Black Hair: It's All Mine....I Swear ;-)

I'm sitting at the hair salon under the dryer looking at all the different hair types and styles that we as black women have.  Now every time I get my hair done I prepare myself for the questions that come from ppl who are not privy to all that goes into styling a black woman's hair.  You know:

How did it get so long?  Is that all your hair? Isn't a perm to make your hair curly? Perms make black ppls hair straight, right? (From the person who's feeling him/herself because they know a little something, usually said with a slight grin that says “Yea, I got a few black friends" lol) You've got good hair, why is her hair (pointing to another black girl) always so nappy?

 

Any way I digress....point is while sitting here, I realized how confusing our hair really is. So here are some answers to some of the questions you may have.   And a few terms that are the basics to a black woman's hair.

  

The answers to some of your questions...

• No, we don't wash our hair every day, not even every other day, sometimes not even every week!  Depends on the texture of your hair.  Washing our hair every day will dry it out and the process to wash and style it takes much too long to do every day. 
• No, you can not touch it.  Like I said it's a process to wash and style...unless you know how to do my hair...there's no need to touch it. 
• Yes, it was short yesterday and it's long today...it's called a weave/lace front/extensions etc.
• Grease (hair grease) is a good thing for our hair (in moderation).
• Yes, it's all mine. (This will usually be the answer for one of two reasons; it really is all hers or she paid for it so technically she does own it.) If you have to ask this question, chances are its not all hers.
• Rain, Pools, Beaches, anything with water are a black girls kryptonite. By now you should understand why...if not re-read answer one.
• Yes, I do wrap my hair with a scarf at night. It preserves my hairstyle.

 Hair Terms...

•  Natural (going natural):Wearing her hair in the original state that it grows out of her head (usually means no relaxer/perm; no chemicals)
• Relaxer (Perm): A chemical treatment that STRAIGHTENS her hair. Although “perm" technically means to make hair curly, black women often say this term when she wants her hair relaxed.
• Weave: Fake hair added in with or over her hair.  Tracks can be added in by sewing in to her braided hair , glued on to her scalp, etc.
• Lace Front: Basically a wig.  The front of it is made with sheer lace where it would lay against her hair line.  Adhered to her head with glue
• Extensions: Braids.  Weave/fake hair that is braided in with her hair to make it longer.
• Cornrows: Hair braided in rows, usually braided from front to back, that are attached to head.  They do not hang freely as extensions do. 
• Nappy: Hair that is tough to comb thru, unruly, tangled...if u aint black...I suggest you refrain from using this term.
• Good Hair: Hair that is manageable. However, black ppl say this when someone has long and silky hair resembling a white person's hair.  (Don't use this term either)
• New Growth: When the roots of a woman who has relaxed/permed hair starts to grow in....which would grow in the natural state.

 

Smooches