Ethnic hair and afro question?

[Heavenly Locks]

:o

I have never had anyone I can ask and I figured here on the hair forum, it would be understood.

Do people with african american type curly hair (that super kinky kind) have to do anything special to get an afro? I love the way it looks, especially the naturally huge puff ones.

Does it just grow up and out like that?

[Laylah]

Eh, I probably shouldn't be answering since I don't have an afro...But from a friend who does have one, it grows that way naturally, especially when short, right after they went natural. When it got longer, she likes to wear it parted and in braids, but if she lets her hair air dry loose and then picks it with an afro pick it gets very full and poofy.

[Copasetic]

Well, there are different kinds of "African American" hair. Some people have hair that will naturally grow in a giant fro, some coax it to do so with a pick, and some probably couldn't get a fro if they tried. :D

[MissBiss]

I'm not American, but definitely of African origin and my hair does not grow out in a 'fro, rather downwards.

[Delila]

It's a matter of hair type. You have to have hair that has the right sort of curl pattern, but also plenty of natural body. (i.e., your hair has to be capable of standing away from the head. My own personal hair type has a complete lack of body, so this style would be impossible for me.)

I remember from back in the seventies, when a well groomed afro was the height of style. Not everyone can grow their hair that way.

It's not necessarily a matter of race, though, I've known plenty of people who aren't of African descent whose hair will grow into a nice afro (if they'd let it).

[Teakafrog]

My daughter is a 4b/c, and I can't get her hair into a nice looking afro. We usually keep it braided.

[Starr]

Most people who have afros grow it that way naturally (as in up), however I know of a few who can coax their hair into a close facsimile (they happen to be very curly). Since my hair grows down rather than out, it doesn't fro.

[SHELIAANN1969]

My uncle is caucasian , but has curly hair, I'd say 3a when he lets it grow long. He used to pick his into position where it would resemble an afro. I have pics of him in high school (hes over 50 now) and it looked super cool. :D

My nephew is part Afro Carribean and he gets a great fro (with picking) but my sister keeps cutting his hair :taz:

[spidermom]

All the friends I had with 'fros picked them out to be that way.

[Poetic]

I know of very few people (be they of African descent or otherwise) whose hair "grows" into an afro. An afro is a style like any other. It must be combed, picked into the look you are speaking of. One's hair must however be of a texture to be styled in such a way.

[rhubarbarin]

I can have an afro when I have shorter hair - I don't have to pick it out, I just don't weigh it down with product, and my hair isn't even that curly. It depends more on how much 'body' your hair has, than on your curl pattern, IMO.

To get a perfectly round afro, your hair has to be cut that way.

ETA: Also while most people of African descent have curl to their hair, they can have any of hundreds of different kinds of hair. 2C to 4C, fine to coarse, thin to thick, hair that floats or hangs down.

[GlassEyes]

Most have to pick them out, I think.

Some people have hair that does grow 'out' and still curly--snowbird might be an example of that, I think.

For me, I can get 'close' to a fro if I pick my hair out...but it always looks like it's a pie with a chunk some kid snuck away when mom wasn't looking. :rolleyes:

Also, not everyone with African/Black roots has 4a/4b hair. It's the most common type, I think, but not the only one. :shrug:

Edit: And this is a nitpick, but I always get this tiny current of 'grr' whenever I hear 'ethnic' in any term towards hair. D: Nothing against you, but it does annoy me. xD;

[Gypsy]

You usually have to pick it out; it may grow out kinky and stand up to a point, but in order to get the shape, you have to pick it and pat it; otherwise you just comb it, which will still be kinky (if your hair is of the kinky variety) but just kinda in an inbetween shape or do nothing and get dreads.
I used to have the afro- which I hated with a passion- as a kid. The only other time I have done that to my hair was for a disco party and it was so hard on my hair that it literally started snapping off in the shower the next day.
That's not what happens with a regular afro, of course. My hair has been pressed for a long time so trying to coax it into an afro was a lot of work.
ETA: my hair is a mix of 2-4 and all the various a,b and c's so my little kid 'fro in the day always had some silkies at the neckline which tangled with the rest of the hair. Nightmare.

[Adrienne]

All the friends I had with 'fros picked them out to be that way.



I agree, If I just wash my hair, and leave it, it will be curly, frizzy, puffy, but it will probably flop and hang down, (Cuz of length if it is short enough it will be a fro, but a really chunky, curly one.)

I could definitely pick it into a fro if I so Choose.

I am African American. and I wear my 3c/4a hair Naturally

[Vermelha]

Well, for starters, 4a/4b hair (as well as other curly hair textures) can be worn as the Afro style by either blowing it out or, if their shrinkage is small enough, be worn in a smaller Afro which isn't as big. Both my mom and grandmother wore Afros, simply by cornrowing the hair after washing, then blowing it out (with a blowdryer/comb attachment) when the cornrows airdried to make it bigger and looser/more manageable. This can be done with any degree of curly hair, though looser curls would make a floppy Afro that hangs (which defeats the purpose).

Afros are to be evenly-shaped into a round, circular appearance. Anything hanging down like a "perm" or like straight hair is not an Afro, but merely frizzy hair. That would be the same as half-doing a blowout or not razor cutting all the hair. The Afro comes in many varieties, but the main characteristic is to be tapered.

Also, the style isn't exclusive to black/African people. Anyone with curly hair can do the style. There are plenty of people of other backgrounds with a coily texture that can do the same. (And like someone else already mentioned, "ethnic" is a term that identifies all people, not just people of color because every single human being has an ethnicity. That's just like saying "you have regular people, and you have ethnic people...")

If you need more info on how to make the perfect 'fro, ask me (and check out my Avi...that's me and my "mini" Lenny Kravitz 'fro. ^_^).

[Nappyme]

:o

I have never had anyone I can ask and I figured here on the hair forum, it would be understood.

Do people with african american type curly hair (that super kinky kind) have to do anything special to get an afro? I love the way it looks, especially the naturally huge puff ones.

Does it just grow up and out like that?
Actually, I think you hit the nail right on the head. My hair grows up and out...not down. It twists, turns, and curls tighter than a ink pen spring and that can all be on one hair shaft. Each hair goes it's own separate route. When I wash it loose, which I rarely do, it can shrink up to half its length. Some people with my hair type experience even more shrinkage. So yes it does grow that way.

Back in the day (I was a teen in the 70s) I wore fros quite frequently. To get a nicely shaped fro I would sometimes put my hair in big plaits to stretch it out over night and take them loose in the morning. Then I'd simply pat it into shape.

These days, many black women are embrasing their natural roots and shunning straightening chemicals and thermally styled hair, so you'll start seeing more and more fros, afro puffs and other natural hair styles that allow the hair to do what it really wants to do and that's be kinky.

It's alreay very prevalent in advertising. Check out the commercials and these days you'll see a lot of black women wearing their hair in a variety of natural hair styles. Twistouts and chunky fros are quite popular amongst the natural set.

If you'd like to learn more about natural black hair, feel free to check out my blog Nappturology 101 at nappyme.wordpress.com.

If you have any more questions, please feel free to ask. You can also email me at nappymehappyme@aol.com.

[Nappyme]

Most have to pick them out, I think.

Also, not everyone with African/Black roots has 4a/4b hair. It's the most common type, I think, but not the only one. :shrug:

Good point. However, I think folks with 4b hair are the least likely to go natural, and therefore it does seemed to be rather rare. But I think not; it's just covered up more with chemicals, wigs, weaves and thermally straightened hair styles.


Edit: And this is a nitpick, but I always get this tiny current of 'grr' whenever I hear 'ethnic' in any term towards hair. D: Nothing against you, but it does annoy me. xD;

Diff strokes, diff folks. Doesn't bother me in the least. As an AA person, my hair is a very defining characteristic of my heritage...my ethnicity and I totally love it.

[redcelticcurls]

When I was little and had short hair (and it was the 70s) I had some sort-of-fro looking days because my well-meaning but curl-clueless Mom would brush my hair dry.

[Buddaphlyy]

An afro is a style that is made, not born. Not to mention there are different types of afros. I do not know of one person who's hair naturally grows into the perfect circular shape an afro requires. Shrinkage prevents it.

The afro style in my avi took 2 people, 3 combs and 5 hours to get like that.

[cmw45]

Good point. However, I think folks with 4b hair are the least likely to go natural, and therefore it does seemed to be rather rare. But I think not; it's just covered up more with chemicals, wigs, weaves and thermally straightened hair styles.


Diff strokes, diff folks. Doesn't bother me in the least. As an AA person, my hair is a very defining characteristic of my heritage...my ethnicity and I totally love it.

This is true; I think everyone is entitled to their opinion. But what I think the other posters are trying to get at, and what I personally agree with, is that using the term "ethnic" to describe someone implies a deviation from the "norm." The problem is with the normative stance not the fact that afro textured hair or highly texture hair happens to be a characteristic of African descendants. I would have the same problem (and often do have the same problem) with my Black (I am Black) friends who say, "She can sing, for a white girl." *rolls eyes* The implcation in this instance is that the tenor, tone, and style of singing of Black Americans is the "norm" and that somehow her ability to sing makes her "devient" from the general inability of Caucasians or those of European descendant to sing. I think if the original poster had just said those with highly textured or type 4 hair...this would never have came up. *shurgs*

To the original poster: As another poster has said, those of African descent, just like those of non-African descent, have a variety of hair textures. This can be seen on the continent itself in the differences between East and West Africans and in the United States often as a result of racial mixing. There are some textures (primarily type 4) that would appear to from an "Afro" natural as a result of shrinkage, but in most instances that hair has to be manipulated to achieve the style you are referring to. Hope that helps.

[Nappyme]

An afro is a style that is made, not born. Not to mention there are different types of afros. I do not know of one person who's hair naturally grows into the perfect circular shape an afro requires. Shrinkage prevents it.

The afro style in my avi took 2 people, 3 combs and 5 hours to get like that.
If you're talking a perfectly coiffed fro, then yeah they're made. Picking and primping is an option not a requirement to get a fro.

If you have tightly coiled kinky hair, as the OP originally asked about, it will grow naturally from your head into an afro with absolutely no effort on anyone's part. Think TWA (teeny weeny afro).

But these days there are a lot of women who opt out of the notion that a fro has to be perfectly shaped/patted into place, and lot's of women are going for the total wash and go shrunken, chunky fro.

It took me a while to find shrunken wash and go/chunky fros aesthically pleasing but now I like them.

Well on others...not on me.

[SimplyViki]

My dad has a highschool ID photo of him with an afro type hairstyle. He's caucasian with blonde, curly hair. Made for a striking afro style.

[Buddaphlyy]

If you're talking a perfectly coiffed fro, then yeah they're made. Picking and primping is an option not a requirement to get a fro.

If you have tightly coiled kinky hair, as the OP originally asked about, it will grow naturally from your head into an afro with absolutely no effort on anyone's part. Think TWA (teeny weeny afro).

But these days there are a lot of women who opt out of the notion that a fro has to be perfectly shaped/patted into place, and lot's of women are going for the total wash and go shrunken, chunky fro.

It took me a while to find shrunken wash and go/chunky fros aesthically pleasing but now I like them.

Well on others...not on me.

Idk, even my chunkiest fros have to fingercombed/picked out to resemble an afro. IMO, an airdried 4a/b is not the same as an afro. Even though I have shrinkage, as my hair gets longer and bigger, it gets heavier and falls out of the afro shape I had when I BC'd down to 1/2 inch.

[florenonite]

I've got a friend who's got about as much African blood as me (read: none :p) with an "afro". It's not perfectly circular, but is hair is very curly so it just grows out and up rather than down, and looks a bit like this (http://www.completelybonkers.co.uk/images/SMIFF4%20AFRO%203.99.jpg) picture (which appears to be a wig, but it looks similar to my friend's hair). When it's shorter (about 1-1.5") it really is circular and afro-like.

I think it depends on the hair. Not just the curl-pattern, but perhaps the thickness as well. Buddaphlyy has said above hers needs picked or fingercombed with ii hair, so perhaps it's because my friend's hair is thick that it gets a more circular shape. I dunno, I'm totally just speculating here, but at 4" or so (curled, not straight) my friend's hair still maintains a pretty decent afro shape.

[Buddaphlyy]

I've got a friend who's got about as much African blood as me (read: none :p) with an "afro". It's not perfectly circular, but is hair is very curly so it just grows out and up rather than down, and looks a bit like this (http://www.completelybonkers.co.uk/images/SMIFF4%20AFRO%203.99.jpg) picture (which appears to be a wig, but it looks similar to my friend's hair). When it's shorter (about 1-1.5") it really is circular and afro-like.

I think it depends on the hair. Not just the curl-pattern, but perhaps the thickness as well. Buddaphlyy has said above hers needs picked or fingercombed with ii hair, so perhaps it's because my friend's hair is thick that it gets a more circular shape. I dunno, I'm totally just speculating here, but at 4" or so (curled, not straight) my friend's hair still maintains a pretty decent afro shape.

Love the picture. I think his hair is real though. When it come to hair I always give people the benefit of the doubt, lol.

And I definitely think thickness and texture come in to play. My cousin and brother (a 3c/4a and 4a/b respectively) both are coarse iii's and it they still have a pretty much circular shape with their afros. Mine started falling out of shape when I got around 2 1/2 inches where as they had to grow to almost 6 or 7 inches before theirs started to lose shape.

[florenonite]

Love the picture. I think his hair is real though. When it come to hair I always give people the benefit of the doubt, lol.

And I definitely think thickness and texture come in to play. My cousin and brother (a 3c/4a and 4a/b respectively) both are coarse iii's and it they still have a pretty much circular shape with their afros. Mine started falling out of shape when I got around 2 1/2 inches where as they had to grow to almost 6 or 7 inches before theirs started to lose shape.

The website it was from was advertising wigs and costumes, hence my assumption it was a wig :p It would be cool if it was real, though!

7 inches and still circular? That would be impressive to see!

[Buddaphlyy]

The website it was from was advertising wigs and costumes, hence my assumption it was a wig :p It would be cool if it was real, though!

7 inches and still circular? That would be impressive to see!

Oh, I thought that was perhaps a candid photo which was why I thought it was real.

The 7 inches is their hair stretched out, but even when it shrinks to 3 inches they still keep the circular shape. My hair is about 4 inches stretched, but when it shrinks, the front shrinks down toward my scalp while the back has started to "hang" down toward my neck and shoulders. It looks kind of like this


)
\

The circular shape has been long gone. But I'm not really an afro wearer so it doesn't bother me much.

[GlassEyes]

I'm inclined to believe that thickness would play a part as well, as well as texture. I think that a iii fine haired person would have more trouble keeping the afro shape than a coarse iii.

But then again, most black hair of the 4th type is fine and fragile, supposedly. :shrug:

[loyaboya]

I agree that an afro is a specific style, but keep in mind that nowadays people don't wear them like they used to in the 60s and 70s. Back then it was a nice, tight, meticulously cut, fluffed, and placed style (think of The Jackson Five- those afros took work! :) ). I have family members who'd just wear a wig, even then, because they couldn't get their hair into the proper shape. But now, plenty of folks like to wear curly, looser, more free-form afros. Think Erykah Badu and Jill Scott. I don't think it's accurate to claim that her look isn't an afro because it doesn't match up to what people did 30 years ago. And some version of that is pretty easy to attain for many folks of african descent. I can get a look like that with minor effort on my part. Afros are great :)

[Vermelha]

Idk, even my chunkiest fros have to fingercombed/picked out to resemble an afro. IMO, an airdried 4a/b is not the same as an afro. Even though I have shrinkage, as my hair gets longer and bigger, it gets heavier and falls out of the afro shape I had when I BC'd down to 1/2 inch.

Very true. It's not supposed to be "free form." It's a hairstyle made from curly, kinky and coily hair textures. It still needs to be shaped with the hands and/or a pik, and trimmed.

It took me an hour to get the fro I had in my Avi using a blowdryer and comb attachment and shaping with my hands and a pik.

[Nappyme]

^^^Where's the rule book that says an afro is only an afro only if it's Angela Davis perfect? What page is that on? And why do you think that your fro is only a fro if you had to spend an hour or more creating the hair do? I wore fros back in the 70s and I'm certain it didn't take no hour to do my hair in the morning before school. All I had to do (and still have to do) is unleash my hair and it will, on it's own morph into a fro. It won't be a perfectly round fro, but it is essentially a fro. To shape it up, back then (as now) I only have to spend a few minutes at best on my hair and then I was out the door. Sleep then as now was much too precious to give up shaping a fro in the morning. And it didn't take that much effort to get a perfectly round fro. A pat here, a pic there and I was quickly out the door.

These days, I've seen some gorgeous chunky fros and I wouldn't dare tell someone with a chunky fro that they didn't have a fro, just because it didn't fit MY idea of what a "fro" as a style should look like.

[lhangel9]

From my knowledge they don't have to do anything special except style it the way they want. Because the hair is so curly (as opposed to "kinky") it's much easier to hold into a style rather than it being so straight that it couldn't hold a curl if it wanted to. The longer the hair, the bigger the puff. Hope this helps! Also if they decided to wear their hair straight all it takes is a relaxer or straightening comb. But don't get it twisted - nearly 50% of AA's do not have curly hair and have just as much trouble getting it to go curly;)

[redcelticcurls]

When I think of Afros besides the Jackson 5 or Angela Davis type, I think of a couple of the ladies on this advert. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCjyLLK9U_8) The woman in the yellow dress in particular.

It might be a misnomer on my part though.

[Vermelha]

^^^Where's the rule book that says an afro is only an afro only if it's Angela Davis perfect? What page is that on? And why do you think that your fro is only a fro if you had to spend an hour or more creating the hair do? I wore fros back in the 70s and I'm certain it didn't take no hour to do my hair in the morning before school. All I had to do (and still have to do) is unleash my hair and it will, on it's own morph into a fro. It won't be a perfectly round fro, but it is essentially a fro. To shape it up, back then (as now) I only have to spend a few minutes at best on my hair and then I was out the door. Sleep then as now was much too precious to give up shaping a fro in the morning. And it didn't take that much effort to get a perfectly round fro. A pat here, a pic there and I was quickly out the door.

These days, I've seen some gorgeous chunky fros and I wouldn't dare tell someone with a chunky fro that they didn't have a fro, just because it didn't fit MY idea of what a "fro" as a style should look like.

A chunky fro is their own fro. Were not saying that's not a fro, but you know when a fro isn't a fro, like you know when a bob isn't a bob anymore—when it gets too long and passes the shoulders (talking about the bob here).

Like everyone has their own bun or braid, everyone has their variation of the fro. Big or little, chunky or round, no two fros are ever alike, but it does need to be full and somewhat picked, patted or finger combed, even if it's a little bit, some more than others.

And everyone does it their own way, even if it's really hanging like a warm press (which is so not a fro, IMO) or a bit chunky (which is still a fro essentially), but if the person thinks to themselves it's a fro, then that it is. Can't tell them they aren't cute though!

Needed to add: I just asked my mom. She said natural hair is a "fro" but if it hangs, it's a "bush" which is what my mom wears a lot. If there's some curl, it's a natural. She said everyone does it different ways, but they're all just different varieties of the fro. Just had to get some guidance from someone back in the fro era. ^_^ Ooooh! And she said she had more tips to share too. I'll share them with you guys later on!

[GlassEyes]

When I think of Afros besides the Jackson 5 or Angela Davis type, I think of a couple of the ladies on this advert. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCjyLLK9U_8) The woman in the yellow dress in particular.

It might be a misnomer on my part though.
I've seen this before, and I've always wondered--does that first girl have dreads? o-o If they are, those are the coolest dreads I've ever seen. xD;

[redcelticcurls]

I've seen this before, and I've always wondered--does that first girl have dreads? o-o If they are, those are the coolest dreads I've ever seen. xD;

They are cool. I like curled locs, but I wonder how you curl locs?

[GlassEyes]

They are cool. I like curled locs, but I wonder how you curl locs?
I don't know, but I'm seriously tempted to find out and put them on my head. :p Too bad my hair isn't thick enough to make them look awesome. :(

Edit: http://www.ehow.com/video_4466317_curl-dreadlocks-foam-rollers.html

I wonder if you can get them to lock that way naturally...probably not. Still, cool.

[loyaboya]

If the locks aren't too big, you can just put them on rollers :) or you can braid them together and when you undo the braids they will be crinkly. You could probably also do like a bantu knot, and take then out and get something like the girl in the video. You can style many types of locks just like your "regular" hair. :D

[3azza]

i'm not african, and my hair is not kinky curly (just curly), but i do get the same afro effect when i comb it dry.

[redcelticcurls]

If the locks aren't too big, you can just put them on rollers :) or you can braid them together and when you undo the braids they will be crinkly. You could probably also do like a bantu knot, and take then out and get something like the girl in the video. You can style many types of locks just like your "regular" hair. :D

Bantu knots make perfect sense, as does a roller set.

I guess I just thought that locs, being thicker than individual hair strands would be harder to set.

[ladylibra]

I think of a couple of the ladies on this advert. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCjyLLK9U_8)

That ad was so cute! I love it! :love:

I had a friend with locs, she'd been growing them for like 2 years or so and they were still short. She used to rollerset them and they basically looked like a little curly fro, but with tiny locs (think smaller than pencil-sized). She would also get them cornrowed up her head and then have a little loc-puff on top... it was uber-cute.

I just ran into her again the other day, she has recently buzz-cut her hair. Amazing how gorgeous she is. I wish we weren't both so busy all the time, she's my only real "hair friend" outside of hairboards. :o

[florenonite]

When I think of Afros besides the Jackson 5 or Angela Davis type, I think of a couple of the ladies on this advert. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCjyLLK9U_8) The woman in the yellow dress in particular.

It might be a misnomer on my part though.

I like this advert. It makes me so sad when people from non-Caucasian backgrounds (generally African) try to alter their hair to what is fashionable. I mean, I'm sure some women who do it are doing it because they like their hair when it's relaxed, and who am I to tell them otherwise? However, I get the impression that some are doing it to just be fashionable, which makes me sad, because their hair is beautiful when left natural.

It's also symptomatic of a larger problem with the fashion industry in western culture, and that is that what is considered fashionable and beautiful is based on Caucasian appearance, when a large proportion of a given western country is not wholly of Caucasian descent (think of all the AAs in the US, the Asian immigrants in British Columbia and Toronto the Indians in Britain, and the Arabs in France), and this is only beginning to be recognised in beauty standards.

[redcelticcurls]

I like this advert. It makes me so sad when people from non-Caucasian backgrounds (generally African) try to alter their hair to what is fashionable. I mean, I'm sure some women who do it are doing it because they like their hair when it's relaxed, and who am I to tell them otherwise? However, I get the impression that some are doing it to just be fashionable, which makes me sad, because their hair is beautiful when left natural.

It's also symptomatic of a larger problem with the fashion industry in western culture, and that is that what is considered fashionable and beautiful is based on Caucasian appearance, when a large proportion of a given western country is not wholly of Caucasian descent (think of all the AAs in the US, the Asian immigrants in British Columbia and Toronto the Indians in Britain, and the Arabs in France), and this is only beginning to be recognised in beauty standards.

Being over at naturallycurly taught me a lot about the "good hair vs bad hair" issue. The whole thing of straightening can run deep and has such complex ties with race, slavery, meeting white standards of beauty, passing oneself as more professional or less radical, etc. It's so complex. I can see why some black women choose to straighten and why going natural can be difficult and emotional.

[ladylibra]

^^^Pretty much.

It was like night and day, the reaction of Mom's family to me going natural vs. the reaction of Dad's family. Even now, the way both sides react to my son's 4a/4b hair is remarkably different. A weaker person would just keep her hair straight and her son's hair cut low, just to avoid the negative comments. Which is what I suspect is the case for most Black women - not so much because they are "weak" but because they'd rather not deal with the backlash from the few who are so strongly against it.

It's funny, I don't remember it being such a big deal as a kid. Maybe I just didn't notice it until I got older...

[LutraLutra]

Hair has a huge level of personal, political and religious meanings and emotions around it.

I love to see people embracing their natural textures and colours, I think it’s deeply empowering.

[florenonite]

Being over at naturallycurly taught me a lot about the "good hair vs bad hair" issue. The whole thing of straightening can run deep and has such complex ties with race, slavery, meeting white standards of beauty, passing oneself as more professional or less radical, etc. It's so complex. I can see why some black women choose to straighten and why going natural can be difficult and emotional.

Yeah, I can definitely see that. It's a shame that it's the case even in Britain and Canada, where slavery (and race in Canada) at least doesn't permeate the culture as much as in the US.

I should probably clarify that I was in no way condemning or looking down upon black women who relax their hair, more that I just really admire those who wear their hair natural :)

[ButterCup02]

Being over at naturallycurly taught me a lot about the "good hair vs bad hair" issue. The whole thing of straightening can run deep and has such complex ties with race, slavery, meeting white standards of beauty, passing oneself as more professional or less radical, etc. It's so complex. I can see why some black women choose to straighten and why going natural can be difficult and emotional.

Tyra did a show on this, it was on yesterday. They had women on there who relaxed, and those who went natural. A few moms who straightened their young daughter's hair (one girl was only 3). It was a very interesting show.

[redcelticcurls]

Tyra did a show on this, it was on yesterday. They had women on there who relaxed, and those who went natural. A few moms who straightened their young daughter's hair (one girl was only 3). It was a very interesting show.

Was this the one where one of the young girls had a Hannah Montana wig? I caught that on youtube. It's such a complex issue.

It did seem weird seeing it on Tyra though since she rarely wears her hair natural from what I can tell. I thought she was all about the lacefronts.

[Anje]

Just another person saying you don't actually need to be of African decent. Back when he had hair, my father-in-law had what he refers to as an "Isro".

[ButterCup02]

Was this the one where one of the young girls had a Hannah Montana wig? I caught that on youtube. It's such a complex issue.

It did seem weird seeing it on Tyra though since she rarely wears her hair natural from what I can tell. I thought she was all about the lacefronts.

Yes it was that one. I know, I thought it was odd coming from Tyra too....she seems to always be wearing wigs or have a weave in.

[Copasetic]

I like this advert. It makes me so sad when people from non-Caucasian backgrounds (generally African) try to alter their hair to what is fashionable. I mean, I'm sure some women who do it are doing it because they like their hair when it's relaxed, and who am I to tell them otherwise? However, I get the impression that some are doing it to just be fashionable, which makes me sad, because their hair is beautiful when left natural.

It's also symptomatic of a larger problem with the fashion industry in western culture, and that is that what is considered fashionable and beautiful is based on Caucasian appearance, when a large proportion of a given western country is not wholly of Caucasian descent (think of all the AAs in the US, the Asian immigrants in British Columbia and Toronto the Indians in Britain, and the Arabs in France), and this is only beginning to be recognised in beauty standards.

This reminds me of the movie "Good Hair". Its a documentary by Chris Rock that explores the meaning of good hair in the black community. It looks SO good.

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A68UVn0nMvo

I really want to see it!!

[prettigurl]

In order to achieve an afro you must have a certain texture and length. I have 4b kinky/curly hair, so I could do an afro if my hair was in it's natural state, but I get relaxers.

[Buddaphlyy]

This reminds me of the movie "Good Hair". Its a documentary by Chris Rock that explores the meaning of good hair in the black community. It looks SO good.

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A68UVn0nMvo

I really want to see it!!

I am so going to see it when it comes out. I have no school on Fridays. :cheese:

[mwedzi]

It depends on what you're willing to call an afro. Below is a picture of a wash and go of mine. If this is called an afro, then then yes, my hair is naturally an afro:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v194/mwedzi/hair%20-%20part%202/washgofro2-vi.jpg

This, on the other hand, I had to manipulate:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v194/mwedzi/hair%20-%20part%202/mirageafro-vi-1.jpg

Also, any afro of the 70s style (like The Jacksons wore) is manipulated. Blowdried and/or picked out to smooth it into a perfect circle.

[3azza]

mwedzi i love your hair in the first photo. It is just stunning!!!!!!

[mwedzi]

3az, thank you. :D Unfortunately wash and gos and darn near catastrophic for me in terms of tangling. One day = 2 hrs to detangle. So I don't really wear them.

[redcelticcurls]

I love puffs!

[enaid]

mwedzi
I like your hair in the first ( wash n go) photo...that is so pretty. How long is it in that photo?

[enaid]

^^^Where's the rule book that says an afro is only an afro only if it's Angela Davis perfect? What page is that on? And why do you think that your fro is only a fro if you had to spend an hour or more creating the hair do? I wore fros back in the 70s and I'm certain it didn't take no hour to do my hair in the morning before school. All I had to do (and still have to do) is unleash my hair and it will, on it's own morph into a fro. It won't be a perfectly round fro, but it is essentially a fro. To shape it up, back then (as now) I only have to spend a few minutes at best on my hair and then I was out the door. Sleep then as now was much too precious to give up shaping a fro in the morning. And it didn't take that much effort to get a perfectly round fro. A pat here, a pic there and I was quickly out the door.

These days, I've seen some gorgeous chunky fros and I wouldn't dare tell someone with a chunky fro that they didn't have a fro, just because it didn't fit MY idea of what a "fro" as a style should look like.

Nappyme,I totally agree, did the same thing as a child of the 70s. An afro is an afro round, chunky or not. Seems now some women want to change definitions of terms such as afro, natural, don't want to use "nappy",etc. for whatever reason.

[Copasetic]

I am so going to see it when it comes out. I have no school on Fridays. :cheese:

Lucky you! I doubt it will be released in the city I live in, but if it comes out in Toronto (which it probably will) I am definitely going to go.

[terriej]

I remember seeing a photo of my Fil and his Bil from way, way back and the two of them had the some of the most perfectly coiffed Afros I have ever seen. My Fil is Mexican and his Bil (my Mil's brother) is Guamanian+white. My son must get it from them, his hair grows outward and picks out into a 'fro easily.

[mwedzi]

mwedzi
I like your hair in the first ( wash n go) photo...that is so pretty. How long is it in that photo?

Thank you! In that first photo it's probably around 8" stretched.

[pradabacon]

This, on the other hand, I had to manipulate:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v194/mwedzi/hair%20-%20part%202/mirageafro-vi-1.jpg


This is absolutely adorable! http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll23/hootietoot/girl_sigh-1.gif

I love this style and whenever I see it, I get so jealous! :D

[CurlyMoo]

The "Perfect Afro" would have to be manipulated to be that way. There's no way anyone is going to get a beach ball round afro. Unless it's been trimmed and shaped. Sometimes I can shape it into a good afro. My hair is multiple textures. 3b-4a. Parts of my hair grows out and coily and other parts grow down and curly waves.

[Dez]

my dad is hispanic and he had an afro in high school hee hee. He also tried to straighten it once and it really just looked like a pyramid afro after that. We tease him about it. The afro looked good though, he had the pic and running suit too! LOL

[Fractalsofhair]

If you mean a perfectly round afro, a lot of people do need to comb it into that shape and get it cut. I know an African American guy at my school with hair that is probably a 4a/4b(I'm horrid at telling the difference between very curly hair. It's the same with 1b/1c!). His was a fro when it was shorter, and now that it's mid back, it kinda just lies there, sticking out.(In a ponytail, but sorta growing down). Some people don't need to pick it, esp the shorter it is(Jewfros anyone?). But other people do need to. My hair grows out and is straight, so it's kinda funny(As in, the look of a failed fro/bedhead/goth hair? ALL IN ONE!!!! XD) when I can't get it to lie flat to my head, so I do think it growing flat or not is a factor.

[nmarie33]

But these days there are a lot of women who opt out of the notion that a fro has to be perfectly shaped/patted into place, and lot's of women are going for the total wash and go shrunken, chunky fro.


This is the kind of fro that is my favorite to see. I think it looks awesome. I think the perfect circular ones look too much like Bob Barker's microphone!

My aunt and my brother are both white, but with the right length of hair they could definitely get an afro. The thickness/body of the hair helps it stick out like that, not just the curliness I guess.

[nmarie33]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v194/mwedzi/hair%20-%20part%202/washgofro2-vi.jpg

This, on the other hand, I had to manipulate:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v194/mwedzi/hair%20-%20part%202/mirageafro-vi-1.jpg


These are both so freakin cute! I'm so jealous.

[pradabacon]

^^^Me, too! I already said so once, but I'll say it again! I so wish I could do that second one with my hair. http://i656.photobucket.com/albums/uu287/hootalicious/girl_sigh-1.gif It looks so pretty!

My stepson plays AAU basketball in the summer, and one of his teammate's baby sister was always at the practices and games. She wears the most perfect little afropuffs. :heart: She loved to try to braid my hair (she's only about 4) and tie it in knots, and I loved to pat and squeeze her hair! *lol* I guess we are always fascinated by what we don't have ourselves. It kept us occupied while those silly boys were playing boring ol' basketball, anyway. :p

[mwedzi]

Thanks nmarie and hotietoot! Sorry to be so late, but was just looking at old posts of mine and realized I never saw these to thank you.

[silentwanderer]

:o

I have never had anyone I can ask and I figured here on the hair forum, it would be understood.

Do people with african american type curly hair (that super kinky kind) have to do anything special to get an afro? I love the way it looks, especially the naturally huge puff ones.

Does it just grow up and out like that?

Well, I'm african american but I never had an afro. My hair grows down instead of out. You need the hairtype for a natural afro ,I think. Even if I tease my hair I don't get an afro, so it's not the ethnicity, but the hairtype.

xoxo

[Sheltie_Momma]

It's a matter of hair type. You have to have hair that has the right sort of curl pattern, but also plenty of natural body. (i.e., your hair has to be capable of standing away from the head. My own personal hair type has a complete lack of body, so this style would be impossible for me.)

I remember from back in the seventies, when a well groomed afro was the height of style. Not everyone can grow their hair that way.

It's not necessarily a matter of race, though, I've known plenty of people who aren't of African descent whose hair will grow into a nice afro (if they'd let it).

yeah my brother and I are half Mexican and his hair will definitely "fro". His hair is super kinky which is funny with our pale skin and blue eyes - he generally keeps it shaved but let it grow out once so that's how I know.