I will ever recover.

I can agree with this. My hair always grew fast...and even with my bad practices I still retained quite a bit of length.

I Can Totally Relate to this Statement. For Years & Years I allowed my Hair to be Abused by Someone Else and I totally took it for Granted, because I "knew" it would grow back.

Ya'll This time.....I am really Worried.erplexed At Least I am Now, a DIY, so now (The Lord) and "I" Have Total Control over the Health of my Hair.

 

[bestblackgirl]

I agree with this.. I have very coarse hair.. brillo like.. and I abused it every way possible.. and it still was always APL... until i was stressed out and it went from APL to SL..

 

[FindingMe]

I agree with your observation. The only caveat is that it seems that the coarser haired folk tend to have drier hair, which could be a problem. I've noticed that coarse haired people with more natural sebum tend to do the best (like my sister).

so true, so true! My hair LOVES jojoba oil which is very close in constitution to hair sebum...I apply it to my hair every night and it seems my hair soaks it in, but looks visibly better EVERY day since I've been using...

 

[vainღ♥♡jane]

i agree with this. before i did the bc i abused and neglected my hair and it was still long and didn't look bad. it was also dry though, and it didn't help that i never dc'd or used conditioners when i washed, just shampoo.​

 

[locabouthair]

Coarse hair has more cuticle layers so it would generally retain length better because it can take more than finer hair. But I don't think that it generally grows at a faster rate because it is coarse.

I never thought any type grew faster than the other. One might just be able to retain length better.

For those of you who say your hair is coarse, allow me to ask you a question. Do you find it to be true that your strands are thicker than 1 ply of a 2 ply sewing thread? I don't know how one knows that their hair is coarse. The only concrete test I have read says that you take a sewing thread and separate the 2 plies. If your hair strand is finer than that, you have fine hair, same as that you have normal hair, and thicker than that you have coarse hair. My strands can feel quite wiry so I want to say coarse, but when I did that test, even the thickest of my strands were not as thick as that 1/2 a sewing thread. The thinnest of my strands were much finer.

I never did that test. I say it's coarse because it's feels very wiry. Not a ll of my strands but a lot do.

Cant nobody tell me my hair's not coarse

 

[silvergirl]

my hair is fine, it doesnt take a relaxer very well, color can fry my hair,,(if its not a proffesional color i apply myself, store bought ones seem to hate my hair). i have to be careful of flatirons as well. and pressing combs are a NONO. i remember testing out a pressing comb 3 years ago, and it TOOK OUT my hair. flatirons have never done this, even when at the same temperature. some proteins suck the life out of my hair. products weigh down my hair. i even have to be careful of too much moisture.

anyhoo basically im saying i agree, lol coarse hair most likely will retain length easier..HOWEVER if a fine stranded girl like myself finds the right regimen their hair will retain length just the same.

 

[MonPetite]

4a/3c Checking in.

I have hair thick in strand density and diameter, that grows quickly.

Moisturizing hasn't been a problem post-Cap and Go Method. Before it was quite difficult.

I'm still searching for the PERFECT leave-in, though.

I'm glad my hair is coarse. It pushes back and marches forward through any abuse it receives...as I do. We're a pair, I suppose.

 

[kblc06]

my thinnest strands are spider web thin, and my thickest are... well.. thick spider webs

so coarse hair sounds like an absolute dream to me!

I know...needless to say I'm quite envious. All these threads about type 3s having super-growing, easy retention and here I am STILL hovering between APL and BSL after almost 2 years. No more scissor happiness for me.....but the thing is I have to be scissor happy because my hair splits and knots so easily because it's fine. On top of that it's thready and porous

my hair is fine, it doesnt take a relaxer very well, color can fry my hair,,(if its not a proffesional color i apply myself, store bought ones seem to hate my hair). i have to be careful of flatirons as well. and pressing combs are a NONO. i remember testing out a pressing comb 3 years ago, and it TOOK OUT my hair. flatirons have never done this, even when at the same temperature. some proteins suck the life out of my hair. products weigh down my hair. i even have to be careful of too much moisture.

anyhoo basically im saying i agree, lol coarse hair most likely will retain length easier..HOWEVER if a fine stranded girl like myself finds the right regimen their hair will retain length just the same.

I found a regimen that works very well for my retention issues. It just doesn't allow me to do anything to my hair besides bun it up and somehow I STILL manage to find a few splits here and there. I've seen people with coarse 3b/c 4a/b/z who don't do half of the protective care I do with my hair get to longer lengths much more quickly with healthy ends to boot

 

[taz007]

4a/3c Checking in.

I have hair thick in strand density and diameter, that grows quickly.

Moisturizing hasn't been a problem post-Cap and Go Method. Before it was quite difficult.

I'm still searching for the PERFECT leave-in, though.

I'm glad my hair is coarse. It pushes back and marches forward through any abuse it receives...as I do. We're a pair, I suppose.

Cap and Go Method? Please do tell!

ETA: Ok, I found your link. Off to read about this "method"

ETA2: Cap and Go sounds interesting. I will try it tomorrow.

 

[Mystic]

I definitely agree! My BF's daughter has the thickest hair. Grant you, it's hard to manage - no wonder why she abuses it. She never DC, and because it's hard for her to manage it, she gets it flat iron at the Dominican salon every week. She has Butt length super shiny hair that has LOTS of body. Once I flat ironed my hair at the dominican salon and the heat did a number on my hair - it broke off ! Needless to say, I am jealous.

Do you find this to be true?

Something I have come to notice is that people who I would consider supergrowers whose hair grows at a faster rate and longer lengths on the board and IRL generally tend to have very coarse hair. And by coarse I mean that they have very thick, thread-like strands of hair. It doesn*t matter if they are 3a or 4z. I have even seen such people with 4b coarse hair relax every 4 weeks, flat-iron & curl their hair daily and wash once every other blue moon and have BSL-MBL that looks visibly healthy and thick.

In a nuclear holocaust their bodies would be blown to smithereens, but their hair would still be there all thick & lush like. This is not limited to just blacks either because I have noticed that races such as Indians and people of Asian descent who generally have coarser hair, grow their hair to much longer lengths without much care.