7 Things White People Don’t Understand About Black Hair

October 18th, 2011 - By Renay Alize

Black hair in any state can be down right fascinating. Whether it’s silky, straight and draping or kinky, coily and wild, or something in between, our hair has the ability to shape shift like nobody else’s. Nobody has hair like ours. So it’s no surprise when people from other races have tons of questions about our hair and the way we take care of it. They’re honest questions and if asked in the spirit of genuine curiosity, I don’t mind educating someone about black hair. Which is why I’m taking the time out to educate non-blacks about a topic that’s so near and dear to our hearts and our minds: our hair.

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  • Kellee

    Not trying to start a argument or anything but I’m white and I’m pretty sure I have near the same type of hair that you described in the article. Very thick, almost uncontrolable without at leeeeeast an hour with a hair dryer/straightner/curling wand (you name it, I probably use it) and can be very dry if I’m not careful. I wash it once/twice a week and use argon oil to control the frizz.

    Just wanted to say that while a lot of white folk have the flat straight hair, alot don’t.

  • Kimmiep89

    For the record, I do NOT sit for hours getting my hair done,if your sitting several hours, then your stylist, needs to manage their time and clients better. Not every salon service requires hours and hours…..

  • Msmykimoto2u

    But on a serious note, like someone else said, I wash my hair every 3 days just not with shampoo. I cowash with my own homeade deep conditioner and my hair is so much stronger and has grown tremendously! Also, I hate the fact that people see natural hair as unkept or rebellious especially in the work place. Its how the hair grows out of my head naturally and then those same people want to call us a sell out or want to be something different when we decide to straighten or add weave for a different look

  • Msmykimoto2u

    *sighs* ok…..first, a funny story (atleast to me) I was doing a play (RENT) where i had to portray a poor stripper on crack with AIDS…..lol she had a hard life. Anywho, at the time my hair was really short and cut in that old school Missy Elliot style and it was too nice looking. Well I added some cheap curly weave to my hair and cut it up horribly to look really messy and then went to the directors house for a cast party. When he and his wife (both white) saw my hair they were so shocked and thought it grew over night. They asked to touch it, and how did I get it to grow so fast and when I explained it to them its like they couldnt believe such things as weave existed.  It was hilarious! But

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=733037813 Ashley Miller

    Ok, so to agree with everyone’s comments regarding dry hair and what not.

    I wash my hair less than once a week and I’m going to suggest that maybe it’s just a lot of bloody work otherwise. I have dreds (and they have gotten quite long over the years) and let me tell you, they take AGES to dry. Washing my hair before bed is annoying because I wake up with half my faice raisin-y from a wet pillow. Washing it in the morning before I try to go to work is silly because my hair will be wet all day. So I wash on a Saturday or Sunday when I have the whole day to fiddle with it and get it to dry without having to show up to work and whip people with water droplets all day.

    In my experience, white people wash their daily because, since their hair is so fine it can get greasy looking (and not in a good way) if there’s build-up. Frankly, unless you work-out a lot and sweat up a storm, I don’t imagine that you need to wash your hair that often.

  • Ash

    Oh god, this was fabulous!
    However, a note about the ‘natural hair=rebelliousness’ thing. That probably stems from when black women first started wearing their hair natural as a statement about black pride etc. I know natural=hippie/rebel/etc. but I think there is at least an origin to the myth.
    Either way, it was a lovely piece. Facebook’d

  • Mikialama

    Agreed that Whitegirl is an ignorant racist idiot.  Unfortunately, based on your comments, so are you. In one breath you say that whites are from black genes that mutated (that’s known in educated circles as evolution, dear) and then you seem to put down the white scientists who have been touting evolution as though you think evolution is yet another white supremacy plot again you.  Make up your mind!  And btw, there are many reknowned black scientists who also tout evolution.  Do your homework. Lastly, Celts are one of the root stocks of white genes.  They were also nomads who took fresh spouses from lands they moved to.  And, I notice you apply the adjective “celtic” to your screen name.  Make up your mind who you are, girl. 

  • Ozzy

    How did the guy who smashed the truck driver's head in with a rock wear his hair? I think that is all we need to know about your hair.

  • H.W.

    Just so you know, it's not just black people that have this problem – #1. I am white with blond hair, and went to Mexico.. where everyone and his brother reached out and wanted to touch my very different hair. I didn't feel like an animal in a zoo – mainly because I recognized it was curiosity and I have enough confidence in myself to not be so sensitive. Get a life, people. Blacks are not the only race that may be a curiosity to other races.

    • Susan

      It may have been for you, but it only happened to you on vacation, or when you go somewhere different, and you expect it tp happen to you. For blacks, it’s where they live, when they’re not expecting it. After a while, you start to feel like an animal.

  • Jennica

    On numer 5, as a white girl with curly hair I have to say, even white people with curly hair shouldn't be washing their hair every day. Same reason, it dries the hair out and hurts it. Making up for it with a bunch of extra product is fine if you must, but why create the problem by over washing in the first place! Thanks for the topic, it's a lot better than a million individuals answering the same (frequently kind of dumb) questions on their own!

  • Zophya

    To all black girls: Why be so defensive against white curious people? I'm a white blonde, and I didn't know all the ins and outs of black hair until I married my Caribbean long-haired husband and learned all these things. Forgive our naivete and for those times we have made you feel like something "unusual." Just educate us a little ;-) We really don't mean it the way you may take it!
    For the past six years I have traveled to and spend much time in black populated countries where I have MANY times been gawked at and touched and petted for my long straight blonde hair which they find very fascinating. AND, I have gotten tons of questions from my black girlfriends on everything from the texture of my hair to upkeep and washing…anything, you name it! They are super curious, so I just make it a fun time of learning about each other. No harm in that! :-)
    I didn't know that black girls only washed their hair once a week, and if I had not known that that's what's good for their hair, I would have probably been prejudiced about it, because you know, my hair gets really flat, oily and nasty if I don't wash it absolutely every other day!
    A little education goes a long way…. LOVE YOU ALL!

  • Kathy Drake

    I'm a white woman who loves to see blacks wear their hair any way they want, but I love the natural or Afro look (if that's not an outdated term).

  • limphairedwhitewoman

    I am envious of the thick, texture of AA hair. I look at all the amazing and gorgeous things that AA women do with their hair and wish I could do that.

  • Naja

    Who cares what white people don't know about black hair?! Why is everything always about race & compared to white people. I truly believe the writers @ MN for some reason consider white people superior. Why couldn't this article have been "what asian/indian people don't know about black hair?" Last time I checked, I don't know too many white stylist catering to black clientele. This article is irrelevant.

  • ErinAshley

    You may want to research the structure of black hair before you leave comments like this. The spiral structure of black hair lends to its excessive dryness. In addition to being dried out/damaged by too-frequent washing, black hair simply doesn't get as "oily" (at the same rate) as straighter hair types. Less oil = less washing (and no odor). More frequent washing is definitely recommended for after exercise, work, etc., however.

  • jjj

    My SO is white but he has "black folks hair." (Black ancestry from waaaay back). His hair is extremely kinky/curly (not white folk curly) and very fragile. After we first met, he tried to straighten (against my pleas) because he just wanted his hair to be like a "normal" guy's. It horrified me and turned out so badly he never did it again. It took me years of telling him how much I loved it and how beautiful his natural hair was to build up his self-esteem that had been broken down over the years. The only problem is even though he has black ancestry from way back and I do too our connection to that heritage was severed (mine a generation back) and neither one of us knows how to take care of his hair the way we both know it needs to be taken care of to stay healthy. We're also self-aware about two non-black looking people, despite our heritage, asking for help. Can anyone give me some advice on where to go to get it? We need 101 level help.

    • lizbert

      As many others have commented, the level of variation among hair types is so varied among people with *any* African ancestry that it’s best to just go case-by-case.  I would advise a consultation with a qualified hairdresser or barber who will listen to your husband’s concerns and recommend a regimen. 

      I suspect that what may work best for your husband is a relatively short graduated cut and regular conditioning.  Styling products formulated for “black hair” may be too heavy if his hair is “fragile,” as you describe, but something like a light styling cream might work well for him just to keep things neat if that is the look he’s going for.  But again, please go see a friendly professional no matter what their race!  Hair is not something to get hung up about!

    • Proudnaturalista

      You tube youtube yourtube. Type in “natural hair” there is a wealth of knowledge there regarding different hair types.

  • weaintall…

    All I got to say as a italian woman who grew up in a black hood aint none of this news to me, true I know a lot (if not most) of white folks are ignorant as hell on a lot of isht esp black hair but we aint all stupid like that. Then again I dont even like to say "we" cuz Im def not one of "them"- the type of people who act like the ones in this article are NOT "my" people…SMDH@ the ones who do act like that, but also at the women on here who think that all white folks are ignorant about this type stuff and nobody who aint black knows about any of this cuz I already knew exactly the stuff this list was gonna say before I opened it.

  • chrissy

    when i had a relaxer i wouldn't was my hair until the next one….which was six weeks later…..lol….my hair looked better to me……when it was dirty…..my wrap would lay betta……but now im natural and have to was it every week or two weeks…..

  • chrissy

    you funny whitegirl as you are the ones that wash ya hair everyday…so what does that have to say about you…hello that your hair must smell on a daily basis to have to wash it everyday…simple azz……u put ya foot in ya mouth wit dat one…..silly…good bye im done…..

  • chrissy

    why do they need to know about our hair…….GRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

    • Sarah

      I don’t know, why do black women like to touch my white woman hair? 

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