OMG! Light-skinned & have long hair dosen't count?!

[Melissa-jane]

I am very dark aqnd I have 2c hair, that is even hard for me to write because of stereotypes. I am glad that this is being elliminated from our psychee

 

[*5+5]

Funny but this is a normal assessment for most people. There is a girl at work that’s really light, around Faith Evans complexion w/super kinky 4b relaxed hair. Everyone assume she is albino

 

[Almaz]

I know Plenty of dark skinned Blacks with long natural hair. They know how to take care of it. I know Nigerians and west Africans with Kinky long natural hair. I have also seen light skinned black people with the toughest hair in the world.

 

[Kurlee]

I am very dark aqnd I have 2c hair, that is even hard for me to write because of stereotypes. I am glad that this is being elliminated from our psychee

Slowly but surely

 

[Barbara]

All of this type of talk started way back during the slavery days. It was a way to divide us. Unfortunately, nothing has changed. So sad . . .

 

[c*c*chic*]

Some people just really need too close their mouths I swear! Because you're half white your hair grows faster? Pssshh if that's the case she needs to call paris hilton and ask her where did they go wrong in the gene pool cuz that's one bald headed child! But I'm glad you shut them down!

 

[song_of_serenity]

I am very dark aqnd I have 2c hair, that is even hard for me to write because of stereotypes. I am glad that this is being elliminated from our psychee

Your hair isn't 2c but it is pretty. People tend to be in awe of black people with ANY kind of natural curl who are lower than a certain complexion.

I remember a VERY light woman with white features who came in often when I worked as a cashier. Her hair had to be in the lower end of the fours and natural (short) I remember some young teenage black girls were behind her and when she left, they burst out laughing talking about "Dang, she ain't even got that good hair"

 

[Brownie518]

I was hanging with my girl's friends, (not my homies) this weekend, and I was online at LHCF. And I was explaining what it is we do here, give advice, etc. And I was told that light-skinned girls and/or mixed girls opinions & regimines don't count because they are mixed and already have naturally long hair. OMG! I replied "are you serious?" What about the hard work, etc that went in getting and maintaining long hair doesn't count regardless if they are mixed?" They responded NO! They even proceeded to say my hair grows so fast because my mom is 1/2 white. I just fell out laughing because one of the girls herself is mixed with short hair. I asked her your mixed, where is your long hair at? She got mad. Some people are so stuuuuupid!

...and wow!
A lot of people think like this.

 

[silenttullip]

lol well I'm mixed I think we're all mixed but anyway I've got some of the coilest 3c/4c hair and it takes a lot so they are so dumb for saying anything about hair

 

[Bunmi]

It's a shame...I'm learning that hair is like reglion and politics. You can't discuss it with just anybody.

 

[DDTexlaxed]

I am happy I found LHCF. I would still be getting relaxers every 4 weeks, using heat everyday, and damaging my hair from the inside out. Knowledge is truly enlightening.

 

[IWantBSl09]

I'll admit, I used to think the same thing bc from what I saw around me. I used to see the light girls with the long hair and the darkskinned ones with the short, chewed-up looking hair (myself included). But since coming to this board and BHM, I've seen the light (and so has my hair lol)!

 

[Misshairdiva]

I have experienced the same thing from my own friends. No one said anything when my hair only stayed at shoulder length. Now that its to my bra strap its because " I am light skinned with good hair" not because I stopped using relaxers and direct heat oh that had nothing to do with it..

 

[skegeesmb]

I get this a lot even with my short hair. I was telling one of my co-workers that s-curl sprayed on new growth helps to soften it. She goes on to say I don't have your kind of hair. I just looked at her. I finally asked did you use s-curl at any time? She said yes, I then asked her how her hair felt, she said moisturized. I asked her what is so different now? She didn't have an answer.

I have another co-worker who is very fair black women with blue eyes tell me my hair is just different, and that it seems to grow quickly and look healthy. I told her stop going to those durned hair dressers she was going to because they aren't doing a good job with her hair. So I don't know what her deal was. But then again these are the same people telling me they wouldn't have cut all "that pretty" hair of mine because of damage.

You just stop saying anything after a while.

 

[music-bnatural-smile]

idiots lol i hate that crap ppl say that to me all the time grrrr
at my cuzins hair salon they love to say that stuff...

 

[Ivonnovi]

Yep, This forum has brought about a generation of enlightenment, and a support system for us that "know" better.

Too many of us fail ourselves and our hair by continuing to perpetuate techniques and myths that don't work for us.

I remember back in the day (+20) years ago when I stopped using Grease on my hair; and insisted on using cream moisturizers only, my (grease loving) momma and some other folks responded to me as though I announced that I was an aetheist!

Now understand that way back in the day, Grease was the salvation for our hair and hair care, as there weren't many options for "Our" hair back then. It took a while to get them to embrace the "newer" options available to us now.

 

[C@ssandr@]

i'm surprised that this stuff is still taboo. And hairstylists are no help either

 

[knt1229]

I'm so glad I grew up the way I did. It was only when I started coming to message boards (not LHCF but non hair related boards) where I started reading that light skin blacks had more white ancestry or light skin blacks have longer better hair.

I have light skin folks in my family and they are no more white or have longer better hair than my dark skinned self.

Sometimes I feel like I'm in the twilight zone when reading some of this craziness.

 

[Kysmet]

No matter what someone else's routine is and what type of hair THEY have, you have to try out different things and figure out what's best for YOUR hair. You never know what may work for you.

 

[producjunki]

I did like your response bermudabeauty, however I can't for sure say they were wrong with their comment, I think they should've said it differently and they should change their way of thinking.

Let's be honest, us black people instill in ourselves that if us black women have long hair, it's because we are either lightskinned and mixed or have "indian" in our family, so that's why a lot of assume that.

It's even a forum on this board posted by a member that says something like "I can't wait to reach APL, so ppl will think I'm mixed", so we do it to ourselves.

 

[Janet']

Even though the original post is a couple of years old...still very relevant...

 

[AlliCat]

Thanks for bumping this Janet.. I know a lot of brown & dark skinned girls with longgg hair and light skins with tore-up neck length hair and chewed up edges. And vice versa. People are so ignorant -_-

 

[mz tracy 25]

I understand where the girls are coming from. 4a/4b hair is the most difficult to manage, because it is the most delicate. Other types of hair naturally retain more moisture, and we all know moisture is one of the most important keys to growth, or should I say retaining length. So what they were saying was not "stupid" they just didn't know the correct terminology to use. Not saying that other hair types don't work hard to grow their hair; of course they do. BUT, it's just something about a long healthy head of 4a/4b hair that puts a smile on my face. JMHO

 

[BeautifulFlower]

I used to get your hair long because you not black...you Trinidadian. What?!?!

 

[kittykhat]

That's partly true. Because most mixed people have loose curls and most mixed people are light skinned. So, there is a correlation. Not saying that non mixed, darker skinned, even non mixed light skinned people don't have loose curls. You just see it more with mixed people.

 

[trendsetta25]

Girl I'm mixed with Venezuelan, Indian, and Black and of course I'm light skin...tell ur dear friend to look @ my siggy to see how long its taking me to reach freakin APL!!!!

My hair grows LESS than .5 inches a month. Its taken HARD work, dedication and of course prayer to get where I'm at. Mind you, I joined LHCF in 2008 and started my HHJ at CBL/SL not at the length it is in 2007. HARD WORK! Lol

 

[Mdmommy99]

Ok...
I'm going to have to be very honest here. In my experience, most people of that I have seen of mixed race- meaning direct mixed race like one black parent and one non-black have a looser curl than most people I have seen that have two Black parents. Not all, but most. In my experience, most people that I have seen with this type of hair have an easier time growing their hair long, not saying that other types can't but I am thinking completely by what I have actually seen, not by what I've learned through research. At this point in my life I realize a lot of this has to do with hair care practices, but if I had not joined LHCF and was just going by what I saw on a regular basis, I would probably believe the same thing.

I don't necessarily think people are stupid, just that most people go by what they see most often in real life, not on hair boards. It may be ignorance as well, but I do think that sometimes we can judge people outside of the boards a little too harshly.

 

[Moopeh]

Being genetically blessed for long hair growth has nothing to do with skin tone.


a) Fast growth rate
b) quatity of individual hairs (thick hair)
c) thickness of individual strands (coarse hair)

People with coarse thick hair, with basic healthy hair practices have a MUCH easier time then say

a) slow growth rate
b) thin hair
c) fine strands

 

[niqu92]

I used to get your hair long because you not black...you Trinidadian. What?!?!

lmao my aunt gets that all the time,shes Trinidadian with TBL hair and ppl always say "the only reason she has all tht hair is cause shes Trinidadian or West Indian..." and the fact that shes lightskinned doesnt help one bit

 

[Enyo]

Personally, I don't pay as much attention to regimes of members who have looser hair textures. Not being nasty, but I have been natural for 11 years and learned a lot. I find that the products and tips that work best for me are from members who have my hair type. I do stop to show love and support as sisters should, but I get my actual inspiration from my fellow type 4 girls.

I think the foolishness comes from skin being an actual factor. My hair is considerably softer and more defined than my sister and she's much lighter than me. My dark-skinned Haitian friend has waist length 3C hair.