Hair growth based on ethnicity

[Urban]

I really don't see the big deal. It's totally possible. There are several genetic differences between ethnicities, I don't see why one of the differences can't cause one group to grow hair faster than another.

I don't think they're saying that every single black person has a slower growth rate than other races. But according to their results, it's just a trend they've seen ... in general, black people's hair appears to grow slower.

It's just like with the whole atheletics thing. The kenyans always seem to take out the long distance races. And black people tend to be the better sprinters - genetically, it is said we have more fast twitch fibres which help with sprinting. So it gives us some sort of advantage. But that doesn't mean every black person is a great sprinter. It just creates a general, observable trend.

I really don't knw why people are getting offended. So what if our hair grows slower???

 

[brittle_hair]

The study is definitely true, I know with the Loreal study they shaved a section of several asian/european/AA hair and then measured the how much hair grew back over the space of a month.

I don't think it's the end of the world, if anything it should show us that is not entirely our fault for not being able to have long hair without considerable effort, due to the slightly slower rate of growth and fragility. It doesn't mean we have to give up it just means we have to try harder to get there.

Just like some people are naturally slim while others have to watch what they eat and do a lot of exercise to stay slim.

 

[trj1922]

I really don't see the big deal. It's totally possible. There are several genetic differences between ethnicities, I don't see why one of the differences can't cause one group to grow hair faster than another.

I don't think they're saying that every single black person has a slower growth rate than other races. But according to their results, it's just a trend they've seen ... in general, black people's hair appears to grow slower.

It's just like with the whole atheletics thing. The kenyans always seem to take out the long distance races. And black people tend to be the better sprinters - genetically, it is said we have more fast twitch fibres which help with sprinting. So it gives us some sort of advantage. But that doesn't mean every black person is a great sprinter. It just creates a general, observable trend.

I really don't knw why people are getting offended. So what if our hair grows slower???

I agree with you on the red text. There really isn't a big deal. All they are talking about is aggregate numbers from a sample that they have taken out of the general population. The resulting statistics show overall trends... they say nothing about the growth rates of individuals.

In every race/ethnicity/population, etc there is a wide range of hair growth rates, but when you average it out, I would not be shocked if the overall trend was that people of African descent have a somewhat slower growth rate. This is probably independent of the retention issues we have given the fragile nature of our hair or any lifestyle factors.

Most of us probably feel instinctively that there is some truth here, whether we want to admit it or not. Our own experiences usually echo this study. This does not mean that a Black woman cannot have long hair, it will just take longer and require more work. Those of us with slower growth rates may also just have to accept that our terminal length may be BSL or waist, but not classic or knee length. IMO, the only reason we get upset about this neutral characteristic that may or may not even apply to us personally is that many Blacks still harbor an inferiority complex that makes us overreact to even the most benign meaningless things. erplexed

If you compare LHCF to some of the long hair boards that tend to be frequented by whites and Asians, you'll notice that even in communities of women dedicated to good hair care, there is an overall difference in the lengths represented and the length goals. From what I can tell, on LHCF, once you pass BSL, the number of women who can claim it thin dramatically. Only a tiny few seem to be past waist length. On Long Hair Loom and LHC, BSL seems to be about average, waist length is very common, and you got a handful of chicks in there sitting and almost standing on their hair!

 

[ebonylocs]

I would expect that the researchers too account of:

1) retention issues (more fragile hair breaking off) - This would be the case if as someone indicated, they actually shaved a section of the head and measured it growing back from scratch

2) shrinkage - all they had to do was stretch the strand out while measuring it, although that would have been difficult when the hair had just begun to grow back.

As for people's objections to the conclusion of the study on the basis of the few white and/or Asian individuals they know with grow or retention issues. Yes individual growth rates vary - there are some black individuals that will have faster growth rates than some white and Asian individuals. However we are talking about *averages* across each group. I too know or have seem one or two white girls who have problems growing past shoulder (usually they are the type with dry frizzy or thin hair). However, they are not the average(mean, mode or median) in their group.

Re the "what is black hair" questions. I think we can assume that they mean the tightly coiled hair usually found on Subsaharan Africans. Especially since is a French study, and they tend to differentiate between "black" and "Mixed / metise". Racial diversity in the black population is not a high in Europe as it is in the US. People are most often African, or African-European -(and usually the European genes of their current country) and don't tend to have other little dashes of Native American, Filipino, Korean, several European nations, several African tribes mixed over centuries, etc etc. (I'm speaking generally here). But in any case, since they are talking about tightly coiled hair that most of us of African descent have inherited to a certain extent, I think it still applies to us generally.

 

[oldcrayons]

I think that everything that has been said is true. There is some Asian people in my family and I noticed that my hair grows like I am a werewolf. But only when healthy... in the summer of 2002 my hair was cut to my ears (well, not literally) and I couldn't put my hair in a ponytail. By the end of 2004 my hair was waist length... So... And my brother has a lot of hair as well.

 

[Latomian]

I think it just depends on individual hair type. I do believe that, on average, black hair grows slower but I don't see that as a reason to "give up." In 2004, when I first started college, I had my hair cut up to neck length due to damage and a year later, I was past BSL using a blow dryer, flat iron 1x/week and washing once a week (and never deep conditioning) and my ends were in great shape. In that amt. of time, my sisters and mom prob. would have had waist length and longer; I have a cousin who does have past waist length, never trims, greases every day with pure Vaseline and washes once a week and her hair is in great shape. Then there are people who I know that take immaculate care of their hair and it never passes a certain length.

 

[CurlyMoo]

Balony, they can't generalize like that cause there are tribes in Africa that have knee length hair, they don't do antyhing to it but wear it in loose braids.
I think they just eyeballed it, and if you look at a straight haired person and a curly/kinky haired person and check for growth based on what you see, no stretching, no straightening then the straight hairs look like they've gotten more growth ever time.
The comparisons are unfair, were the African decent women natural or relaxed, did they even have good haircare habits. I think it's genetic from family and each person.
Indians and a good majority of whites don't use chemicals in their hair that cuts down on alot of damage/breakage0 if your ahir is natural it can take some color or some heat and still be OK.
Indians don't even style their hair they just braid it all the time, think about it, no blowdryers, no bleach, no perms, no cutting, no products, finger styling, oil, scalp massages, and henna.

Lucia, can you post some photos or a link about these African women? I would love to take a look at it.

 

[RedVelvet310]

I doubt this. Because I know PLENTY of Asians and Whites who have trouble growing their hair. Imo, black hair grows pretty fast considering how much it breaks.

 

[Candycane044]

Hmm, I don't think anyone's getting offended, we're just taking the other side of the argument. There's nothing offensive about them saying that our hair grows slower because even if they're right, we've all seen through LHCF that we can achieve hair just as long as everyone else's. So I don't think anyone is offended.

There are many questions that I have about this article. Who did they do research on? Did they do research on people who had good hair practices, healthy and good diet? Or was it just anyone who wanted to participate. How did they measure the hair growth?

I truly believe that our hair grows just as fast as anyone elses, and that we could retain just as much if we knew what was best for our hair type. The problem is that we do certain things that make it particularly difficult to retain growth; i.e. relaxers, combing, manipulation. I believe that for most of us, our hair type does not need to be manipulated..period. Straight hair, curly hair and kinky hair require different things to grow long. If we use the same methods of someone who has straight hair, obviously our hair is not going to fair well. If an Asian person used the same methods that a 4a/b natural would use, their hair wouldn't fair well either. It's all about doing what's right for the hair type.

Lastly, as someone stated before there's so much genetic variation within ethnicities, that that's almost invalid to use.

 

[yuriko]

There are physical differences based on ethnicity; I have seen several vietnamese girls grow from SL to MBL in one semester of school, but I also know another vietnamese girl who has problems growing past APL (due to split ends). The average white chick has to cut her bangs very frequently for example, and the average black chick can maintain the bangs for at least 3-4 weeks.

There are differences in hair texture, probably growth rate

Like someone mentioned aging rate, which I am happy about

There are even differences on the shape of a female's pelvis from one ethnicity to another.

So if there is a difference, oh well; But unlike a lot of people, thank God we at least know that the average black girl can have BSL hair if she wanted

 

[MyHeavenlyFatherKnows]

I was always told that curly/kinky hair has to actually coil before it comes out, therefore "slowing" the growing process. Of course, their are individual and environmental differences which has already been said.

 

[VincyLongLocksWanted]

I do not agree with this EITHER. I had a white woman tell me that there hair grow faster than black women and I was so pissed bc I told her that black woman hair grow just as fast its just that damage makes it hard to see all the growth!

English version:

http://translate.google.com/transla.../d1259/c34374.html&sl=fr&tl=en&hl=en&ie=UTF-8

 

[anon123]

Well I suppose you cant really refute the numbers...

Wait, how long have you been on LHCF? Don't be silly, of course you can refute the numbers based on evidence from your neighbor's best friend's daughter. Um, people do realize that individuals within a group can vary greatly, even more greatly than the average across groups, and this stat still be true, right? The counter "arguments" seem to show a real lack of basic understanding of statistics.

Seriously, I don't know their methodology, but I'm not going to discount it out of hand based on my hurt feelings or my anecdotal evidence. It doesn't seem out of the realm of reason that this would be the case, and in fact there is another study I read a bit before that said the same thing. In fact, they might simply be referencing it since I don't see any reference given.

 

[Casarela]

Au feminin publish a lot of crap no disrespect but I use to read articles on it and I rarely agree with what are being published on aufeminin.com C'est vraiment de la poubelle je t'assure tres souvent leur articles sont plus souvent bases sur des tendances ( ideologies) au lieu d'etre basee sur des faits. Bref, c'est tout simplement mon observation.

La source de cet article ne m'inspire pas confiance.

I just read a French article (http://www.aufeminin.com/mag/beaute/d1259/c34374.html) that stated that it has been scientifically proven (they gave numbers) that Black women's hair grows slower than Asian's and Caucasian's hair

"...Ils poussent très lentement, 0,8 cm par mois (1,1 cm pour les Caucasiens et 1,3 cm pour les Asiatiques)."

I personally DO NOT believe this, what y'all think?

 

[ShaniKeys]

Au feminin publish a lot of crap no disrespect but I use to read articles on it and I rarely agree with what are being published on aufeminin.com C'est vraiment de la poubelle je t'assure tres souvent leur articles sont plus souvent bases sur des tendances ( ideologies) au lieu d'etre basee sur des faits. Bref, c'est tout simplement mon observation.

Like I said in my original post, I'm not convinced at all. But I saw that another member had the same numbers on another thread about Asian hair growing fast, and it reminded me of this article.

J'suis pas marié à aufeminin.com, mais comme ils ont parlé des cheveux des Noirs, ça m'a interessé.

 

[BroadstreetBully]

I agree with you on the red text. There really isn't a big deal. All they are talking about is aggregate numbers from a sample that they have taken out of the general population. The resulting statistics show overall trends... they say nothing about the growth rates of individuals.

In every race/ethnicity/population, etc there is a wide range of hair growth rates, but when you average it out, I would not be shocked if the overall trend was that people of African descent have a somewhat slower growth rate. This is probably independent of the retention issues we have given the fragile nature of our hair or any lifestyle factors.

Most of us probably feel instinctively that there is some truth here, whether we want to admit it or not. Our own experiences usually echo this study. This does not mean that a Black woman cannot have long hair, it will just take longer and require more work. Those of us with slower growth rates may also just have to accept that our terminal length may be BSL or waist, but not classic or knee length. IMO, the only reason we get upset about this neutral characteristic that may or may not even apply to us personally is that many Blacks still harbor an inferiority complex that makes us overreact to even the most benign meaningless things. erplexed

If you compare LHCF to some of the long hair boards that tend to be frequented by whites and Asians, you'll notice that even in communities of women dedicated to good hair care, there is an overall difference in the lengths represented and the length goals. From what I can tell, on LHCF, once you pass BSL, the number of women who can claim it thin dramatically. Only a tiny few seem to be past waist length. On Long Hair Loom and LHC, BSL seems to be about average, waist length is very common, and you got a handful of chicks in there sitting and almost standing on their hair!

Say it again and again and again!

It's just hair. Not a big deal. Even if it grows slower, it doesn't mean you won't reach your goals. I don't think any of us want knee length/foot length hair anyway, so our goals are reasonable. Then again I can definitely understand wanting to know more about the research....especially since it seems like every statistic concerning black people is negative in some way.

 

[trj1922]

Say it again and again and again!

It's just hair. Not a big deal. Even if it grows slower, it doesn't mean you won't reach your goals. I don't think any of us want knee length/foot length hair anyway, so our goals are reasonable. Then again I can definitely understand wanting to know more about the research....especially since it seems like every statistic concerning black people is negative in some way.

This is absolutely true redRiot. We should not accept things without investigation and lots of posters have raised valid questions one could ask about the study methodology. I can see a person simply reserving judgment until they have more info.

I was just reacting to the fact that some people are so quick dismiss anything they don't want to hear without really asking those questions even when the assertion made is perfectly reasonable. The bolded is a good point, though.

 

[belle_reveuse28]

I'd believe a study that says thin, dry, fine hair grew slower than thick, coarse, oily hair.... that's not particularly race specific, but rather hair type specific.... which seems to be true across racial boundaries... my caucasian friends with thin, fine hair dont grow hair as fast as mine which is coarse and thick, but also dry. They do retain more length than I do because mine breaks, but my hair still grows faster. So I think hair type is a more objective observance than race. I'm seeing more and more since coming to this board that a lot of caucasian women have the same hair issues. And I've asked some of them and they're like I can't get my hair to grow long, or it's dry and my ends split all the time. Or I can't maintain healthy hair... I"m like wow, okay. We aremore alike than we think.

 

[Lexib]

Originally Posted by trj1922 "IMO, the only reason we get upset about this neutral characteristic that may or may not even apply to us personally is that many Blacks still harbor an inferiority complex that makes us overreact to even the most benign meaningless things."

Wow, sad & awesome point.

 

[LongCurlz]

Who really cares if black hair grows slower than white hair, there is a reason why god made black hair grow slower than white becuase of climate reasons. But it definantly does not mean that all black hair grows slower than white. I dont really see what the big deal is, are hair is going to grown regardless of the rate. We need to just work with what we got, to me hair health is the most important.

 

[Casarela]

Re Shanikeys, en effet c'est interessant ce que tu as ecris c'est tout simplement un bon sujet de discussion je ne te blame aucunement davoir fais ce post au contraire jaime bien discutter de cheveux , surtout quand sa concerne les notre. Je blamais plutot aufeminin pour plsusieurs articles que jai lu auparavant basee sur je ne sais quoi. Jai lu un autre post qu'une autre membre a ecris sous ton topic parlant de loreal ayant eu des resultats similaires. A chaque jour on en apprend plus.

Like I said in my original post, I'm not convinced at all. But I saw that another member had the same numbers on another thread about Asian hair growing fast, and it reminded me of this article.

J'suis pas marié à aufeminin.com, mais comme ils ont parlé des cheveux des Noirs, ça m'a interessé.

 

[lila_baby]

an asian friend of mine asked why no she told me black people have short hair because it grows like one inch a year- or so she had heard. No point in getting upset about it almost everyone believes we have crap hair i.e. looks crap and never grows. whether or not my hair grows fast or slow I can have long hair too so who really cares!

 

[FAMUDva]

I'm totally lost... what is there to refuse to believe?

Folks acting like the article says black folk hair DON'T grow long at all... That's totally not what it says, so why get your panties in a bunch... Y'all can point me in the direction of 50-11 Fotkis of ladies on LHCF that have gone from chin length to booty length and I'm still not going to believe they got there as fast as the lady from Taiwan that sits in my office.
I saw that growth with my own eyes and guess what, she didn't bun, baggie, protect her ends from her cotton sweaters, etc... She wore her hair down EVERY SINGLE DAY and went from approximately chin length to BSL (as of yesterday) in just a year.

I'm not say black girls, mixed girls, or whateva girls can't get there just like her... I KNOW they can and do, but raise your hand if it took you less than a year to do that?!?!?!?! And for the 1.5 that raised their hands, that doesn't signal that overall MOST black girls can get there that fast. Does it mean black girls don't grow their hair to BSL? Nope, not at all...

Another thing that's on my mind is that I was talking to one of my Hispanic co-workers who has hair a lil past BSL and she told me she doesn't think her hair is long. I was like, dang, it looks long to me. Apparently some folks idea of long really does differ from others because of what they see everyday. She said she knows too many women with hair at least 5 inches longer than hers, so she considers hers medium length. Chile, the lengths folks (FOR THE MOST PART) on LHCF go through to get to BSL and keep just BSL made me roll my eyes (playfully ) at her... I'm just saying... I am buying the fact that our hair can and does grow long, but I'm not buying that it gets there as fast as "others" on a whole... no disrespect to the 1.5 that do get there just as fast.

 

[Serenity_Peace]

While these types of articles don't explicitly state that blacks are inferior, that seems to be the *implied* assumption. Our goal is not to let it get us down but to continue to strive for healthier living, inside and out.

 

[MizzBrown]

BUMPED! To see how people feel about this now vs. 2007.

 

[NicWhite]

For me to accept these kinds of statistics. I would want to see a group of ladies placed in the same living conditions, using no heat or chemical (dye, perm, relaxer), eating the same diet, getting the same amount of rest and exercising in the same way. Making sure to correct for any vitamin deficiencies.

To start the experiment, I would bleach everyone's hair platinum blond (once) and start recording grow rates from there.

------------------------------------
ETA:

Not only is there a big variation in genetics, There is an every bigger variation in life styles. Diet, exercise, out door activity, stress levels, use of traditional medicine verses herbal medicine.

The people with the fastest growth rate also happen to be the people who as a culture tend to consume more fruits and vegetables and use more natural products and techniques to take of their hair.

Also, I have read articles (can't find now) where they say Asians men have the lowest incidence of male pattern baldness until the come and live the American lifestyle. Well what happened to their genetics in that instance.

 

[Myjourney2009]

For me to accept these kinds of statistics. I would want to see a group of ladies placed in the same living conditions, using no heat or chemical (dye, perm, relaxer), eating the same diet, getting the same amount of rest and exercising in the same way. Making sure to correct for any vitamin deficiencies.

To start the experiment, I would bleach everyone's hair platinum blond (once) and start recording grow rates from there.

This is what I was thinking as well however why use the harshest possible way to lighten someones hair. Also, what if someone already has blond hair or would you use only dark haired people?

I was also thinking how would you account for folks who have hair that grows different rates depending on the placement on their head. For instance my hair grows slower in the front than the back.

 

[NicWhite]

This is what I was thinking as well however why use the harshest possible way to lighten someones hair. Also, what if someone already has blond hair or would you use only dark haired people?

I was also thinking how would you account for folks who have hair that grows different rates depending on the placement on their head. For instance my hair grows slower in the front than the back.

You are absolutely right, I could just shave them bald.

 

[StarScream35]

It's not a sign of superiority if their hair grows faster than ours. So there's no need to get upset about it.

I have a half white half japanese friend who has gone from shoulder length to waist length THREE TIMES since I started my hair journey 2 years ago. Even if I hadn't done a BC, at most I'd probably be at bra strap, in the same time. she would have cut off more hair than I had retained. I know that me comparing myself to one person isn't irrefutable evidence, but I give the example because I've never met another black person whose hair grows that fast.

I'm rambling, I hope you get what I mean.

Well you know one now. Once I cut my hair chin length in December and by December of the next year it was waist length. Got sick of it and cut it shoulder length and was back down to waist length in less than 6 months. Got sick of it and cut it again and for the most part I just keep it past my shoulders now. Recently I've been back on the I want long hair again trip so I'm letting it grow out but this time progress has been slow, not because of growth but because of evil scissor happy stylists who feel that black hair needs to be trimmed with every relaxer. Yes trims are important but this "trim with every relaxer" belief is a load of bull. Trust me on that. At most, I use to do no more than 4 trims a year and my ends were fine because I rarely used heat. My stylist of 8 years was a male stylist and he was awesome. Since I've moved, I've been on the hunt for a stylist and its been disastrous. I'm appalled at the many stylists who want nothing more than to cut and cut and cut. Andf its gotten worse! It's no wonder so many sisters get stuck at shoulder length or what have you. Trust me when I say if you are taking care of your hair, keeping it moisturized, protein treated and rarely putting heat to it, your hair responds by sticking with you. Ask a white person or Asian person how often they trim their hair and many will tell you they get trims no more than twice a year IF THAT! I've recently decided to start doing my own hair. I can't trust my hair in the hands of these money hungry, scissor happy poor customer service oriented stylists.

 

[naturalTAN]

While these types of articles don't explicitly state that blacks are inferior, that seems to be the *implied* assumption. Our goal is not to let it get us down but to continue to strive for healthier living, inside and out.

I think you were slightly projecting. Do I think some black women feel inferior because they can't grow hair as fast as others? Yes. But just because on average we grow slower does not make us inherently inferior. It's just another difference between races just like the amount of melanin in skin.

Do some white women feel inferior to women of color who seem to age gracefully? No. But they take the "necessary" steps to get their desired look just like we take the steps (dcing, psing, etc) to retain all length and prevent breakage.