Hair growth based on ethnicity

Rei

New Member
Maybe this is just me but I don't find this to be a measure of inferiority /shrug

I mean, other races have crap diets too and they treat their hair like crap (bleaching, rebleaching, and us relaxing etc) and in general they have longer hair (from what i've seen anyway). i don't believe that it necessarily GROWS faster but it most definitely retains a heck of a lot better. wasn't it proven that their hair is naturally coarser anyway? I BCed my hair at the same time (to NL) an white curly haired friend of mine cut her hair into a bob. I'm at APL now and she went to waistlength in this time. Is it becuase she retained better? Likely, but all she did was wash, condition, flat iron it every week and wear it out all the time while I have to kill myself PS-ing to gain every inch. It is what it is
 

naturalTAN

New Member
Well you know one now. Once I cut my hair chin length in December and by December of the next year it was waist length. Got sick of it and cut it shoulder length and was back down to waist length in less than 6 months. Got sick of it and cut it again and for the most part I just keep it past my shoulders now. Recently I've been back on the I want long hair again trip so I'm letting it grow out but this time progress has been slow, not because of growth but because of evil scissor happy stylists who feel that black hair needs to be trimmed with every relaxer. Yes trims are important but this "trim with every relaxer" belief is a load of bull. Trust me on that. At most, I use to do no more than 4 trims a year and my ends were fine because I rarely used heat. My stylist of 8 years was a male stylist and he was awesome. Since I've moved, I've been on the hunt for a stylist and its been disastrous. I'm appalled at the many stylists who want nothing more than to cut and cut and cut. Andf its gotten worse! It's no wonder so many sisters get stuck at shoulder length or what have you. Trust me when I say if you are taking care of your hair, keeping it moisturized, protein treated and rarely putting heat to it, your hair responds by sticking with you. Ask a white person or Asian person how often they trim their hair and many will tell you they get trims no more than twice a year IF THAT! I've recently decided to start doing my own hair. I can't trust my hair in the hands of these money hungry, scissor happy poor customer service oriented stylists.

Did you track this growth with pictures? Do you have a fotki? This is not to pick on you or call you a liar, but I notice that most times when people have a story of miraculous growth, they never have proof.

And if you did indeed grow that quickly, have you realized that you would still be an exception to the rule?
 

naturalTAN

New Member
For me to accept these kinds of statistics. I would want to see a group of ladies placed in the same living conditions, using no heat or chemical (dye, perm, relaxer), eating the same diet, getting the same amount of rest and exercising in the same way. Making sure to correct for any vitamin deficiencies.

To start the experiment, I would bleach everyone's hair platinum blond (once) and start recording grow rates from there.

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ETA:

Not only is there a big variation in genetics, There is an every bigger variation in life styles. Diet, exercise, out door activity, stress levels, use of traditional medicine verses herbal medicine.

The people with the fastest growth rate also happen to be the people who as a culture tend to consume more fruits and vegetables and use more natural products and techniques to take of their hair.

Also, I have read articles (can't find now) where they say Asians men have the lowest incidence of male pattern baldness until the come and live the American lifestyle. Well what happened to their genetics in that instance.

Even if you did conduct a study like this that accounted for every possible confounding variable (which is impossible btw) and discovered that all of us have the same growth rate, what would it really do?

Will lazy black women who do not get out much or exercise suddenly start hitting the gym for hair? Will poor BW who live in substandard living situations find some way to overlook not making rent or feeding their kids to destress for their hair's sake? Will those who dislike or don't normally consume veggies all of a sudden start chewing celery or having asparagus with dinner? I don't think so.

My point is that everything can't be controlled in real life and in that case black women would still have slower growth because everyone would not be in their ideal hair growth environment.

I honestly do like the idea of your study, but I doubt it could be representative of what would happen if every black women started doing those things. It probably would not affect your average black women who may or may not adhere to those practices on a regular basis.
 

topnotch1010

Real Housewife of Houston
I don't know one way or the other. But I do know that black women don't want to hear that their hair grows slower than other races. many of us feel like that is just one more negative in our attempt to grow our hair. If someone has the research that is sound to back it up then I would lean towards believing it's true. And I'm sure in the end it's all about averages. So just because you and your friends grow hair super quick doesn't mean that ON average black women's hair grows slower than the rest. It is not a knock to our race if it's true. Remember, hair is on our heads for reasons that have nothing to do with vanity. The human race has decided that hair is an adornment, something to be primped and fawned over, especially with women. But hair was given to us for protection. So the fact that ours could grow slower may have something to do with the fact that we are from a really hot place or some other reasons having to do with biology and evolution. I know plenty of white folks and their hair grows like weed. I relaxed my hair in February and I am retaining length and the white people I know are still growing their hair faster than I am. That's just the way it is.

That's the same reasoning I have. Biology, evolution, and our original location makes sense to why our hair may grow a tad bit slower. Nothing wrong with that.


Sent from TopNotch1010's iPhone using LHCF
 

lady_godiva

Well-Known Member
The reason why caucasian and asian peoples' hair grows longer at a faster rate than ours is because they originate from cold climates where their ancestors survival depended on hair to keep them warm. African ancestry on the other hand needed a form of hair to protect them from the sun, which explains our curly hair. It's just genetics for survival, that's all.
 

Jewell

New Member
But if biology, evolution, and original location have to do with out hair growing slower than other ethnicities, how do you explain that when ALL OF MANKIND was scientifically proven with DNA to descend from ONE female in Africa (lending credence to the Bible's story of Adam and Eve)?

So if we all came out of Africa and moved to other parts of the world over time, and thus developed different adaptive charatersitics (lighter skin, straighter lighter hair, vs. dark skin and curly hair) how does that factor in? That would mean all people started in the SAME PLACE. Therefore hair growth rates would be ingrained in DNA, not based on location.

SN; Asians may have a relatively healthy diet overall, due to the amount of fish, fresh veggies, fruits, and the great things that traditional (Chinese) medicine can do for the body. However, many are born with kinky, coarse hair and choose to do thermal straightening (something like BKT).

So all races can use chemicals that sack their hair, there are just too many variations to ea. individual to make that "study" and its results valid, in my opinion.
 
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Cherokee-n-Black

Well-Known Member
BUMPED! To see how people feel about this now vs. 2007.

Still BS today (I actually wasn't here in '07, I'm just sayin'). I'm probably re-stating what someone already said, but the issue is not and has never been growth. It is retention. AA hair (African Hair) is more likely to break due to the strand structure and the lack of even oil distribution. Hair belonging to any other race subjected to the same stresses (lack of oil distribution, traumatic manipulation of the hair) will also have breakage issues. It is true that other races have an easier time retaining length due to their hair structure and the fact that traditional hair care/product offering is designed with their hair in mind, but it is pretty well-settled that the average human hair growth rate is 1/2 inch/month. The variances are not among races, but different things that affect an individual's growth rate in a particular month.

Personally, I believe that the traditional approach to hair care is what traumatizes our hair the most. Washing with inappropriate cleansers, lack of adequate conditioning, manipulation that does not encourage length retention (adults: excessive heat styling, kids: tight cornrows, hair-shredding elastics, etc...) are all things that we've been doing to our hair and our kids hair to conform to an ideal (or to fight stereotypes) and we are only just now figuring out how to undo the damage.
 

manter26

Well-Known Member
I agree with the article. I didn't click on it because so much is lost with translations...but I have my own personal theory about this.

Hair is made from protein bonds. Those protein bonds are made under the scalp and pushed up and out when they are ready. The curlier the hair, the more protein bonds needed to complete the length of hair. IMO, it would make sense that the protein is assemble from amino acids at the same rates for straight to kinky coily hair...however, because more of those molecules are needed in kinky coily hair, it takes longer to produce the same length.

This could all be a crap theory...but that's what I think may happen.
 

StarScream35

Well-Known Member
Did you track this growth with pictures? Do you have a fotki? This is not to pick on you or call you a liar, but I notice that most times when people have a story of miraculous growth, they never have proof.

And if you did indeed grow that quickly, have you realized that you would still be an exception to the rule?

Never had any reason to track my growth. I just joined this site recently. I think the reason people whose hair grows really fast don't have any pictures.........well because its nothing out of the ordinary for them. it's normal and not a big deal so no need to get all excited and pull the camera out. Now if you are a woman and all of a sudden you DO have miraculous growth then yeah, I could see getting all psyched out. You seem as if you doubt black women's hair grows fast. Not being funny here but I picked that up a little bit. Also, I don't feel I am an exception. In my honest opinion, all black women's hair can and will fast. I used to have a co-worker whose hair grew fast as well. People were always convinced that she and I wore weaves and I thought it was rather sad that other black women had this notion that black hair cannot grow that long and that fast. Where did this defeatest attitude come from? Look at people who grow dreds. Blacks believe having dreds make your hair grow faster. No..........it's all about how you care for your hair and low manipulation with black hair. Trust me when I say black hair grows just as fast as other races BUT you have to baby it more. And don't forget we live in a straight haired world so all the techniques about manipulating our hair comes from a straight haired perspective. I'll always believe that if Curly Heads ruled the world, it would be the straight haired people saying they can't get their hair right. LOL!
 

candy626

New Member
I think genetics and ethnicity definitely can have something to do with it.

Most Asians definitely have fast growing hair. As a former chemistry major in college where I was surrounded by Asians I really got to see. I knew girls whose hair was shoulder length one semester, bsl the next.

There are black women with fast growing hair but I think most races average 1/2 inch. Black hair does require more disulfide bonds then straight hair so a diet lacking in nutrients necessary to create disulfide bonds could slow hair growth.
 
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HautePinkHeels

New Member
Jewell said:
So if we all came out of Africa and moved to other parts of the world over time, and thus developed different adaptive charatersitics (lighter skin, straighter lighter hair, vs. dark skin and curly hair) how does that factor in? That would mean all people started in the SAME PLACE. Therefore hair growth rates would be ingrained in DNA, not based on location.

It's not an either/or issue. It's both. Because of the ancestral location, the ancestral DNA changed. Just like the lighter hair and eyes and all that. Survival of the fittest. If it's true that their hair grows faster, it would make sense, as they needed it to grow faster to protect their bodies from the cold.

Sent from my iPhone 4S using LHCF
 

My Friend

New Member
I read somewhere it takes thousands of years for the body to adapt to it's new surroundings. There is no way for us to replicate what we had a 100 years ago. The soil was clean. The food was clean. The water was clean. The air was clean. We lived outside so we were exposed to sunshine and rain. No cars, you walked or ran.
 
Research/studies? whatever you wan to call it that pertain to an ENTIRE or a MAJORITY of a race automatically make me raise an eyebrow, but I just saw my friend/sister (a white girl) after a year (2010, so two years?) and her hair that she cuts constantly to neck length, is now near midback length, while from two 1/2 years, I've gone from neck to bsl. XD I'm like 'Well DAMN!!'lol!! I'm sure she could be waistlength by now lol

At the same time, I have a second God sister whose hair won't grow passed her shoulders. So...(shrugs)
 

greenandchic

Well-Known Member
I'm still on the fence. I have seen rapid and slow growth rates from all people across the board.

-A Black family friend's hair grew like crazy. She would have the front in a short pixie cut (in the '90's) while the back was MBL. Three months later that short cut was already chin length and within a year, it looks like she never cut her hair that short.

-My bi-racial (Black/white) friend hair was ear length back in November; now it's grazing the tops of her shoulders or CBL.

-My white friend's hair is thin and is a very slow grower.

-Another white friend is a very fast grower. I notice how fast her hair grows out from her highlights.

-My white male friend hair grows about 3/4" - 1" a month depends on the section of his hair. I know because I cut his hair. (I hate him because his hair is very course, strong, dark and has not one gray hair at age 55 -maybe a few now).

-My Black mother averages about 1/2" a month. Her hair is locked.

-My Black aunt averages about 1" a month.


I could go on with various examples...
 

Mz.MoMo5235

Well-Known Member
I have this white friend and a mexican friend who are both jealous of hair growth. The mexican one cuts her hair once a year and only gets a trim. Her hair has been the same length for the last 3 yrs. In fact me and her sister joke with her and say she only has 3 strands of hair because of it.

My white friend hasnt had a hair cut in more than 10yrs and I've known her for 4yrs... He hair is the same length and literally has not grown! Ok, maybe not grown. Most likely its just breaking off. But the point is that some of them have hair issues too.
 

aviddiva77

Well-Known Member
I'm gonna need to know how many people were in this study (I use that term loosely), what the control was (if they had one), how many times it was done and whether they were randomly selected. Seems to me like it wasn't a true experiment because it's hard to account for the differences in genetic/biological, diets, location (might factor in on hair growth). I can't stand when they publish articles like this (the local news does it all the time) cuz then people take it as gospel. Especially when they don't give the details nor do they say if others have found the same results.
 

GIJane

New Member
I think that I am one of the AA that have slow growth rate. I have been measuring my new growth. I am currently 28 weeks post. My hair grows almost 1 cm a month. That's less than .5 inches/month. I'm ok with that. I just know that I have to ps and moisturize like crazy to get my hair where I want it to be. I exercise 4 times a week. I eat lots of veggies and fruits everday. I take a multi-vitamin. Although, I do notice that I get more growth in the summer time.

ETA: changed mm to cm
 
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MystiqueBabe

New Member
My hair grows at average rate maybe slightly more. The problem with BW is retaining the length, making it seem that our hair doesn't "grow". The curl pattern also make it seem like our hair is shorter. When I have a lot of new growth my hair seems to appear shorter.

The study could be true on a case by case basis. Some white women have trouble growing out their hair. There was a hispanic girl in my class who had long hair but cut it short around NL. Few months later her friend a black girl still had the same length of hair. Her hair was now shoulder length. She said "I cut my hair and it is still longer than yours". Again the problem comes from lack of knowledge of black hair care and retaining that length. The black girl wore her hair in tight ponytails everyday and wondered why her hair was breaking off. If she protected style for a month her hair would be shoulder length. The average human growth rate is half an inch per month that goes for all races, there are exceptions but they just didn't put out that average number out of thin air.
 
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candy626

New Member
They do?????

I thought the same thing. Sooo not true.

I know people of all races who are naturally thin with fast metabolisms and people of all races that struggle with weight. I think that boils down to your family heritage more then your race.
 

cutiepiesensei

New Member
I agree with this. I've noticed how long it takes my hair to just grow one inch. It takes about three and a half months, compared to someone with naturally straight hair who can get an inch like in a month or two. Maybe it's just me though.......It's not a bad thing, it just means that I have to take better care of my hair and it will take longer. It's frustrating but it's not really that huge of a deal
 

candy626

New Member
I think i commented on this thread several months ago but i will say that i now definitely believe some ethnicities have fast growth. Particularly after observing my boyfriends hair. He is haitian and lebanese and appears to inherit a lot his features from his lebanese side including sort his sort if mixed hair texture. Within the past couple months he has decided to grow his hair out from a close Caesar like cut. He had about 2 inches of growth in 2 months.. He had a haircut last week and it already looks like his hair already grew out a quarter of an inch. Idk it definitely seems Asians/middle easterns have some kind of special something in their genes
 
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BlackHairDiva

Well-Known Member
I disagree. I managed to grow 2 inches per month !!! I agree with another who mentioned how the damage hides the progress... Its all about retaining growth. If you dont retain anything your hair looks like its not growing.
 
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