Does Asian black hair sun-bleach?

[guska]

My hair (stereotypically Asian; black, stick-straight, coarse) doesn’t sun-bleach.

A friend of mine (also Asian) has hair that is mostly black, with some really dark red/brown parts. I don’t know if those parts are sun-bleached though.

[AutobotsAttack]

Also I’d like to add/ask.

You guys do realize there’s also no such thing as purely black hair right? Hair that appears black naturally, is just an extremely dark shade of brown. So it’s more or less just arguing semantics here, since something truely black doesn’t even exist in nature itself.

[Kat]

This is why this is specifically geared towards black hair. In particular, the black hair that Asian people have. It is not about dark brown hair that Asian people have.

Also, I am not half-Asian. I was referring to a previous poster.

I am certainly curious about other ethnic groups, and sun-bleaching. I always assumed black hair does not sun-bleach having never seen it in any Asian population I've been in contact with (and having lived, and travelled in Asia, that's a lot). However, people on here with black hair have reported it so I wondered if there was something different about the black hair Asians have.

And, again, comments are great to tell us your specific ethnic group It'll help us figure more things out.

I never said YOU were half-Asian. It was a general "you."

As far as black hair, if we're talking about sun-bleaching, it's possible that some Asian people who seem to have dark-brown hair actually have sun-bleached black hair, right? If their hair is still black, it's obviously not sun-bleached. Black is black... you might say someone's brown hair sun-bleached to a lighter brown, or their blond hair became a lighter blond, but I've never seen any such thing as "light black."

[The-Young-Maid]

But why wouldn't hair sun bleach? I'm not asian so my opinion probably doesn't matter here. Asian hair usually needs a stronger volume bleach so I'm assuming that normal sun exposure doesn't damage it much. But any hair can sun bleach.

Also, south asia has plenty of hair darkening products/infused oils to create that true black hair. Obviously not everyone is born with the same shade of hair, but more often I bet people notice their hair is lightening/browning and are trying to fix it.

Edit: I agree with Kat about the black vs brown thing

[iforgotmylogin]

Also I’d like to add/ask.

You guys do realize there’s also no such thing as purely black hair right? Hair that appears black naturally, is just an extremely dark shade of brown. So it’s more or less just arguing semantics here, since something truely black doesn’t even exist in nature itself.

There actually is 2 types of eumelanin - brown and black. The black eumelanin has additional pigments of blue. Brown eumelanin reflects a lot of red and green, but absorbs blue. Black eulmelanin reflects blue as well

[ladycaladium]

Thanks for the additional information! Perhaps since it tends to happen on non-straight hair there is something in their genetic code that causes that; it would be nice to know if they had any non-Asian ancestry but asking random people on the street is a bit hard =P

Sorry about not being clear in my first post...I find it hard to express myself fully online at times!

The people that I know personally are, as far as they know, fully Japanese multiple generations back. Although that’s a whole other discussion!

As far as the science of black and brown people have mentioned, I’m not a scientist. I have heard people say that in Japan people mostly have blue-black hair.

[GrowlingCupcake]

Also I’d like to add/ask.

You guys do realize there’s also no such thing as purely black hair right? Hair that appears black naturally, is just an extremely dark shade of brown. So it’s more or less just arguing semantics here, since something truely black doesn’t even exist in nature itself.

Actually, black hair is a specific hair colour. Yes, some people with dark, dark brown hair call their hair black but that isn't black hair.

Quick pigmentation knowledge for anyone who does not know/is interested:
Hair is pigmented with two types of melanin: eumelanin, and phenomelanin. Phenomelanin is present in all humans to varying degree; it's the pigment which gives the orange/red colour. Eumelanin has two variants - black, and brown. They are chemically different.

Black hair has mainly the black variant of eumelanin. Brown hair has mainly brown eumelanin.

But why wouldn't hair sun bleach? I'm not asian so my opinion probably doesn't matter here. Asian hair usually needs a stronger volume bleach so I'm assuming that normal sun exposure doesn't damage it much. But any hair can sun bleach.

Also, south asia has plenty of hair darkening products/infused oils to create that true black hair. Obviously not everyone is born with the same shade of hair, but more often I bet people notice their hair is lightening/browning and are trying to fix it.

Edit: I agree with Kat about the black vs brown thing

I don't know why it wouldn't sun bleach. I have no idea the science behind that. All I know is that every Asian I know in real life (myself included) has never experienced it, heard of someone experiencing it, or seen it in the Asians they know. I've also asked non-Asians who live in Asia, and they haven't seen it either. That's why I took to the forum to find out from people here.

Also, I've never seen/heard of anyone using products to darken their hair unless it's like dye. There's more of a trend towards bleaching it or leaving it as it is. I'll definitely have to look it up once I'm actually awake xD Thanks for letting me know

I never said YOU were half-Asian. It was a general "you."

As far as black hair, if we're talking about sun-bleaching, it's possible that some Asian people who seem to have dark-brown hair actually have sun-bleached black hair, right? If their hair is still black, it's obviously not sun-bleached. Black is black... you might say someone's brown hair sun-bleached to a lighter brown, or their blond hair became a lighter blond, but I've never seen any such thing as "light black."

Ah, thanks for clearing that up!

Actually, very dark brown hair can be seen in certain parts of Asia so that could just be their natural hair colour. There is also a colour we usually refer to as "Eurasian brown"; it's a very specific brown that I've never seen in non-Eurasians. It's not super dark but maybe that could be what you're referring to? I have no idea if that colour sun bleaches either, but I might ask a friend of mine whose kids have that hair colour.*

*Not saying all Eurasians have this hair colour; it's just common, and I've never seen that shade on someone who wasn't Eurasian.

Edit: Naturally, that is.

I'm fully Asian, and my hair sun-bleaches. My hair are different streaks of dark brown, like soft highlights. I don't even spend that much time in the sun because I'm pale and I get sunburn within minutes.

I've seen my cousin's hair became sun-bleached as well, except hers' was so much lighter specifically at the ends. We're both fully Asian (South East to be exact).

Thank you for the comment! The sunburn must really suck; my skin is on the pale side as well, and I get red like a lobster pretty quick xD Sunblock helps but I'm still not a fan of the sun.

Hair will get bleached by the sun if it’s left long enough and frequent enough. Number one reason most Asians don’t acquire sun bleached hair Would be due to beauty standards. Most everything targeted at the masses, is to block the sun, block harmful UV rays, correct sun spots, SPF this, SPF that, etc.

Imagine if Asian Culture adopted the the regular SoCal culture in America. You know, tanning, laying out on the beach, being in the sun all day, etc. Their hair will eventually lighten.

Also to add, it depends on the environment. If it’s always raining, or in monsoon/hurricane season, and the sun isn’t really out that much in your state/country, obviously the sun won’t impact your hair/skin that much. But if you’re living in areas where it doesn’t rain that much, and it’s scorching hot all the time, AND your lifestyle calls for being out and about in your environment, then that too is another factor in how your hair will be affected.

Not being in the sun so much is one of the best ways to make sure you don’t acquire sun damage. It just depends on what society finds trendy/attractive. But genetically speaking, Asian folks are not immune to acquiring sun damage, much like any other ethnicity on this planet.

The rate at which is happens might be different, and that’s where you can argue genetics, but the sun doesn’t care what your nationality or genetic makeup is, stay out in the sun long enough and it will lighten your hair.

Sorry, but I gotta disagree on the beauty standards thing; that's about skin so people tend to protect their skin, use whitening creams, agents, etc. but not their hair. Most of the Asians I know (not including myself this time xD) spend a large amount of their time outdoors. Beaches are very popular, and, in some places, many tan. Mostly the younger generation but it's not that uncommon anymore.

Even if there is a monsoon, it's not going to stop the sun from being on your hair a good portion of the year. If that was the case, we wouldn't see sun bleaching in hair in other areas where there are monsoons/hurricane seasons. Plus, the sun is still out; I've gotten sunburnt during monsoons.

I don't think it's about being immune to it; it might just be rare or only in populations with more brown variant eumelanin. Maybe it takes like 15 years to sun bleach black hair so you'd only see it on the ends of super long hair so no one ever sees it. Numbers pulled from nowhere, of course.

[AutobotsAttack]

Actually, black hair is a specific hair colour. Yes, some people with dark, dark brown hair call their hair black but that isn't black hair.

Quick pigmentation knowledge for anyone who does not know/is interested:
Hair is pigmented with two types of melanin: eumelanin, and phenomelanin. Phenomelanin is present in all humans to varying degree; it's the pigment which gives the orange/red colour. Eumelanin has two variants - black, and brown. They are chemically different.

Black hair has mainly the black variant of eumelanin. Brown hair has mainly brown eumelanin.



I don't know why it wouldn't sun bleach. I have no idea the science behind that. All I know is that every Asian I know in real life (myself included) has never experienced it, heard of someone experiencing it, or seen it in the Asians they know. I've also asked non-Asians who live in Asia, and they haven't seen it either. That's why I took to the forum to find out from people here.

Also, I've never seen/heard of anyone using products to darken their hair unless it's like dye. There's more of a trend towards bleaching it or leaving it as it is. I'll definitely have to look it up once I'm actually awake xD Thanks for letting me know



Ah, thanks for clearing that up!

Actually, very dark brown hair can be seen in certain parts of Asia so that could just be their natural hair colour. There is also a colour we usually refer to as "Eurasian brown"; it's a very specific brown that I've never seen in non-Eurasians. It's not super dark but maybe that could be what you're referring to? I have no idea if that colour sun bleaches either, but I might ask a friend of mine whose kids have that hair colour.*

*Not saying all Eurasians have this hair colour; it's just common, and I've never seen that shade on someone who wasn't Eurasian.

Edit: Naturally, that is.



Thank you for the comment! The sunburn must really suck; my skin is on the pale side as well, and I get red like a lobster pretty quick xD Sunblock helps but I'm still not a fan of the sun.



Sorry, but I gotta disagree on the beauty standards thing; that's about skin so people tend to protect their skin, use whitening creams, agents, etc. but not their hair. Most of the Asians I know (not including myself this time xD) spend a large amount of their time outdoors. Beaches are very popular, and, in some places, many tan. Mostly the younger generation but it's not that uncommon anymore.

Even if there is a monsoon, it's not going to stop the sun from being on your hair a good portion of the year. If that was the case, we wouldn't see sun bleaching in hair in other areas where there are monsoons/hurricane seasons. Plus, the sun is still out; I've gotten sunburnt during monsoons.

I don't think it's about being immune to it; it might just be rare or only in populations with more brown variant eumelanin. Maybe it takes like 15 years to sun bleach black hair so you'd only see it on the ends of super long hair so no one ever sees it. Numbers pulled from nowhere, of course.

Where did I say immunity? That’s not even what I said. Obviously it’s not one solid beauty standard across all of Asia, but there are large masses of society that go for that lighter skin look, and in general staying away from hotter environments. If we’re really going to count every last person on the census in Asia, I’m pretty sure there’s thousands of people who fit that societal trend.

Also many people dye their hair. Who knows how many people have dark hair that’s actually dyed. You can’t really know for sure anyways. Even if many people like to be out in the sun, you’d never know what color their hair is naturally, if they dye it a dark color every off number of months.

And I stand by my statement of beauty standards, because most women don’t just pay attention to their skin, they also pay attention to hair health. If darker hair is something you’d like to keep, you’d probably make sure to keep it dark.

And no I honestly don’t believe you’ve managed to get sunburned during a monsoon. Those are pretty much full on hurricanes, which in general bring about clouds and rain, that more or less blot out the sun.

[AutobotsAttack]

There actually is 2 types of eumelanin - brown and black. The black eumelanin has additional pigments of blue. Brown eumelanin reflects a lot of red and green, but absorbs blue. Black eulmelanin reflects blue as well

Yea no. Black does not exit in nature. Black is the absence of color in general. Only reason eumelanin is characterized as black in that category is because black is formed mechanically/biologically by a mixing of colors. But black itself is not produced purely in black form. Anything scientific will tell you that, and as far as terms go, I think it’s just crappy schematics in assigning colors names, but the whole notion of “black” anything does not exist outside of space itself. Hair in general is not purely black, because black isn’t even a color. It’s the absence of color. And even the darkest heads of hair have hints of underlying red, and brown tones, meaning it isn’t purely black.

If hair were to actually be a true color of black, the sunlight would not reflect off of it. And that goes for literally anything that is truly black. No light will escape it or reflect off of it. I’m really not trying to be mean, but the whole premise of this thread is coming off weird.

[-Fern]

Yea no. Black does not exit in nature. Black is the absence of color in general. Only reason eumelanin is characterized as black in that category is because black is formed mechanically by a mixing of colors. Anything scientific will tell you that, and as far as terms go, I think it’s just crappy schematics in assigning colors names, but the whole notion of “black” anything does not exist outside of space itself. Hair in general is not purely black, because black isn’t even a color. It’s the absence of color. And even the darkest heads of hair have hints of underlying red, and brown tones, meaning it isn’t purely black.

I learned it as white is a pigment that reflects all light wavelengths, black is a pigment that absorbs all light wavelengths. So using that definition, black pigments definitely exist on Earth. Nothing absorbs 100% of light, true, but I think insisting on 100% light absorption to consider something black might be a little extreme.

Here's a neat article about shades of black, and "super-black" in nature. https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.the...rticle/549869/