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Awkward Questions You’ve Always Wanted To Ask About Black Women’s Hair (With Answers)

1. “Why is Black hair so thick (coarse)?”

This is a good question because I think we need to first dispel the notion that Black hair is universal and similar. My own mother’s hair is very different from my own – hers is soft and flaky, mine is thick and tough and kind of wild. The type of hair a Black person has will be dependent on the make-up of their Blackness, their ancestry, the climate of the place they were born in, the way they up-keep their hair, etc. So I guess the first thing to note is Black hair is not the same, it comes in different shapes, sizes, and textures. Some people have thick hair because that is the natural result of their hair growing in particular climates where thick hair provides protection from the harshness of the elements.

2. “Why do you wear scarves/hair nets to bed?”

I have to say firstly, I don’t think Black women are the only ones who do this! But a lot of women “wrap” their hair because they don’t want to lose the straightness or curls they’ve spent a fortune in time and money to get, so it’s a lot easier to maintain with a scarf. Also, if your hair is braided then it also protects the shape and “mats down” the split ends.

3. “How painful are weaves?”

I haven’t had one in so long but I don’t remember them being painful. Now of course there are two ways people get weaves – with hair glue, which a lot of people think is bad for your hair. And then there’s a SEW IN-WEAVE. This is also a good time to mention that the real difference between the hair extensions Black women use and other women tend to use, is that length of time and sense of permanence, and that’s still only generally. But weaves mostly should not be very painful, relatively speaking of course. It still depends on your hair texture, scalp tenderness, and thickness or softness of your hair.

4. “Why are Black women so worried about getting their hair wet?”

Good question. It’s also a good time to mention that Black women generally don’t wash their hair every day. Largely because of shrinkage and it’s simply not good for the texture of the hair. There’s been a lot of talk in the mainstream media too about how it’s probably not a good idea for anyone to do so but that’s something you should probably take up with the experts. The reality is because of the maintenance in terms of time and money, and the nature of the hair, most Black women’s hair would shrink tremendously and the quality of the hair would diminish. Again, however, I must stress that Black women all have different kinds of hair, textures, etc. It is really difficult to speak for everyone.

5. Black hair does grow.

It’s a myth that Black hair doesn’t grow. All human hair grows at about half an inch a month, depending on your health and genetics. Having long hair is really more about how much hair you retain after breakage.

Black hair, because it’s curly, can be weaker than straighter hair. Each bend in the strand represents a weak point in the hair shaft, which makes it more prone to breakage. All this means is that it takes a little more TLC to avoid breakage. So we tend to have shorter hair, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t grow.

6. Even if you ask nicely … we don’t want you to touch our hair.

First, thank you for asking. Touching a Black woman’s hair without her permission is extremely rude. But even if you ask nicely, the answer is probably no.

I don’t know where your hands have been and I also don’t want you messing up my ‘do. More importantly, most of us feel like allowing strangers to touch our hair just so they can experience it is akin to being pet like an animal. At best it’s awkward, and at worst it’s dehumanizing. So, it’s fine to admire our hair from afar but please keep your hands to yourself, if you’d like to keep them at all.

This are the common questions black women are worried about and i guess i have been able to answer them.

So tell us what we need to know about black hair and I'll add it to this

...Do have a lovely weekend