Naturals: "How'd you get your hair like that?"

[UrbainChic]

I get that question ALL THE TIME. From everyone black, white, asian, whatever.

I always answer the same thing. I just wash it, comb it in the shower, and don't touch it afterwards.

This is also almost always followed by my hair cant do that or I wish my hair could do that ( usually from straight haired people), or REALLY!?!? followed by the side eye from people w/ textured but definitely altered hair (relatives)...

It just underlines to me how uncommon it is for people to see natural afro textured hair, its not that interesting or impossible looking IMO.

ETA:
The other common question is how long it takes to straighten my hair, If I am ever wearing it straight.

 

[Lynnerie]

I get this question whenever I wear a wash n go. Ironically I get the question mostly from naturals.

"Oh how'd you get your hair like that? I say its natural I wash n go. Then their like well what products do you use. I say V05.

Another natural asked how did I get my twists to curl at the ends. I said oh they just do and she said I wish mine did that.

I have also been asked if I had a texturizer. I do not.

When relaxed ladies ask me how I got my hair like that and I tell them they just say I wish I could go natural but I don't have hair like yours.

 

[BillsBackerz67]

i tell them that i wash it and leave conditioner in it... i also have to clarify that i have naturally curly hair and its not the conditioner that "makes" my hair curly.

 

[glamazon386]

I get this question a lot and for people who already know that I'm natural I tell them "conditioner." I get a lot of "oh..."

Does anyone else hate when people ask you "Oh, so you're going natural?" I'm already natural...there is no going, I'm already there. Idk, I find that question to be the most annoying.

I hate that too.

 

[glamazon386]

lol i thought people could tell it was just my natural texture since the curls aren't all perfectly uniform.

That's what I thought too. I can always tell a wash and go from a "set" style like a twist out or braid out because of how uniform the curls/waves are.

 

[twnz&1mo]

I got asked so much about my hair since I'm newly natural that I actually made a t-shirt

 

[Curly Lee]

Yes I get this question ALOT! Especially when I use kinky curly or do a twistout. "How'd you get your hair like that, its so curly, mines would look so nappy (mind you I'm a 4a)" I'm like it grows out your head like this! It's crazy to see how many black people don't know what natural texture looks like.

 

[sikora]

i tell them that i wash it and leave conditioner in it... i also have to clarify that i have naturally curly hair and its not the conditioner that "makes" my hair curly.

I'm glad you mentioned this. I guess I can identify with the "askers" / curious people. For many of us in our 20s/ 30s + who are relaxed, the last time we saw our natural texture was when we were children/ teenagers.

How many of you can honestly say that you remembered your hair having this much curl definition as children? I think that's where the curiosity comes from. I myself intend to being my transition in September and I'm always wowed at the curly/ defined textures of natural heads because I can't remember my hair ever looking like "that" when I was younger. I also find myself wondering "how did she do that?" and doubting that my hair could behave like that with simply a leave-in conditioner. If it didn't do that when I was a child, why would it behave differently now?

I think that's where most people are coming from when they ask you guys stuff. Your hair looks nice and we would like ours to look the same.

 

[iprocrz108]

I do get questions about my hair but I mostly get stares I prefer the genuine questions though, especially from women of color who want to transition. I happily and willingly answer questions from them because if it wasn't for hair forums and youtube, I wouldn't know about the different products and techniques to style my unrelaxed hair either.

I think that if you are not "in the know" about haircare and products, you really don't know about all the styling options and wealth of online information available now for women with highly textured hair. So when someone genuinely asks me questions, I tell them what I know specifically and refer them to forums and youtube for more information. Now, for random folks that come at me crazy, I say: "I stopped getting touch-ups for a year and cut off the straight ends." If I'm pressed for more info I say, "I use conditioner and styling products to keep my hair from getting frizzy."

Hilarious side note: I don't mind the stares now because I KNOW my hair looks great but in the beginning before knowledge... I was looking like I was going through something and family members were concerned about me. Full admission, I was looking like a H.A.M. but I can laugh about it now

 

[lushcoils]

If they are not referring to a hairstyle like twists, braids, cornrows, flat twists, bantu knots, etc, I think if your hair texture resembles 3abc or 4a hair (whether naturally or through manipulation like a twistout), you will get this question a lot.


Even though my hair is 4b, the top part of my head does this weird curly thing, and people have asked me how I get my hair like that..I know they're refering to the texture at the top of my head and not the nappy naps on the rest of my head. I just wash it. That's what it does.

Other than that, no one really asks "How do you get your hair like that?" unless they are talking about my twistout or how I got my hair into a frohawk. I find the frohawk one to be a silly question, ... you can see that I just put flat twists on the side.

 

[vainღ♥♡jane]

Hilarious side note: I don't mind the stares now because I KNOW my hair looks great but in the beginning before knowledge... I was looking like I was going through something and family members were concerned about me. Full admission, I was looking like a H.A.M. but I can laugh about it now

ot: omg, i love your screenname! ♥

 

[orchidgirl]

Yup...I just tell them its natural, and most replies are like..."Oh.....". They usually stare a bit longer..(not sure what for)...and smile and walk away...lol

 

[kurlybella]

now that my hair is super big, i get asked all the time and since i love to share hair tips, i don't mind answering. sometimes the answer is short and quick - "i just washed and fluffed" and sometimes it's longer and more detailed; which at that point i also point them to my blog: www.kisforkinky.com

 

[Mz.MoMo5235]

yeah... usually from white girls though

they say it with a huge smile, every tooth in their mouth showing, a twinkle in their eyes, and a hand reaching out to touch my darn head! lmao

 

[BEAUTYU2U]

I've been getting the 'where did you buy it' or 'is it real?'question more and more as my hair gets bigger.

Some women ask if my wash n go is from 'braiding or twisting my hair up'. I just tell them it's my natural texture and that's usually the end of the conversation.

That's funny cause when I braid or twist mine up, people never know it. They always ask what I do to it (lol) It's the exact opposite.

 

[Truth]

Ive gotten that... I say the same thing over and over "just add water and conditioner" .. One day I actually did rake some gel thru my hair, as I was waiting for my food this lady touched my hair and was like how did you get your hair like that.. I said um, gel. "is that your natural texture tho, do you have a good grain of hair" .."yes its my natural texture, and my grain of hair is um, okay...I dont come from a line of good hair if that's what you mean". ... like she couldn't believe all i used was gel.. she couldn't stop touchin it..she asked what gel I used..Told her about ecostyler. and That's all she wrote. ...

 

[BEAUTYU2U]

Yes, I do get that question. Especially, when I first BC`ed. It usually followed the "but what are you going to do with IT?" question.

When I wear wash `n go's, I'll just say I washed it and left the conditioner in. Depending on the frizz factor that day, the following question is usually "do you have a texturizer?" Like black women HAVE to have some type of relaxer in our heads at all times (lol) My curls really aren't that defined either ...

 

[BostonMaria]

I get it sometimes by strangers. Most of the time I'm with my girls and since they all have curly hair I usually have people call us "the curly family" LOL Family members that haven't seen me in a while are usually intrigued. That's about it though.

Now my coworkers are VERY CONFUSED. One week its curly and to my shoulders.. a few days later its straight and WSL. Then its SL again, then straight, then curly. They think I have a hundred wigs or something LOL I am the "chameleon" as they call me in the mailroom

 

[lilsparkle825]

I had a coworker who told me when I did the bc that I wouldnt be all natural until about 3 years!!!

honey, i had a girl tell me that she got her hair put in twists so it would be natural when she took them out. i was on the train with her till she clarified....she thought that you get your curl pattern from "training" your hair into the shape you want, and it would stay wavy through washing/styling/whatever since she was "setting" it.

i hate when i get the "what did you do" and i say that i washed it and let it dry....then i get the "no, i mean....how did you get it curly like that, did you set it on straws or something" erplexed

i....washed....it....and....let.....it.....dry.....

 

[lilsparkle825]

I got asked so much about my hair since I'm newly natural that I actually made a t-shirt

i want one.

 

[UrbainChic]

yeah... usually from white girls though

they say it with a huge smile, every tooth in their mouth showing, a twinkle in their eyes, and a hand reaching out to touch my darn head! lmao

I have had that experience too HAHAHA!

 

[ThePerfectScore]

I tell them that's how it grows out of my head after saying thank you. And if they still keep asking questions, I tell them I wash my head with condish only and shake my head in the shower... Which is true... *kanyeshrug*


Usually only WOC ask me this or what products I put in my hair to make it curl.

 

[ThePerfectScore]

As I was leaving the grocery store, a woman with a lovely accent and braids ask me what I did to get my hair to look like it did. I said, “Combing it every 4-6 weeks, finger-combing in the shower with oil and conditioner to get shed out.”

“Oh, so it just grows like that.”

“Yes.”

“What do you use on your hair?”

I laughed a little. I don’t get that question at all. “Cheap conditioners with honey and rosemary essential oil added. I just started experimenting with oils and gels. If you have the internet, there are tons of hair forums…”

“Yeah, I know, but they don’t have my type of hair.” Her temples had the teeny-tiniest coils I had ever seen in my life, like little bumps they were.

“There are a few on the Long Hair Care Forum. Some prefer to keep their hair stretched, you know with twists, washing with them in, washing in sections. Just check them out.”

It seemed she did not believe me, but what can I say? We said our good-byes and that was that.

.................

 

[cocosweet]

I used to explain that I'd wash it, condition it, and maybe add gel. Unfortunately, that got people wanting to know some magic product to "give" them curls and they'd look at me quizzically when I didn't have an answer. So then I started saying I washed it and let it be.

That seems to work.