Mysteries of A Black Girl's Hair
"Do you wash your hair?"
Duh! My hair would smell pure evil if I didn't wash it and being that I'm pretty active and have curly hair that is susceptible to product build up, that would just be bad. While about 90% of us don't wash our hair everyday we do wash our hair. The reason we don't wash our hair everyday is because we don't need too. The fact of the matter is that since we have a natural curl pattern to our hair (even if your hair is relaxed your roots are curly) the oil and sebum doesn't travel throughout all of our hair so isn't greasy. When I used to get a relaxer (chemical that straightens your hair permanently) I washed my hair once a week, but now like every few days, but I'm trying to go back to once a week our hair performs better with less manipulation. Some of us wash our hair every few days while others once a month it varies with every person.
"Why is y'alls hair not like normal?"
First of all what the heck, your normal and my normal are too different things. Now I do realize we are one of the few races that doesn't have straight "silky" or whatever hair, but come on you guys that doesn't make our hair not normal! Well the actual reason behind this question is first God, and the fact of our origin of location, Africa. Having thick textured hair prevented the sun from literally sunburning our very scalps and head. So it's an awesome geographical adaptation.
"Is that a weave?"
I used to get this question all the time when my hair was straight! The reasons begin my hair was long, and I am black. People just automatically assume that black girls with long hair have a weave or some from of it! Do you not think our hair grows? This still happens to me till this day and I have almost to my collar bone curly hair, but people still think it's a weave! Now I have never had a weave nor do I wish to, but I AM NOT SAYING THERE IS ANYTHING WRONG WITH WEARING A WEAVE. For all of you out there going what in the world is a weave here's your explanation. A weave is false /real hair that is sown into cornrowed hair (braids that are braided to the scalp).
"So how do you get your hair like that?"
The question was being referred to my curly hair that was in an afro. I was kind of taken aback and thought like what this is how my hair grows from my scalp. I then remembered that all of the black girls they see have straight hair. So I explained how those straight haired black girls used a relaxer (also called a perm) which was a chemical that you place on your hair every month and half or so to keep to your hair straight. Black people naturally have curly hair, but most of us straighten it with a relaxer or a flat iron (straightener). As the curly hair grows in you have to perm it to keep from having two drastically different hair textures, and horrible looking edges! When you see a black girl with curly/kinky/textured hair usually that's her natural hair, she didn't go get a perm (curly perm) it's hers darn it!
"Can I touch your hair?"
I don't mind people touching my hair, but some do. It's in oddity in the place I live. There aren't many natural curly haired girls so I know people are curious. My only problem is when you touch my hair DON'T BE SURPRISED IF YOU GET A LITTLE PRODUCT ON YOUR HANDS. So many people have touched my hair, often times without asking, gotten conditioner or some other product on their hands and flipped out! One girl even went so far as too say "Eww my hands are all greasy now, no I don't like that", she then preceded to put GermX on her hands. I love this girl, but heifer don't touch my hair because "It's just so fluffy" and then get grossed out when you get product on your hands! That is just so rude and uncalled for! I also want to say just because I'm a person of color does not mean I use grease on my hair, but duh I do use products. People always assume that just because I'm black/brown/African-American (who cares they all have the same meaning) I put grease in my hair. Grease is too heavy a product for most our hair, and when we do use grease it's for our scalps. This prevents dandruff. I don't put grease on my scalp or hair, but some people find it very beneficial. Always ask before you go touching a black girls hair, and don't be stupid enough to freak about how your hands got all "greasy".
I believe I covered the most asked of questions and have also given some insight into the hair of black girls/people. I wrote this article because I know people have so many questions about our hair, but think it would be taken as racist or silly if they asked. Well people if you ask with genuine curiosity and are polite I almost guarantee your questions will be answered. We are a people known for our hair. Just think a simple thing such as hair can give shape to the very representation of a race. Why the very thing most people think of when they think of black people is our hair. It's wondrous and mysterious the hair of a black person. I am proud of my hair and do not wish to have "white people hair". Our hair comes in all sorts of textures, colors, lengths, and volumes. God knew what he was doing when he gave use our hair and for that I am thankful.