Arabic/Asian hair tips?

[GoldberryHair]

I don't mean to sound ignorant or anything, but Arabic and Asian women have the MOST beautiful hair. I know it's because of their genetics, but I was wondering if there was any tips anyone knows they use that anyone could try?

[denzelswifey86]

when you say asain do you mean indain women? both arabic and indain women oil religously! but i dnt think every indain and arabic woman has healthy hair ! lol my hair is in bad shape - its not always genetics that gives you healthy hair! from experince -trail and error - its really what you eat and how you treat your hair! my hair seems to act differntly since i started oiling it agian- a different texture and elasticity/strength of the hair folicile - i think its the oiling :)

[GoldberryHair]

when you say asain do you mean indain women? both arabic and indain women oil religously! but i dnt think every indain and arabic woman has healthy hair ! lol my hair is in bad shape - its not always genetics that gives you healthy hair! from experince -trail and error - its really what you eat and how you treat your hair! my hair seems to act differntly since i started oiling it agian- a different texture and elasticity/strength of the hair folicile - i think its the oiling :)

Could you describe your oiling routine? Sorry I'm a little confused on exactly how oiling is done (I know it varies with person to person) but I need a basic idea, as I have never done it.

[denzelswifey86]

Could you describe your oiling routine? Sorry I'm a little confused on exactly how oiling is done (I know it varies with person to person) but I need a basic idea, as I have never done it.

I deep treat my hair twice a week, with castor oil/coconut oil and alma - you can get alma oil in indain grocery stores its not that expensive! ( it darkens your hair though so if you dnt want darker hair stay away from the alma hair oil) i drench my hair in oils in 1 or 2 of those oils and sleep on it ! ( my hair usually takes 2 shampoo washes inorder for me to get rid of the access oil) the castor oil is thick and is best mixed with coconut to thin it down! but the alma is thin! after washing I usually style my hair with a lil castor oil on my fingers and run my fingers through it all focusing on the ends - it gives it shine and protects the ends! I've only started stayling my hair with castor oil a few months ago! I used to use alot of heat - but the castor oil workes really good calming my lil frizzies and i prefer it more now!
since your new to oiling! You should try coconut or olive oil! they're easy to find! :) happy oiling!

[GoldberryHair]

I deep treat my hair twice a week, with castor oil/coconut oil and alma - you can get alma oil in indain grocery stores its not that expensive! ( it darkens your hair though so if you dnt want darker hair stay away from the alma hair oil) i drench my hair in oils in 1 or 2 of those oils and sleep on it ! ( my hair usually takes 2 shampoo washes inorder for me to get rid of the access oil) the castor oil is thick and is best mixed with coconut to thin it down! but the alma is thin! after washing I usually style my hair with a lil castor oil on my fingers and run my fingers through it all focusing on the ends - it gives it shine and protects the ends! I've only started stayling my hair with castor oil a few months ago! I used to use alot of heat - but the castor oil workes really good calming my lil frizzies and i prefer it more now!
since your new to oiling! You should try coconut or olive oil! they're easy to find! :) happy oiling!

Thanks! I think I'm gonna try it :)

[Cleopatra18]

Hey there, I highly recommend you take a look at the castor oil thread. Almost everyone is getting great results from it. I'm Arab and while yes many of the girls here have very thick long hair, proper care is a must. Henna, olive and castor oils are the most popular in my opinion. We also like to infuse oils with various things mainly fenugreek and rosemary, but I really recommend you stick to the basics. Oiling your scalp 2x/week would be a great start. I use a dropper to oil my scalp without getting my hair messy. I do have dry scalp to start with anyway. I cowash the oil out with no problems. Bunning and covering the hair helps greatly.

[cherry blossom]

Hi Goldenberry,
I would like to second cleopatra18 about the benefits of using castor oil.. Also, more than genetics, definitely diet and careful handling goes a long way.. I want to also stress another point..
There is also one more point - Being of indian origin, I know that the average quality of women's hair 5 to 6 decades ago was much higher ( I mean higher thickness, longer length as sited from external observations) than wat is observed of women in India today.. I guess this is because, back in those times, women would rarely let their hair open .. they always oiled well and braids/bun was default hairstyle for everyone.. So, defintely less damage on the lengths ... Also, back then the trend was more oilings and fewer washings.. as opposed to what is popular these days..

cherryblossom

[Kaya]

If you are interested in Indian hair care, this thread is quite helpful. :)

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=63520 (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=63520)

[McFearless]

Arabic is a language. You mean Arab women, or Middle Eastern women. I think Middle Eastern women have gorgeous hair, Arab or not. Commercial shampoos are less common so there is less damage inflicted on the hair but it comes down to genetics. The additional bonus of sun protection from hijabs help, henna, no heat styling and the very rare hair dye. They do the same things most LHC people practice.

[GoldberryHair]

Thanks everyone! You've all been a wonderful help :)

[ncp246]

I'm half Korean, but the texture of my hair is the only giveaway that I'm not fully asian. xD I have a lot of hair, but it's thinner than what's typical of asian hair, and gets damaged easily. Over the past year or so I've found that cold pressed castor oil has helped SO much in giving my hair more thickness, body and shine. I mix it 50/50 with another lighter oil (like olive, almond or grapeseed oil), run it through the length (scalp to ends) of my hair when it's damp, leave it overnight and then wash it out in the morning. I've been doing this once a week for about 3 months, and my hair feels much healthier and heavier, and it grows faster too!

[arabian_princes]

I don't mean to sound ignorant or anything, but Arabic and Asian women have the MOST beautiful hair. I know it's because of their genetics, but I was wondering if there was any tips anyone knows they use that anyone could try?

They oil and use hena:cool:

[lole18]

They oil and use hena:cool:

lol you're an arab too! hello there:rolleyes: was wondering if you know any treatments to thicken hair and or lighten it? leave henna aside please :D

[Avital88]

they mostly have good hair because of genetics and not messing with it,no heat and chemicals.
They arab girls i know that do heatstyle and dye have not so good hair,its not really different.

[didrash]

Could it have something to do with the fact that a lot of Arab women keep their hair covered when outside? Not all of them do, but most I know always cover their hair.

[Othala]

The most beautiful hair I have seen (but rarely) belongs to the Arab girls and women on my father's side of the family who wear hijab. I only get to see their hair when we are having a female-only social event or at segregated weddings during certain days. Anyway, I have never seen longer or more healthy hair in real life that is in beautiful condition from root to tip.

I think it is a lot to do with covering up the hair and thus protecting it from UV rays, dust and perhaps moisture loss. That, plus good hair care including oiling and washing no more than once a week.

A Moroccan woman-friend of mine who also wears hijab, has stunning knee-length henna-red hair that is unbelievably beautiful. Everyone (I am talking about women friends an relatives) gasps when she unveils it and lets it down and then we "ooh and aah" over it for a while. It is the stuff of dreams, LOL.

I know that hijab is a religious covering and don't mean to be disrespectful in any way, but I do think that covering the hair in the way that hijab does can be very beneficial for hair as long as the hijab is made out of hair-friendly materials and is secured so that it doesn't slip around on the head.

[goldloli]

I know 2 punjab sisters with thigh length, not a single split, glossy hair. Its thick and somewhere in the wurly scale. The hijab thing is a good point. I guess unintentionally they had worn their hair in protective buns, under a headscarf and kind of benign neglected it apart from 2x a week oiling and washing. In their case, the oilings were at least overnight drenching and neither of them went for cuts in obscene amounts of time, like 2 years at a time.

I live in an asian area and gotta say girls who use those traditional methods are rare. Its pretty much blowfry/heat-tools/bleach everywhere, every race (I cry). Then obligatory purchasing of russian virgin hair extensions. we should have a thread about what russian girls do to grow their hair so lush for selling.

[MoonLover]

Arabic is a language. You mean Arab women, or Middle Eastern women. I think Middle Eastern women have gorgeous hair, Arab or not. Commercial shampoos are less common so there is less damage inflicted on the hair but it comes down to genetics. The additional bonus of sun protection from hijabs help, henna, no heat styling and the very rare hair dye. They do the same things most LHC people practice.

Thank you for that but not all Arabs are Middle Eastern- North West Africa (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisian etc) is part of the Arab world but is not Middle Eastern. It seems silly to point it out but it's a pet peeve of mine, just like the Arab/Arabic thing.

So you can be Arab and Middle Eastern, Arab but not Middle Eastern, Middle Eastern and Jewish or Muslim or Christian, Arab and Muslim or Jewish or Christian, (not going to go into Berbers, Bedouin, Bahai, Druze, etc because you all probably get the point).

Whew, guess you all were not expecting a political correctness lesson huh?


The most beautiful hair I have seen (but rarely) belongs to the Arab girls and women on my father's side of the family who wear hijab.

Are you half-Arab too?!

[Othala]

Are you half-Arab too?!

Yes, from Saudiyyah. My father belongs to the Banī Tamīm.

What about you?

[3azza]

Commercial shampoos are less common so there is less damage inflicted on the hair but it comes down to genetics. The additional bonus of sun protection from hijabs help, henna, no heat styling and the very rare hair dye. They do the same things most LHC people practice.

Not in Arab countries...Shampoos/dyes/bleaches/treatments.... are so common nowadays.
I only find henna in a special shop in the next adjacent city, and my friends make fun of me because i still use henna and olive oil. I have to say though, people still commonly use dabur and such mineral oils fused with amla/olive/coconut for a prewash treatment because there is so much marketing going on for it. And those who wear hijab, mess with their hair the most, because they show it off in other women's or family's presence.
But yeah.... those who do have good hair,it's basically genes, and less chemicals/heat.

[Alembic]

Thank you to the members who were kind enough to share their wisdom with us! I am always very interested in what people from around the world have done to care for their hair - the most beautiful heads of hair I have seen have invariably been from North Africa/Middle East, Asia and so on. Truly utterly gorgeous hair, and I'm so glad you all took the time to share your thoughts with us! :)

[spirals]

I think a big part is genetics. My mom has always had indestructible hair. She's not from either group, but expresses the Native American genetics* strongly. She got the native hair: dark and coarse. It also happened to be naturally oily until menopause. I think that's why she didn't get splits.

*Anthropologists will tell you that American natives are closer to asian peoples in the realm of genetics than to other groups.

[Amygirl8]

I KNOW RIGHT?
I live in a mainly Asian area, so everywhere around me I see thick thick thick long hair.
Well, usually it's APL to BSL, but I often see longer hair here too. (The other day I was at the mall and I saw this woman with thick, fairy-tail-ended knee length hair. Pitch black. It was beautiful)
And then I get so jealous because I will never have that great of a hemline :rolleyes:

I don't know much about their hair care, but they seem to keep it up and braided a lot.

[MoonLover]

Yes, from Saudiyyah. My father belongs to the Banī Tamīm.

What about you?

Abee Magreebi- and that's about the extent of my Arabic lol
(My father is Moroccan for non-Arabic speakers)

I confess to not having deep knowledge our people's histories so I didn't know what Bani Tamim was before I googled it. But I am learning, shweya bshyweya! (little by little!)

[LakeofGlass]

Personally I think (from the Asian perspective) it's more so about haircare. My mom is Filipina, and it's very common for them to use coconut oil. I mean, you know, the whole place is filled with coconuts. Ironically my mom discouraged me from using coconut oil for ages because she hates the smell so much. I've found that EVOO does very well with me. Though soon I'm going to toy around with other oils a bit, maybe mix around and see what happens.

I've had people compliment me when I was younger and even today, but most just comment on the length and say "Wow your hair is beautiful!" I still think they mostly consider the length. With bad haircare, growing up, my ends would damage and had serious fairytale ends (the bad kind). In some ways I'd like to think that my hair is pretty durable, considering I'm half Asian/Caucasian. I do attribute some things to genetics, but it is true that every race/ethnic group has their good and bad. I've seen Asians with very fine hair and very thick hair. Some look wirey, others look soft and silky.

In the end I'd say it's a combo of both for amazing hair. We're only born with so much. The rest comes down to what we make of our hair.

[HintOfMint]

My mother and grandmother made a point of occasionally massaging each other's and my scalp with coconut oil, or some herbal blend they picked up at the desi grocery store. They would also henna regularly, not for the color but for its strengthening/conditioning properties.

I will say, not all Indian hair is traditionally well-cared for by LHC standards. An example is intensive brushing. Curly and wavy hair is treated like straight hair, so that means that the brush often translates into quite a bit of frizz up close. Of course, none of it matters when it's in a braid or bun. Hair is cared for, but not necessarily to look nice when loose. Of course, this is just very traditional thinking. But still, my father's answer to frizzy hair is a good brushing. :rolleyes:

[jacqueline101]

I'd check out the thread on Arab hair care and google the culture maybe you can find some help on their culture far as diet and hair care goes.

[TheHowlingWolf]

With the heavy oilings and scalp oilings, are they picky with shampoo? (As in sulfate free or not? Is it common to find sulfate free shampoos over there?)

[jacqueline101]

I have always wondered about this myself.

[leslissocool]

It's mostly genes and oiling and no heat styling. I took after my grandfather's Turkish side, it's as huge difference between my hair and my moms and the rest of the family! I'm the only one with hair like his black (not dark brown) and texture. The hijab thing is a great point too!

[prettyhairisred]

Some of it is just genetics though. My Asian friends can dye their hair and apply way more heat than me, while still having hair that looks way better. So some of it's out of your control