I just finished reading this thread and I'm a bit surprised at some the comments and misconceptions and I feel the need to address some of them.
First of all, yes black women's hair has different NEEDS. But then again all naturally curly hair types have different needs than naturally straight hair, regardless of race. Just because those needs are different, doesn't make them any more time consuming than the needs of others. For example, a hispanic friend of mine has naturally straight hair the same length as mine and spends twice as much time as I do detangling. Why? Because her hair is so fine that it tangles up if she even looks at it wrong, even when it's braided, so for her it's an everyday chore. I can get away with detangling once or twice a week. Individual routines will vary based on individual needs. Think about it, just because some else has the same hair type as you, doesn't mean their routine will work for you. Different is not neither good, nor bad. It is just different.
Second, unusually long hair has different needs. Period. Nobody of any race gets super long and
HEALTHY hair past their butt without proper hair care. Not even Indians.
Third, contrary to popular belief, all white women do not grow hair effortlessly. There are plenty of white women who have weaves (it's just harder to tell because they tend to have better texture match up), or who can not grow their hair past shoulder length, or who have dry hair (not all of them have movable sebum), or who have hair so fine that it continually breaks, or who have super stringy/oily hair, or who have slow growth, etc. We just tend to notice and focus on the ones who have nicer, thick, long hair. Of course you're going to see more white women (or women of other races for that matter) with nicer hair because of the simple fact that there are more of them than there are of us (we are a minority after all in most places, unless of course you live on the African continent or in the Caribbean).
Fourth, all women have hair issues. Take a look around at the women you know- there's limp hair, oily hair, dry hair, thin hair, balding hair, big hair, overprocessed hair, etc.
Fifth, because of the widespread misinformation regarding black hair care, there is a disproportionately large number of us(men and women alike) who don't have healthy hair and or scalps. And an equally large number of who refuse to change their ways. So you're not going to see a ton of black women with long hair, outside of this forum, walking around. Think of the black women you know who have asked for hair advice, you told them, and then they turn around and tell you that you've always had that good hair!
So long as the myths persist in our community, blacks with healthy hair will be in the minority.
Sixth, everyone wants something they don't have. Girls with straight hair want curls, so they get perms; girls with curly hair want straight hair so they relax/straighten. There's a reason why the Japanese invented thermal reconditioning/japanese straightening technique (because a lot of them have wavy hair) and a reason why whites came up with perms. It is the reason why the haircare industry is a Multi-billion dollar industry.
Last, growth and retention are two different things. For example, a lot of people will look at me and say "Your hair just grows faster than mine" when in reality I've been growing my hair for YEARS, I just know how to retain my length. My hair grows at an average rate, but because it's usually months between times I wear it down it only looks like it's grown a ton, when in actuality it hasn't grown any faster than anyone elses. I don't know why so many people attribute length to growth rate, when actuality it length=time, but oh well.
At the end of the day we should all is just be happy that we are even blessed have hair on our heads, be it straight, wavy, curly, kinky, coily, nappy, or just a hot mess, because there are plenty of men, women and children who love to have our hair "issues". Don't believe me? Just ask a man who's going bald, a woman undergoing chemo, or a child with Alopecia areata totalis.