Hair and race - no intention to cause offence

[luckiestdestiny]

i understand. they are common misconceptions, because we see a lot of longer-haired Caucasians and not so many longer-haired Blacks. and we assume that everyone else can grow yards of hair with no problem... which isn't true, by the way... yet are convinced that we must be "mixed" with something in order to grow long hair.

you will notice that there are African members on this site too. mixture don't mean nothin, i know plenty of people who are more "other" than Black but still have stereotypical "African" hair. you just have to learn to care for it differently, and find out what works best for it.

It's because we are minorities in the world (in term of power). The people making the products and inventing the products mostly aren't us and we're misinformed when we try to style our hair the way Europeans do. In addition, all the advertising doesn't point to us. We see movies with White women vigorously brushing their hair. For instance a vigorous brushing will just leave us w/o hair! Tiny combs, where did they come from? They are NOT for tightly coiled curly hair. It's like a joke.

Our hair isn't the problem.

It's some of the hair products invented that are the problem. It is also that we are trying to mimic what others are doing out of just plain misinformation.

I'm not saying we're trying to be white. What I'm saying is seeing a white or indian person brushing away at their hair, may lead you to think that's what you're supposed to do, but our hair is coiled and curlier (for the most part) and those curls and coils must be respected. Hair must be detangled slower, with wide tooth (SEAMLESS COMBS! How many white people are running around worrying about seams? We HAVE to if we want to have hair!) combs, etc.

Say for arguments sake that we were the ones in the positions of the media, and you saw wide tooth combs everywhere, and oil being applied to the hair in movies, as she slowly detangled hair, before the actress left to meet the love of her life. We'd be the ones with the long hair. White people might be complaining saying that wide tooth combs do not help them to get their hair as manageable, and if they were applying lots of oils (for the most part as I know there are exceptions to the rule), they'd be complaining about oily sticky hair lol! But that's not the script. We're getting the other side, and mimicking it.

Not that I wish it was the other way, I just wish there were equal coverage of these things but it isn't.

I don't see it as OUR hair being a problem. I see it as the INFORMATION given being the problem. Which is why places like LHCF is so wonderful.

 

[lane]

She is Jamacian.

I think the girl who owns Hairlicious is full ghanian, http://www.youtube.com/user/HairliciousInc .

Here in Aussie I know 2 Zimbabwean girls who have BSL hair. I also another Ghanian girl with the same, In think hers is WL. They all simply made the conscious decision to treat their hair differently. So it's definately possible for Africans to grow their hair. I think the main reasons that long hair is not as common in Africa is because of hair practices. If you have access to a journal database, there is a Dermatologist based in SA called Nonhlahla Khumalo who's published quite a few papers on the topic. I did a literature review of a lot of her work for one of my classes. Makes for good reading.

I also wanted to say that everyone's hair grows, unless you have some kind of scalp disorder. Regardless of where you come from. It's how much of that growth that you keep on your head that makes a difference. If someone's hair is growing from the scalp, but they're breaking the ends off well....

 

[mamaore]

This is my first post here.

I am Nigerian as well, and I have heard the myth over and over again, that african hair doesnt grow very long. Although I know ladies who BSL back home, I however only know of 1 family where all their laides had WSL and very thick too. But their hair type was 3b/c.

Anyway, I'm ready to re-align my thinking and start treating my hair right, maybe, just maybe I will get to BSL.. I never ever did. I always touched up my whole head during my relaxed days.

Now I'm natural and I'm loving it.

 

[that_1_grrrl]

I always think of it like this: Your hair does not know what race/ethnicity you are and neither do your genes. All this talk about Black people do not have the genes for X or Y or Z is not true. Genes are totally random in a sense. You never know what you are going to inherit from which parent. You never know if you have a mutated gene. You never know if you will surpass what your genes say you can do.

I think about all the short people with very tall children. Sometimes, all genes do is give the body a spectrum, and anything within that spectrum is possible.

 

[Platinum]

This is my first post here.

I am Nigerian as well, and I have heard the myth over and over again, that african hair doesnt grow very long. Although I know ladies who BSL back home, I however only know of 1 family where all their laides had WSL and very thick too. But their hair type was 3b/c.

Anyway, I'm ready to re-align my thinking and start treating my hair right, maybe, just maybe I will get to BSL.. I never ever did. I always touched up my whole head during my relaxed days.

Now I'm natural and I'm loving it.