Proctor & Gamble study: 50% of Black Women have natural hair or transitioning

luckiestdestiny

Well-Known Member
Instyle Hair magazine Spring 2013 issue pg.58

I wish I could copy it here but it's in my magazine. What do you think? Does this reflect your reality? I know in NY it may be true but when I visit my mom in KY it's the opposite. Relaxers rule.
This is not to knock relaxers. I just think it's great that women believe they have more options now and are not afraid of experimenting with the hair coming out of their heads (again not that relaxed are but there was a point where very few ppl were letting you see their hair unless it was 3c or looser).




“Natural hair is not a fad, it’s a choice,” said Audra Cooper, the owner of Naturally Divine Beauty. The popularity of natural hairstyles has spawned a crop of specialty beauty parlors throughout the region, and shifted the economic balance of the $185 million black hair-care market
http://www.dallassouthnews.org/2013/01/10/black-hair-care-market-is-a-185-million-business/


So anyways does this reflect the reality in your neighborhood.
 

luckiestdestiny

Well-Known Member
Oh and now I know why all of these white companies who would not think of making products, or only giving us products with subpar ingredients for relaxed hair are trying to get in on natural hair...with their crappy products. Thank goodness we know better because we had to make these products from scratch because there were none for a while. You can't swindle us because we are well informed.
 

luckiestdestiny

Well-Known Member
How interesting!
MixedGirl

Does that reflect the reality where you live? I'm curious for others if this is true...that they find about half the people around them are not relaxed. Don't get me wrong I straighten at times so I'm sure sometimes people think I'm relaxed so I know we can't get it 100 percent accurate.
 

Kindheart

Well-Known Member
I travel alot for work and noticed more BW rocking their natural hair with pride and i absolutley love it ! with that said ,i see alot of weaves and wigs aswell. :/
 

UmSumayyah

Well-Known Member
Pretty much all my bw friends are natural. I see natural hair out and about a lot, but plenty of relaxed heads too, and some weave.
 

Raspberry

New Member
Interesting.. I've been to that natural hair store mentioned in the op and met the owner.

I definitely agree with the 50% stat, it reflects environments I'm in. Seems like its 50% natural, 30% wigs/lioness weaves and 20% obviously relaxed.
 
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heirloom

Well-Known Member
Well that's not the case here in Manchester, UK. Most people I see on the streets have pretty bad weaves and relaxers. The only naturals I ever see are young girls, and more often than not they are in very tight braids so their edges are non existent. The only healthy natural hair I've ever seen is my little sister's and that is because of this forum. We have never straightened it before but when I stretch it in the shower its about MBL to WL.
I cant wait for the healthy hair care movement to spread further
 

GloriousPraise

Well-Known Member
Where I am, it's hard to call it. Many women are rocking wigs, extensions, faux ponys, etc. Or they may choose to keep their natural hair straightened. They may in fact be natural or transitioning, but it's almost impossible to tell.

Now if based strictly on folks who wear their hair in a wavy, curly, or kinky state, I'd say that where I am, that number is lower than 50%, say around 15-20%; and in the environment in which I work--waaaay lower, maybe closer to 5-10%.
 

ChocolatePie777

Well-Known Member
Pretty much all my bw friends are natural. I see natural hair out and about a lot, but plenty of relaxed heads too, and some weave.

Don't forget peps could be narural under tjeir weave.....which I think they May be getting a lot of their numbers from lol
 

veesweets

Well-Known Member
I don't think it's quite as high as 50% but I could be wrong, it's hard to tell sometimes. I definitely do see more naturals on campus now as a junior than I did my freshman year. But this does explain the recent boom of natural hair products by big companies, those dollar signs are hard to ignore..
 

Channy31

New Member
MixedGirl

Does that reflect the reality where you live? I'm curious for others if this is true...that they find about half the people around them are not relaxed. Don't get me wrong I straighten at times so I'm sure sometimes people think I'm relaxed so I know we can't get it 100 percent accurate.

Well, I live in England
At home away from university its 99.9% white, I know more mixed race people that black and theyre natural
At university I'd say there is about 40% natural, 60% not but again its about 70% white people.

Ive seen a rise in natural hair though, even those who just wear weaves now wear more natural looking weaves
 

kbnax

Well-Known Member
Nope not in mine. I see a few naturals but mainly relaxed women and girls. I'm around Montgomery, AL.
 

sunnieb

Well-Known Member
Interesting. Most BW I know are natural. But, still see way too many bad weaves going on here.

As long as Design Essentials keeps making my relaxer, I'm good. :)
 

faithVA

Well-Known Member
I think the big metro areas have the largest number of black women so their higher numbers cover or make up for what's not happening in other areas. I still think 50% is high. In my area though it does seem to be around 30% and more and more people I know in my age bracket are transitioning to natural.

But I still see more relaxed heads. But it is hard to tell with the straight haired naturals, weave and wigs. I have people I work with that I rarely see their hair.
 

MsDee14

New Member
I wouldn't know. I see most black women with weaves. They could be natural underneath them and I would have no idea.

This is very interesting though
 

Saludable84

Better Late Than Ugly
This is interesting but I wonder where they get their results from. What is there sample size? How long have they done this study for? What age groups did they use? Are they considering relapses, how long people have been transitioning and how many times they have and life long naturals? What ethnicity did they use? I ask because it could just be based on dropped sales and a rise in online companies.

I live in NYC and even though there is a sprout in naturals in the last 3 years alone, I would still say I see a fair amount of relaxed heads, even those with weaves. There are also some women who have been natural for YEARS and only rock wigs or super horrible weaves. I don't doubt the number, just how they came to it.

Grammatical Errors Courtesy of iPhone and Wonky iOS Updates
 

sunnieb

Well-Known Member
I also think 50% is a bit high, especially if part of this number is based on product sales.

See, relaxed heads are partly to blame for the drop in relaxer sales. We simply don't relax as often as we used to. Every single relaxed head I know self-relaxes and they only relax a few times a year. One of my cousins relaxes only once a year and then straightens/weaves for months at a time. She's not even on a hairboard or into hair like we are.

This creates a "problem" for the relaxer industry. For one thing, sales will continue to drop as the word spreads that it is possible to NOT relax on an every 6 weeks schedule. Also, relaxed heads are becoming pickier about what relaxers we use. Since we stretch, we don't have time for some cheaply-made relaxer that won't straighten.

So companies better get with the program and provide BW with quality hair products all around. We are finally demanding it and it's about time they noticed.
 

MileHighDiva

A+ Hair Care Queen
There's a lot of natural ladies that thermally straighten their hair, so they may appear to be relaxed, but they're not.
 

greight

Well-Known Member
I need to see more of this survey because I think those who are saying they are transitioning are inflating the numbers.

BW get relaxers on a schedule and I think most BW who are thinking about becoming natural or going to the relaxer flirt with the idea of going natural... and then proceed to relax after however many weeks they stretched. I think one of my friends was like 1 year in, then decided to relax again.

Conversely, I also think wigs/fake hair also visually obscures how many real naturals are out there.
 

Layluh

Well-Known Member
50% is a huge number. Wow.

I will say though that I went to the spa a few weeks ago and there were two other bw there (3 including myself). One who worked there, and two who were standing in line. We were all natural which was a pleasant sight to see here in Austin, TX.
 

luckiestdestiny

Well-Known Member
I also think 50% is a bit high, especially if part of this number is based on product sales.

See, relaxed heads are partly to blame for the drop in relaxer sales. We simply don't relax as often as we used to. Every single relaxed head I know self-relaxes and they only relax a few times a year. One of my cousins relaxes only once a year and then straightens/weaves for months at a time. She's not even on a hairboard or into hair like we are.

This creates a "problem" for the relaxer industry. For one thing, sales will continue to drop as the word spreads that it is possible to NOT relax on an every 6 weeks schedule. Also, relaxed heads are becoming pickier about what relaxers we use. Since we stretch, we don't have time for some cheaply-made relaxer that won't straighten.

So companies better get with the program and provide BW with quality hair products all around. We are finally demanding it and it's about time they noticed.


See I like this and this applies even outside of the hair industry. Our buying power is amazing. How dare we not get what we want, or have others think we'll just accept anything.

Also you brought up some valid points. There are lots of stretchers out there. I wonder if they assume that that means more naturals because of less relaxer $$ versus the reality that there are some naturals and also stretchers out there as well.

It doesn't say how they get their sample size for the study or their criteria for the "assumption". It's another reason I was curious if this fifty percent reflected in other daily lives.
 

mscocoface

Well-Known Member
Not sure if that number is correct but I do know that I see more products now for natural hair than for relaxed hair when I go in certain stores like Target, WalMart, Drug stores etc. Back in the day you could find a shelf or two full of relaxer boxes from different vendors. Now I only see 2-4 vendors and the section is so small you blink you miss it.
 

naijamerican

Well-Known Member
I also think 50% is a bit high, especially if part of this number is based on product sales.

See, relaxed heads are partly to blame for the drop in relaxer sales. We simply don't relax as often as we used to. Every single relaxed head I know self-relaxes and they only relax a few times a year. One of my cousins relaxes only once a year and then straightens/weaves for months at a time. She's not even on a hairboard or into hair like we are.

This creates a "problem" for the relaxer industry. For one thing, sales will continue to drop as the word spreads that it is possible to NOT relax on an every 6 weeks schedule. Also, relaxed heads are becoming pickier about what relaxers we use. Since we stretch, we don't have time for some cheaply-made relaxer that won't straighten.

So companies better get with the program and provide BW with quality hair products all around. We are finally demanding it and it's about time they noticed.

I totally agree with this post. I think what's happening is that Black women have woken up to healthier hair practices period, whether they're relaxed or natural. :yep:

I might be on that militant tip, but I am sooooo happy and proud of my sistas who started their own companies and are committed to creating excellent products for our hair irrespective of its state (natural or relaxed). :yep: :yep:
 

Angelicus

Well-Known Member
I am relaxed and I am the minority. I feel like everyone is rocking natural hair, especially at my church. I'm one of the only ones that uses a relaxer.

Off topic: I can't stand when a large company tries to capitalize on the natural/transitioning marketing with sub-par, downright cheap ingredients with 0.5% of shea butter and call it a natural product for natural hair. :mad:
 
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