Is 4b hair DESIGNED to be SHORT?

qchelle said:
I'm liking the responses :yep:

I wonder what our big lips and wide/flat noses are for? hmmm...??? Anybody wanna take a stab at it? I'm curious.....(or I could just google it :lol: )
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Great thread!

I'm kind of late and apologize if someone's already posted this, but a lot of the features we see in groups of people have less to do with what is innate or biological to a race and more to do with natural selection and a concentration of certain genes/features, as there is more variation of people within races than between them. A lot of this is due to isolation more than anything else, where certain groups did not breed with others for long periods of time and thus their specific shared features became more and more prominent.

In the case of thick lips, flat noses, 4B hair, or any other features, its also likely that thousands of years ago groups with these features happened to reproduce the fastest, making their particular features stick around for much longer and increasing their numbers, while populations with other features died out or became less prominent. This would explain why among blacks, our skin and hair varies greatly, from butter pecan to licorice, from 3A to 4B.

This isn't always due to environmental advantage (ie. people with greater shrinkage survived in areas near the equator because they were protected from the sun while looser-textured people were more likely to die off from the heat of the hair falling over their shoulders)--sometimes its also about aesthetics and what people found to represent fertility/beauty at the time. Could be that 4B hair was more coveted and thus these individuals had a higher chance of mating and reproduced more at the time. It could also be about pure chance: since groups of people were relatively isolated back then (and so were their features for that reason), its possible that a storm could have wiped out the inhabitants of group A who lived in the plains and had looser hair while the inhabitants of group B with 4B hair (living in the hills) survived, and thus were able to reproduce. Its even more likely a mixture of all three of these things (environmental adaptation, aesthetics, and chance) are what caused one racial group to have 4B hair and another on another continent has 1A hair. But we should remember that people in Africa also had 3A, 3C, 4A hair and people in Europe also have 2B, 3B, even 4A hair, although there is predominantly 4B in the former and 1A in the latter for unknown reasons.

In this case, manipulating the hair really isn't that serious or going against "nature" at all. For all we know, pale skin, short legs, gap teeth, red hair, 4B hair are just random occurences that create diversity. Still, we have sunblock, ladders, hair dye, shea butter, etc. to change these things as we see fit. We're humans, not animals, so our advantage is in having the brain power to be able to easily manipulate our enviornments as we need to.
 
On the same token, one can also say that 1A hair isn't designed to look full/thick and frame the face. Its just diversity.

4B hair may need to wear braids/twists more to show length, but 1A hair also needs to be rollersetted/blow dried in most cases to show fullness/body and "fit in." I don't think they are going against nature either.
 
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nikolite said:
Great thread!

I'm kind of late and apologize if someone's already posted this, but a lot of the features we see in groups of people have less to do with what is innate or biological to a race and more to do with natural selection and a concentration of certain genes/features, as there is more variation of people within races than between them. A lot of this is due to isolation more than anything else, where certain groups did not breed with others for long periods of time and thus their specific shared features became more and more prominent.

In the case of thick lips, flat noses, 4B hair, or any other features, its also likely that thousands of years ago groups with these features happened to reproduce the fastest, making their particular features stick around for much longer and increasing their numbers, while populations with other features died out or became less prominent. This would explain why among blacks, our skin and hair varies greatly, from butter pecan to licorice, from 3A to 4B.

This isn't always due to environmental advantage (ie. people with greater shrinkage survived in areas near the equator because they were protected from the sun while looser-textured people were more likely to die off from the heat of the hair falling over their shoulders)--sometimes its also about aesthetics and what people found to represent fertility/beauty at the time. Could be that 4B hair was more coveted and thus these individuals had a higher chance of mating and reproduced more at the time. It could also be about pure chance: since groups of people were relatively isolated back then (and so were their features for that reason), its possible that a storm could have wiped out the inhabitants of group A who lived in the plains and had looser hair while the inhabitants of group B with 4B hair (living in the hills) survived, and thus were able to reproduce. Its even more likely a mixture of all three of these things (environmental adaptation, aesthetics, and chance) are what caused one racial group to have 4B hair and another on another continent has 1A hair. But we should remember that people in Africa also had 3A, 3C, 4A hair and people in Europe also have 2B, 3B, even 4A hair, although there is predominantly 4B in the former and 1A in the latter for unknown reasons.

In this case, manipulating the hair really isn't that serious or going against "nature" at all. For all we know, pale skin, short legs, gap teeth, red hair, 4B hair are just random occurences that create diversity. Still, we have sunblock, ladders, hair dye, shea butter, etc. to change these things as we see fit. We're humans, not animals, so our advantage is in having the brain power to be able to easily manipulate our enviornments as we need to.
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NOW THIS! is a response:yep::yep::yep: :bighug:
 
SND411 said:
This is so true. And when I said my hair is VERY coarse, I meant that most of my individual strands are as thick as small pencil leads!
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i wisssssssssh I had hair that coarse!!! It is soooooooo resistant to damage and has a tendency to behave more than finer hair. Girl, you are blessed:yep:
 
Kurlee said:
i wisssssssssh I had hair that coarse!!! It is soooooooo resistant to damage and has a tendency to behave more than finer hair. Girl, you are blessed:yep:
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My hair is very fine, too. I discovered this last year and it was a revelation. I think SND is right: people often conflate the way the hair actually feels with the strand diameter. My hair might feel coarse (only when it's not properly moisturized, though!) but the strands are baby-fine. I don't necessarily wish I had coarse hair but fine strands can definitely pose their own sets of challenges. :ohwell:

And Nikolite, thanks for what you said. :notworthy Two great posts. :yep:
 
Nonie said:
I think shrinkage goes back to the need for people living in hot Africa to stay cool around their necks and shoulders...and also the shrinkage provides a canopy-like compact shield from the sun so our brains don't get fried. It's all in the genius of our Maker.
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I was gonna post this too!!!! Many ppl don't remember that we are natives of a very hot climate! With that being said, our hair does not need to be naturally oily when we would be out in the elements getting sweaty and all. Our natural oils is what would keep our hair moisturized and such.

Imagine living in a hot climate with type 1,2, or even 3 hair. You wouldn't have any cuz it'd be so hot you would cut it off and keep it short :lachen: People do that now every summer (I was one of them).....

I don't think our hair is meant to be short but I do think it's meant to frame our face so it would be out of our way. That stuff can get pretty hot!!!!
 
This is so funny, me and my mommy were just talking about this! She's got a degree in Anthropology and she briefly remembers a very afro-centric professor of hers (waaaay back in the day) citing a study of hair by region and evolutionary diagnostics. Something about the shrinkage being evolutions way of hiding our scalp from the hot African sun; as opposed to anglo-sax hair, where the fineness of their strands leave more of their scalps out, in hopes to catch more sun and thus, more vitamin D...I really have to ask her more about it.
 
jennboo said:
I said it once and i'll say it again, 4b hair is designed to appear short and compact.

So what?
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lol I still agree too even after reading all these long diatribes about the subject. People think if one says hair is meant to be short it is some sort of attack on 4b hair. Just because hair is meant to be or appear short doesn't mean it can't grow or doesn't grow, or you can't retain with education and effort.
 
Bosinse said:
lol I still agree too even after reading all these long diatribes about the subject. People think if one says hair is meant to be short it is some sort of attack on 4b hair. Just because hair is meant to be or appear short doesn't mean it can't grow or doesn't grow, or you can't retain with education and effort.
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LOL Bosinse, Jennboo is not saying 4B hair is meant/designed to BE short like *you* are saying:p; she's saying what *I* am saying that 4B hair is meant/designed to APPEAR short. She said it on page 1 and I agreed with her. I still do. I don't agree with the sentiment that 4B hair is meant/designed to BE short, which is what you've been saying and are still saying.
 
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Nonie said:
May I introduce you to our beloved Sera. She has type 4B hair that obviously isn't meant to be short: http://www.youtube.com/sera2544

ETA: I do not think Western influences are why we grow 4B hair long. If you ever read the book Hair Story you will discover what a glory African hair was, how elaborately it was worn long, and how proud Africans were to show it off, way before white folks intruded on their land. It may also help you understand why it is that slaves were so ashamed of their 4B hair. They had never in all their lives worn it un-groomed and here they were with no combs and no time to tend to it. So they wore scarves or shaved it off, because they were used to having long hair, but not long hair that was unkempt. 4B hair got a bad rap not because it's the worst kind of hair there is, but because it was hair that those who had it were used to wearing it in smart dos, but found themselves w/o tools to do so, and it brought shame to not work it like they were able to back in their homeland.

If you scroll down the first pages of Hair Story to page 2, you will see one hairstyle from back in the day: http://www.amazon.com/Hair-Story-Un...=UTF8&qid=1281972818&sr=1-1#reader_0312283229 which isn't short. And there are more images in the book.
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How long has she been growing her hair?????
 
I do understand exactly what you are saying. I think that because some of our ancestors originally lived in Africa are hair adapted to the climate thus covering our scalps to prevent burns and really curly (appearing short) because it wouldn't make sense to have hair down our backs when it's hot! But the hair itself was long...it just sort of grew 'up' mostly then down the back for some though not all.
 
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itsjusthair88 said:
This is so funny, me and my mommy were just talking about this! She's got a degree in Anthropology and she briefly remembers a very afro-centric professor of hers (waaaay back in the day) citing a study of hair by region and evolutionary diagnostics. Something about the shrinkage being evolutions way of hiding our scalp from the hot African sun; as opposed to anglo-sax hair, where the fineness of their strands leave more of their scalps out, in hopes to catch more sun and thus, more vitamin D...I really have to ask her more about it.
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You might also enjoy this http://www.longhaircareforum.com/showthread.php?t=358323interesting thread that was started last year by afiya27: Why is our hair like this?
 
I can't say anything on this subject yet. Whether 4 type hair can grow and be longer is something I want to experiment with ( with my own hair) and find the theory. I am giving myself 5 years.
 
I do not believe Africa is anymore hotter than other places where ancient humans developed straighter textures.
 
Nonie said:
You might also enjoy this interesting thread that was started last year by afiya27: Why is our hair like this?
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Thank you, I did enjoy it!; I actually got a hold of my mother (she be ducking and dodging her grown children like she owes us rent!:lachen:) and she said that the study went deeper than that and is actually a published study regarding skin tones (darker skin is a defense mechanism to block out too many uv rays; likewise lighter skin allows for the easier absorbtion of Vitamin D) eye color (once again, darker eyes are meant to act as natural shields against the bare sun), etc. etc.

I tried to get her to remember the name of the sutdy, but she said she was trying to cook and stop bothering her "with this nonsense"...she's a trip.
 
SND411 said:
I do not believe Africa is anymore hotter than other places where ancient humans developed straighter textures.
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True, which is why there are many other factors involved. Dark skin is an attribute in many places near the equator though.

Then again, that's probably another discussion about how old the populations in Africa are (and how old their features are) compared to other populations. Looking at the "Out of Africa" theory, it would make sense that other hot places on earth have people with straighter hair because they are less likely to have originated there but later migrated there and are as we speak continuing to adapt (as adaptation/natural selection takes thousands of years).
 
alive said:
I hope this does not offend anyone but I have 4b hair that is slightly past my shoulders and this is a question that has been on my mind lately.

Left in its natural state,
1. it tangles incredibly easily leading to breakage
2. it is on the drier end of the spectrum
3. cuticles need help to stay down
4. it shrinks, giving the appearance of short hair
5. it’s the most fragile hair type

I love my hair in its natural state but the longer it gets, the more I wonder whether I am fighting against nature. In order to maintain long natural hair, it seems that we need to make our hair straighter/stretched using twists, braids, relaxers, or heat.
So my question is,

is type 4 hair SHORT by DESIGN?

I really want to hear your thoughts on this in case I’m missing something :yep:
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I think it's harder for us to retain length with our hair type.
 
No, only if you want it to be short. It is possible to grow it long, with a lot of effort, knowledge, time and patience.
 
I feel like its true. I have been natural since 2010 (3 years) and I still have a TWA. Just hate my hair. I do everything to it and keep it stretched/braided. All it does it tangles on itself. Just feel like its a head full of spiderwebs. I'm thinkin of relaxing maybe it won't tangle and break so much
 
virtuenow said:
growinghealthyhair what is your regimen? I will try and help w/tips if you like. I really think you should start a thread asking for help and tips and I'm sure others will chime in.
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virtuenow

Thanks that's sweet of you. It just makes me so sad. All my friends went natural because of all the knowledge I shared (that I get from you ladies) and there hair is way longer most have been natural only one year.


I moisturizer my hair daily with burdock root heavy cream and a spritz of Greg juice.

Every two weeks I DC with this Cacao Deep Conditioner.

I henna every now and again. Maybe every two months?

And I keep my hair either braided in corn rows or twists. I wear wigs. No combs or anything . They fit so I don't have to sew them either and take them off nightly. And don't wear it at all on the weekend.

Seems like I've tried everything. My hair just tangles up no matter what. Just makes me sad that I can't wear my own hair out. It's embarrassing and depressing.
 
Hi growinghealthyhair. It also took me awhile to get my hair jump started after I went natural as far as retaining length. For awhile, I was stuck in SL. My length retention got stronger when I began to wet my hair in the shower daily. Specifically, I co-wash daily (and M&S) and it has done wonders for my retention (I'm now BSL/MBL). You wear wigs, so this will be ideal for you at this time - especially in the summer. Try this for about 6 months and see how it will work for you.
 
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