*sighting, sighting...*

[Vivien']

Hey !
I'm usually not too much in posting this kind of links, but today, I have to.

*Moderator note: I'm removing the direct link since the site is a bit f e t i s h y. If folks want to google it, it's Indian Rapunzels.

I came to this website across a youtube video. And now I'm really envious. Why do Indian people have so beautiful & thick hair ? Presently, I'm looking to my braid and... *sigh*

Anyway... really, there's so kick-ass longhair in the gallery. :)

[hmmm]

I watched a few youtube videos by that site or affiliated to it... and they seemed really creepy to me.

But yes, us Indians do tend to have nice hair. I'd like to point out though that although most of the women wear their hair long very few actually take care of it, so it's usually all tangly and frizzy. Not all, of course, but you wouldn't see hair like that on a website.

Oh and another strange thing I've noticed is that they all tend to wear it exactly the same way: pony tail, English braid or loose. And I mean everybody I've ever met! That's one of the things that put me off long hair when I'd try to grow it: there's nothing to do with it! :p That was before I discovered the internet. :doh:

[Diamondbell]

Definitely it is to do with the genes, food habits (a lot of fish and vegetables), and proper care (brushing hair daily, oiling one day before hairwash, and so on)... (so they say on their site)...

[ilovelonghair]

Oh and another strange thing I've noticed is that they all tend to wear it exactly the same way: pony tail, English braid or loose. And I mean everybody I've ever met!


It's cultural; in India most women wear a braid, wearing hair loose was culturally unaccepted, but that is changing now. Only in one state, Kerala, they have a different hairstyle (and every women wears it that way): half ponytail and the weird thing is all of those women have only bra strap lenght hair and it's thin and straggly. I have never found out why that was, maybe their diet (which is totally different from other parts of India and quite unhealthy)
I think the fact that Indian women wear their hair in a braid their hair has less damage.

[Diamondbell]

Only in one state, Kerala, they have a different hairstyle (and every women wears it that way): half ponytail and the weird thing is all of those women have only bra strap lenght hair and it's thin and straggly. I have never found out why that was, maybe their diet (which is totally different from other parts of India and quite unhealthy)
I think the fact that Indian women wear their hair in a braid their hair has less damage.

Are you sure it was Kerala? They are supposed to have very thick hair, and a very good and balanced diet (a lot of fish and a variety of vegetables, mostly cooked in coconut oil... And since they have coconut trees there in plenty in Kerala, they make their own oil at home! Probably the ones you met had kept cutting their hair :ponder:

[Loviatar]

I am sure someone has mentioned the differences in the two 'types' of Indian hair that tend to be the most prevalent (1: very straight, thick and coarse; 2: fine, wavy/curly and thinner) and I cannot think who is was. I am sure it was discussed and someone said it was a genetic thing rather than anything to do with diet or haircutting. I will PM around and see if I can find anything out :)

ETA:
To the OP: Just to let you know by the way, I looked at some of the links, and the Long Hair Blog is a little - er - I hesitate to use the word creepy but OK, it's creepy. The models apparently participate in sessions of hair oiling and braiding and 'hair play' which commenters can sign up for. The models insist in their blog entries that the site is not for adult material, but I find the idea of setting up sessions to pet/oil/braid someone else's hair a little off, not to mention the tone of some of the comments. I hope you're not offended that I posted this, but the mods may remove your link, just giving you the heads up.

[Diamondbell]

ETA:
To the OP: Just to let you know by the way, I looked at some of the links, and the Long Hair Blog is a little - er - I hesitate to use the word creepy but OK, it's creepy.

Have to agree with you - inspite of all that gorgeous hair! :(

[Eboshi]

IETA:
To the OP: Just to let you know by the way, I looked at some of the links, and the Long Hair Blog is a little - er - I hesitate to use the word creepy but OK, it's creepy. The models apparently participate in sessions of hair oiling and braiding and 'hair play' which commenters can sign up for. The models insist in their blog entries that the site is not for adult material, but I find the idea of setting up sessions to pet/oil/braid someone else's hair a little off, not to mention the tone of some of the comments. I hope you're not offended that I posted this, but the mods may remove your link, just giving you the heads up.

I agree, looks like a site for a hair fet*shist. :eek:

[getoffmyskittle]

Indian hair isn't intrinsically different than European hair except that it generally tends to contain more melanin. However, in the very blackest hair, melanin only makes up 4% of the hair by weight, so that's not a huge difference.

The differences you see are probably the result of haircare technique, diet, a small sample size, and selective observation, not the magical "Indians have pretty hair" gene, which does not in fact exist.

[Diamondbell]

Indian hair isn't intrinsically different than European hair except that it generally tends to contain more melanin. However, in the very blackest hair, melanin only makes up 4% of the hair by weight, so that's not a huge difference.

The differences you see are probably the result of haircare technique, diet, a small sample size, and selective observation, not the magical "Indians have pretty hair" gene, which does not in fact exist.

I was never able to decide the reason: genes or diet, hair care methods! :D As hmmm says, there are many who don't take proper care and have frizzy and tangled hair, and certainly there are many with thin hair too in India. Not all have thick hair, same as any country in the world.

[TammySue]

Hi Vivien. I've always been envious of beautiful Indian hair too. We just have to each embrace what we have. By the way, the recent photo of your hair in a tail looks awesome! :)

[getoffmyskittle]

I was never able to decide the reason: genes or diet, hair care methods! :D As hmmm says, there are many who don't take proper care and have frizzy and tangled hair, and certainly there are many with thin hair too in India. Not all have thick hair, same as any country in the world.

Being in the US probably makes it easier to see that there's little/no difference, because we don't have inter-country differences to contend with as well. I know a lot of 2nd generation Indians, who are entirely culturally American in their clothing and hygiene habits (because, well, they are Americans), and their hair is just the same as all the white people, only darker. Even the ones who immigrated from India mostly use American shampoo, conditioner, blow dryers, dye, brushes... if you don't care about your hair that much to begin with, you just absorb the cultural practices around you. The only thing is that they're much less likely to chop all their hair off, because some idea of an Indian beauty standard still sticks around.

What I always find hilarious is when some non-Indian goes to an Indian function and comes out talking about how pretty Indian hair is. Sure, we have a couple stunning heads of hair in our community, but for the most part the women follow the haircare trends in the US. It's like their preconceived stereotype causes them to tune out all the totally average US hair and they zero in on the outliers. Although, in their defense, Indians are slightly more likely to grow their hair long... but then you could go to any Renaissance Faire and see the same thing on white Americans, if you wanted. :shrug:

[lillithnight]

Being in the US probably makes it easier to see that there's little/no difference, because we don't have inter-country differences to contend with as well. I know a lot of 2nd generation Indians, who are entirely culturally American in their clothing and hygiene habits (because, well, they are Americans), and their hair is just the same as all the white people, only darker. Even the ones who immigrated from India mostly use American shampoo, conditioner, blow dryers, dye, brushes... if you don't care about your hair that much to begin with, you just absorb the cultural practices around you. The only thing is that they're much less likely to chop all their hair off, because some idea of an Indian beauty standard still sticks around.

What I always find hilarious is when some non-Indian goes to an Indian function and comes out talking about how pretty Indian hair is. Sure, we have a couple stunning heads of hair in our community, but for the most part the women follow the haircare trends in the US. It's like their preconceived stereotype causes them to tune out all the totally average US hair and they zero in on the outliers. Although, in their defense, Indians are slightly more likely to grow their hair long... but then you could go to any Renaissance Faire and see the same thing on white Americans, if you wanted. :shrug:

quite true. then again i havent been to many indian functions because a majority of that part of my extended family is still living in india. But i've been to a lot of cambodian funtions and the hair is deffinitly the same as any one elses.

[Diamondbell]

quite true. then again i havent been to many indian functions because a majority of that part of my extended family is still living in india. But i've been to a lot of cambodian funtions and the hair is deffinitly the same as any one elses.

This is because the similarity of the people there (if they are only Cambodians), whereas in India you have a mixture of people groups (not as mixed as in the US of course) but you will find many kinds of people who had migrated centuries/years ago: Greek, Persian, Jewish, Armenian (and many more from different invasions - 250 years of British rule for example), apart from the indigenous people of India. So you will find curly hair, short hair, straight, wavy and really all kinds. ;) That's why the stereotyped "long Indian hair" can't be accepted...

[GeoJ]

I've seen that site before, and although it caters to a creepy audience, I was able to use a few of the videos to learn how to do a bun that I now do fairly often.

As far as Indian hair goes, I think it just depends on how the individual cares for it. My DH is from India, and I can use the example of one of my in-laws. She once had a gorgeous thick TBL braid- when she kept her hair braided, and oiled, and washed with Indian herbs. Now she has APL length scraggly frizzy hair. She does still oil it, but she uses harsh shampoos, tears through it with a fine toothed seamed comb, and uses the worst hair toys I've ever seen (a lot of broken hairs come out with them every time I see her remove them). She has been so influenced by the commercialism that has infiltrated her home that she finds it amusing that I asked her for the Indian herbs for hair washing (now in her place the only people that use those are the ones too poor to afford the commercial shampoos).

I also only have one in-law that still has long hair (hip length). All others keep it around APL now. I think this is fairly new, because DH said when he was growing up most women had very long hair (he is from a small town in Tamil Nadu, his Mom was from a village- but got a good college education and a job as a professor).

[MAO]

It's cultural; in India most women wear a braid, wearing hair loose was culturally unaccepted, but that is changing now.

I think you are right....my indian friend doesn't wear her hair down while she is at home with her parents. She says her father doesn't like her hair 'open' as she called it. When she finally got married her husband likes to take her hair down before bed. Like showing off your hair is a symbol of their sexuality or something to that effect.

[Vivien']

ETA:
To the OP: Just to let you know by the way, I looked at some of the links, and the Long Hair Blog is a little - er - I hesitate to use the word creepy but OK, it's creepy. The models apparently participate in sessions of hair oiling and braiding and 'hair play' which commenters can sign up for. The models insist in their blog entries that the site is not for adult material, but I find the idea of setting up sessions to pet/oil/braid someone else's hair a little off, not to mention the tone of some of the comments. I hope you're not offended that I posted this, but the mods may remove your link, just giving you the heads up.

Not offended. I didn't see the website under this very "creepy" angle. But I'm not very subtle, too :)

[Vijikanth]

Hi All, I'm Indian male and I hv inherited my hair from my mom which is curly thick and wavy and jet black as you can find in my album. For the comments on Keralite hair, its purely the hair care which includes daily hairwash and coconut oil after the wash. The style is ofcourse the same always...the halftail. I too follow the same routine. India has its deep rooted herbal and ayurvedic influence. My mom used to process the shikakai powder herself. And Mehandi(henna) is akin to India. Proud to say am Indian. But as in the whole world, still get remarks from family and friends to get my hair cut....

[Keildra]

I love the hair and I think it's all in the genes also I think some of the vids lean a little towards Trichophilia, kind of like a foot f*tish except for hair.

[Beatnik Guy]

Why do Indian people have so beautiful & thick hair ?
Having spent time in India, I can confirm that some of them do. And, having spent time in Europe and the US, I can confirm that some of them do too. The cross-section of Indian hair at this site isn't representative of all hair in India though, any more than the cross-section here is representative of all the hair in our societies either. As others have said, the only real difference is that in India long hair is likely to be more common for cultural reasons; the sightings are therefore good. :wink:

[Diamondbell]

I've seen that site before, and although it caters to a creepy audience, I was able to use a few of the videos to learn how to do a bun that I now do fairly often.

As far as Indian hair goes, I think it just depends on how the individual cares for it. My DH is from India, and I can use the example of one of my in-laws. She once had a gorgeous thick TBL braid- when she kept her hair braided, and oiled, and washed with Indian herbs. Now she has APL length scraggly frizzy hair. She does still oil it, but she uses harsh shampoos, tears through it with a fine toothed seamed comb, and uses the worst hair toys I've ever seen (a lot of broken hairs come out with them every time I see her remove them). She has been so influenced by the commercialism that has infiltrated her home that she finds it amusing that I asked her for the Indian herbs for hair washing (now in her place the only people that use those are the ones too poor to afford the commercial shampoos).

I also only have one in-law that still has long hair (hip length). All others keep it around APL now. I think this is fairly new, because DH said when he was growing up most women had very long hair (he is from a small town in Tamil Nadu, his Mom was from a village- but got a good college education and a job as a professor).

This is the trend now: harsh shampoos, that I notice too here in India! Not many people buy Shikakai Powders, Ritha and other herbal hairwash stuff. And many are going for the APL length... though not all. Hair toys like hairsticks practically don't exist here...

[hmmm]

This is the trend now: harsh shampoos, that I notice too here in India! Not many people buy Shikakai Powders, Ritha and other herbal hairwash stuff. And many are going for the APL length... though not all. Hair toys like hairsticks practically don't exist here...

I agree. My mom tried to use ritha once when she had long classic-length hair, but couldn't figure it out and stuck with her commercial shampoo.
I had to go to this very obscure store to find elastics without metal or plastic in them, that gives you an idea about what kind of hair toys you get here. My hair isn't long enough to use hairsticks yet, but I think metal chopsticks would be my best bet. Although I think it's odd that you get those here and you don't get hairsticks....

[JamieLeigh]

There is a lot of fabulous hair in the Indian nationality, definitely! My guess is that since long hair is somewhat cultural to these women, they're taught proper care techniques from an early age. That, or just very good genes!!! :crush:

[lillithnight]

This is because the similarity of the people there (if they are only Cambodians), whereas in India you have a mixture of people groups (not as mixed as in the US of course) but you will find many kinds of people who had migrated centuries/years ago: Greek, Persian, Jewish, Armenian (and many more from different invasions - 250 years of British rule for example), apart from the indigenous people of India. So you will find curly hair, short hair, straight, wavy and really all kinds. ;) That's why the stereotyped "long Indian hair" can't be accepted...


Oh I know. I'm actually mixed indian(naive indian), native american, middle eastern, irish,frech, english,swedish,german jewish, african american, and native chilean. I know that steryotypes arent true. I myself am such a mix of different groups that I tend to ingnored the preconceived notions people have. I dont think people need to try to edgjucate me on such matter, and I dont think you are. Thank you for the information anyway.:)

[OleanderTime]

I started looking into long hair and hair care online in late summer, and this was one of the first sites I came across! I didn't really know what to think of it, but I was really inspired by such healthy looking hair and such unique updo styles. Glad I found TLHC, though, haha.