Hair...The Black Woman's Curse?

[trini_rican]

ITA..In Trinidad,,we do wear cornrows,twists, braids, lock,relaxers...press hair...you name it...my mum has 2c/3a hair...and she was telling me stories of her pressing her hair with a hotcomb on da stove....and yes Afro-Caribbeans have the same problems as Afro-Americans in regards to haircare....

I didn't say we don't I said we don't have to, all the time!! erplexed

 

[trini_rican]

That's why I ran up out this thread... too much "I've seen this/my hair does this, so that makes my opinion true universally."

I think I need to run out too then because it's getting to borderline ridiculous.

 

[Mitre]

Sweetie, I'm trini so I think I know what Trini's look like - I look in the mirror quite often. My family is Tamil (often referred to as Madras in Trinidad) and African. I think you need to refer your link to somebody else.

Re-read your post...you said they are dark people...you should have said some are....

 

[trini_rican]

Re-read your post...you said they are dark people...you should have said some are....

I'm Cinnamon Brown I consider myself to be dark. Anyone not cafe au lat is dark to me but that's my point of view, everyone has one. I clicked your link and most of the girls in the photos are my complexion. Dark.

 

[Mitre]

I didn't say we don't I said we don't have to, all the time!! erplexed

In my experience, yes people with 4a/4b in Trinidad keep their hair in braids,buns,twists..etc...all the time....I havent seen anyone with fros etc...except in old 70s photos

 

[Mitre]

I'm Cinnamon Brown I consider myself to be dark. Anyone not cafe au lat is dark to me but that's my point of view, everyone has one. I clicked your link and most of the girls in the photos are my complexion. Dark.

Ok, I get your point of view....but my point is that some Afro-Caribbean have the same hair problems as their American ancestors....

 

[cocoberry10]

No offense, but I do see a lot of people saying that they can wear their hair in afro or puffs everyday and still grow BSL or longer hair, but I go into their fotki and look at their hair texture and so far, their understanding of what constitutes 4 a/b hair doesn't match mine. I don't want to start a texture war, so looks like I will definitely have to create a new category for my hair type. From now on, I will refer to it as 5 a/b.

I think you are right. Actually this has been addressed before. I do think there are textures beyond "4b"

 

[trini_rican]

In my experience, yes people with 4a/4b in Trinidad keep their hair in braids,buns,twists..etc...all the time....I havent seen anyone with fros etc...except in old 70s photos

I'm sorry I don't recall saying anything about a fro.

 

[trini_rican]

Ok, I get your point of view....but my point is that some Afro-Caribbean have the same hair problems as their American ancestors....

They have the same moisture issues correct. The point I was trying to make is that Carribean women grow their hair long all the time. BSL and beyond. I'm not saying that it's not thick, dry or difficult to style I was saying that we can grow 4a-c hair to long lengths without all the extras because Island girls do it all the time. And by extras I meant using growth aids and using protective styles 100% of the time. I apologize perhaps I should have been my explicative in my previous post.

 

[ladylibra]

Actually, this board can provide us with a lot of scientific facts. Just tabulate how many "I made SL/APL/BSL/WL" announcements we get, and see how many of those just wore fro or puffs and did NOT do protective styles like buns/braids/twists/phonypony/weaves/cornrow, how many DID blow dry or flatiron their hair everyday like our non-black counterparts, how many just washed and let their hair hang. The mean average should tell us something.

very true! but i meant for the white people... i should've been more clear

 

[ladylibra]

I have thick APL hair and can blow dry my whole head from damp to completely dry on average in 8 minutes. Its ALL in your technique. I adjust the heat based on the section I am blow out.

So white/black, BlowDrying isnt a big deal.....

impressive! i never used to be able to dry my thick SL relaxed hair in less than 15, and this is back when i turned every heat appliance on full blast, LOL

 

[scribblescrabble2]

I can't see Jessy55's photos either.

 

[Poohbear]

Yeah... but having to wear your hair braided or twisted up frequently is an extra routine in and of itself. I hate to beat this to death, but do other races of women have to do this in order to have long hair? Isn't that the original point of this post... that black women HAVE to do more than just wash and go in order to have long hair? I'm sure many white women flat iron, blow dry, and style their hair to make it pretty... but they do not do those things in order to grow their hair.​

I don't have to braid it or twist it up frequently to make my hair grow.

 

[nodisrespect]

Do you speak for black women in general, or just yourself, Poohbear?

 

[Poohbear]

I'm sorry, but I don't understand this comment. Ok, that's you. Does this negate the vast majority of women on this board that DO have stick to strict routines in order to successfully grow their hair? I'm getting like gymfreak over here, fascinated by other people's deductive skills. This is a fallacy of argument called the statistic of small numbers. In other words, just because someone can point to a few favorable outcomes, that says nothing about the overall chances of the whole.

You don't understand my comment, why not? And the vast majority of Black women DO NOT have to stick to strict routines to grow long hair. Maybe some, but not the vast majority. Some do all that strict stuff and still don't grow long hair. No one and I mean NO ONE can say what the vast majority of Black women has to do with their hair in order to grow and retain length. Just like I can say I don't have to do much to my hair to make it grow, you can't say that the majority of Black women have problems growing their hair, some do and some don't, you can't say the vast majority.

 

[Poohbear]

Do you speak for black women in general, or just yourself, Poohbear?

I'm just speaking for myself, I'm a Black woman so I am included into the Black woman group and I'm also speaking for some other Black women. I can't speak for ALL or MOST Black women in general. Saying that the vast majority of Black women have to stick to a strict long enduring routine to grow hair is just not true. Check out the Features of the Month.

 

[nodisrespect]

Ah, I'm glad to see you were the one I mentioned the fallacies of argument to, because I was just about to bring it up again As far as a "regular routine", your definition of "routine" might be different from mine, which is why I was commenting on you saying you don't have to do "much" to grow your hair - that's not the same as a routine. As far as I know, not doing "much" could mean nothing further than wash and go, like looser patterns of hair only have to do. In my opinion, a routine is anything other than shampooing and deep conditioning. I also did not use the words "long" or "enduring", which cannot be counted as synonymous with "strict", nor did I say anything about the "vast" majority, simply because the "vast" majority of black women do not have long hair.

*tiptoes back out of thread*

 

[blasiancurlie]

ITA. I'm transitioning right now but in middle school and high school i would stretch my relaxer to 3-5 months. i wore my hair out (wash-n-go) everyday and grew from SL to BSL in 3 years. i also did it again in college. i cut my hair to NL freshman year and was past APL by junior year....and this is WITH heat - blowdrying, flatironing, and curling. NO PROTECTIVE STYLES.

ETA: I'm also all about simple and believe hair can grow without strict routines. Like fabiennd said, let your hair do what it do and it'll grow. I'm sure my hair may have grew faster without all the damage, but it still grew regardless. The only thing really unhealthy about my hair was that I had split ends but I would just trim them. I'm really not on LHCF to learn strict routines/regimens, I just want to learn more about transitioning! And get support while I transition!

althought I've only been natural for a two month..but I wear my hair in a puff/wash and go everyday and have absolutely no problem with growth, retention, and tangles. I just wash my hair and let it be. Women in my family are not big on doing a lot of things to their hair and most of them have/had long hair. The more you do to your hair the harder it will be to maintain. As my hair gets longer, I'm going to maintain the same regimen except I may wear it in a pony once in a while. Otherwise, I'm going to let it do what it do...

 

[Poohbear]

Ah, I'm glad to see you were the one I mentioned the fallacies of argument to, because I was just about to bring it up again As far as a "regular routine", your definition of "routine" might be different from mine, which is why I was commenting on you saying you don't have to do "much" to grow your hair - that's not the same as a routine. As far as I know, not doing "much" could mean nothing further than wash and go, like looser patterns of hair only have to do. In my opinion, a routine is anything other than shampooing and deep conditioning. I also did not use the words "long" or "enduring", which cannot be counted as synonymous with "strict", nor did I say anything about the "vast" majority, simply because the "vast" majority of black women do not have long hair.

*tiptoes back out of thread*

I didn't say you said all those things, those were MY words...I was just stating my viewpoint.

However, you did mention "vast majority of Black women" in your post.

I'm done.

 

[crazydaze911]

I was sitting on a cheap sofa in the Ikea store with my legs crossed determining the comfort and quality of my prospective new purchase when I was struck by the length (waist) and curls on this white girls head. I was like "ooh, I can't wait".. then seconds later, another just-past midback passes by, then a hip bone length and then another waist length!

One by one they passed me by with nice heads of hair I was nearly certain they took for granted.

After about a minute or two more dreaming of waist length and trying to shake off the " it's -just-not-fair -that-i-have-to-work-so-hard-to-grow-my-hair attitude...I hopped off the sofa and headed to the garage and back to my office as lunch time was ending.

I walked into the break room where 3 sistas were discussing working out. And you know the cliche conflict we always have with regard to working out came up: hair care. The conversation went something like this..

" Girl, I don't know about no hot yoga! Hot yoga will have my hair lookin a hot mess" ( everyone laughs as I stand there with a straight face)

"I know chile, only way I'm doing all of that work is if I'm getting my hair done the next day!"

The conversation continues and I nonchalantly observe. Then one of the olders ladies struck a nerve with her final statement as she left to the room..."Hair...it's the black womans curse" she said as she casually walked away.

Fresh memories of the white girls effortlessly boucing their long hair combined with the black womens' break room conversation about their frustation with basic hair maintenance while working out had me feelin like "why do WE have to do so much more??!!"

I mean I know its has to do with texture and yadi-yadi-ya but sometimes it just gets frustrating and I know I can at least come here to let out my " hair frustration".

When I was in the 5th Grade my mom sent me to a nearly all white school and she told me that I was gonna have to work twice as hard.

I guess I'll just have to apply that concept to hair as well.

im not gonna agree or disagree here b/c i really have issues with hair envy sometimes . I will just plainly say - every hair type has its pros and cons. i just think that K.I.S.S works 10x better with OTHER hair types in my opinion. My boyfriend is hispanic and EVERY WOMAN in his family and extended family has long 'nice looking' hair (not sure how healthy) while using the WORST hair practices ever. Maybe its genes, but i see this in other women as well. Trying not to be a hater, but i just had to say that! . i love having you guys to keep things positive or else i'd go nuts

 

[Monigirl]

Lilamae I forgot to say something...... the white women you saw that day might of been registered with the Extension101 Forum. It is a hair care forum teaching white women how to put in extensions, with tutorials, and different techniques helping them achieve long length in seconds. http://hairextensions101.com/forum

I learned allot from this forum on how to attach weave hair.

Pics of some members from the site and weave installation pics:

 

[ladylibra]

^^^

we forgot them white girls front too!!! *tee hee*

 

[Ms.Honey]

Ahh. Yes. "One of them white girls" is one of my girlfriends. I believe she spends about 2hrs. a day on her hair. It's not just black girls. The belief that Black women have more hair issues than other women and other women have super simple routines is a stereotype.

 

[Mystic]

Damn, why can't I find weaves that blend so nicely and look real?

 

[ladylibra]

^^^i heard somewhere that they make weave that actually looks like relaxed 4a/4b hair. as in, not super-straight-super-shiny-super-fake. i don't know how pricey it is though erplexed but for those of us who like realistic weave, i thought it was brilliant. i'm not above telling people when i'm wearing fake hair but that doesn't mean i want it to LOOK fake if YKWIM...

 

[Ms.Honey]

^^^i heard somewhere that they make weave that actually looks like relaxed 4a/4b hair. as in, not super-straight-super-shiny-super-fake. i don't know how pricey it is though erplexed but for those of us who like realistic weave, i thought it was brilliant. i'm not above telling people when i'm wearing fake hair but that doesn't mean i want it to LOOK fake if YKWIM...

exactly www.mymaneattractions.com sells hair called Indian radiant relaxed that matches 3's relaxed hair and Asian radiant relaxed that matches 4's perfectly

 

[Afro-Indi]

This is a long @$$ thread and forgive me for not reading it all but a few parts of 1 particular quote threw me off and I have some questions.

....... I know how you feel I have hair frustration too. I wish relaxed black hair care never envolved chemical burn, underprocessing and breakage, reversion, etc...
And I wish I knew more about my natural texture. And was born into a society were more black women wore their natural hair and achieved long lengths with it. Dang it!!!

As a black woman I feel Hyperpigmentation has been a curse for me more than anytihng else. Personally I have spent more money on skin care then hair care in my life.

The scary part is, I didn't even bold this quoteerplexed

Firstly, there are black women who wear their hair natural and DO achieve long lengths with it; I'm sure you've seen many of them here; if not look around.

"Hyperpigmentation?!?!?!?!!?"
That term in and of itself suggests that there is some perfect or happy medium of skin color that would be considered 'normal'.

Are you speaking of uneven skin tone contrast with regard to something such as vitiligo or do you mean general dark-skinnedness?

"Hyperpigmentation".....like it's a disease or something.
I'm sorry you feel it's a curse.
However, I shouldn't assume your stance on that since I haven't read the whole thread to see if someone else asked you the same question.

Anyway, here are some very positive videos specifically showcasing some of the most beautiful, darkest dark-skinned people you'll ever see.

Black Faces Pt. 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTYN8D-n68Y

Black Faces Pt. 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTXPglptcJQ&feature=related

Black Faces Pt. 3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcGHpIh08IA&feature=related

ffrant:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sorry for getting OTerplexed

 

[Rei]

"Hyperpigmentation?!?!?!?!!?"
That term in and of itself suggests that there is some perfect or happy medium of skin color that would be considered 'normal'.

Are you speaking of uneven skin tone contrast with regard to something such as vitiligo or do you mean general dark-skinnedness?

"Hyperpigmentation".....like it's a disease or something.
I'm sorry you feel it's a curse.
However, I shouldn't assume your stance on that since I haven't read the whole thread to see if someone else asked you the same question.

Anyway, here are some very positive videos specifically showcasing some of the most beautiful, darkest dark-skinned people you'll ever see.

Black Faces Pt. 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTYN8D-n68Y

Black Faces Pt. 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTXPglptcJQ&feature=related

Black Faces Pt. 3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcGHpIh08IA&feature=related

ffrant:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sorry for getting OTerplexed[/QUOTE]

uh...i think she just meant when you get spots on your face that are significantly darker than the rest of your complexion...its related to sun exposure and acne. I don't think she's making a commentary on how wrong it is to be darkskinned, just emphasizing that it is better to have clear skin, no matter what shade of brown you are.

 

[Rei]

wow, people are getting really defensive on this thread...
and coming away from the OP's original point in that sometimes it seems that white people gain length faster, or retain more length, or whatever you like to call it. I'm not sure why this is even being debated as untrue. sure, it could be that its because a lot of black women don't know the proper way to take care of their hair, relaxers etc etc. but the fact is, that, and this this is true for me, not sure if this is true for the rest of you guys, that most of the black women i see walking down the street are like 90% shoulderlength, and maybe 10% longer, but never past bra-strap. Considering that I also see 90% of the white girls in my town with bra-strap at the least, or longer hair, that does lend some credibility to thinking that they do retain more length. And since every time i speak to a white girl about what i do to MY hair, they're amazed at the amount of effort it takes, also lends some credibility to the opinion that they retain length easily. even a lot of the women i see on the lhc are struggling to grow their hair to amazing lengths, not many are struggling for APL like i am
it doesn't mean that black women are inferior, or anything, so i'm not sure where all this anger is coming from... i'm sorry but no one will convince me that my hair will ever be able to grow and retain length as fast as some of my asian friends

i've even had people of other races ask me why "all" black women always keep their hair so short all the time. I was tempted to give them this site, but the truth is, what they see most of the time is the same chewed up, see through ends havin-shoulder length relaxer junkies walking the streets. *shrugs*

I've accepted that my hair requires more work than other people may have to put into it, although sometimes it does make me irritated.

 

[Monigirl]

Afro-Indi I wish you would of read the whole thread before you made a comment. A whole lot of drama could be avoided if people would take the time to read first instead of assuming the wrong thing and rant. Can I get an Amen!!!
I know many black women on here achieve great beautiful length with natural hair. You are the only one that took my statement wrong..I have been apart of LHCF since 2005 and it is odvious I have looked around and see beautiful naturals and various lengths!
I stated "I wish I was born into a household and society were more black women wore their natural hair and achieved long lengths." You have got to admit more black women in America wear their hair relaxed or born into a household that applys relaxers because it is the norm.
In a nutshell I was saying I wish relaxers never exsited and that all black women wore their natural texture so that curly fros and coils would the norm amongst us instead of straight looks. Next time you read someones quote before you jump ask a simple question or pm them.

Here is my response reposted: Just in my life I have experienced more delimas with my skin than my hair (acne, cyst, blemishes). I feel hair makes a woman beautiful weither it be long, short, or medium but a womans skin is what trully makes her beautiful. Personnaly I get more jealous when I meet or see women with youthful beautiful blemishes free skin tone... may I add without wearing makeup. That is why I am planing to a do a master cleanse or detox soon in the efforts to improve my skin complexion.

OT:
Hyperpigmentation is something all races deal with espically women of color and women in my family. I personally have minor hyperpigmentation on my face in a few areas. Hyperpigmentation is when your skin heals darker than the original shade after you get a scar or pimple or experience trama. In a nutshel is it a blemish or mark that heals darker than your original skin tone. I will be going to school soon to study skin and beauty procedures to help myself and other achieve flawless youthful complexions.

No I am not refering to the overall color of my skin....I love my beautiful brown skin color that God has given me and would not want any other. I just want clear skin.

Here are some pics of black women dealing with hyperpigmentation and got chemical peel treatments.

Before:

After:
After

This is a long @$$ thread and forgive me for not reading it all but a few parts of 1 particular quote threw me off and I have some questions.


The scary part is, I didn't even bold this quoteerplexed

Firstly, there are black women who wear their hair natural and DO achieve long lengths with it; I'm sure you've seen many of them here; if not look around.

"Hyperpigmentation?!?!?!?!!?"
That term in and of itself suggests that there is some perfect or happy medium of skin color that would be considered 'normal'.

Are you speaking of uneven skin tone contrast with regard to something such as vitiligo or do you mean general dark-skinnedness?

"Hyperpigmentation".....like it's a disease or something.
I'm sorry you feel it's a curse.
However, I shouldn't assume your stance on that since I haven't read the whole thread to see if someone else asked you the same question.

Anyway, here are some very positive videos specifically showcasing some of the most beautiful, darkest dark-skinned people you'll ever see.

Black Faces Pt. 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTYN8D-n68Y

Black Faces Pt. 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTXPglptcJQ&feature=related

Black Faces Pt. 3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcGHpIh08IA&feature=related

ffrant:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sorry for getting OTerplexed