Hair growth based on ethnicity

ShaniKeys

New Member
I just read a French article (http://www.aufeminin.com/mag/beaute/d1259/c34374.html) that stated that it has been scientifically proven (they gave numbers) that Black women's hair grows slower than Asian's and Caucasian's hair

"...Ils poussent très lentement, 0,8 cm par mois (1,1 cm pour les Caucasiens et 1,3 cm pour les Asiatiques)."

I personally DO NOT believe this, what y'all think?
 

csmoot

New Member
I do not agree with this EITHER. I had a white woman tell me that there hair grow faster than black women and I was so pissed bc I told her that black woman hair grow just as fast its just that damage makes it hard to see all the growth!
 

candy1214

Well-Known Member
Well I suppose you cant really refute the numbers...it would be interesting to see how they designed their study though.

I'm not agreeing necessarily, but it may be true that we grow slower by .08 millimeters or something of that nature.

Their "test" results are probably nothing that is noticed by the naked eye as in white women grow hair substantially faster than black women.
 

locabouthair

Well-Known Member
i dont think believe that at all. we may have a problem [retaining what we grow but i doubt growth rate has anythign to do with ethnicity. it has more to with nutrition and illness. i wonder how they did their study and if they took those factors into account.
 

scorpian

New Member
I think that kinky/curly hair grows at the same rate as any other race of people but it's harder to see the growth due to shrinkage and the tight curl pattern.

Kinky curly hair doesn't show it's true length unless it's straightened so people of other races have hair that appears to grow faster. Also our hair doesn't always retain length because the ends tend to break off just as fast as our hair grows (learned that from a member here)that's why we have to baby our ends.
 
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Mellowqueen

Active Member
I can't read French, so I can't read the article, but I disagree that Black Women's hair grows slower. How would you explain mixed race women? Do we then go into percentages, such as someone being 25% Black and 75% White, so there hair grows faster because they have more white in them? Since alot of American Blacks and Blacks of other nations are of mixed ancestry, can we really claim that one race defines the hair growth rate? :confused:
 

Crackers Phinn

Either A Blessing Or A Lesson.
It's not a sign of superiority if their hair grows faster than ours. So there's no need to get upset about it.

I have a half white half japanese friend who has gone from shoulder length to waist length THREE TIMES since I started my hair journey 2 years ago. Even if I hadn't done a BC, at most I'd probably be at bra strap, in the same time. she would have cut off more hair than I had retained. I know that me comparing myself to one person isn't irrefutable evidence, but I give the example because I've never met another black person whose hair grows that fast.

I'm rambling, I hope you get what I mean.
 

Poohbear

Fearfully Wonderfully Made
ShaniKeys said:
I just read a French article (http://www.aufeminin.com/mag/beaute/d1259/c34374.html) that stated that it has been scientifically proven (they gave numbers) that Black women's hair grows slower than Asian's and Caucasian's hair

"...Ils poussent très lentement, 0,8 cm par mois (1,1 cm pour les Caucasiens et 1,3 cm pour les Asiatiques)."

I personally DO NOT believe this, what y'all think?
UGH! The articles people keep coming up with these days. I agree with you, I do not believe the statement either. They need to stop looking at hair growth collectively. Hair growth is all based on each individual person regardless of race.
 

Poetrygirl

New Member
I disagree and would also be interested in learning how they conducted their study. I have a Caucasian friend who has had short hair her entire life, and we've known each other since elementary school, she says that once her hair reaches shoulder length it seems to just stop growing. I think that African American's hair appears to grow slower because we do so much to our hair, curling it, coloring it, braiding and other things that can break it off. I personally think it depends on the person, no matter their race because everyone's body chemistry is different and just because one person in the Caucasian race can grow to their knee caps does not mean that they all can, my friend is an example of that. There are a number of things that may contribute to slower hair growth in some people, including diet, exercise, poor hair care regimen, illness & stress, different medications a person takes and even heredity. :)
 

MissMarie

***sigh***
Its silly to break things down by race or ethnicity when within a group you'll have people with different curl patterns, volume and strand thickness, genetic programmed hair growth ability and hair care habits.

JCoily said:
I have a half white half japanese friend who has gone from shoulder length to waist length THREE TIMES since I started my hair journey 2 years ago. Even if I hadn't done a BC, at most I'd probably be at bra strap, in the same time. she would have cut off more hair than I had retained. I know that me comparing myself to one person isn't irrefutable evidence, but I give the example because I've never met another black person whose hair grows that fast.
Growing up my cousin would cut her hair chin length at the beginning of summer, and by the end of summer it'd be past sl/apl. Her hair grows fast like my aunt's who has gone from sl to bsl in less than a year (I hated that their hair grew so fast and mine seemed to not grow at all, little did I understand what cutting out chemicals and heat could do). Their hair doesn't grow as fast as your friend's, but there are many non-blacks whose hair doesn't grow as fast as their's does. Your friend sounds like she's very lucky.
I wouldn't be surprised that if charted there is a slight difference between growth rates between the average, but that you have a huge overlap (like overlapping bell curves). I've known white girls whose hair grew slowly or they couldn't retain length because their hair was so extra thin, weak and fine.
 

KEWLKAT103

Well-Known Member
I'm no scientist and I haven't done any studies, but from what I've seen I would agree with the study. Yes, there are acceptions to the rule but for the most part I think AA hair does grow slower. That doesn't mean that we are less than, it's just hair.
And as for taking care of yourself inside and your hair will grow just as fast, I disagree. Yes, it helps, but I've seen white crack heads with longer hair than the healthiest AA.
Don't shoot me it's JMO
 

MamaBraidedIt

New Member
Hmm, I believe it. There will always be special cases and examples that we could give that will disprove their conclusion, but I do believe that they are speaking generally, in regards to the majority of people. I don't find it as a bad thing. It may be a study that may get people heated, but only because hair, particularly long hair, is such a prized possession across all races of people. :)
 
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Mellowqueen

Active Member
KEWLKAT103 said:
Yes, it helps, but I've seen white crack heads with longer hair than the healthiest AA.
Don't shoot me it's JMO
:lachen: I will agree.....
Maybe because they don't comb it, so essentially its a "protective style".
 

PinkPeony

Well-Known Member
Even if it's true,that doesn't mean we can't have long hair.Just look at all the members here.And 0,3 mm per month difference isn't even 2inch a year.
Having said that I have no reason to doubt this study,however it doesn't prove me that I can't reach my hairgoals either;)
 

Mestiza

New Member
Here's the English translation of the article:


Crisp, curly hair…, the style afro is posted or, a contrario, is smoothed!
African, West-Indian, Maghrebian, Latino-Américaines has hair larger than the Asian ones and the Caucasians. They push very slowly, 0,8 cm per month (1,1 cm for the Caucasians and 1,3 cm for the Asian ones).
Subjected regularly to the défrisage, too tightened braiding and weaving, they weaken and break easily.

To have a beautiful curly hair, crisp or defrized, it is necessary to hydrate the scalp - deprived of a qualitative film hydrolipidic according to its deficiency in sebum, and to nourish capillary fibre to compensate for the quasi-absence of the film hydroprotector.

Today, of the care targeted, technical, to measure, tonicities and brightness give again to them.

Copyright © a 1999-2007 - auFeminin.com - site auFeminin.com Network




I'm just getting in and I'm exhausted. I'll have to return w/ my thoughts on the topic after I give my body and brain a rest.
 
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shunta

New Member
KEWLKAT103 said:
I'm no scientist and I haven't done any studies, but from what I've seen I would agree with the study. Yes, there are acceptions to the rule but for the most part I think AA hair does grow slower. That doesn't mean that we are less than, it's just hair.
And as for taking care of yourself inside and your hair will grow just as fast, I disagree. Yes, it helps, but I've seen white crack heads with longer hair than the healthiest AA.
Don't shoot me it's JMO
Well said. I believe it, too.
 

Mortons

Well-Known Member
I agree with the article. I was never able to get my hair as long as my asian/white friends and its not just because some ends were coming off either. I believe that our hair, (especially when not in its natural state) grows at a slower rate.
 

senimoni

New Member
I've read this on many occasions...I don't know about the caucasian part but I do think Asians as a whole have the fastest growth. I'd be interested in seeing the numbers..though. Nothing to get up in arms about imho.
 

Mystic

Well-Known Member
I agree with you JCoily. I take good care of my hair, must better than my two caucasian friends who use heat everyday and cut constantly. I also have a friend from France with 3c hair and they all grew their hair from a little less than APL to waist length in 12 months and used heat. My hair went from neck to shoulder in 2 years! and I used heat at a bare minimum.

Subconsciously, I know the ability to grow hair quickly is an individual thing and not race related. However, sometimes when I am frustrated with how slowly my hair grows, I often wonder if straight hair people (caucasian or mixed race) have the ability to grow hair faster.

JCoily said:
It's not a sign of superiority if their hair grows faster than ours. So there's no need to get upset about it.

I have a half white half japanese friend who has gone from shoulder length to waist length THREE TIMES since I started my hair journey 2 years ago. Even if I hadn't done a BC, at most I'd probably be at bra strap, in the same time. she would have cut off more hair than I had retained. I know that me comparing myself to one person isn't irrefutable evidence, but I give the example because I've never met another black person whose hair grows that fast.

I'm rambling, I hope you get what I mean.
 
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KiniKakes

Well-Known Member
JCoily said:
It's not a sign of superiority if their hair grows faster than ours. So there's no need to get upset about it.

I have a half white half japanese friend who has gone from shoulder length to waist length THREE TIMES since I started my hair journey 2 years ago. Even if I hadn't done a BC, at most I'd probably be at bra strap, in the same time. she would have cut off more hair than I had retained. I know that me comparing myself to one person isn't irrefutable evidence, but I give the example because I've never met another black person whose hair grows that fast.

I agree with this.
 

cabellera

Well-Known Member
KEWLKAT103 said:
I'm no scientist and I haven't done any studies, but from what I've seen I would agree with the study. Yes, there are acceptions to the rule but for the most part I think AA hair does grow slower. That doesn't mean that we are less than, it's just hair.
And as for taking care of yourself inside and your hair will grow just as fast, I disagree. Yes, it helps, but I've seen white crack heads with longer hair than the healthiest AA.
Don't shoot me it's JMO

LMAO @ "....I've seen white crack heads with longer hair than the healthiest AA..." :lol: Shoulder length achieved, needs a bit of a trim...http://data1.blog.de/blog/c/calgary/img/crackhead.jpg
 

Lusa

New Member
JCoily said:
It's not a sign of superiority if their hair grows faster than ours. So there's no need to get upset about it.

I have a half white half japanese friend who has gone from shoulder length to waist length THREE TIMES since I started my hair journey 2 years ago. Even if I hadn't done a BC, at most I'd probably be at bra strap, in the same time. she would have cut off more hair than I had retained. I know that me comparing myself to one person isn't irrefutable evidence, but I give the example because I've never met another black person whose hair grows that fast.

I'm rambling, I hope you get what I mean.

You're on point there! I take no offense at the fact people of mixed or other ethnicities grow their hair much faster and longer than I, it's just one of those things that makes us different. I am happy to be learning how to have healthy hair!!!
 

B_Phlyy

Pineapple Eating Unicorn
KEWLKAT103 said:
I'm no scientist and I haven't done any studies, but from what I've seen I would agree with the study. Yes, there are acceptions to the rule but for the most part I think AA hair does grow slower. That doesn't mean that we are less than, it's just hair.

I agree with the article and this statement. I think sometimes people take certain studies, especially on black women and their hair, too personally.
 

FlowerHair

Reclaiming my time
I think it differs from person to person. I live in a country full of mostly white people and they all have different hair growth rates. Some are quick, some are slow. Those who's hair grows quickly usually have thick, durable hair strands and don't use a lot of hair colors, heat appliances etc. Basically the same that goes for us.

I do agree, Asians have fast growing hair. But most Asians don't color or use heat either. They just let the hair be. And their hair strands are thick as rope!
 
I disagree Just a few years ago they were saying it's impossible for our hair couldn't grow to waist. As usual they are miss informed and generalizing.
 

Blossssom

New Member
I'm in the habit of saying that genetics plays a big part and there is some truth to that, but I do think ethnicity also plays a big part, if not bigger.

And black hair tends to break off more easily because of the stress it's constantly under due to the texture of the hair (4a/b), especially as a relaxed person. A natural person would probably see length faster than a relaxed because naturals don't constantly manipulate their ends.

However, I was a member of a white board for a couple of years before I got here and every once in a while a white woman would join saying her hair wouldn't grow. Unfortunately, women like her were far and in between.

A white woman I worked with sounds like the woman Coily described. This woman went from having shoulder length hair to past the waist in about 2 years.

Go figure.
 

LocksOfLuV

New Member
locabouthair said:
i dont think believe that at all. we may have a problem [retaining what we grow but i doubt growth rate has anythign to do with ethnicity. it has more to with nutrition and illness. i wonder how they did their study and if they took those factors into account.

I agree. I wonder if they were meauring the actual strand or the actual regrowth. Because I DO agree that black women have an issue retaining length, so measuring the strand would not be a good tool for research.


But if this were to say indian women VS black women then i would have to agree. They grow hair at the speed of lightening.:eek:
 

LocksOfLuV

New Member
KEWLKAT103 said:
I'm no scientist and I haven't done any studies, but from what I've seen I would agree with the study. Yes, there are acceptions to the rule but for the most part I think AA hair does grow slower. That doesn't mean that we are less than, it's just hair.
And as for taking care of yourself inside and your hair will grow just as fast, I disagree. Yes, it helps, but I've seen white crack heads with longer hair than the healthiest AA.
Don't shoot me it's JMO

I can certainly agree with this point. Damn, it's sad but oh so true.
 

Blossssom

New Member
White women have nothing on Asian/Indian women when it comes to growing lots of hair fast and, of course, the Latinos get their good hair genes from Asian/Indian people.

My grandmother and her sisters all had long, thick hair. Half Indian. Then grandma married Mr. Senegal and messed it all up! LOL!

Just kidding ;)
 
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