Incredibly Stupid Black Hair Myths

[MsLizziA]

Lizzia the stylist that had "growing hands" stayed booked You had to sit all day in the shop until it was your turn, 4-8 hours Most of the time people came to see the magical hands in the summer

I think it was the normal summer burst of hair, Vitamin D (from the sun), in the summer you are less stressed (I think. Feel good hormones), eating a lot of Bar B Q (protein), more activity, more moisture, etc.

Girl that is too funny

 

[Tamster]

man. I remember a lot of these myths. Just the other day my mother told me that water was not good for "our hair".

I remember being younger and never washing my hair at my dad's house because all he had was head n shoulders-- I was told (forcefully) that it would wash the perm out and then my hair might fall out on top of that

And that black people's hair grows super slow genetically, thats just how it is - no ma'am.

 

[Janet']

...dark skinned girls can't have long hair...

 

[Mizz Diamonds]

Growing hand I heard that on Chris Rock's Good Hair. Two women were saying that the white male sytlist had "them growing hands"

 

[wish4length]

...dark skinned girls can't have long hair...

yup, I got sick of hearing I was too dark to have long hair, then when it grew of course it was because there was indian in my family

I also can't stand the myth that every bi-racial person/"mixed" person/light-skinned person has type 2-3 hair....which of course is said "good hair".

 

[bermudabeauty]

Only mixed girls have curly hair.

(I get that all the time and I ain''t mixed) lol

 

[TrueToHair]

......................................

 

[qchelle]

I've never understood the 'only light skinned girls have curly hair' thing. Most of the darker girls I no have type 3 hair. Most of the lighter ones dont. Strange.

Same thing kinda goes for the 'only light skinned girls have long hair' thing. Most of the darker AND lighter girls I no have short/SL hair

 

[Shadiyah]

Ok I just to do jeri curls back in the day.. I would visit your home and apply the jeri curls. I had a couple of clients that would never wash their hair at all. They said it would mess up their curls. so each time I was applying the chemicals to nasty hair where the dirty would just be coming out on the gloves..

 

[teacherjess]

These are fun. I grew up believing these:

1. Dirt makes your hair grow
2. If your scalp itches, that means the hair is growing (mom still believes this one)
3. Using "white girl" products in our hair damages it
4. Greasing your scalp is a must for healthy, long hair
5. Washing too often (more than once a week) washes the perm out
6. Washing too often makes hair damaged/ broke off
7. Brushing your hair keeps it healthy and stimulates the scalp to distrubute the grease to the ends of your hair (LOL)

Most of these tidbits of wisdom were passed down from my mom, and she got them from her mother, and so on. Well....after discovering LHCF here is what I'll pass on to my future daughter. My hair has never been this thick, long, or healthy. The ignorance stops here!

1. The scalp must be clean for hair to grow
2. An itchy scalp isn't a good sign
3. Look for high quality hair products with high quality ingredients-- not if a product is marketed for "whites" or "blacks"
4. Grease? Grease should be used only for frying chicken or fish. Use a water based moisturizer and seal hair ends with an all- natural oil
5. Wash a MINIMUM of once a week- water is our friend!
6. Wash as often as you like (every day or every other day, even). The key is to use products for your hair type and make sure to keep it moisturized. Clean and moisturized hair is happy hair.
7. If you must brush, do so sparingly, carefully, and never all the way to the ends. Use a Denman or a 100% natural boar bristle brush

 

[libertysince05]

leaving your hair wet will make the roots of your hair rot.

 

[Amber_moon]

My grandmother used to tell me that if I washed with "white girl" shampoos my hair would fall out.

Oh yeah and my aunt says that washing your hair after the sun goes down will make you get sick... and also washing your hair during your monthly...

 

[jupitermoon]

...dark skinned girls can't have long hair...

I didn't know people thought like this until I started visiting Black message boards. My hair is curly too and I learned from Black message boards that only light skinned mixed people should have this.

I can't wait to post my pictures to COUNTER this stupid myth. I keep putting it off because I am so busy, but I really need to get to it soon. I'm definitely on the dark end of the black color spectrum, and I will be waist length by the end of this year.

Dark skinned girl with long hair checking in. Even back in school the vast majority of the Black girls that had long hair were actually medium to dark in skin tone. Can't wait to see your pics.

 

[Netta1]

that washing your perm with dish washing liquid would take your perm out
that putting aloe vera in your hair would take your perm out
that kiddie perms are for kids and gentle
that you can't wash locs

 

[BEAUTYU2U]

7. Brushing your hair keeps it healthy and stimulates the scalp to distrubute the grease to the ends of your hair (LOL)

I thought this one was true That brushing distributes the natural oil from your scalp that accumulates at your roots....

 

[teacherjess]

I thought this one was true That brushing distributes the natural oil from your scalp that accumulates at your roots....

It still is true-- but I meant brushing vigorously or for an extended period of time after you have greased your scalp. I learned that brushing vigorously or excessively is just not the best thing for my head

 

[Shula]

I am NOT in the least offended by you being grossed out. I wanted to throw up and I had to freeze my body when they would come for hugs so I wouldn't cringe, tense up and hurt feelings. I was beyond grossed out. And yes, I was serious about seeing my therapist for anxiety meds because I just could not deal, lol. It was like a horror movie. Just imagine big old black, unidentifiable bugs crawling out of your beautiful child's hair.

WOW! i really swore on a stack of bibles that one at least was true... sheesh... guess you never know.. that kinda grossed me out too no offense..

 

[choctaw]

black hair can only be washed every 3 weeks by a beautician
Ayurvedic powders will never work on "our" hair

Fast forward to 6 weeks without going to beauty salon and her hair dried and snapped off so short she can't curl it ... so she goes to salon to get it texlaxed, blow dried, hot combed and curled into a pixie style when the itchy scalp becomes overwhelming. The next day she wears a wig because her hair is too short and thin for her to style ... which leads to sweaty itchy scalp ...

 

[mikimix]

My mother likes to tell me that my hair will rot if I put it in a bun while it's wet.

 

[kupenda]

...dark skinned girls can't have long hair...

I was told that a few months ago. Never heard that before. Also theres a lady that keeps her hair braided under a sew in 80 percent of the year. She was giving me advice on what hair to get for a sew in. I said it has to be human and quality cuz I gotta be able to wash it at least once a week. She replied "girl that's gonna loosen it up and dry out your hair. Just keep it in for a few months and leave it alone. A dirty scalp grows hair". I just looked at her and politely said it was time for my lunch break lol


Sent from my iPhone using LHCF

 

[cherxy777]

That trims grow your hair. And that ones from my stylist. Good thing she asks before ever giving me one!

 

[DrC]

Wow, I remember this thread. I don't know if I posted this yet, but someone who used to do my hair said a relaxer eats up dandruff......and I believed it since I was so young at the time erplexed

A relaxer only irritated my dandruff/psoriasis.

 

[mzteaze]

Many of the ones listed here:

Sweating out your perm

Only use products marketed to black folks

You shouldn't wash your hair too much (i.e. every two weeks was enough) cuz it would dry out your hair.

Cutting your 'dead ends' makes your hair grow (my mom STILL tells me this all the time) along with make sure you get a TRIM every 6-8 months

Water and black hair is a no-go.

Of the course the granddaddy of it all - There is GOOD hair and bad hair.

 

[BrookeLynn]

Gramma told me that if a bird uses your hair in their nest, you'll have headaches for the rest of your life.

Me too! Where's your granny from? Mines from Louisiana by way of North Carolina.

She also told me:

There's a thing called growing dandruff
If you cut your hair during the shrinking of the moon it will never grow back
Don't apply any products with your pointer finger

 

[AimWard]

- Getting a Jheri Curl will make your hair grow
- Those curls that pop when your hair is wet are nothing more than water waves
- Only mixed people have curly hair
- washing hair every day is only for white people
- the only way to make "black people's" hair manageable is by straightening it

 

[Miss*Tress]

I had to put this one in here for posterity even though it's not an age-old myth, more like a brand new urban legend.

The only way you can go back to natural hair is to get cancer and your hair fall out

 

[Giselle685]

That black women can't have long hair.


What would be the point of burning the shed/
broken hairs?



Oh yeah, a stylist told me that a girl with super kinky hair came in, they kept on shaving it off everytime she came, and eventually that made it change textures.

............. i can't.

 

[Giselle685]

I was told by a friend that came to visit...THIS conversation
Native: You must not be from around here
OOT friend: No. How did you know
Native: Our hair doesn't grow here. See they changed our water and now our hair won't grow

True story

LOL!

 

[KhandiB]

The stupid ones I believed were:
Dirty hair makes relaxers take better
Shouldn’t wash your hair more than every two weeks

 

[Calia001]

if you sing over someone's head while you are styling them, you're calling death to them

i think it has something to do with comforting someone as they pass away, you may stroke their hair or something so.

Anyway my mom cut that out quick when i used to twist her dreds