Black women and long hair

I'm adding this pic to the natural thread. I loooooooooooove it:drool: It displays beautiful long hair of Black women. And they all have different textures, which shows people you don't have to have type 1 or 2 hair to have long hair!
I am so sick of people saying that black women can't have long hair, or if they do then they have to be half white, or they have a weave or whatever type of nonsense they come up with, but to be honest its our own fault. I believe every woman has the potential to grow their hair to "terminal" length. I believe that yes everyone has a hair terminal length and that hair will only grow to a certain point- this is determined by the growth cycle, rate of shed, care and etc. Most african american women will never know what their growth potential is however due to improper haircare techniques- thus the myth that black women can't grow long hair. However this myth is fairly modern. Black women had been growing their hair long successfully for quite some time without a problem until the 1920s when short hair and the bob became popularized. Add to that the invention of the pressing comb by Walter Sammsons, Madame CJ Walker's introduction of "black" haircare products, the lack of scientific information, the perpetuation of myths regarding hair in the black community(i.e. good hair vs bad hair, you can't wash your hair to often, blacks can't grow long hair, our natural texture is bad and straight is better, etc), the low cost of mineral oil compared to other oils-thus the lower production cost for companies, blowdryers, curling irons, relaxers, and other factors all amount a lack of knowledge and misinformation that passed on to other generations. The result= a majority of of black women have BSL hair and shorter (due to damage and mishandling) and people of every race, including our own, think it's genetically impossible for an African American woman to obtain the longer lengths naturally. It's amazing what we can convince the world of in less than a 100 years, now image with all the resources we have now (i.e. the internet, television, radio, telephone, etc) just how quickly we could show the world otherwise.

Okay I'm done ranting. Here are some pictures/inspiration of some beautiful African American women and their lovely hair.

Pretty-Black-004.jpg
Profile-Negro-Girl.jpg
Lessons-Piano.jpg

Beautiful-Black-Girl.jpg
American-African-Girl-Braided.jpg
American-African-001.jpg
 
Well, today I went to work with my hair loose, so two black women asked me if all of it was my real hair and I answered yes. I had a "braid out" so sinc"e my hair was curly it was a few inches past shoulder length and they asked me if it was a weave. After I told them it was my real hair they said: "it's long, you should relax your hair".

I hate this. :wallbash:Why do people think you go natural to then relax? Ummm...your hair is damaged and won't grow while it's relaxed...so then you go natural to get it healthy and long...and then relax?:sad:

Although, I don't know why I am confused. I have a sorority sister who is doing this. Her hair is growing much healthier and faster than when it was relaxed...although she still won't listen to me about her decripit products...and her goal is that as soon as it gets healthier and longer she want to relax. So then you can have the same problems because you have not learned how to really take care of your hair? :rolleyes: I'm done doing this :wallbash:
 
Man, we'll have to convince Oprah first! Remember when she was bragging about that ponytail on her show saying how she envied white girls ponytails when she was little.

And then Andre, her stylist wrote or said something to the effect that 4a/b hair can't grow past shoulder length.

I can just see it now. Oprah and Gayle doing weave inspections on LHCF members in the green room.:lol:

Naw...we should go on the View. Barbara Walters loves to stay up in some colored folks hair.
 
Lovely pictures. Though I guess I'm the only one for who the hair of the kinkier haired women doesn't seem that long. It's hard to tell, with shrinkage and being pinned down, of course. But I've seen the style of the darker woman with the frilly white thing around her neck done on someone whose natural hair is shorter than mine. I know it's supposed to be inspiration, but for someone with hair like mine, I have to be honest and say it really isn't. :ohwell: Well, length-wise. I may try one of those hair styles. :) It actually looks like more confirmation that the kinkier, the shorter.

As for their skin, I don't know, they probably weren't consuming or generally exposed to all the weird crap we are nowadays.
 
Okay I'm done ranting. Here are some pictures/inspiration of some beautiful African American women and their lovely hair.

Pretty-Black-004.jpg
Profile-Negro-Girl.jpg
Lessons-Piano.jpg

Beautiful-Black-Girl.jpg
American-African-Girl-Braided.jpg
American-African-001.jpg

These ladies are absolutely gorgeous, and I would love to have some of these as inspiration in my bathroom, Thanks Starr.
 
I hate this. :wallbash:Why do people think you go natural to then relax? Ummm...your hair is damaged and won't grow while it's relaxed...so then you go natural to get it healthy and long...and then relax?:sad:

Although, I don't know why I am confused. I have a sorority sister who is doing this. Her hair is growing much healthier and faster than when it was relaxed...although she still won't listen to me about her decripit products...and her goal is that as soon as it gets healthier and longer she want to relax. So then you can have the same problems because you have not learned how to really take care of your hair? :rolleyes: I'm done doing this :wallbash:

Yep, I go through this too. I love showing people my length. I get the comments. You look so much better with straight hair. Why don't you get a perm? Why do you were your hair in the afro when you have long hair? My hair hasn't been this lenght in the past when I relaxed. I have seen naturals that have gone back to relaxing continue to maintain their healthy hair.
 
Great thread!!! It's great to know that soo many women on this board has squashed the theory that black women can't grow their hair long!
 
Lovely pictures. Though I guess I'm the only one for who the hair of the kinkier haired women doesn't seem that long. It's hard to tell, with shrinkage and being pinned down, of course. But I've seen the style of the darker woman with the frilly white thing around her neck done on someone whose natural hair is shorter than mine. I know it's supposed to be inspiration, but for someone with hair like mine, I have to be honest and say it really isn't. :ohwell: Well, length-wise. I may try one of those hair styles. :) It actually looks like more confirmation that the kinkier, the shorter.

As for their skin, I don't know, they probably weren't consuming or generally exposed to all the weird crap we are nowadays.
Beautiful, inspiring women, they all appear to have apl stretched hair and longer:yep:
 
Man, we'll have to convince Oprah first! Remember when she was bragging about that ponytail on her show saying how she envied white girls ponytails when she was little.

And then Andre, her stylist wrote or said something to the effect that 4a/b hair can't grow past shoulder length.

I can just see it now. Oprah and Gayle doing weave inspections on LHCF members in the green room.:lol:

Someone needs to educate Oprah. :yep: She's probably getting all her information from her hair stylist. :yep:
 
i agree...................we can grow our hair to great lengths..............im all black.its living proof.i saw whit people with kinky hair before and guess what,not every white person has long hair.we have been mis informed about our hair perhaps because no one really tried to understand it.lol...just a word of thought!!!!!!:ohwell:
 
I have noticed that there are a lot more black women on tv commercials etc that's sporting natural hair. I think the image of how people think black peoples hair should be, is changing, very very slowly though.
 
When I first started wearing my hair natural, a white lady at work, asked me if my hair was real or a curly perm. I got very upset. I asked her why would she think that, because I have dark skin I can't have "good hair". I have a light skinned friend that wears hers curly a lot, no one has ever assumed she has a curly perm, but that hers is all natural. I then informed the lady that it was my natural hair and I was deeply offended by her ignorance. I really thought she was going to cry, but I didn't feel bad about setting her straight.
 
Starr, what site did you get those pics from? They are absolutely georgeous! When I see old pics like that, I always wonder whatever became of the people.
 
I have noticed that there are a lot more black women on tv commercials etc that's sporting natural hair. I think the image of how people think black peoples hair should be, is changing, very very slowly though.

I was just talking with my friend recently about how pretty much all black women in commercials have natural hair nowadays. It's not like, darkskinned women with an afro, it's like lightskinned women with 3b curls.....but it's a start.
 
Yea, and watch it all fall out... just kidding :lol:

Wow! So they were protective styling way back then too, huh?

I have to note that the darker women (more black in them) hair is all pent up or braided while the mixed looking woman's hair is loose.

Why?

I would suspect to avoid the detangling issues that we are still dealing with today - the kinkier the hair, the more likely the hair is to tangle up when it's loose. Shoot. And they had less time back then, too - ya know?

This really is a great thread - I love those old pictures, Starr!
 
Agreed, although people tell you its a 'compliment' when girls (and guys!) ask if your hair is real.. why can't black people (not lhcf-ers of course because we know better) accept that fact that its POSSIBLE for a black woman to have beautiful REAL hair. I think that's a little bit of... (i'm gonna say it).... self-hatered. The knowledge is out there (lhcf...bhm...jeez even allure magazine!!!) if we can just get the stupid notion of black people not being able to grow hair past their shoulders we'll learn to actually do what makes sense and TAKE CARE OF OUR HAIR. It's a simple equation, good hair care= long hair
 
Agreed, although people tell you its a 'compliment' when girls (and guys!) ask if your hair is real.. why can't black people (not lhcf-ers of course because we know better) accept that fact that its POSSIBLE for a black woman to have beautiful REAL hair. I think that's a little bit of... (i'm gonna say it).... self-hatered. The knowledge is out there (lhcf...bhm...jeez even allure magazine!!!) if we can just get the stupid notion of black people not being able to grow hair past their shoulders we'll learn to actually do what makes sense and TAKE CARE OF OUR HAIR. It's a simple equation, good hair care= long hair
:yep::yep::yep:
 
I hope you don't take offense, but I can see why someone would ask if you are wearing a wig. Your hair is really pretty. It is black and shiny. Even though your hair is fine (according to you), it looks thick. Overall, it looks extremely healthy. Sometimes when people say that your hair looks like a wig, it is not malicious. For example, I have had people to say that my hair (which is not long) looks like a wig especially when I have rollerwrap. Some were being mean, but a few prefaced it by saying "It looks so pretty like its a wig." Those few people were individuals would not be underhandedly mean to me. I just wanted to say this to everybody else at LHCF, the weave questions and statements are not always mean-spirited or from a place where "Black folks can't have pretty hair..."


I agree, sometimes we tend to find insults where only compliments were intended... I have seen plenty of non blacks with stunning hair and wondered if it was a weave or extentsions.
 
I'll just be happy when this news that "Black hair really does grow... and GROWS A LOT" gets out! It'll be a "stop the presses" event I tell you :lol:

I have Mandarin lessons every week with a very old fashioned traditional Chinese woman, and she stares at my hair sometimes when she doesn't think I'm looking and when I catch her she smiles. She's never asked me anything, because I'm sure she doesn't want to be offensive but I can tell that she is curious about my Black hair growth :grin:


Maybe she just thinks it's beautiful. Some people tend to be in awe of hair and features different than theirs.
 
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