that_1_grrrl
New Member
Okay, since I've been lurking, I've noticed people here and there saying things like, "Black hair is the most difficult hair to take care of." Well, I thought I thought I'd post a few things that we should all think about before we discount our hair.
1. You have to realize that we, as Blacks (well, the majority of us that are), live in post-colonial societies. From the moment our ancestors arrived in the Americas and European nations (not necessarily all though), they were told that their hair is ugly and that our needs didn't matter. This led to two problems:
a. Straight hair is seen as the norm and as desirable. Therefore, straight hair became something we wanted to achieve, and for years, have been doing so.
b. Hair products are made for the White majority and don't take into mind what our hair needs. Hair care advice in magazines is often geared towards White women. So, for years, we were left without sound advice about taking care of our hair. And now, ladies like us are still experimenting and finding out how our hair is supposed to be taken care of.
2. Race isn't genetic. Hair is. Hair does not equal race. Basically, we have our hair types not because we are Black but because at least someone in our family line did. Now, my point in that is, you will find people of other races with our hair textures. The thing is they may not know that their hair is likes ours and not be able to find resources that are good for them. They may continue to use products that other people of their race use, and it may cause them damage. Let's be lucky that as Black women, we are able to find community and people who understand our hair (obviously, not all Black women have access to this info).
3. We really don't see the care that goes into taking care of the hair of other races. We may have friends and families of different races, but in the end, everybody does things different. There may be a White or Asian woman out there struggling to keep her hair moisturized or keep it from breaking. We're just not there to see it.
4. Most afro-textured hair is fine. Some of the hair we see as hard-to-damage is coarse. Trust me, their hair DOES get damaged. it just takes longer because there are more layers to the hair. Since most of our hair is fine, our damage occurs faster.
5. Damage may just look different in different hair types. I have seen some real jacked up hair on hair textures. Take type 1 hair for example. When it's damaged, you'll see a ton of flyaways and nasty, scraggly ends. That person may have hair down to their nalgas (butt), but it's still very, very, very damaged. And trust me, I see a lot of type 1 women with really jacked up hair. I mean A LOT. The products that are sold in stores could be damaging their hair as well, but they may never consider it.
6. Our hair may be the most brittle, but it's also the easiest to style. We can jump from style to style, from hair type to hair type. How many others can say they can go from 4b to 1a and everything in between? How many can do it with out heat or chemicals? (I'm referencing rollersets and coconut + lime treatments)
7. I've heard so many people, regardless of hair type/texture/thickness/race, complain about their hair and how hard it is to take care of. I know a White girl who is going bald, yes BALD, in some spots because of the glue-in tracks she uses (I have to admit I was surprised that a White girl from the 'burbs used glue-in tracks).
8. We never know if the people with type 1 or 2 hair that we see have short hair because they cut it or because it won't grow. I was thinking about this one earlier in the week. As someone said in this comm, a lot of people will look at a White girl with short hair and assume she cut, but they will look at a Black girl with short hair and assume it won't grow. Most of the White girls I see have hair somewhere between SL and BSL. I don't see many with longer. For the longest, I too have assumed that it was just cut that way. In reality, it may just be their hair won't grow pass that length due to damage or not knowing how to properly take care of their hair. We'll never know.
Sorry for the length. I just thought I'd write these things out to help encourage us. Sometimes, we may be frustrated with our hair, but we're not alone. Every hair type has its strengths and weaknesses.
Relaxed or natural, our hair is pretty awesome. I love the things we can do with our hair. If you're still having problems getting your hair to do what you want it, it's not you or your hair's fault. NO ONE in this world was born knowing how to take care of their hair. Everybody has to learn how to take care of it.
But I am thankful that we have places like LHCF where we can find people with hair like ours and find support. That girl with the type 1 hair who can't figure out why it won't stop splitting or breaking might not find a community to help her or she may think the advice she finds will automatically work for her hair and think something is wrong with her hair when it doesn't.
1. You have to realize that we, as Blacks (well, the majority of us that are), live in post-colonial societies. From the moment our ancestors arrived in the Americas and European nations (not necessarily all though), they were told that their hair is ugly and that our needs didn't matter. This led to two problems:
a. Straight hair is seen as the norm and as desirable. Therefore, straight hair became something we wanted to achieve, and for years, have been doing so.
b. Hair products are made for the White majority and don't take into mind what our hair needs. Hair care advice in magazines is often geared towards White women. So, for years, we were left without sound advice about taking care of our hair. And now, ladies like us are still experimenting and finding out how our hair is supposed to be taken care of.
2. Race isn't genetic. Hair is. Hair does not equal race. Basically, we have our hair types not because we are Black but because at least someone in our family line did. Now, my point in that is, you will find people of other races with our hair textures. The thing is they may not know that their hair is likes ours and not be able to find resources that are good for them. They may continue to use products that other people of their race use, and it may cause them damage. Let's be lucky that as Black women, we are able to find community and people who understand our hair (obviously, not all Black women have access to this info).
3. We really don't see the care that goes into taking care of the hair of other races. We may have friends and families of different races, but in the end, everybody does things different. There may be a White or Asian woman out there struggling to keep her hair moisturized or keep it from breaking. We're just not there to see it.
4. Most afro-textured hair is fine. Some of the hair we see as hard-to-damage is coarse. Trust me, their hair DOES get damaged. it just takes longer because there are more layers to the hair. Since most of our hair is fine, our damage occurs faster.
5. Damage may just look different in different hair types. I have seen some real jacked up hair on hair textures. Take type 1 hair for example. When it's damaged, you'll see a ton of flyaways and nasty, scraggly ends. That person may have hair down to their nalgas (butt), but it's still very, very, very damaged. And trust me, I see a lot of type 1 women with really jacked up hair. I mean A LOT. The products that are sold in stores could be damaging their hair as well, but they may never consider it.
6. Our hair may be the most brittle, but it's also the easiest to style. We can jump from style to style, from hair type to hair type. How many others can say they can go from 4b to 1a and everything in between? How many can do it with out heat or chemicals? (I'm referencing rollersets and coconut + lime treatments)
7. I've heard so many people, regardless of hair type/texture/thickness/race, complain about their hair and how hard it is to take care of. I know a White girl who is going bald, yes BALD, in some spots because of the glue-in tracks she uses (I have to admit I was surprised that a White girl from the 'burbs used glue-in tracks).
8. We never know if the people with type 1 or 2 hair that we see have short hair because they cut it or because it won't grow. I was thinking about this one earlier in the week. As someone said in this comm, a lot of people will look at a White girl with short hair and assume she cut, but they will look at a Black girl with short hair and assume it won't grow. Most of the White girls I see have hair somewhere between SL and BSL. I don't see many with longer. For the longest, I too have assumed that it was just cut that way. In reality, it may just be their hair won't grow pass that length due to damage or not knowing how to properly take care of their hair. We'll never know.
Sorry for the length. I just thought I'd write these things out to help encourage us. Sometimes, we may be frustrated with our hair, but we're not alone. Every hair type has its strengths and weaknesses.
Relaxed or natural, our hair is pretty awesome. I love the things we can do with our hair. If you're still having problems getting your hair to do what you want it, it's not you or your hair's fault. NO ONE in this world was born knowing how to take care of their hair. Everybody has to learn how to take care of it.
But I am thankful that we have places like LHCF where we can find people with hair like ours and find support. That girl with the type 1 hair who can't figure out why it won't stop splitting or breaking might not find a community to help her or she may think the advice she finds will automatically work for her hair and think something is wrong with her hair when it doesn't.
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