I'm 100% black. 100% African from Nigeria, to be exact. By black, I do not mean black by the generous American/One Drop Rule definition. I mean
black.No admixture whether immediate or distant (and I know all of my ancestors back to six generations ago, with no reason to think that before then (pre-colonialism) any admixture could have occurred). Black enough?
21 inches and MBL to WL, depending on which area you pull.
For the past several months. I've been keeping it at this length with 1/2" cuts monthly.
Apparently, I had quite thick natural hair as a child (don't remember). However, when my mother relaxed it, it all broke off and never exceeded neck length (5" at the longest, about 1/2" at the back due to severe, perpetual breagkage).
Until I went natural 4 years ago, I was relaxed and my hair never exceeded neck length.
Going natural, having a good regimen, not letting anyone fill my head with nonsense about what 'black hair' can or cannot do (and boy did people try).
MESSAGE TO EVERYONE STRUGGLING WITH STEREOTYPES OF BLACK HAIR: You cannot know what your hair capable of until you have mastered a good regimen and given things time. If your regimen is fantastic and four years have gone by and you're still neck length, then ok--now we can talk about losing all hope. Until then, letting the idea that 100% African hair cannot grow bother you is ridiculous. Speculating about genes when you have not yet done your part is pointless.
All my life, I was told that I simply had hair that did not grow and I believed it. But when I went natural, I decided to just let my hair grow and see what it could do. I didn't even set any goals. Just took good care of it for the first time in my life, and let it show me what it was capable of. Almost two feet later, it's
still growing. Stop the madness, do your part, and just let your hair show you what it is capable of.