Real Talk: Please give me examples and numbers

[Solitude]

I have to agree with you about this, but our hair is fragile and different.
but this has nothing to do with growth.
We are the only race that fight against our hair in general, if 75% of white were to chemically treat their hair , use heat daily to get into tight curls to look like our hair. We will see a lot of jacked up white hair IMO.

infact with the popularity of flat irons, I now see more white people with splits and dry hair than 10yrs ago. I live in a predominantly white country and I know this for sure.

Okay, but why do AA little girls have hair that is dry, breaking, and difficult to manage, even before getting chemical treatments or using heat?

I agree that parents should not relax their children's hair at an early age, but people forget to acknowledge WHY parents do that - they do it because their child's natural hair is already tough to manage or broken. My niece is a prime example - her hair is thinning & it grows sooo slowly, even though she is natural, her mom DCs and moisturizes constantly, and she wears protective styles all the time.

As far as other races, they DO use chemicals and heat. Every non-black woman I knows dyes her hair and uses heat appliances. They may get splits and dry hair, but it doesn't stop retaining and visibly getting longer.

 

[hopeful]

I completely agree with Neith. It's not that I'm refusing to believe at all, there's just no hardcore evidence for me to believe that our hair grows slower. I never have a problem with accepting the facts, but as of now there are none.

And lastly, like Neith, I am also going to have to agree to disagree. I guess ultimately it's just a difference in opinion.

Haven't read the entire thread but the few posts in here from Neith have been completely on point imo.

To answer the original question, I have one relative that I know of with bsl hair. And in general I think in my lifetime I've personally known maybe 5 black women with bsl hair, maybe. On a day to day basis I maybe see a black lady with bsl hair hardly ever, sl sometimes, and apl on a rare occasion.

 

[lollyoo]

A large majority given how many black women I see consistently wear MBL weaves-but many just don't think that their hair can grow.

From the biological perspective, considering that subsaharan Africa is not only an extremely dry, but a hot, arid region with very little humidity....it is not very beneficial at all to have fast growing hair or much hair at all. I've observed several west African friends of mind, 3 of which who happen to be male. I've noticed that aside from facial hair (if they even have that), their body hair is almost non-existent especially compared to other white guys on campus whose individual body hair is like 2 inches long . I brought this to the attention of one my friends and he stated that when he thought about it, he had never met many fellow west Africans who were hairy at all, unless they were upper-Sahelian or Berbers

But by the same token I've seen west African men and women who had MBL-WSL hair, but I don't think it's very common for the reasons described above. Besides, long hair has really only become a desirable trait with the onset of colonization and western imperialism

I have to disagree if you see my previous post, I was past APL in Nigeria with no issues. I even greased was relaxed and all I did was weekly rollerset.

Contrary to your believe it is actually very humid in West africa. Even my aunt had chin length hair while living in the uk, went home for 6 month came back with shoulder length hair. Its actually like having a summer growth spurt most of the year.

The reason some africans including myself have problem in europe as I know is that the air is very dry (dry winter etc) unlike the humidity we are used to.

Infact when I am at home I dont use skin moisturisers, my skin also glows differently.

 

[lollyoo]

Okay, but why do AA little girls have hair that is dry, breaking, and difficult to manage, even before getting chemical treatments or using heat?

I agree that parents should not relax their children's hair at an early age, but people forget to acknowledge WHY parents do that - they do it because their child's natural hair is already tough to manage or broken. My niece is a prime example - her hair is thinning & it grows sooo slowly, even though she is natural, her mom DCs and moisturizes constantly, and she wears protective styles all the time.

As far as other races, they DO use chemicals and heat. Every non-black woman I knows dyes her hair and uses heat appliances. They may get splits and dry hair, but it doesn't stop retaining and visibly getting longer.

We all seem to think relaxer alone is bad practices.

Greasing the scalp with petroleum is bad practice
washing kiddies hair once a month is bad practice
Improper detangling techniques and yanking the hair is bad practice

I can go no and on and on

A lot of the ladies on this board with kids know that with good hair care practices our kiddies hair even thrive better than ours even though we do less stuff to their hair.

HTH

 

[Jazala]

About 5 years ago I saw a lady with 4b relaxed hair past BSL...

I have one friend who's daughter had beautiful WL hair. Her hair had no chemicals and was never hot combed. When she got 16 she insisted on getting a relaxer. The next time I saw her after that it had broken off to above APL.

And ummm... that's it lol!

 

[Rain20]

I dont see waistlength hair on many women in general. I notice APL to BSL as a common length in general. Texture may make it easier to judge length which is why many straighten their hair to take length pictures. Styles change and I think many women keep their hair short to be stylish. Unhealthy hair can be seen amongst all races. When I lived in Iowa, I saw a lot of unhealthy dry hair (predmoninantly Caucasian state). I think it was the hard water and cold temperatures. I think are many factors that contribute to hair growth such as hormones, person's health, genetics, nutrition, type of water available, how often a person cuts/trims, and healthy hair practices.

 

[Junebug D]

Last essay, I promise.

I have to agree with you about this, but our hair is fragile and different.
but this has nothing to do with growth.
We are the only race that fight against our hair in general, if 75% of white were to chemically treat their hair , use heat daily to get into tight curls to look like our hair. We will see a lot of jacked up white hair IMO.

infact with the popularity of flat irons, I now see more white people with splits and dry hair than 10yrs ago. I live in a predominantly white country and I know this for sure.

On point! I see too much jacked-up white hair on a daily basis myself. I was looking at people on the buses and trains and at work, in the elevators all day today: I saw ONE "Other" woman past APL. The vast majority were somewhere between SL and APL. I've been noticing this too often lately. What always looked "long" to me on a white person was not even APL. It is a myth that BSL is common for "other" women, if you ask me. Or at least it's that way in Chicago where we all do have to fight the frigid weather and the craptastic water. I'm sure everyone's hair looks better & retains more in Cali and Hawaii and Mississippi.

Okay, but why do AA little girls have hair that is dry, breaking, and difficult to manage, even before getting chemical treatments or using heat?

I agree that parents should not relax their children's hair at an early age, but people forget to acknowledge WHY parents do that - they do it because their child's natural hair is already tough to manage or broken. My niece is a prime example - her hair is thinning & it grows sooo slowly, even though she is natural, her mom DCs and moisturizes constantly, and she wears protective styles all the time.

My niece is the opposite. She has hair exactly like mine. It was doing just fine until my mom & her mom started straightening it. Why is her hair considered tough to manage? Because it's being fought against. We feel like we have to get a comb through it, we feel like it has to hang instead of stick up (the way it grows), etc. Our hair is naturally more dry than other races, and breakage is tougher for us to avoid-- I would never ever argue against that. But neither of those things have anything to do with the rate it's coming out of the scalp. Maybe your neice actually is getting super-slow growth, but that's still one person with her own individual causes.

As far as other races, they DO use chemicals and heat. Every non-black woman I knows dyes her hair and uses heat appliances. They may get splits and dry hair, but it doesn't stop retaining and visibly getting longer.

Why is it so easy to say that our hair grows slower than every other race when we KNOW how we destroy our (already fragile) hair just because we do not like the way it looks as a race, on the whole?.

And why do our locked brothers & sisters have no trouble growing hair to great lengths in a reasonable, average amount of time?

Was that 4-year chart saying 6 in a year is average not made by a white person, using a red-haired white person as example? Why do white people say their hair grows 6 inches per year if it's going faster than that, on average? Or are we saying our hair doesn't average that? I think we can prove this wrong with a simple poll looking at the bell curve. I trust that many of the relaxed/dyed ladies here know the difference between their overall length retained at the end of the month vs. how much new growth they have. Because I sure don't trust that a white scientist will take shrinkage of the new growth and retention into account either. I don't even trust that many Black people would know to take this into account either, that's how foreign our own hair has become to us on the whole.

For some, i think it's just easier to throw up hands and say "their hair just grows faster" because if you believe that, then it kind of gives you a "pass". you can then claim to do everything right. Because a lot of us aren't in love with the thought that our hair can only truly be in its optimal condition *ONLY* when locked.

Asian hair is in its optimal condition when it is growing black & straight down their backs--- the way the vast majority of them wear it. And they wear it like that because they deem it beautiful just the way it is by nature.

I don't see many little White and Asian kids with waist length hair. They're usually somewhere between NL and SL, some with APL. Just from what I see on the smallest girls, roughly, every 3 year old black girl has as much hair as her 3 year-old white/Asian counterpart. But then as the black child gets older, her texture might start to get more coily, more textured. And even if it doesn't, you get introduced to Just For Me kits and pressing combs and weave braids soon enough. And that's when the hair starts breaking off. The Asian child isn't getting any of that. The Asian kid's hair is just being left alone. So by the time these two kids reach 6th grade, the black kid's hair has been constantly broken through the years due to the over-styling and abuse. The Asian kid is probably rocking the same hairstyle she had when she was 3: straight down, the way it grows out of her head. And this continues through high school, adulthood. So yes, there's going to be a major length discrepancy when the black person's hair is going through constant changes, over-styling, and abuse and the Asian person's isn't. And it's all because the Asian person's hair, is deemed beautiful *by them* the way it grows out of their scalps; there's no impetus to alter it or even to style it, really. Just let it hang down. We cannot say the same for ourselves. If we locked at the same rate as you see Asian people wearing it black & straight, I'm positive there would be no noticeable length discrepancy between the races (taking whatever shrinkage into account, still).

 

[mahogany_horizons]

Why couldn't it be genetic? I hope we all understand that when a certain group breeds (especially within itself) there will be certain genetic traits that are passed along to the offsprings. Why then do we associate certain features with certain ethnicities? Why are some groups generally taller than others? Slimmer? lighter? All of this is genetic. Why is it so hard to believe that certain groups may have passed down a trait for slower hair growth? Especially if that trait was beneficial at some point....

No one is saying that black folks can't grow long hair...erplexed

Well I don't tend to think it's genetic and is a genetic trait, I think it's a familial trait! I say this because I've given my hair A BEATING, and never had hair shorter than shoulder length EVER!

My mother frequently has chopped her hair from beyond halle berry short, and by the end of 9 months had sl, or apl length hair.

Maybe my momma and I just don't have the "slow growing black hair folks" gene.....

We just inherited the skin color and such.

if i cut my hair to my neck tonight, I'd be APL in a year. I promise. That growth and retention is on par with ANY other race I know.

Do I think our hair appears to grow as fast as Asians or whites? NO, but that is because of hair practices and issues with retention...

 

[mahogany_horizons]

From the biological perspective, considering that subsaharan Africa is not only an extremely dry, but a hot, arid region with very little humidity....it is not very beneficial at all to have fast growing hair or much hair at all. I've observed several west African friends of mind, 3 of which who happen to be male. I've noticed that aside from facial hair (if they even have that), their body hair is almost non-existent especially compared to other white guys on campus whose individual body hair is like 2 inches long . I brought this to the attention of one my friends and he stated that when he thought about it, he had never met many fellow west Africans who were hairy at all, unless they were upper-Sahelian or Berbers

Thsi may explain my unique phenomenon! i have extremely long body hair, always did, tmi I know. I also have a fairly hairy face, eyebrows, etc. I guess i'm just hairy, so growth and retention have never been an issue for me. JUST RETENTION PAST BSL!!

 

[LunadeMiel]

Well I don't tend to think it's genetic and is a genetic trait, I think it's a familial trait! I say this because I've given my hair A BEATING, and never had hair shorter than shoulder length EVER!

My mother frequently has chopped her hair from beyond halle berry short, and by the end of 9 months had sl, or apl length hair.

Maybe my momma and I just don't have the "slow growing black hair folks" gene.....

We just inherited the skin color and such.

if i cut my hair to my neck tonight, I'd be APL in a year. I promise. That growth and retention is on par with ANY other race I know.

Do I think our hair appears to grow as fast as Asians or whites? NO, but that is because of hair practices and issues with retention...

WHAT!?!?!?!

Do you understand that this "familial" trait that you speak of is passed down through GENES?!?!?!? OMG!

 

[mahogany_horizons]

Growing up - a total of 3.

I don't think the length of hair has anything to do with education, and very little to do with money or economic status. It's not the chemicals or heat, either. Why do I say that? Because, even as little girls, before the heat & chemicals, our hair still doesn't grow as fast as women of other races.

A lot of women of other races who don't have long hair are choosing to cut their hair, but they had long hair - BSL or longer - at some point growing up, so they know they don't want or need long hair. A lot of AA women, IMO, don't believe that we can grow long hair, so they don't make a big effort. However, that thinking is based on experience, not on ignorance.

I, personally, believe that I can grow my hair to APL, but it's a lot of work. I have bigger goals, but after APL, it's going to be a tough effort. I've been stuck at SL since October. In short, it's all genetics. To overcome genetics, we have to work a lot harder.

Some of us on here had very long hair when we were children though. It wasn't until chemicals got in my hair that it was shorter than somewhere beween mbl and w/l! I think that it's genetic, but I don't think it's an issue of race. Some people may just tend to grow hair faster than others. I will buy the theory that more white/asian/indian people may tend to grow hair faster than the same amount of black (or people with afro textured hair, be they latina, etc.) BUT STILL, I don't think one can make a sweeping generalization.

 

[LunadeMiel]

I have to disagree if you see my previous post, I was past APL in Nigeria with no issues. I even greased was relaxed and all I did was weekly rollerset.

Contrally to your believe it is actually very humid in West africa. Even my aunt had chin length hair while living in the uk, went home for 6 month came back with shoulder length hair. Its actually like having a summer growth spurt most of the year.

The reason some africans including myself have problem in europe as I know is that the air is very dry (dry winter etc) unlike the humidity we are used to.

Infact when I am at home I dont use skin moisturisers, my skin also glows differently.

No one is saying that a black person cannot have long hair...

 

[mahogany_horizons]

Last essay, I promise.



On point! I see too much jacked-up white hair on a daily basis myself. I was looking at people on the buses and trains and at work, in the elevators all day today: I saw ONE "Other" woman past APL. The vast majority were somewhere between SL and APL. I've been noticing this too often lately. What always looked "long" to me on a white person was not even APL. It is a myth that BSL is common for "other" women, if you ask me. Or at least it's that way in Chicago where we all do have to fight the frigid weather and the craptastic water. I'm sure everyone's hair looks better & retains more in Cali and Hawaii and Mississippi.



My niece is the opposite. She has hair exactly like mine. It was doing just fine until my mom & her mom started straightening it. Why is her hair considered tough to manage? Because it's being fought against. We feel like we have to get a comb through it, we feel like it has to hang instead of stick up (the way it grows), etc. Our hair is naturally more dry than other races, and breakage is tougher for us to avoid-- I would never ever argue against that. But neither of those things have anything to do with the rate it's coming out of the scalp. Maybe your neice actually is getting super-slow growth, but that's still one person with her own individual causes.

Why is it so easy to say that our hair grows slower than every other race when we KNOW how we destroy our (already fragile) hair just because we do not like the way it looks as a race, on the whole?.

And why do our locked brothers & sisters have no trouble growing hair to great lengths in a reasonable, average amount of time?

Was that 4-year chart saying 6 in a year is average not made by a white person, using a red-haired white person as example? Why do white people say their hair grows 6 inches per year if it's going faster than that, on average? Or are we saying our hair doesn't average that? I think we can prove this wrong with a simple poll looking at the bell curve. I trust that many of the relaxed/dyed ladies here know the difference between their overall length retained at the end of the month vs. how much new growth they have. Because I sure don't trust that a white scientist will take shrinkage of the new growth and retention into account either. I don't even trust that many Black people would know to take this into account either, that's how foreign our own hair has become to us on the whole.

For some, i think it's just easier to throw up hands and say "their hair just grows faster" because if you believe that, then it kind of gives you a "pass". you can then claim to do everything right. Because a lot of us aren't in love with the thought that our hair can only truly be in its optimal condition *ONLY* when locked.

Asian hair is in its optimal condition when it is growing black & straight down their backs--- the way the vast majority of them wear it. And they wear it like that because they deem it beautiful just the way it is by nature.

I don't see many little White and Asian kids with waist length hair. They're usually somewhere between NL and SL, some with APL. Just from what I see on the smallest girls, roughly, every 3 year old black girl has as much hair as her 3 year-old white/Asian counterpart. But then as the black child gets older, her texture might start to get more coily, more textured. And even if it doesn't, you get introduced to Just For Me kits and pressing combs and weave braids soon enough. And that's when the hair starts breaking off. The Asian child isn't getting any of that. The Asian kid's hair is just being left alone. So by the time these two kids reach 6th grade, the black kid's hair has been constantly broken through the years due to the over-styling and abuse. The Asian kid is probably rocking the same hairstyle she had when she was 3: straight down, the way it grows out of her head. And this continues through high school, adulthood. So yes, there's going to be a major length discrepancy when the black person's hair is going through constant changes, over-styling, and abuse and the Asian person's isn't. And it's all because the Asian person's hair, is deemed beautiful *by them* the way it grows out of their scalps; there's no impetus to alter it or even to style it, really. Just let it hang down. We cannot say the same for ourselves. If we locked at the same rate as you see Asian people wearing it black & straight, I'm positive there would be no noticeable length discrepancy between the races (taking whatever shrinkage into account, still).

LADY THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST POSTS IN THE THREAD! EXTREMELY SENSIBLE, WELL REASONED, AND SENSIBLE!

 

[tatiana]

I may get stoned for saying this but, when I drive through the bad neighborhoods, I don't see SL or longer hair often, but when I take my bus through Hyde Park (affluent diverse neighborhood, where Barack Obama lives) those girls have APL or longer and I see a lot of beautiful naturals.

I wonder why THAT is?

I wonder why that is as well??[/quote]

When I was going up I lived in affluent neighborhood and most black females has SL or longer hair. Handful of BSL. Waist length and longer was uncommon amoung black and white; it is more common amoung Latinas and Indians from India. I now live in a middle class to lower middle class/working class/upper-middle class neighborhood, I have notice most black females hair is shorter than SL and anything longer is uncommon.

Here are my reasons, but not limited to, on why black females in affluent neighborhoods have longer hair:

• The water quality and air quality is better
• Food quality is better
  
• Less enviromental pollution
• Less Asian-owned BSS and harder to find black products which forces people to try "white" or "high-end" products
• Certain hairstyles that are popular among the lower class is not popular and even discouraged among the affluent
• "Better" or "higher-end" stylists work in affluent areas. Less hair horror stories. Less chair-hopping. Since the customer base is smaller, stylist just can not lose a client.
• Since stylist near home is hard to find or is busy, person is more likely to learn how to do own hair and not dependent on stylist.
• Think more positive about their hair.
• People in affluent areas have a more conservative outlook so their hairstyles tend to reflect that.
• More likely to seek information on growing hair
• Have the money to spend on hair products.
• Less likely to wear wigs, weaves, and etc however if it is their thing they have the money to buy superior hair product. They are less likely to wear hair pieces due to less Asian BSS and hard to find stylist to put a weave in. Not all stylist do weaves.

 

[mahogany_horizons]

I wonder why that is as well??

When I was going up I lived in affluent neighborhood and most black females has SL or longer hair. Handful of BSL. Waist length and longer was uncommon amoung black and white; it is more common amoung Latinas and Indians from India. I now live in a middle class to lower middle class/working class/upper-middle class neighborhood, I have notice most black females hair is shorter than SL and anything longer is uncommon.

Here are my reasons, but not limited to, on why black females in affluent neighborhoods have longer hair:

• The water quality and air quality is better
• Food quality is better
  
• Less enviromental pollution
• Less Asian-owned BSS and harder to find black products which forces people to try "white" or "high-end" products
• Certain hairstyles that are popular among the lower class is not popular and even discouraged among the affluent
• "Better" or "higher-end" stylists work in affluent areas. Less hair horror stories. Less chair-hopping. Since the customer base is smaller, stylist just can not lose a client.
• Since stylist near home is hard to find or is busy, person is more likely to learn how to do own hair and not dependent on stylist.
• Think more positive about their hair.
• People in affluent areas have a more conservative outlook so their hairstyles tend to reflect that.
• More likely to seek information on growing hair
• Have the money to spend on hair products.
• Less likely to wear wigs, weaves, and etc however if it is their thing they have the money to buy superior hair product. They are less likely to wear hair pieces due to less Asian BSS and hard to find stylist to put a weave in. Not all stylist do weaves.

[/quote]

These are interesting perspectives as well...I think i agree with these!

 

[FAMUDva]

So if we are all genetically the same, are any of y'all ready to give up your MT, MTG, OCT, whateva to watch those 6 inches or more? The lady I work with got more than 6 inches in a year, so obviously she's above average since we are "all the same". (can y'all tell I'm salty that she got long hair in less than a year while I'm looking crazy bunning everyday. )

Okay, for real y'all the original post has nothing to do with WHY... the OP is DO YOU SEE and how many... *sigh*

I know why our hair grows at the rate it does... and it is not only about our hair practices... although hair practices do play a huge part in us keeping or not keeping the hair on our heads...

 

[lollyoo]

No one is saying that a black person cannot have long hair...

I guess you did not read the message I responded too. She said its is not humid in subsahara africa and as a result growth is slower. This is actually a not right, infact it is warm and humid and you get more growth like having a summer growth spurt. So her theory about african hair growing slower because of subsaharan weather cant hold up.

It has nothing to do with black people can grow hair long or not

So read message carefully before responding.

Thanks

 

[lollyoo]

So if we are all genetically the same, are any of y'all ready to give up your MT, MTG, OCT, whateva to watch those 6 inches? The lady I work with got more than 6 inches in a year, so obviously she's above average since we are "all the same".

Okay, for real y'all the original post has nothing to do with WHY... the OP is DO YOU SEE and how many... *sigh*

I know why our hair grows at the rate it does... and it is not only about our hair practices... although hair practices do play a huge part in us keeping or not keeping the hair on our heads...

If you get faster growth with same breakage you have more final length.
I am literally saying we retain less than they do, nothing to do with growth.

 

[FAMUDva]

If you get faster growth with same breakage you have more final length.
I am literally saying we retain less than they do, nothing to do with growth.

Hi Lollyoo, how many black women (or women who consider themselves black) do you see in your real life with BSL or longer hair? I'm really interested in knowing

 

[Junebug D]

So if we are all genetically the same, are any of y'all ready to give up your MT, MTG, OCT, whateva to watch those 6 inches or more? The lady I work with got more than 6 inches in a year, so obviously she's above average since we are "all the same". (can y'all tell I'm salty that she got long hair in less than a year while I'm looking crazy bunning everyday. )

I've done 6 without any of that before. And I've done less than 6 some years, and more than 6 some years. (No, I've never been Asian either... ) I'm hoping to get more than average this year.

Okay, for real y'all the original post has nothing to do with WHY... the OP is DO YOU SEE and how many... *sigh*

I know why our hair grows at the rate it does... and it is not only about our hair practices... although hair practices do play a huge part in us keeping or not keeping the hair on our heads...

Sorry, but the conversation has long been shifting from the OP.

Of people I've known with hair past BSL, not many. There are 3 who I've personally known by name with hair I remember past BSL. One (mixed race) girl in grammar school, and 2 professors at college-- both had locs.

 

[mahogany_horizons]

So if we are all genetically the same, are any of y'all ready to give up your MT, MTG, OCT, whateva to watch those 6 inches or more? The lady I work with got more than 6 inches in a year, so obviously she's above average since we are "all the same". (can y'all tell I'm salty that she got long hair in less than a year while I'm looking crazy bunning everyday. )

Okay, for real y'all the original post has nothing to do with WHY... the OP is DO YOU SEE and how many... *sigh*

I know why our hair grows at the rate it does... and it is not only about our hair practices... although hair practices do play a huge part in us keeping or not keeping the hair on our heads...

I HAVE NEVER, EVER USED GROWTH AIDS!

 

[Jazala]

Hi Lollyoo, how many black women (or women who consider themselves black) do you see in your real life with BSL or longer hair? I'm really interested in knowing

LOL you might have to start a new thread to get this back on track.

 

[FAMUDva]

I HAVE NEVER, EVER USED GROWTH AIDS!

Don't get upset... I wasn't talking about you specifically Mahogany Horizon. We all know MANY women on LHCF use growth aids... it's as simple as a search.
And most are using growth aids to chase APL or BSL... I WAS one of those ladies at one point, but really it's just too much.

So, while YOU don't and YOU never have, MANY women on this board does... I'm not for one second saying anything is wrong with using Growth aids... just wondering how many WHO DO use them would be willing to give them up forever to test the theory that WE ARE ALL THE SAME.

Tis all.

 

[FAMUDva]

LOL you might have to start a new thread to get this back on track.

I think you're right... although for the most part my curiosity has been answered.

 

[FAMUDva]

I've done 6 without any of that before. And I've done less than 6 some years, and more than 6 some years. (No, I've never been Asian either... ) I'm hoping to get more than average this year.

Sorry, but the conversation has long been shifting from the OP.

Of people I've known with hair past BSL, not many. There are 3 who I've personally known by name with hair I remember past BSL. One (mixed race) girl in grammar school, and 2 professors at college-- both had locs.

The Asian lady at my job got more than 6 inches in less than a year... but who's counting.

Thanks for answering the original question . I really was curious to see if anyone had a very wide variety of answers vs. what I've seen .

 

[Brooklyn72]

Famudva-without reading the other posts- Im surprised you don't see many in Atlanta. I too live in atlanta and I see plenty. I can tell you that there are more than 20 different bsl heads in the dominican salons in Gwinnett. I personally know at least 10 women here with bsl hair.

 

[hopeful]

WHAT!?!?!?!

Do you understand that this "familial" trait that you speak of is passed down through GENES?!?!?!? OMG!

No one is saying that a black person cannot have long hair...

I know you are not trying to be funny but .

I think you're right... although for the most part my curiosity has been answered.

Good thread FAMUDva.

 

[MrsMe]

In my whole life I've only met 2 black women who had hair beyond bra-strap length. One of them I met during my freshman year in college whose hair was between bra-strap length and WL. She was from Somalia.
The second person is my BFF whose hair must be at WL by now... The last time I saw her with her hair out, it was below bra-strap and that was 3 years ago, so I'm pretty sure it's MUCH LONGER now. She keeps it simple with her hair: wash, condition, rollerset and blowdry (her hair is relaxed) and she wears it in protective styles almost 350 days out of a year...literally. So that might the key to her hair growth.

 

[FAMUDva]

Famudva-without reading the other posts- Im surprised you don't see many in Atlanta. I too live in atlanta and I see plenty. I can tell you that there are more than 20 different bsl heads in the dominican salons in Gwinnett. I personally know at least 10 women here with bsl hair.

I SEE them, and I actually have gone to Lilly's Dominican Salon in Norcross (a few times). BUT, I don't PERSONALLY know that many black women with long hair. I don't personally see as many Black women with long hair as I see White and Asian women. That's all I'm saying.

And on average I see women between SL-APL-BSL when I'm in Lilly's. Some shorter and a few longer. I have seen a couple of MBL- WL in there, but not that many... I actually saw Tiny (TI baby momma) in there and she had longer than BSL at the time.

For the record, I see so many black women in Atlanta with BEAUTIFUL, thick and healthy hair that seems well maintained and well taken care of; so I'm not suggesting there aren't beautiful heads of hair in Atlanta. I don't however see many with BSL or longer. Maybe it also has to do with the fact that I'm talking about FULL BSL... not just a tip that reaches and touches the bra. I see plenty of "Other" women with FULL BSL and longer hair on a daily.

And one thing I've realized only recently, white women tend to cut their hair shorter as they get older. Many see long hair as something for youthful younger women. At least that's what a white lady at my job said. IDK for sure.

 

[MrsMe]

Hi Lollyoo, how many black women (or women who consider themselves black) do you see in your real life with BSL or longer hair? I'm really interested in knowing

Oh, I HAVE met plenty of women with hair beyond bra-strap length...but they got Indian in their family!
My BFF keeps it real! When people ask her if she's got Indian in her family because of her long hair she simply answers: "No, I'm mixed with black and blacker!"