I have hair b/c my momma has hair!

[audacity.]

First off, I want to say that I am so pleased to see so many sistas from all of ther world banding together for a common cause. Too many times I see Black women acting like crabs in a barrel and it is very comforting to know that there is at least one place where we can come to share and help one another. THANK YOU LHCF!!!

Now to the point...so many of you have absolutely georgous hair! My question is, has it always been that way? As a kid did you have long hair or did you really have to work hard to get it? I know that heridity plays a role, but really how much? Can ANYONE grow hair to their waist with the correct regimen and maintenance?

For me, I have never had a problem with growing hair and mine grows "fast" compared to most women. My hair grows in Denver (where the weather is DRY DRY DRY) or in Atlanta (where we all know it is straight HUMID) - both places of which I have lived as an adult - and I have never even considered taking supplements, co-washes, pre-poos or anything, simply because I have ALWAYS thought that I had hair because my momma has hair. Even though my hair apparetnly grows "naturally", it has never grown past APL. I just started taking daily supplements last week and will incorporate many of the tips shared here.

So, IS hair hereditary? Am I destined to only reach APL? Please share!

 

[dlewis]

Long hair runs in my family. But not everyone in my family has long hair. My mother always keep her hair really short but now (since I decided to grow my hair out) it's past BSL.

So, I don't think because it runs in your family you are guranteed to have it. I think it's partly hereditary but I know members here who always had short hair that now have VERY LONG HAIR.

 

[imstush]

I've always had long hair. Funny thing is not many people in my family have long hair. But my parents like to argue who I get my hair from.

 

[candiel]

I do think genes play a large part in it. I had long hair as a child and I assumed it was because my mother and grandmother also have BSL hair. Even now, my hair grows pretty fast.

 

[blue_flower]

As a kid I always had long hair and I've always been able to grow it out except for the times when I did not take care of it properly. As a teenager I constantly dyed, relaxed, and curled my hair, always using tight rubberbands. It was dry and breaking, although still surprisingly thick. My hair stayed shoulder length for a long time until I drastically changed my hair regimen, and that was back around 1999-2000. After that it grew.

Hair is heriditary, but I think how you take care of it deterimines how long it will grow and how healthy it will become. My mom's hair texture is completely different than mine, very coarse and dry, and her hair never seemed to grow past her ears until she grew dreadlocks that came to her shoulders. My dad had a bangin' Afro back in the day and that's where I suppose I get my hair from. My brother has hair like our mom's and as long as he's worn braids his hair has never grown as long as mine, which really surprised me. But that's genetics.

 

[audacity.]

Hmmm...i just realized that i started this thread on the wrong forum...SORRY!

 

[hopeful]

Hmmm...i just realized that i started this thread on the wrong forum...SORRY!

It's just your 10th post, no need to apologize. I used to live in Littleton, CO, I remember Aurora, I haven't been back there in a long time though. My mom's hair has never been long, never past neck-length and very soft, the humidity can ruin her hair style quickly even though she relaxes. When I told her about stretching her relaxers, within a few months her hair started growing longer right away. She even stopped coloring so much too which helped her maintain length. Her hair still isn't long but it's longer--I do think she went back to relaxing too often again.

As a child my hair was almost shoulder-length and thick. My mom kept it warm pressed all the time. Once I got a relaxer I never saw close to shoulder-length again. Now that I am natural I am looking forward to seeing if I can finally reach shoulder-length and beyond, we shall see.

Oh I think you can definitely get past APL if you've been achieving that length without any special effort.

 

[Kimberly]

I hope this is not the case because the reverse of that would be I will never have (long) hair becuase my mother has never had (long) hair...

 

[Cutiepie7691]

I've always had long hair. Funny thing is not many people in my family have long hair. But my parents like to argue who I get my hair from.

It is the exact same thing in my situation. My mom has really thick hair, but her hair doesn't grow really long. The longest I've seen it is a little past her shoulders (then again she's always cutting it). The women on my father's side vary with the type of hair they have so I really don't know where my hair comes from. I've always had long hair, even as a child. My dad has always argued that I got it from his side. But the older I get, I'm more convinced that it comes from my mom's side of the family (her father's side). They all have a nice, long hair. Although some of them keep it short. Who knows .

 

[nelli711]

Welcome DenverGirl!

Up until the age of 8, I had like shoulder length hair and then after I got a perm, it started to break because my aunt did not know how to properly care for it. When I was 12, there was a lady that lived next door to us and she introduced me to braided extensions. They did make my hair grow but any length I had always broke up because I thought I was cute and started frying it with the curling iron.

To me, I believe that hair is hereditary. Genetics definately plays a role in how fast your hair can grow and your terminal length. With that being said, it all boils down to how you take care of your hair. My aunt has never ever had long hair in her life, but my cousin at one point had APL length hair before she started abusing it. I'm pretty sure my aunt could have long hair but because she doesn't take care of it, she won't. She has been at ear length forever and will stay that length if she doesn't change her hair care practices.

 

[MissMarie]

I did not have long hair until I started coming to LHCF and some other boards for hair care tips. From when I was little until 3 years ago my hair never got much past shoulder length, I would think about how fabulous it'd be if my hair would just grow to armpit length. I just assumed that I didn't have the type of hair that would grow. On my mom's side no one in the immediate family had hair much longer than sl, on my dad's there are a number of women who've had long (midback and waistlength) hair but I always assumed that was because their hair type was different than mine.

Genes can determine how dry or fine/weak one's hair is, and how fast it grows and how easy it is to retain length. But I think with most black women nowadays we don't really have a good realistic idea of our potential because we're still trying to figure out the best ways to make our hair strong and healthy and letting go of bad habits.

 

[Blackoutzangel05]

I have always had long thick hair. When I was in elementary school 2nd grade I started getting permed, before that my mother would spend hours pressing my hair. I only got perms 2 times a year and it was mainly because my mother could not find a job in NC and was still working out of DC while my father PCS'ed (military) to NC. Until I was in 6th grade my hair was what we would consider bsl or a little longer. However, my hair stayed plaited and when I went to the hairdresser she kept my ends uneven so that it would be easier to plait. My grandmother, who was a hairdresser at the time, cut my ends even and it wouldn't stay plated and that is where my downfall came. I had to wear it out more (funny didn't realize that protective styles is what got my hair to grow until this very moment ) From there I got permed more frequently because it was out more and it was getting curled,etc. Then I got a curl and although it grew alot I wanted to get rid of it and and went back to permed. Since then I have never seen past APL.

My sister had longer hair then me, but mine was always thicker. The rest of my family is always cutting their hair. My mother though wore protective styles for like 4 years straight and went from a short do to BSL and then she cut it off again because it was getting thin, I cried for her. ( I love long hair). So I guess it does run in our family. I know for a fact that my great great grandmother wore buns all the time and that she had really long hair because of her Indian background but you would never know because she did the tightest bun EVER. And my paternal grandmother had long hair as a child and it was naturally curly, hence were I get my curls from and my mother's side.

I believe that it can be achieved through good hair care but genetics will be the determining factor on just how long it gets. Great regiments and hair care I believe will get almost everyone to at least a healthy APL.

 

[BrooklynSouth]

First off, I want to say that I am so pleased to see so many sistas from all of ther world banding together for a common cause. Too many times I see Black women acting like crabs in a barrel and it is very comforting to know that there is at least one place where we can come to share and help one another. THANK YOU LHCF!!!

Now to the point...so many of you have absolutely georgous hair! My question is, has it always been that way? As a kid did you have long hair or did you really have to work hard to get it? I know that heridity plays a role, but really how much? Can ANYONE grow hair to their waist with the correct regimen and maintenance?

For me, I have never had a problem with growing hair and mine grows "fast" compared to most women. My hair grows in Denver (where the weather is DRY DRY DRY) or in Atlanta (where we all know it is straight HUMID) - both places of which I have lived as an adult - and I have never even considered taking supplements, co-washes, pre-poos or anything, simply because I have ALWAYS thought that I had hair because my momma has hair. Even though my hair apparetnly grows "naturally", it has never grown past APL. I just started taking daily supplements last week and will incorporate many of the tips shared here.

So, IS hair hereditary? Am I destined to only reach APL? Please share!

Funny, I was just recalling my mother and her mother's hair when I was growing up. My maternal grandmother had fine, soft, naturally straight hair; my mom always had bra strap in a french roll which she hot combed.
{I hated that style, always wished she'd let it flow.} My hair was thick,extremely tender headed, shoulder length but rarely cared for or out of three plaits. My brothers, {people always accused them of putting waves in their short hair but it was natural} and I married, left home and Mama just seemed to fall apart...her hair became a short, dried mess as though she was mourning our leaving..I know now she was as we were what she had besides that darned, mostly 7 days a week job of hers with no benefits! I've started seeing my grandmother's hair on me as I begin to moisturize a lot so my texture change puzzle is being solved via reflection. My mom, well......I'm working on her hard headed self to shampoo more and moisturize.

 

[audacity.]

So mine has always been thick with some length, but my sister on the other hand has NEVER been able to grow her hair...until this forum that provided her with great hair practices. So, I think that I am convinced that it is a combination of genetics and hair care.

I am so motivated to incorporate good hair care in to my hair maintenance routine. I am hopeful that I can reach my goal of at least BSL.

 

[PaulaDiddy]

Well... some things are genetic but!

We all can go past out mothers hair with "good care and maintenance."

Its so funny because my moms hair grew APL last year and my jaw dropped b/c I been at shoulder length and above all my life. Come to find out she was taking MSM for her joints and a Daily Multi (by doctors' order)!

Yes, there is terminal growth for shedding, not for the length of growth.

 

[indefinite]

In my case, I received the "grow quick" gene. However, I didn't get the wash & Go hair gene. My mother's hair was type 2 and the length was to her butt. However, I received a mixture of 3a-b, & 4. I have to moisturize, nurture all that good stuff. My hair will grow, but it's not as easy to keep on my head as hers was. She didn't have to worry about oils and such, it was naturally moisturized all the time.

 

[glamazon386]

Well my mama has hair now and I don't But she didn't used to. Not until she was an adult. I had a good amount of hair as a child but nothing to jump up and down about compared to the women in my mom's family. They have heads full of long thick hair. That gene clearly skipped me... All the women on my dads side have short cuts. And their hair seems to be fine. IDK if they have short cuts bc their hair won't grow or if it's by choice. All of them have had short cuts as long as I've been on the planet. My dad has 5 sisters.

 

[Miss*Tress]

Like you, DenverGirl, I would get to APL with no difficulty then stop. Since improving my hair care techniques - thanks to LHCF - my hair is coming up to waist length.

With the right care, I think we can all have hair to at least BSL/MBL. For most of us, the biggest role played by "genetics" is the poor hair care some of us learn from family and through tradition.

Good luck reaching your goals and welcome to LHCF!

 

[cocopuff]

Well, I personally feel that anyone can grow long hair. Some people just have an easier time growing it because they may not have inherited that "hair" gene. Just like some people hardly gain weight or are able to keep it off because they have inherited that "skinny" gene.

My hair is very thick and long; it usually is and I am able to regularly get an inch of growth per month, I have a "hair" gene. My sisters' hair is not like mine and they have to work harder to grow their hair, but it will grow. Conversely, they are skinny and always have been, they don't have to work at being skinny,they have a "skinny" gene. I have to work harder at keeping extra weight off, but I can.

P.S.- I get my hair from my father's side of the family not my mother's

 

[ladylibra]

hey... genes come from daddy too ya know... i wouldn't be 5'9" if it weren't for mine!

genes cross all different kinds of ways, and sometimes they hide for generations before they pop up. like my SO has German ancestry dating back to when the U.S. was just 13 colonies... and his 3-year-old cousins (who is not mixed, i might add) has steel-blue eyes. talk about crazy!

i believe almost anyone can grow their hair at least 18 inches long... i think that's around APL or BSL right? about 3 years of growth if your hair grows at the average rate... i heard that after about 3 years is when your hair sheds and grows all over again (of course not all at once). now some people are blessed with genes that allow them to grow hair longer than that... their hair can grow for 5 years, or 8 years, or 12 years before it sheds and falls out.

i say if your genes only allow for your hair to grow 18 inches long, that's not a horrible thing. especially if you've been stuck at 8 inches all your life! but there's nothing wrong with wanting to grow it longer - after all, that's why we're all here!