can girls from southern africa grow long hair? i know west/central/east africans

[bibirockz]

bibirockz , I'm not in SA but I just wanted to add that I've heard some high-end salons stock Mizani, Chi etc. For example, here's a salon in PT that sells Mizani, Keracare etc: UPscale Salon - Hair and Nail - Pretoria.. Here's another that may stock products that you're familiar with: Proline Hair Design - Professional Hairdressing, Styling, products for your hair and hair care. The last time I was in SA I found ORS products in Clicks, so it might be worth a visit.

SA is pretty much up there in on a lot, including fashion and beauty. The products are there, it's just a matter of finding who stocks them.

Since I'm not sure which products in particular you're after, another suggestion is to contact the manufacturer in the US and ask them to give you the contact details of their distributors in SA.

I don't know if you use oils/ essential oils, but here's a site I often come across when I'm searching for information regarding oils: Our product catalogue of pure essential oils. and what do you know? They are located in PTA! I'm sure there are other sources, but this is the only one I know.

How are you faring with local products? I know it always feels better using something you're at least familiar with, but a lot of local products are just as good. Just like in the US, you might have to sort through a few to find ones that work best for you.

Good luck!

Urban I dont think I can thank you enough! I'm going to try out those links, and actually calling the distributors would be a great idea and I will do that as well. Yes, they actually have ORS products all over which is great because I purchase the carrot oil moisturizer recently at Clicks and my hair seems to like it. I actually went to this huge beauty supply/salon store last week and they had the products in bulk including ORS, and Dark &Lovely. When I first came I ordered essential and carrier oils from ageless, and the packaging was great but I'll def check out you link as well.

I haven't really tried their local products other than their V05 Moisture Soak Elixir, and their Softsheen Carson Restore Plus which has mineral oil as the second ingredient I didn't read when I purchased it fml. Also, I was able to find S-Curl which was great since I'm transitioning. ITA, I think they have great products and I'll just have to try out a bunch of them to see what really works. I will keep you posted, I'm supposed to actually buy their unrefined shea butter next week!!! Thanks again

 

[libertysince05]

I have a question for the OP: coz I just remembered in our History lessons we studied how several tribes migrated from East Africa and settled in current South Africa and neighboring countries. It's so striking that certain languages I hear like Shona and Zulu have words that sound almost like Swahili and I can actually pick up on some conversations.

The question I wanted to ask is that is it ok for a South African professional woman to have curly natural hair or braids or locks or cornrows as a bank manager, lawyer, doctor etc? The reason I ask this is that in East Africa, it is not that huge of an issue, but in America it can be an issue. Some employers here will not hire a black female with natural hair. (Not all employers, but some). As a result of this, some women feel forced to relax their hair oir straighten it daily with heat and the daily heat use or too frequent relaxers can cause breakage. Sometimes this can be an explanation for shorter hair.

I'm not saying that people who relax (coz I do too) feel pressured and abuse their hair to fit in. Just an alternate theory to the genetics theory because some of South African genetics are the same as East African by way of migration.

OP: growth is not the same as retention.
i'm southern african, and it has been mentioned many times in this thread some women wear their hair short for school/work and also because its fashionable; were i come from braids and fros are not considered a very professional look, so its either relaxed heads or weaves.
Someone quite rightly pointed out that the current in styles (weaves) dont let you really see someones hair.
I do know girls with Apl or longer that are not mixed, and others with good retention rate that are scissor happy.
[video=youtube;7LtwcJKnwWQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LtwcJKnwWQ[/video]

 

[getta]

I understand what you are saying, but I think alot of it comes from poor Braiding technique. I went to visit my sister in South Africa ( Cape Town) and noticed that most of the women had very thin hair and missing edges. THis struck me because Im West African and know most of our women have very nice hair (natural and relaxed). Well I got my hair braided there and actually had a bald spot 1 inch wide that same day from braids that fell out . I actually took out all of the braids that same night due to the tension. When I made this comment to my sister's colleague who is South African, she stated that is the reason why most of their women have thinning hair or receding hair lines. She has beautiful hair because she does not get it braided there.

 

[getta]

Another point I have to make it to comment on genetics. Most West Africans that I know have a heavier grain of hair, so their hair can probably tolerate more while still thriving. The East Africans, that I have came across in the US and Africa have thinner/softer grade of hair so any over processing will have a greater effect on their hair. Now good behaviors ( low manipulation, extending chemical treatments, conditioning ) can equalize or dominate those genetics predispositions.

 

[Urban]

@Urban I dont think I can thank you enough! I'm going to try out those links, and actually calling the distributors would be a great idea and I will do that as well. Yes, they actually have ORS products all over which is great because I purchase the carrot oil moisturizer recently at Clicks and my hair seems to like it. I actually went to this huge beauty supply/salon store last week and they had the products in bulk including ORS, and Dark &Lovely. When I first came I ordered essential and carrier oils from ageless, and the packaging was great but I'll def check out you link as well.

I haven't really tried their local products other than their V05 Moisture Soak Elixir, and their Softsheen Carson Restore Plus which has mineral oil as the second ingredient I didn't read when I purchased it fml. Also, I was able to find S-Curl which was great since I'm transitioning. ITA, I think they have great products and I'll just have to try out a bunch of them to see what really works. I will keep you posted, I'm supposed to actually buy their unrefined shea butter next week!!! Thanks again

You're welcome hun. I hope you find what you're looking for. Definitely keep me posted on your search : )

 

[SequinsAndAbsinthe]

My little sister is APL and straightens her hair without heat protection every couple of days. I am pretty sure she'd be BSL had she got better haircare practices. I am APL now but only just and my hair has grown from root to APL in 2 years which is average according to the timescales I have read in some document by Sistatslick. I don't have long hair by your definition but thought it would be useful to contribute to wider debate. I was a heavy user of the dreaded Pink Oil, relaxed every four weeks because thats what I was taught by Zambian hairdressers and never deep conditioned except on the day I relaxed. I also washed my hair every two weeks as I was afraid it would revert. Moving to the UK meant I could no longer rely on a hairdresser as not only were there very few afro hairdressers where I lived, there were also very few beauty supply stores that stocked what I had grown accustomed to using.

I am afraid I will not post my lil sis' pics on a website as she's only 13, but my signature shows what my hair looked like last December. I am only relaxing annually now so will review in January by which pint I expect to be between APL and BSL.

I went to an all girl boarding school and my friends had longer hair than I did and still do even with their poor hair practices. I haven't seen many past BSL though, quite a few of them trim their hair regularly due to thinning ends caused by overlapping relaxes (also very common in Zambia).

I hope you find what you were looking for in your question, though I remain uncertain what it is you are researching. I am not a hair-obsessive but have found that with time and research my knowledge has improved (more to do with necessity than curiosity) and with this knowledge has arrived health which has led to growth. If it is hair health you seek I am certain you will achieve growth.

 

[miss cosmic]

bibirockz

dischem has a lot of american hair products and styling tools. clicks is also great as has been mentioned.
you can get essential oils at clicks, and at health shops, most malls have both.

 

[bibirockz]

bibirockz

dischem has a lot of american hair products and styling tools. clicks is also great as has been mentioned.
you can get essential oils at clicks, and at health shops, most malls have both.

miss cosmic thank you so much. I went to dischem last week but I didn't look around for long, plus the store was huge and overwhelming . They actually have one at Brooklyn Mall which isn't far from my house, I'll go there soon and hopefully I find great stuff.

I have another question, I'm not sure if you use the aloe vera juice for hair, but is it the one that has bits of aloe in it?

 

[miss cosmic]

bibirockz
i use a spray of equal parts water, glycerine and aloe vera juice to moisturize my transitioning hair, and seal with coconut oil.
the aloe vera juice i get is 100% pure (but i'm sure it has some preservatives) and it's safe for drinking too (though i dont drink it). it has no sediment/deposits or anything floating in it and i get it at my local health shop, along with the coconut oil.
i've tried using aloe vera gel (could only find 98%pure) but it left my hair hard and crunchy so i wont be doing that again unless i need to gel my hair down.

dischem is huge, but all the hair care stuff is usually in one aisle. i love going there! sometimes i really regret deciding to transition, especially when i see products that i read about on this forum that i never expected to find in s.a stores, like chi and fhi tools and products. but then i take another look at my receding hairline (genetics and traction alopecia - bad combo) and i stick to my guns.

are you enjoying being in s.a?

 

[bibirockz]

Miss comic that sounds like a great mix I'll have to try that soon. A lot of people say it's really good especially for braids in the summer which I have in currently. The aloe vera juice I saw actually at dischem had deposits in it so I guess I'll have to search a little harder. I'm glad and thankful that they have similar products and almost the same price range, it's great. I actually went to Pretoria or Tshwanee market I think they call it, and found some grapeseed oil, rosemary leaves, blackstrap molasses, coconut milk and other stuff for concoctions. I was so happy lol.

I actually really like it. I used to live in a suburban area in NJ and where I live now is not different other than I actually see people jogging outside lol. It's much more stress free, I'm glad I made my choice to come. I haven't started school yet but I hope to meet great South Africans. The only thing I'm having trouble with is the weird looks I get from people as if I don't belong but that's everywhere you go. Also the fact that I have to speak very slowly for people to understand me
how long have you been here?

 

[curlscience]

Hi There Miss Comic,

I thought your question, as well as the genetic discussion in this thread, was VERY interesting from a scientific point (I'm a scientist so I enjoy this stuff). I asked this same question a few years ago as I wondered why So./West Africans on the continent "could not" grow their hair like those in the diaspora. I knew it wasn't all due to genetic mixing in the diaspora. So I went to pub med and found this article (abstract below). It was a SMALL South African study (few subjects, so not scientifically rigorous, but it is published nonetheless). Participants were tracked for a year as they maintained their hair AS NORMAL (included daily combing).

Interestingly participants did not have any significant hair growth after a year, which was concluded to be due to the daily combing, which the S. African author stated resulted in a daily "hair cut".

Needless to say I stopped combing my hair after I read this unless it's wet and coated with conditioner (lol!). You can purchase the full length article from pub med or go to the university library as this is a major medical journal.

ABSTRACT
African hair length: the picture is clearer.
J Am Acad Dermatol. 2006 May;54(5):886-8
Khumalo NP.

Groote Schuur Hospital, Division of Dermatology, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa. [email protected]

Three subjects with virgin African hair combed daily had surprisingly short hair length measurements of 40.1 +/- 14 mm, 60 +/- 10 mm, and 69 +/- 20 mm at 6 months, 1 year, and 3 years after a haircut, respectively. This observation raises the possibility that combing African hair on a daily basis may result in the equivalent of a daily haircut in some people. This observation is based on few participants and will require confirmation in population studies.

 

[TrueToHair]

.....................................................................

 

[ms.blue]

I have read this article before and what I got from the "mini" hair cut from daily combing means breakage.

I'm Ghanian, and I believe its hair practice not where you from will determine the amount of growth that is retained. Its known that 4b hair is drier than 4a hair and climate can affect how dry the hair is but from this hairboard, it has been proven what works to retain growth which is moisture & protein balance, clean hair and scalp and some form of protective styling. Its your duty to find out what your hair likes and don't like to come with a reggie that will give you the optimum results.

 

[Nonie]

Three subjects with virgin African hair combed daily had surprisingly short hair length measurements of 40.1 +/- 14 mm, 60 +/- 10 mm, and 69 +/- 20 mm at 6 months, 1 year, and 3 years after a haircut, respectively. This observation raises the possibility that combing African hair on a daily basis may result in the equivalent of a daily haircut in some people. This observation is based on few participants and will require confirmation in population studies.

I totally agree with this, and have always felt that my never combing my hair dry but always ensuring it is drenched with something with slip (conditioner or S Curl) is why I don't get as much breakage as I used to get. I got a reminder of the rough combing I was so accustomed to when my mom came to visit and without a second thought just raked a comb through her "grease moisturized" hair. It sounded like she'd start a fire any time now. She looked at me like I was crazy when I shrieked and begged her to stop. LOL

It's funny how very casually we'd just pull out the broken hairs out of our combs and proceed to comb out our hair again to get it just right. Broken hairs in the comb were so much the norm that we'd just slide them off almost subconsciously and keep on going.