I dont get it. How does this girl have such nice hair???

Solitude · Jun 24, 2011

PinkyPromise said:
I just wanted to say. .

Whites, Asians, Hispanics, Native Americans tend to have less kinkier hair than African Americans. As we all know, sebum is a natural moisturizer for the hair, and the more moisturized our hair is the more it tends to grow. Because these women have straighter hair/looser curl patterns it is easier for the sebum to travel down the hair shaft and for their hair to stay moisturized and grow faster.

I'm pretty sure that this contributes to the fact of this girls hair being like it is and growing like it does. She probably has a looser curl which was inherited due to her ethnic background. In regards to her sisters hair, she is NOT her sister and has a whole different set of genes and that is probably why HER hair is like it is.

Her hair to me is average at best. It's plenty of women who aren't "mixed" that have hair that's thicker and wayyy longer than this girls'.

The girl pictured in this video and in one of these pictures is her sister :look:

...And she has much shorter hair...why are you saying that isn't her sister? I'm confused

erplexed.

KhalilahTv Thank you! And yep, she's one of my sisters =)

LaurenMechelle 1 month ago 2
DessyQT Thanks =)

LaurenMechelle 1 month ago
Nice video is that your sister?

KhalilahTv 1 month ago

PinkyPromise said:
Relaxers don't have anything to do with genetics.

But, what does your explanation about straighter hair and sebum have to do with genetics considering her hair is straight due to relaxing and heat styling and not genetics...?

JFK · Jun 24, 2011

I think mischka had some good points but the deliverance really detracted from what she was trying to say.

If you truely want people to benefit from your knowledge and what you have to say, you have to say it in a way that will be well-received. If the deliverance is wrong, many will not listen and everyone loses.

Cherokee-n-Black · Jun 24, 2011

mischka said:
who said anything about anything being impossible to maintain? READING IS FUNDAMENTAL.

The irony here is just too much. Perhaps if someone doesn't understand you they can just explore the "etymology." :lol:

However, as much as it pains me to say this, you do make a few--scant--good points. Unfortunately, your need to insult people with whom you disagree speaks to some deeper issues I'm not sure LHCF can help with.

The obvious reason for variance in hair types (and features, and skintones) among African Americans is race mixing (NEWSFLASH! I'm kind of agreeing with you-Ack! Cough! Wheeeeze!) which has been going on since before the slaves even made it to the Americas. That's true enough. The problem is that we are now (in 2011) defining "mixed" as having a parent of another race--which simply doesn't reflect [eta: the whole] reality. I'll stop short of going back to my "one drop rule" argument, as it's related, but irrelevant. It seems this discussion has splintered into people saying "she doesn't fit the bill for mixed" and "why does it matter whether she's mixed?" Which I think it doesn't.

In any event, where we diverge is in the fact that the haircare methods and products available over the years (I would say historically, but I don't want to get back on the etymology train :lol:

) have not been appropriate for the care of coarser types of hair. ANY hair type will break off and not be healthy if the haircare isn't appropriate. I've seen this with whites, biracials, and blacks. I've also seen impressively long hair in all groups-including a native African from Zaire. So, in conclusion...just whatever.

lilsparkle825 · Jun 24, 2011

Lawd, what did I stumble upon....

*opens pages in separate tabs in case thread poofs*

beautychic · Jun 24, 2011

This thread is baffling to me because most of the responses seem to indicate that a lot of women on this thread don't know the basics of hair structure. Saying that black people tend to have drier, kinkier, and coarser textured hair than other races isn't any more insulting than saying Asian people tend to have straighter hair than other races, so why are people so offended? (I don't know any Asian woman that would get offended by that comment or think that saying such a thing would be putting down their race.) And in case people are wondering, this isn't just based on observation and feeling, there is significant academic work done on the study of black hair that is useful. (If you have access to scholarly journals through a school database these should be easy to find).That is actually how I started my journey, reading academic work about what makes kinkier hair types so unique. One of the first things I learned was that due to the more oval shape of the hair follicle, African hair tends to be more fragile. Do all black people have type 4 hair, absolutely not but this hair texture is much more prevalent amongst blacks than it is amongst whites and Asians. (In fact, I have actually never met a white or Asian person with type 4 hair but if people need proof that type 4 hair is more prevalent amongst African Americans, you can find research on that as well.)

Instead of trying to prove that we don't have a kinkier hair texture or prove that we have just as much ease retaining length as other races, we should appreciate the fact that having type 4 hair can be just as desirable as type 1 hair, no matter its length.

PinkyPromise · Jun 25, 2011

Solitude said:
The girl pictured in this video and in one of these pictures is her sister ...And she has much shorter hair...why are you saying that isn't her sister? I'm confused erplexed.

But, what does your explanation about straighter hair and sebum have to do with genetics considering her hair is straight due to relaxing and heat styling and not genetics...?

I'm saying that the sisters are two different people and won't have the same hair. That's what I meant, she isn't her sister, she is herself. It doesn't matter that she straightens or relaxes, as I said in my post, due to her background she probably has a looser curl pattern which in turn allows the sebum to distribute throughout her scalp more. Whether she relaxes or not that contributes to her hair growth regardless. Relaxers have nothing to do with it since they don't contribute to hair growth. Just because someone relaxes doesn't mean their DNA is going to change. I never said her hair was straight I said she probably has a looser curl pattern.

Cherokee-n-Black · Jun 25, 2011

beautychic said:
This thread is baffling to me because most of the responses seem to indicate that a lot of women on this thread don't know the basics of hair structure. Saying that black people tend to have drier, kinkier, and coarser textured hair than other races isn't any more insulting than saying Asian people tend to have straighter hair than other races, so why are people so offended? (I don't know any Asian woman that would get offended by that comment or think that saying such a thing would be putting down their race.) .

beautychic - The thread is baffling, but that's because there are about 5 different arguments going on here at once. The first (mine) - is her hair really that healthy? The second: Is that any great achievement, given that she's clearly mixed? The third: how is it clear that she's mixed? The fourth: WTF does "mixed mean?" The fifth: A person does not have to be mixed to have hair that is not type 4! or do they....? Beyond that, I think that no one really disputes the whole drier, kinkier hair thing. I think there were some words hurled around like "inferior" and "loser" that were insulting. At least that was my take.

howyoudoin · Jun 25, 2011

this whole thread is hilarious , im just getting to read these posts because i got out of work late this evening, I never knew people were so damn touchy about hair. I never said anything bad about the girl in the video ,her hair is very nice, i just said that i wasnt that impressed about her hair because she looked mixed to me and i thought that mixed people didnt have to put as much effort into growing their hair , apparently i was wrong! To me, giving her mad props about her hair would be like gushing over a white persons long hair, what so exceptional about it if a lot mixed like herself have long hair too, its not like she has some great technique or hair regimen like kimmaytube or some of the other women on youtube with great advice and the hair growth to back it up , she just inherited it. Now i know what to expect if dont jump the bandwagon and agree with everyone. What the purpose of having a forum if people are gonna get heated when someone has a different thought than them?

SerenavanderWoodsen · Jun 25, 2011

So she is half white? That could have something to do with her hair's strength and it could also just be coincidence. I'm half white but my hair is quite delicate and of a 3b/c texture but I've seen 4's with more resilient hair than mine. What differnce does it make? Generally speaking, Caucasian hair has more tensile strength than Afro hair does but it's obviously not true in every last case.
I think Indians have the most durable hair in the world. I've never seen an Indian woman with chewed up looking hair or if I did I don't recall it lol.
I used to think Chinese/Japanese/Koreans had durable hair but it seems like 75% of the women I see have chewed up mullety looking awful hair lol.

Netta1 · Jun 25, 2011

beautychic said:
...(If you have access to scholarly journals through a school database these should be easy to find).

In ALL of my years of being here (since 2003)...I have never heard anyone mention scholarly journals in a (non-research related thread) other than myself, :look:

AND I knew then that I was over stimulated by homework.

The ABD in me says bravo, lol, and well done. :yep:

*puts chai-tea in microwave, sets it for 2 minutes, fluffs pink robe, and has a seat*

Carry on ladies...

DeltaQT · Jun 25, 2011

Ask a Geneticist

by Anne Tecklenburg Strehlow, Stanford University

ShareThis
Hair Biology has always interested me and no matter where I look I can never find the appropriate answer to my question. Now I understand that African American hair has a curly follicle, which is what produces the curly hair texture as in many ethnic groups, but how come African Americans are essentially the only ethnic group with coarse curly hair? I don't mean to be rude while asking this question, but it has always been of interest to me. I want to understand the genetics behind it.

Hair follicle

-An undergraduate student from Georgia

Having an interest in understanding our differences isn't rude at all!

Hair texture is just one of the many obvious physical differences that exist between ethnic groups. Although hair growth rate, size, shape and texture are unique to every person, we can see trends among groups of people.

While genes are likely to be involved in determining these traits, not much is known yet about the actual ones involved. So what is known about hair type?

Hair follicles are tiny pockets in our scalp out of which our hair grows. As you hinted above, the thickness and texture of our hair depends on the size and shape of these follicles. They help to form and contour our hair as it grows.

Our hair thickness results from a combination of both the size of the follicles themselves and how many of them line our scalp. The size of the follicles determines if the individual hair strands are thick or thin. Large follicles produce thick hairs. Small follicles produce thin hairs. It is that simple!

Equally important to our hair thickness, the number of follicles on our scalp determines the actual number of hairs crowning our head. Lots of hairs equal thick hair. Sparse hair equals thin hair. On average, our heads are covered with over 100,000 follicles!

Our hair texture can range anywhere from pin-straight to extremely curly. Follicles that are round in cross-section give rise to straight hair. Those out of which curly hair grows are oval. Very tightly coiled hair is due to the nearly flat, ribbon-like structure of the follicles. This hair texture is very common in people of African ancestry.

Not only is African hair wiry, it is also frequently coarse. So why is this?

African hair produces plenty of protective oils, called sebum. In fact, African hair actually produces more oils than Caucasian and Asian hair. However, due to the tight curls, the oil fails to spread evenly along the hair fiber.

Without lubrication, the fibers become very dry. This causes the brittle strands to flake and roughen, resulting in hair that is coarse to the touch. Very curly hair from all ethnic groups often lacks the silky smoothness of straight hair. This may due to the same reason, but to a lesser extent.

The brittleness of African hair adds to the illusion that it cannot be grown long. The tight curls create stresses at each turn in the hair fiber. The hair strands become weak and fragile, making them prone to breakage. As a result, tightly coiled hair tends to stay quite short.

So is this hair quality genetic?

There are two strong reasons why we would expect African hair texture to be genetic. Firstly, the texture is universal in Africans, while nearly absent from other ethnic groups. Secondly, it is consistently passed down to the children in each new generation.

Despite this, I could not find any identified gene shown to be responsible. Of course, that doesn't mean that a gene isn't involved! Scientists have just not found it yet. However, we may be able to pull clues from rare occurrences of non-Africans with a similar coarse hair texture.

You may think that coiled hair is unique to those of African ancestry, but it is not. It is, however, quite rare in other races. So rare, in fact, that when it is seen in Caucasians and Asians it is called a syndrome. Woolly Hair Syndrome.

Described in much the same way as African hair, woolly hair is characterized by dry, tightly spiraled fibers. You may be wondering if it initially arose from the mixing of different racial gene pools. That is not thought to be the case.

Since Woolly Hair Syndrome is so infrequent there is little reliable information about it. The actual causative gene or genes have not been singled out yet. However, the syndrome does run strongly in families.

When the exact gene causing a syndrome is not known, scientists look at how the trait is passed along in families. It appears that most cases of Woolly Hair are inherited dominantly. This means only a single copy of the "woolly" version of the gene is needed, passed down from either the father or the mother.

It may be possible that the gene responsible for Woolly Hair in non-Africans contributes to the coarse texture of African hair as well. If this were the case, the "non-woolly" version of the gene is virtually exclusive to Caucasians and Asians. This would explain the silky hair common among these ethnicities.

Likewise, the "woolly" version is nearly exclusive to Africans. Its high prevalence could be explained by the fact that most Africans are carrying two copies of the dominant gene. This would assure that the coarse hair texture is maintained in the population.

Whether the gene responsible for Woolly Hair in Caucasians causes the similar hair texture seen in Africans is hotly debated. Differences have been noted. For example, the curls of Africans tend to lie as separate ringlets, while the curls of woolly-haired Caucasians tend to merge.

This model also raises questions regarding the hair texture of children of mixed race. Using this model we might expect kids with one African gene and one Caucasian gene to have the dominant African hair texture. This does not always appear to be the case. An "intermediate" texture is often seen.

As time passes, genetics will certainly bring to light the reason behind many of our ethnic differences. When that day comes, there may then be a more definitive answer to your question.

ShareThis

http://www.thetech.org/genetics/ask.php?id=107

DeltaQT · Jun 25, 2011

And from our VERY OWN Longhaircareforum, from 2007:

http://www.longhaircareforum.com/showthread.php?p=2045020

"Hair growth based on ethnicity"

Just 4 years ago, a LOT of members agreed with mishka. My how times change! :lachen:

I don't recall anyone being labeled a "troll" for expressing the very same opinion that she's expressed in this thread.

Please DO check it out when you have the time! :grin:

allmundjoi · Jun 25, 2011

DeltaQT, usually a pill is easier to swallow if it's sweet and/or small. From reading the thread, delivery and word choice are extremely important. I think that, although members may still have disagreed, using terms like 'dumb' in reference to a posters comments makes it difficult to (want to) follow another posters train of thought. *shrug* Heck, sometimes I get irritated on here when other members act, IMO, obtuse, and I may get snarky too. Name calling and condescending attitudes only alienate other posters. An intelligent person should be able to convey their idea without resorting to such elementary (literally) maneuvars. If the same idea had been posted by say, MissMarsala5 or another even-toned poster, the idea may have been discussed with a modicum of patience and respect. And then we ask questions like 'why are blacks divided?'

Sent from my DROIDX

LadyRaider · Jun 25, 2011

I think genes for hair texture, like skin color, are highly unpredictable. Not all genes are straightforward like what we learned about eye color in 9th grade biology.

1. Genes could make any African American have fragile hair.
2. Genes could make any African American to have 'not as fragile" hair.
3. Taking care of your hair can make what is in your genes a non-factor.

mikimix · Jun 25, 2011

omg this thread is still going on?!

mikimix · Jun 25, 2011

also I am more mixed than that girl (even though I still call myself black) and my hair still doesn't grow that fast or retain length

lilsparkle825 · Jun 26, 2011

This thread is quite the traveshamockery. Between the people on team "dispute every stereotype ever posted on LHCF" and the perpetually angry black girl, I'm in stitches.

But for real, I never knew it was shocking or hard to follow the logic that white people (wait, let me be more exact since people like to nitpick -- nonblack folks) don't have to do 50 million things to retain *easier* than us because their hair is structurally different. Whoever so astutely pointed out that "anyone who blowdries their hair with a round brush every two days and isn't NL has more resilient hair than the average black woman" wasn't exactly pulling that out of her a**.

robot. · Jun 26, 2011

JFK said:
I think mischka had some good points but the deliverance really detracted from what she was trying to say.

If you truely want people to benefit from your knowledge and what you have to say, you have to say it in a way that will be well-received. If the deliverance is wrong, many will not listen and everyone loses.

allmundjoi said:
DeltaQT, usually a pill is easier to swallow if it's sweet and/or small. From reading the thread, delivery and word choice are extremely important. I think that, although members may still have disagreed, using terms like 'dumb' in reference to a posters comments makes it difficult to (want to) follow another posters train of thought. *shrug* Heck, sometimes I get irritated on here when other members act, IMO, obtuse, and I may get snarky too. Name calling and condescending attitudes only alienate other posters. An intelligent person should be able to convey their idea without resorting to such elementary (literally) maneuvars. If the same idea had been posted by say, MissMarsala5 or another even-toned poster, the idea may have been discussed with a modicum of patience and respect. And then we ask questions like 'why are blacks divided?'

Sent from my DROIDX

This is exactly what I was going to point out, and you ladies said it quite well. I think mischka makes a lot of logical, valid points, but their truth is lost in a quite abrasive and offensive "tone" of posting, which can turn a lot of readers off.

MizzBrown · Jun 26, 2011

lilsparkle825 said:
This thread is quite the traveshamockery. Between the people on team "dispute every stereotype ever posted on LHCF" and the perpetually angry black girl, I'm in stitches.

But for real, I never knew it was shocking or hard to follow the logic that white people (wait, let me be more exact since people like to nitpick -- nonblack folks) don't have to do 50 million things to retain *easier* than us because their hair is structurally different. Whoever so astutely pointed out that "anyone who blowdries their hair with a round brush every two days and isn't NL has more resilient hair than the average black woman" wasn't exactly pulling that out of her a**.

Mischka was right. I think a lot of us get jaded when we join this board. We get hyped up thinking we can have knee length hair because of the progress pics and experiences of others. No matter how isolated those experiences are.

I lean towards science, and genetics..not the fact that my next door neighbor has knee length 4b hair. Tired of folks using that as justification.

Hair growth is based on ethnicity and genetics. Period.

MizzBrown · Jun 26, 2011

DeltaQT said:
And from our VERY OWN Longhaircareforum, from 2007:

http://www.longhaircareforum.com/showthread.php?p=2045020

"Hair growth based on ethnicity"

Just 4 years ago, a LOT of members agreed with mishka. My how times change!

I don't recall anyone being labeled a "troll" for expressing the very same opinion that she's expressed in this thread.

Please DO check it out when you have the time!

I bumped that thread. :lol:

People change their views so I want to see how folks feel about it now.

Poohbear · Jun 26, 2011

MizzBrown said:
Mischka was right. I think a lot of us get jaded when we join this board. We get hyped up thinking we can have knee length hair because of the progress pics and experiences of others. No matter how isolated those experiences are.

I lean towards science, and genetics..not the fact that my next door neighbor has knee length 4b hair. Tired of folks using that as justification.

Hair growth is based on ethnicity and genetics. Period.

WHATEVER! I'm gonna reach that knee length hair!!!

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:lachen:

LadyRaider · Jun 26, 2011

It can be thought of like weight loss.

Fat relatives make it more likely that you are fat.
Skinny relatives make it more likely that you are skinny.
Some people can eat anything and never exercise and not get fat. (Though they may be unhealthy.)
You can control how fat you are though by taking control, regardless of your genes.

Now just substitute in hair growth.

Actually at this point in my life I think growing hair is a lot more mysterious and hard than losing weight. Sigh...

knt1229 · Jun 26, 2011

I find it counter productive to constantly "remind" folks that other's have an "easier" time of retaining length due to genetics and hair type. Generally, black women don't practice good hair care. The hair care industry for black women is focused on "fixing" our hair i.e. straightening it. The products marketed to us tend to be damaging for our hair. Add to this a collective belief that our hair is bad, unmanageable, can't grow and it becomes a self fulfilling prophecy. Of course, we don't have long flowing hair. Most of what we do to our hair on a daily basis is damaging. Relaxers, not moisturizing, constant heat at high temperatures, too tight braids and pony's, etc, etc.

Many black women have never even seen their natural hair texture because as soon as they could walk mom slapped a relaxer in it. Then when they get to the teen years they start in with the extensions and weaves. Then we have folks on hairboards acting like they dropping knowledge when they "school" everyone on how whites and certain hair types have it so easy. :lol:

But what they overlook is the fact that general beliefs about our hair and poor hair care practices play a much bigger role than genetics and hair type.

Black folk need to get educated on the science of Afro-textured hair and focus on good hair care practices for kinky, coily, curly hair instead of worrying about how easy somebody else supposedly has it.

allmundjoi · Jun 26, 2011

I think it's the wording that gets people, at least me. The ability/potential to grow hair long is posessed by each. The techniques that have been devised to style and groom hair over the centuries (I am speaking more about the US) have been for type 1-2 hair, which is posessed in a larger percent by non-blacks. Techniques have also evolved and become popular to get hair types that are not the previously mentioned hair types (type 1-2) to resemble these types. Unfortunately, these techniques actually cause damage to the type 3-4 hair, resulting in breakage. It appears (I have no data on it) that a black person (AA, African, Latino, etc) typically posesses type 4 hair (yes, some of us have 1-3 too). Then you factor in the fact that, as previously posted and (I assume) a known LHCF fact, that each bend in a hair is weak point (therefore curls and coils are inherently more weak) and potential site for breakage AND sebum (each hair follicle is assoc w/this sack of oil) has difficulty traveling the length of a strand with bends in in it, type 3-4 has a greater potential for weakness/breakage.

Look, slavery ended less than 150 years ago (again, speaking more to AA). It wasn't like we got off the boat and there was a BSS that catered to our needs right there. Then, and y'all can debate this, as a matter of survival we tried to assimilate. In assimilation we attempted to resemble our captors, those who posessed predominately type 1-2 hair types. We adopted their grooming habits and invented our own which would help us achieve the look of type 1-2 hair with little regard to health of the hair. To me its like trying to wear a size 6 shoe, even though you wear an 8-eventually youll have terrible looking feet. If you had just worn the 8 your feet wouldnt be squealing, but you didnt know you wore an 8 until you were measured.
Even left to our own devices (slavery never happened) I am not sure if we had the DESIRE or knowledge to get our predominately type 4 hair long. Look at some of the insular tribes in Africa, with those who possess predominately type 4 hair (it appears). Do they have waist length hair? I welcome answers to this.

Type 3-4 hair can grow long with the right treatment. LHCF at least showcases this. Is it easier? I know people with type 1-2 hair that wash every day and never condition with hair to their waist (I also, to a lesser extent, see some w/breakage too). While I see a large number of long hair (>APL) type 4 who DC, PS, oil/seal, etc to get their hair long. Which seems easier?

There is NO gene for long hair, I think its how you treat (treatment varies by hair type, which includes density, porosity) your hair type that can allow it to grow long. Look at LHCF, hair 'twins' will try the same regimen with different results. Why? Each head of hair is like a snowflake, unique. The character of hair depends on genetics and how the person treats (has treated) their hair.

It's SUNDAY so let's see where this thread goes.

* I also think the typing (1-4) is very limited. I think straight is straight, but there are various types/degrees of curl and coils-at least in my head- so each strand is even more unique than the next. Making type 3- 4 heads even more variable than can be described by type 3abc/4abc. I do know there is another hair typing system that has a greater range, but LHCF loves 1-4.

ETA: I don't think modern day use of relaxers is an attempt at assimilation.
With the healthy hair regimen I have now, I know if I relaxed again I would treat my hair much differently than I did in the past. My relaxed hair would probably grow longer than APL.
Sent from my DROIDX

naturalTAN · Jun 26, 2011

allmundjoi said:
I think it's the wording that gets people, at least me. The ability/potential to grow hair long is posessed by each. The techniques that have been devised to style and groom hair over the centuries (I am speaking more about the US) have been for type 1-2 hair, which is posessed in a larger percent by non-blacks. Techniques have also evolved and become popular to get hair types that are not the previously mentioned hair types (type 1-2) to resemble these types. Unfortunately, these techniques actually cause damage to the type 3-4 hair, resulting in breakage. It appears (I have no data on it) that a black person (AA, African, Latino, etc) typically posesses type 4 hair (yes, some of us have 1-3 too). Then you factor in the fact that, as previously posted and (I assume) a known LHCF fact, that each bend in a hair is weak point (therefore curls and coils are inherently more weak) and potential site for breakage AND sebum (each hair follicle is assoc w/this sack of oil) has difficulty traveling the length of a strand with bends in in it, type 3-4 has a greater potential for weakness/breakage.

Look, slavery ended less than 150 years ago (again, speaking more to AA). It wasn't like we got off the boat and there was a BSS that catered to our needs right there. Then, and y'all can debate this, as a matter of survival we tried to assimilate. In assimilation we attempted to resemble our captors, those who posessed predominately type 1-2 hair types. We adopted their grooming habits and invented our own which would help us achieve the look of type 1-2 hair with little regard to health of the hair. To me its like trying to wear a size 6 shoe, even though you wear an 8-eventually youll have terrible looking feet. If you had just worn the 8 your feet wouldnt be squealing, but you didnt know you wore an 8 until you were measured.
Even left to our own devices (slavery never happened) I am not sure if we had the DESIRE or knowledge to get our predominately type 4 hair long. Look at some of the insular tribes in Africa, with those who possess predominately type 4 hair (it appears). Do they have waist length hair? I welcome answers to this.

Type 3-4 hair can grow long with the right treatment. LHCF at least showcases this. Is it easier? I know people with type 1-2 hair that wash every day and never condition with hair to their waist (I also, to a lesser extent, see some w/breakage too). While I see a large number of long hair (>APL) type 4 who DC, PS, oil/seal, etc to get their hair long. Which seems easier?

There is NO gene for long hair, I think its how you treat (treatment varies by hair type, which includes density, porosity) your hair type that can allow it to grow long. Look at LHCF, hair 'twins' will try the same regimen with different results. Why? Each head of hair is like a snowflake, unique. The character of hair depends on genetics and how the person treats (has treated) their hair.

It's SUNDAY so let's see where this thread goes.

* I also think the typing (1-4) is very limited. I think straight is straight, but there are various types/degrees of curl and coils-at least in my head- so each strand is even more unique than the next. Making type 3- 4 heads even more variable than can be described by type 3abc/4abc. I do know there is another hair typing system that has a greater range, but LHCF loves 1-4.

ETA: I don't think modern day use of relaxers is an attempt at assimilation.
With the healthy hair regimen I have now, I know if I relaxed again I would treat my hair much differently than I did in the past. My relaxed hair would probably grow longer than APL.
Sent from my DROIDX

this post ends the thread perfectly.

but i know it ain't over until someone gets their feelings hurt or it gets locked :look:

Okay · Jun 26, 2011

mishcka

im lovin you in this thread...
you are absolutely right. I mean common... look around.. are you honestly going to tell me you havent noticed a different in lenght on an average between black women with type 4 hair and biracials,whites,asians? hmmm...

Cherokee-n-Black · Jun 26, 2011

DeltaQT said:
And from our VERY OWN Longhaircareforum, from 2007:

http://www.longhaircareforum.com/showthread.php?p=2045020

"Hair growth based on ethnicity"

Just 4 years ago, a LOT of members agreed with mishka. My how times change!

I don't recall anyone being labeled a "troll" for expressing the very same opinion that she's expressed in this thread.

Please DO check it out when you have the time!

DeltaQT - Mischka's not considered a troll because of her viewpoints, it's because she makes inflammatory statements and personal attacks that would naturally rile people up and make a mile-long thread out of something that probably should have only been a page or two.

I actually don't think she's *that* wrong here, but, as usual, she speaks in these sweeping generalizations that fail to take into account a lot of things that may not support her argument. I think a lot more people would be (and are) agreeing with her if she didn't feel the need to call people losers, and whatever else. And she calls people she gets into it with "boo," which is just annoying--and so last millennium.

Okay · Jun 26, 2011

Denial is a defense mechanism postulated by Sigmund Freud, in which a person is faced with a fact that is too uncomfortable to accept and rejects it instead, insisting that it is not true despite what may be overwhelming evidence.

Poohbear · Jun 27, 2011

DeltaQT said:
And from our VERY OWN Longhaircareforum, from 2007:

http://www.longhaircareforum.com/showthread.php?p=2045020

"Hair growth based on ethnicity"

Just 4 years ago, a LOT of members agreed with mischka. My how times change!

I don't recall anyone being labeled a "troll" for expressing the very same opinion that she's expressed in this thread.

Please DO check it out when you have the time!

I see that I posted in that thread and did not agree with the article about hair growth based on ethnicity. I believe how much length you have is based on how well you retain the hair that you grow. So my opinion has not changed.

Did mischka go by some other screen name? Was she ShaniKeys? I don't see her name in that thread...

NikStarrr · Jun 27, 2011

I do think certain ethnicities/races and hair types may have an easier time retaining length and may or may not be able to take "abuse" better. But I think when it comes to that hair being relaxed, it can be a toss up. Like I'd mentioned earlier, I know several biracial girls who have relaxed hair who seem to have trouble retaining length who have asked me for tips. I, of course, encourage them to go natural.

So this girl in the YT video, I still tend to think she just happens to be one of those people who can do certain things to her hair and it holds up well....not so much a "because she may be mixed" kind of thing.

I dont get it. How does this girl have such nice hair???

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OO-OOOOOOOOP!!!!

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