Real Talk: Please give me examples and numbers

[FAMUDva]

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!"

I use black & blacker too! Either that or I tell folks I'm mixed with "Colored and Negro". Cause apparently you have to be mixed to have your hair wave/ curl up without chemicals

 

[FAMUDva]

NOW THIS IS LONG Hair!!!!
(BTW, the man is from Kathmandu)

 

[MrsMe]

NOW THIS IS LONG Hair!!!!
(BTW, the man is from Kathmandu)

Gee, how does he wash it? That's the kind of hair you can only wash in a river...

 

[lollyoo]

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

I currently leave in a predominatly white country and dont see much black at moment so wont be fair comaprison. But to be true I hardly see women white or black with hair beyond BSL. No doubt I see more white than black with APL.

But When I was living in Nigeria it was not rare to see black people with APL or BSL hair, beyond that length is rare as well. I also notice back then that people that tend to wear their hair natural tend to have longer hair of course when straightened. I also notice we do a lot of protective styling. I went to high school that were we can only cornrow, no leaving hair out except weekends. Even My younger sis is APL at moment and 90% of the time she is in braids/twist. For us protective styling is actually extremely common so this may have helped with growth retention.

 

[FAMUDva]

Gee, how does he wash it? That's the kind of hair you can only wash in a river...

Well he is from Kathmandu, Nepal (according to the picture source). So he's ASIAN! LOL!

Here he is again:

I'm shooting for this length.

 

[PhiLee]

Completely off the subject but... GO RATTLERS! YAY!

I know! Strike, Strike, and---

well, you know.

 

[bbdgirl]

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.

I really can't agree with this enough, when we were children most of the AA girls mothers/guardians used mostly the same products to comb and dress our hair, but not all of us had long hair.

Unfortunately, even though I have been on this forum for over a year I debate with myself (because no one else wants to talk hair growth with me IRL) constantly if genetics doesn't also play a part in my hair's personality (length, texture, etc). If not then why has my always been b/n SL and APL, why even grow that long?
I do know now how to baby my hair and so now I am at BSL and beyond but honestly if I had never found this site I would have thought that AA women having long hair was just the luck of the draw, solely determined by genes.

To answer the OP: I have known fewer than ten AA women with BSL hair and longer is an extreme rarity, only on this board does it seem almost commonplace. But when I see polls on this site inquiring what everyone's length is the number #1 length seems to always be shoulder length, not even APL. I now believ that our treatment of our hair (relaxers, heat, combing, using grease, not washing enough, lack of moisture) is what keeps our hair shorter on average than other races.

I agree that our hair breaks faster or as fast as it grows which is why it so difficult for us to retain length, but I also think that genes play a role. Because like many a poster on this thread has mentioned not all non-black women have thick, long flowing locks either.

I live in NYC and there are plenty of black women here, but I have to say growing up I didn't see alot of women with SL, APL or BSL hair. The girls in school used to coo over my hair and it was just past shoulder length, no BSL or WL for me ever.
But now when I walk the streets of NYC I see many more women with BSL hair and to be honest, like I said before, before I came to this board I would have just thought that either your hair grows that long or it doesn't. I would have never attempted to grow my hair longer.

That was a bit long winded, Sorry but this is just a thought that often runs thru my head

 

[Oasis]

I know of about 5 but most of them are short now. They range from 3a to 4b. Most of the black women I see are not even neck length or wear weaves. erplexed

Even if black hair does grow slower, which I'm not entirely convinced of yet, it's no skin off my back. My arrogance and feelings of superiority are based on other things so if whites/Asians hair grows faster, more power to 'em.

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.

Disagree. Black hair isn't inherently hard to manage. When parents are using all the wrong products and practices of course the hair is going to be difficult to manage because you (in a general sense) are trying to make it do things it's not meant to do. Fine tooth comb, pink moisturizer, blue magic, skipping out on conditioner, etc.

Look at all the beautiful hair in the children’s hair care forum. Their parents know how to take care of it and it's reaping the benefits.

 

[Junebug D]

Look at all the beautiful hair in the children’s hair care forum. Their parents know how to take care of it and it's reaping the benefits.

Good point! The kids' pictures in there... man! They have more hair than any kids I've seen of any race! I wish LHCF had existed when I was a baby, lol.

 

[kblc06]

Not sure which subsaharan West African country you are referring to but I know Ghana is very humid, very hot but also quite humid. Well, the South. And I saw many women and men with enough hair to last a lifetime

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.

Sigh* I think I was misunderstood because I didn't make myself clear, I was referring to evolutionary biology that took place over the course of 50,000 to 100,000 years, not necessarily West Africa as it is now. It is obvious that natural selection favored kinky hair because it aided survival and thus we now see it in subsequent generations, the same may have well been true for genes that promote slower hair growth. Sorry about that

 

[anon123]

I feel you as well. Lets see..with my friends only about two people come to mind. Two friends.
Friend 1-BSL (she recently cut to APL but it will grow back)
Friend 2-MBL (she also chops on her hair)

I drive for the Chicago Transit Authority in some of the roughest neighborhoods too. It's rare that I see a girl about SL and if she is, almost EVERYONE is looking at her hair on the bus, trying to see if she is wearing a weave.

I've seen fights on the bus because of this subject. I've had girls look me upside my head as well. (I wear some FIERCE weaves!) LOL

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?

Hey, you drive CTA?! And through my neighborhood (Hyde Park)?!. Girl, what bus you drive, maybe I'll see you one day. I frequently take the 6 sometimes the 15.

To answer the question, I really don't know. as Supermodel mentioned about my neighborhood, there are a lot of naturals and it's really hard to tell how long their hair is. I'm near bsl stretched myself but people would never know. I also don't pay enough attention to know.

 

[gradygirl]

Where I live shoulder length is considered long. I know of 1 lady with BSL hair.

 

[KEWLKAT103]

I have said before that I see white crackheads with longer hair than the average AA woman. I know that they aren't using the best conditioners and moisturizing everyday, so it has to be something else.
Outside of this board, I know 1 AA with BSL hair. I rarely even see AA with apl hair.
Saying that other races hair grows faster does not mean we are inferior. It's just hair and it takes our hair alot more attention and time to get to great lengths or any lengths.

 

[supermodelsonya]

Hey, you drive CTA?! And through my neighborhood (Hyde Park)?!. Girl, what bus you drive, maybe I'll see you one day. I frequently take the 6 sometimes the 15.

To answer the question, I really don't know. as Supermodel mentioned about my neighborhood, there are a lot of naturals and it's really hard to tell how long their hair is. I'm near bsl stretched myself but people would never know. I also don't pay enough attention to know.

LOL I'm sure I was your bus driver because I drive the 6 almost everyday!!! I'm the one with the mean mug on my face!!! Say hi sometimes!!!!!!!

 

[lilsparkle825]

I would say about 10-15. Here at school it's rare but not uncommon. About 5 of them are light skinned and of course it's chalked up to that.

 

[Melchuck29]

I just started on my healthy hair journey about 45 days ago. Even when I was doing the most to neglect and abuse my scalp and hair, hair grew out of my head at least .5 in per month, sometimes more. The problem that I have is with retention, but even that doesn't seem to be as much of a problem for me as it is for almost all of the other black women that I know. My BFF has hair habits similar to mine during my unenlightened days but her hair never grows past shoulder length while mine always grows past APL even with trims every 8-10 weeks. I really can't point to anything except genetics. All of the hair on my body is coarse and dense and grows long (much to my chagrin).

I don't think that African hair grows at a slower rate at all. It's just more fragile, so it doesn't stay attached to the head as long, which makes it *appear* to grow slower. Apart from drastic changes our eyes cannot readily tell the difference between hair that is growing slower and hair that is being shortened from damage and trimming.

 

[Mis007]

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.

Do you not also think that the water has alot to do with it, the UK is hard water not good for hair (Particularly black hair).

 

[that_1_grrrl]

See, I am going to have to disagree.

I may not see tons of Black women with long hair, but of the women I see with short hair, I can easily identify what they are doing wrong with their hair. Every day, I see Black women with hair so dry it looks like it will catch fire. I see them comb the life out of their hair. I can see the breakage. I can see when they're hair is in dire need of some protein.

So...

Until I see a majority of Black women walking around with decent hair regimens, I am not really interested in discussing whether or not Black hair grows as fast, as long as everyone else's.

Or until I see everyone else greasing their hair up like a car.

ETA: I have seen plenty of people with 3 and 4 type hair with long hair. Their practices are just way different than ours. Growing up around Latinos, most of whom have Black ancestry, I see hair textures like ours but different hair practices. I think it does make a difference.

 

[that_1_grrrl]

I have said before that I see white crackheads with longer hair than the average AA woman. I know that they aren't using the best conditioners and moisturizing everyday, so it has to be something else.
Outside of this board, I know 1 AA with BSL hair. I rarely even see AA with apl hair.
Saying that other races hair grows faster does not mean we are inferior. It's just hair and it takes our hair alot more attention and time to get to great lengths or any lengths.

I don't think White people have to moisturize like we do because of how much sebum gets to the hair shaft. Their hair is protected.

Again, the issue isn't growth, it is retention. As others have said, our hair is weaker because of all the "kinks" in it. So, add to that all the bad hair practices, our hair is being used and abused.

I am willing to bet that if you did to a White person's hair all we do to our hair any given day, they wouldn't get past shoulder length either.

 

[glamazon386]

I don't think White people have to moisturize like we do because of how much sebum gets to the hair shaft. Their hair is protected.

Again, the issue isn't growth, it is retention. As others have said, our hair is weaker because of all the "kinks" in it. So, add to that all the bad hair practices, our hair is being used and abused.

I am willing to bet that if you did to a White person's hair all we do to our hair any given day, they wouldn't get past shoulder length either.

You're right. I've seen white girls with fried hair before and it wasn't pretty. You can tell which ones take care of their hair or get good cuts and go to good salons from the ones who don't. And on top of that the fact that most of us have relaxers make it harder for us because the bonds in our hair are broken down to begin with and then we use heat on top of that. Then if you add color on top of that it could be a double processed mess.

 

[mahogany_horizons]

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.

THANKS FOR THE Clarification girlie. Makes sense....but I still think that, we are NOT ALL THE SAME, in terms of length, but I think it's genetics via inheritance that plays a greater role than race. I could be wrong. Anyway, I apologize for being on the defensive.

 

[FAMUDva]

THANKS FOR THE Clarification girlie. Makes sense....but I still think that, we are NOT ALL THE SAME, in terms of length, but I think it's genetics via inheritance that plays a greater role than race. I could be wrong. Anyway, I apologize for being on the defensive.

No problem. And we inherit our genetics . It's just how DNA transcription and protien translation works. But this is LHCF not NCBI so I'm doing my best to stay away from the genotypic vs. phenotypic discussion.

I think emotions should be left out of discussions about science.
The original goal of the thread wasn't science, I have no idea how or why it took that turn. I simply want to know (and still want to know) if folks are see a lot of black women with hair that rivals the numbers and lengths of other women on a daily. I mean, statistically speaking. I guess that's the ONLY scientific part I'm asking... the statistics of what YOU (universal you) see on a daily .

But since it seems to be an emotional topic I'mma let it be

 

[LunadeMiel]

No problem. And we inherit our genetics . It's just how DNA transcription and protien translation works. But this is LHCF not NCBI so I'm doing my best to stay away from the genotypic vs. phenotypic discussion.

I think emotions should be left out of discussions about science.
The original goal of the thread wasn't science, I have no idea how or why it took that turn. I simply want to know (and still want to know) if folks are see a lot of black women with hair that rivals the numbers and lengths of other women on a daily. I mean, statistically speaking. I guess that's the ONLY scientific part I'm asking... the statistics .

But since it seems to be an emotional topic I'mma let it be

*Hangs head in shame*...
I think I started it....Sorry.....

 

[anon123]

I simply want to know (and still want to know) if folks are see a lot of black women with hair that rivals the numbers and lengths of other women on a daily.

Oh, well I think there's hardly going to be any dispute on that. Unless almost all the people you see daily are black, there will be very few people who see as many black women with long hair as women of other colors. I'm not sure anyone in this thread has denied that (or confirmed it ). It seems to be a given that that is true; I guess people would rather address why that is the case. I think the fact that they address the why without even bothering to address the if is evidence that people know that, by and large, black women's hair is shorter than most everyone else's.

 

[DMarie]

To be honest i don't see many African American women here in VA with hair longer than shoulder length. I moved back here in 06 and at that time I had full thick bsl hair and was turning heads, men and women. I remember seeing two girls with really nice hair in the mall around that time one hair was longer than mine and the other had my length hair. Last year 08 I met another AM women with hair as long as mine. And before that maybe in 04 I went to school with two women one had full apl/bsl hair and the other had hair just past her shoulders but it was thin.

Growing up both of my sisters had hair longer and softer than mine. My hair was thicker though. My mom had hair about apl. As a young adult/ teen I never tried to grow my hair long as i was happy with cutting it. When i found this site i decided to return to relaxing and grow my hair long. I stayed at bsl for a couple of years cause i would trim and try to maintain that length but last year in 08 after going through a pregnancy i got to mbl hair for a minute. Before knowing about this site all my life my hair had never been longer than about several inches past my shoulders. I've been with the same man since 1994 and i've kept my hair no longer than bob length. We've been married now almost 9 years and when i told him i was gonna grow my hair long to bsl i think he was skeptical. I just figured it was possible because of my sister and mother's hair length. And surely I was correct. My hair grew longer than my sisters and my mothers and i believe it could/would have gotten longer if post partum shedding and my decision to go natural didn't become an issue. Now i'm looking to have natural long hair about bsl.

DMarie

 

[FAMUDva]

*Hangs head in shame*...
I think I started it....Sorry.....

LOL!!!!!

 

[FAMUDva]

Oh, well I think there's hardly going to be any dispute on that. Unless almost all the people you see daily are black, there will be very few people who see as many black women with long hair as women of other colors. I'm not sure anyone in this thread has denied that (or confirmed it ). It seems to be a given that that is true; I guess people would rather address why that is the case. I think the fact that they address the why without even bothering to address the if is evidence that people know that, by and large, black women's hair is shorter than most everyone else's.

I guess I was not trying to make the discussion serious. Ooops. lol

I see lots of black women daily and not very many long haired ones, so it got me to thinking. That's all.... I'm totally random like that sometimes.

 

[lovenharmony]

To be honest, nope. The average length I've seen is SL - APL.

 

[lila_baby]

Good morning LHCF


My personal answer: I know 1 black girl at work with BSL hair, and in my personal life I know about 3-4.


Feel free to give your comparative answer of women of other backgrounds that you see or know with BSL or longer hair. Thanks for being real with me ladies. Oh yeah, feel free to tell me I'm completely wrong too.

TIA!

BEAR IN MIND THAT BSL IS NOT CONSIDERED LONG TO PEOPLE OF OTHER RACES.
In fact I generally see most women of other races with BSL hair and this doesn't even turn my head, when I see a woman with MBL to WL or longer THEN I turn and look at her hair, BSL on a black woman would make me look at her hair but NOT on a white, asian, middle-eastern, etc woman.

 

[mahogany_horizons]

No problem. And we inherit our genetics . It's just how DNA transcription and protien translation works. But this is LHCF not NCBI so I'm doing my best to stay away from the genotypic vs. phenotypic discussion.

I think emotions should be left out of discussions about science.
The original goal of the thread wasn't science, I have no idea how or why it took that turn. I simply want to know (and still want to know) if folks are see a lot of black women with hair that rivals the numbers and lengths of other women on a daily. I mean, statistically speaking. I guess that's the ONLY scientific part I'm asking... the statistics of what YOU (universal you) see on a daily .

But since it seems to be an emotional topic I'mma let it be

I know we inherit our genetics But what I am saying to you, is that I think the long haired gene, or short haired gene or whatever it is, is passed more from family to family, than being a racial characteristic!

But glad to know there are no hard feelings.

Love ya lots