?? for all//regarding girls with "long" hair

[Whimsy]

Okay, so I guess i'm the kind of girl you're discussing who had long (bsl to mbl) all my life w/o having to really do anything. All thru h.s. i just put it back in a ponytail. I would cut it to my shoulders and it would just come back. I didn't have to deal w/ truly short hair until 05 when i BC'd.
I think this is the reason why i'm so lazy when it comes to doing my hair nowadays. But I'm here at LHCF to help my hair be as healthy as possible during the growth and transition process. I'm sure genetics plays a part as does low manipulation and even lifestyle in people who just have long hair w/o much effort.

 

[ChocalateDiva]

erplexedI have several cousin with BSL and MBL hair. They use the following with out regard to the health of their hair-flatironing,weaves and braids(without proper maintenance),playing in hair ,wearing it out all the time,combing etc. Their hair still continues to thrive. Thick, healthy luscious hair.

IDK, I just dont know.

 

[Softresses]

If we're talking black women, the only women I know that don't have to use Indian pastes, "scritch", Monistat and MTG are mixed with something.

Everybody else, SCRITCH away and good luck with all that because I talked to the Indian woman yesterday at the convenience store about shikakai/alma paste and she said that their hair is naturally long with or without any of that.

Riding through the inner-city last night, observing all the Latinas with their waist-length hair, I had to wonder how many of them use special "treatments" to grow their hair long and thick. Probably none of them.

And, of course, I go back to my post about black women (those of us whose hair does this) having long hair that grows north, east and west opposed to south and being happy and content with that.

But I won't ever introduce that topic again, considering how INFLAMED many members became last time. I learned my lesson.

Hey Blosssom, I think that the difference with non-biracial hair getting long compared to these women is not growth. It is breakage. Our hair breaks more than hair with smoother textures. It grows as fast as theirs does. All of them do not have super fast growing hair. They just don't have breakage as bad as we do because of the smoother texture.


Softresses

 

[PanamasOwn]

this type of thinking were my orginial thoughts when I joined LHCF...BUT I immediately got my head chewed off for even saying that. But here you guys are re-confirming it. I'm confused .... My hair (most of my life) was about MBL...and mostly hoovered around WL...When I have left it alone, it has grown like crazy...(not to self: leave your hair alone)..I relaxed my hair in June this year and it was neck length.. I BC'ed my hair last week and it is back to that length fully natural..........SO..............................

 

[nappity]

Why do people seem ashamed or hesitant to say they agree with my comments, like they don't want to or something?

I've noticed over the time I've been here that people some time seem afraid to admit to agreeing with something I have to say as if it's wrong.

I don't know why that is.

I'm not ashamed of your comments Blossom- I think you place alot of thought provoking issues on the table. I enjoy your wit and your willingness not to accept the status quo. . However that Avatar- is not friendly lachen

 

[nappity]

I assumed so, but the last time Blossom made a thread about that all hell broke loose. I like to think of it as what is easier to untangle without breaking: a phone cord (the curly one) or a pen spring?

Your kicking the knowledge girl- I thought it was common knowledge our hair grows out like grass. Your metaphor is on point. Thats why I think alot of 4/a/c/c/d/e/f's don't retain length.

 

[Nicole1976]

I think Genetics do play a part

But for those of us who have a harder time,
I feel that figuring out what the hair likes...
should do the trick rather well

Thanks to LHCF, I almost have a full dependable regimen!

 

[winterinatl]

I think it's in the genes as well. I look at my mom, who has never had hair as long as mine; and then my Dad, who has type 2a hair. Mine is something like 3c/4a: not loose, not tight. I have gotten to bsl, but don't think I'll get much further. My scalp produces lots of lubrication for me, to the point that when I flatiron I can only keep it for a few days before it gets greasy all on its own. Then I have to wash or it looks boring.

I often wonder if I keep my hair straight more often, would it grow longer? Instead of doing a wash n go after exercise, for example. b/c that seems to dry/break my hair more than it being straight. IDK, I can't be flat ironing my hair and it takes too long to roller set .

 

[caramelcutieinva]

I am one of those girls. My hair has always been long , except for when I chose to cut it. My hair is thick and grows no matter what I do. I have never


I came on the forum, because I wanted to learn how to work with my hair texture . I also wanted faster growth, and healthy hair.

 

[Kawaii1]

I believe it is a combination of genetics and taking good care of their hair. Here is why I think this my sister had waist length hair as a child and as an adult she has BSL. My sister's cousin (my sister is tech. my half-sister) has hair down to her tailbone as an adult. My sister and her cousin have 4a hair. My sister and I had an aunt that had hair down to her tailbone. Most of the women on my mom's side of family have Sl or longer hair. On my father's side of the family I am and always the one with the longest hair even when I had a chin length bob erplexed. Anyway, since long hair is present on both sides of my sister's family, I believe my sister and people like her are more destined to have long hair.

I have noticed that women with long hair take better care of their hair and have a more positive attitude towards their hair. My sister was the first person to introduce me to protective styling(buns and french rolls), roller setting, caruso, and washing once a week. Her cousin was the first person I saw that simple french braided her daughter's hair instead of the tight braids. Her daughter now has waist length hair. women with long hair have a tendency to have daughters with long hair. I have also noticed that mothers with long hair avoid hair trends popular with blacks, no tight braids, no relaxers or reduce the number of times to get a relaxer or the strength of the relaxer. Women with long hair sometimes sarcifrice style for health/length. They are not h**l bent on removing every wave, kink, or curl.

I would not compare us to latinas or Indians because most of them had long hair as a child and they rarely cut their hair short. Short to them is APL.

I agree with this the most. As black folks we do to much to our hair. My twin sister has always had tons of hair without trying. When she permed it she also cut it off short. After having permed hair for awhile she said she got tired of her hair being thinner went back to natural and has a ton of hair again. All natural and well past shoulder length. It's super thick too. She's just always had hair like this. My bf has had apl-bsl hair for the 10+ years I've known her. She perms but the difference is she only perms about 3 -4 times a year, only wears her hair in ponytails, low mani queen, goes to the shop maybe a few times a year and keeps her hair moisturized. I think having stronger hair is genetic. Anyone can grow hair it's all about how strong or fine your hair is. My sister is old school with hair care, sulfer-8 and washing that is it. She does not do anthing special but her hair is thick and strong. Since I've been a kid my parents have always told me my hair is fine and to this day it is fine and can't take all the crap my sisters hair can. We aren't mixed, we all have afro hair, no curly, wavy, stuff. My friend is not mixed either, her mom ain't got much hair but she sure does. So we need to get our minds out of genetically long hair because if that's the case then what's the point of all the stuff you do?

 

[AvaSpeaks]

Dh's mom's hair is about MBL, his sister and grandma have about APL hair. They don't do anything to it, matter of fact, they're HORRIBLE with their hair, but it's still long. I think it's genetics because they seriously have indian in their family. Dh's grandma is half indian and the grandpa was creole, so they all just have pretty hair without having to do anything to it.

My younger sister has always had long, pretty natural hair. She's been using brown gel to put it back in tight ponytails for years, and it's still long. Not as thick as it once was, but it's still long.

Yeah but you still have two parents.

The women on my mother's side all had long, fine hair. But that does not automatically mean that I will. I have the texture but not the length.

My dad's family, that's the key. Since I don't know his grandparents, then I don't know.

I think sometimes we give genetics way too much of a part in this hair situation that it should be given.

 

[thegirltolove]

This is what I was thinking about today... So all of us here on ths board that have achieved "long" hair...lets say full APL or longer, I believe did so with by paying attention to your hair, taking good care of it and just geniuinly giving it the attention it needs to grow... agreed??

Well I started thinking about girls who just HAVE long hair... I know we all know a few. Its almost like they are just "blessed" with long hair... AND many of them dont appear to really pay the attention and take the time to baby their hair like we members do...

What are your thoughts on this... Are there just girls out there that have long hair and will most likely always have long hair and thats the way it is, regardless of their hair care practices and the amount of time and attention they pay to their hair. OR do you think that if a girl has long hair she is doing "something" right... whether that be, frequent washes/DC or protective styles.. etc..

I hope this made sense and I hope you chime in with your thoughts on this.

A lot of the ladies that I know who have LONG hair achieved it because (oddly enough) they really don't LIKE doing their hair. They do it once and put it up out of the way (protective styling). Other ladies that I have seen with LONG hair just don't relax. They press/ flatiron their hair every once in a while and don't use gel or anything that is gonna cause it to dry out or break off. Pretty much, the non-board members that I see with LONG hair just K.I.S.S.

 

[AvaSpeaks]

Girl, okay!

I went into this long a$$ RANT about a year ago and Enchantment had to SAVE ME about this very discussion!

I have done the 120 day stretch; the bunning; the baggying; the no heat; MTG... you name it, I've tried it, and my hair growth has been the SAME!

At the white board I used to belong to, they told me that nothing makes your hair grow outside of genetics. I now believe them, but since I've bought all this powder, I will put it to good use

It just seems that our women (4a/b) go through so MUCH to attain what seems to come easy to others.

Of course, there are exceptions to that, but, overall, it seems we have to struggle and I ask the question yet again... naw, never mind. Ha!

No Bloss, you are mostly right.

I mean even Black women in other countries & continents have hair longer than African American women. And I'm not talking about the mixed ones either. Plenty of African women can have hair 1/2 inch on their head and then 2 years later, if they put it in braids, they they pushing SL or beyond And some of them are just maybe using oils and braiding and some of them get relaxers and STILL their hair grows.

It seems like African American women got the slowest growing hair on the planet! I mean I see brothers outgrow our hair all the time. And this is with the 4b or up textures. I mean BAA out to

So I say, what is it about African American women hair that tends to break off so bad and not get length vs. other Black women in other countries that have the same hair textures and same hair treatments and their hair grows?

That's the question that needs to be answered.

 

[AvaSpeaks]

I look at it like this.

It's like you know how some people are naturally good at math and some people are math wonders?

And then you have those who struggle at math. So they have to work harder. But they may still get that A or B.

It's like when I was in High School and College. I could write a paper the night before and get an A or a B on it easy. But that's because I naturally had the "writing gift". But most of my classmates, no way they could do that.

Same with our hair. Most of us have shorter hair. It's a fact, deal with it. If it wasn't true, then this board wouldn't exist. And some just had naturally longer hair since birth. Regardless what they do to it.

It's just how it is. Some of us have to work to get that long hair. Some of us don't. It's quite simple actually.

Now WHY this happens, that I don't know.

 

[Dayjoy]

No Bloss, you are mostly right.

I mean even Black women in other countries & continents have hair longer than African American women. And I'm not talking about the mixed ones either. Plenty of African women can have hair 1/2 inch on their head and then 2 years later, if they put it in braids, they they pushing SL or beyond And some of them are just maybe using oils and braiding and some of them get relaxers and STILL their hair grows.

It seems like African American women got the slowest growing hair on the planet! I mean I see brothers outgrow our hair all the time. And this is with the 4b or up textures. I mean BAA out to

So I say, what is it about African American women hair that tends to break off so bad and not get length vs. other Black women in other countries that have the same hair textures and same hair treatments and their hair grows?

That's the question that needs to be answered.

It's all the jacked-up, give us anything that says "gro" on the package, all I want to do is make $$$, don't actually care about hair care products we have here!! It's also the fact that we must look a certain way on the regular due to our corporate jobs,trying to look like the stars on TV and in magazines, societal and male pressure, or just plain vanity. Many of us can't just bun, braid, or tie it and keep going. If I weren't a stay-at-home mom I couldn't get away with the way I protect my hair!

 

[AvaSpeaks]

I tend to feel it is more psychosomatic. A little LOA for the hair. Our hair grows because we see it growing, and so we tend to be nicer to it, and leave it alone. Low to no manipulation, sticking with what works for us. When some more information comes along that we feel we can use, we might or might not. Still visualizing our hair growing, and it grows more, and so we stick to our regimen.... and the cycle continues.

Like we expect it grow. Period. Even with all of the methods, and products out there that are being used, people are buying them because they expect it to help them some way. And wanting our hair to grow we find better products, and forums to help us. We learn about washing the hair more often and on and on until our hair is on auto pilot, and we get the growth we saw from the get go. More wholistic growing...

You know I agree with this as well. It's like a visual thing.

It's kinda like losing weightl we need to see some results fast in order to stay on track and remain positive. It's an ego boast.

Same with our hair. That's why people keep jumping on all of these bandwagons. We want whatever will give us the quickest "visible" results possible.

That's why you see so many of these naturals flatironing their hair. Because the shrinkage is not letting them see the "visible" results of their hair growth.

 

[AvaSpeaks]

It's all the jacked-up, give us anything that says "gro" on the package, all I want to do is make $$$, don't actually care about hair care products we have here!! It's also the fact that we must look a certain way on the regular due to our corporate jobs,trying to look like the stars on TV and in magazines, societal and male pressure, or just plain vanity. Many of us can't just bun, braid, or tie it and keep going. If I weren't a stay-at-home mom I couldn't get away with the way I protect my hair!

This is an excellent point! Because plenty of Black women in other countries and continents can wear their hair natural to work.

Whereas, we can't.

But still how does that change when we have a class of 15 Black 6 year olds and only two have long hair? Something is still not right here.

 

[AvaSpeaks]

I agree with this the most. As black folks we do to much to our hair. My twin sister has always had tons of hair without trying. When she permed it she also cut it off short. After having permed hair for awhile she said she got tired of her hair being thinner went back to natural and has a ton of hair again. All natural and well past shoulder length. It's super thick too. She's just always had hair like this. My bf has had apl-bsl hair for the 10+ years I've known her. She perms but the difference is she only perms about 3 -4 times a year, only wears her hair in ponytails, low mani queen, goes to the shop maybe a few times a year and keeps her hair moisturized. I think having stronger hair is genetic. Anyone can grow hair it's all about how strong or fine your hair is. My sister is old school with hair care, sulfer-8 and washing that is it. She does not do anthing special but her hair is thick and strong. Since I've been a kid my parents have always told me my hair is fine and to this day it is fine and can't take all the crap my sisters hair can. We aren't mixed, we all have afro hair, no curly, wavy, stuff. My friend is not mixed either, her mom ain't got much hair but she sure does. So we need to get our minds out of genetically long hair because if that's the case then what's the point of all the stuff you do?

This is correct! We are putting way too much emphasis on genetics.

Perfect example. There was poster earlier that mothers who had long hair most of the time have daugthers who have long hair. I totally disagree.

Because if that's the case, then how come my hair was never long as a child? Never even went past the neck! And my mother and her mother and her mother all had long hair.

Again, you have two parents. Also, again, some girls are born with longer hair and some are not.

But with proper care, the girls that were not born can grow their hair out. Despite what "genetics" may say.

 

[Dayjoy]

This is an excellent point! Because plenty of Black women in other countries and continents can wear their hair natural to work.

Whereas, we can't.

But still how does that change when we have a class of 15 Black 6 year olds and only two have long hair? Something is still not right here.

I think many women who don't know how to take care of their own hair don't know how to take care of their daughters' hair. Before LHCF I did a really good job taking care of my DD's hair. But since joining her hair has gotten even better and her growth has taken off. It's a vicious cycle. Not to mention many adults are relaxed and have totally forgotten how to take care of natural hair and are of no help to the poor children.

 

[nappity]

I think many women who don't know how to take care of their own hair don't know how to take care of their daughters' hair. Before LHCF I did a really good job taking care of my DD's hair. But since joining her hair has gotten even better and her growth has taken off. It's a vicious cycle. Not to mention many adults are relaxed and have totally forgotten how to take care of natural hair and are of no help to the poor children.

or they put relaxers on a very young girl 5-6 years old or even younger so that they can manage it easier .Without proper care -relaxers- like dyes can ruin a pen spring curl without the appropriate care. Hence breakage and shorter hair.

 

[Je Ne Sais Quoi]

Why do people seem ashamed or hesitant to say they agree with my comments, like they don't want to or something?

I've noticed over the time I've been here that people some time seem afraid to admit to agreeing with something I have to say as if it's wrong.

I don't know why that is.

Because you crazy! Thats why

 

[Vshanell]

A lot of the ladies that I know who have LONG hair achieved it because (oddly enough) they really don't LIKE doing their hair. They do it once and put it up out of the way (protective styling). Other ladies that I have seen with LONG hair just don't relax. They press/ flatiron their hair every once in a while and don't use gel or anything that is gonna cause it to dry out or break off. Pretty much, the non-board members that I see with LONG hair just K.I.S.S.

I agree! I was the same way before finding hair boards. My hair was always a decent length (around bsl) but it wouldn't grow any longer and it was thinner. I can attribute the length to the fact that I was never into having my hair "done" all the time. I got a rollerset like once a month and that was it. When I got older and started flat ironing that's when I started messing things up. But anyway, I notice that the girls that always have to have their hair done up in the most current styles all the time really never got length. Back then whey I was younger, getting roller sets was not the "in" thing to do and you were looked at as being old-fashioned but I was like whatever.

 

[Vshanell]

No Bloss, you are mostly right.

I mean even Black women in other countries & continents have hair longer than African American women. And I'm not talking about the mixed ones either. Plenty of African women can have hair 1/2 inch on their head and then 2 years later, if they put it in braids, they they pushing SL or beyond And some of them are just maybe using oils and braiding and some of them get relaxers and STILL their hair grows.

It seems like African American women got the slowest growing hair on the planet! I mean I see brothers outgrow our hair all the time. And this is with the 4b or up textures. I mean BAA out to

So I say, what is it about African American women hair that tends to break off so bad and not get length vs. other Black women in other countries that have the same hair textures and same hair treatments and their hair grows?

That's the question that needs to be answered.

I definitely don't think that AA women have the slowest growing hair on the planet......they just have a harder time retaining it. See the brothers grow all that hair because they don't do anything to it. All they mostly do is get it washed and braided up for a few weeks then take it out and do it all over again......this is very low manipulation which helps growth retention. While us AA women have to have our hair "done" meaning we use more hot tools, more manipulation, relaxers, color, etc. That's where the problems come in. We do too much!

 

[hopeful]

^^^ ITA with Pokahontas.
Wow this is a very interesting thread. I grew up with two cousins who always had long hair and it seemed without trying. One has always had hair between bsl and waist, always. She has NEVER cut her hair into any kind of style, has never worn weaves. She went to a hairdresser years ago who didn't do a good job so she ALWAYS has done her own hair, she doesn't trust anyone else. 99% of the time her hair is in a pony, not a bun, and she uses like a rubberband y'all. Her hair is beautiful. She relaxes it herself like every 5 weeks and trims the ends herself.

My other cousin has always had APL hair, it is thick, thick, relaxed and gorgeous. She goes to the hairdresser every two weeks I believe and keeps it colored. She does not get it cut very much, does not try to keep up with the latest trends. She's been going to the same lady for years and years. Sometimes I think people are just lucky and find a good hairdresser right off the bat or smart enough to not trust anyone and don't give a bunch of bad hairdressers the opportunity to jack them up.

I just think that we all have some type of crutch to bare. Even though my cousins were blessed with beautiful, long hair, their lives still are not perfect, they have problems I have never had and wouldn't want to have. And like someone else said, a lot of these ladies aren't really into their hair that much, it's not that big of a deal to them, so I don't think they feel all the fortunate and lucky either.

 

[BillsBackerz67]

I definitely don't think that AA women have the slowest growing hair on the planet......they just have a harder time retaining it. See the brothers grow all that hair because they don't do anything to it. All they mostly do is get it washed and braided up for a few weeks then take it out and do it all over again......this is very low manipulation which helps growth retention. While us AA women have to have our hair "done" meaning we use more hot tools, more manipulation, relaxers, color, etc. That's where the problems come in. We do too much!

Yes I agree with this. I actually think our is capable of growing faster and better because we have more access to hair products than anyone else. The low manipulation is key. All I used to do in Highschool was throw my hair into a ponytail and call it a day. My hair was long too although thin and had broken pieces. The only thing that was holding me back was the pressing comb and making my ponytails too tight wihcih caused breakage at the crown.