Have you ever been weaved checked? To be honest, I haven’t, but I know a few people in my own family and circles who have.
Even here on our social media outlets, if we post a picture of a black woman with very long hair there will be without a doubt one person that says “naaah, thats weave through and through”. As a matter of fact one of the first comments on one of the pictures Courtney (pictured above) has on her FB page was“…and its a weave. bye felicia“.
Is it that impossible for a black woman to have super long hair and not be accused of wearing a weave even one time? It got me thinking, why does this happen?
It has to be more than just ‘hating’ that seems just too simple; it has to be something much deeper than that. Comment below on what you think the reasons are for doubt and while you are doing that here are my 3 reasons.
1. Your own experience
Many times we like to judge others based on what we know and if we haven’t been successful at achieving very long hair it might put a bit of doubt in our mind about someone eles’s success.
This is even worse if we think that the person looks like us or has the same features as us. We tend to forget that even though another person my seem like us we are all very different so we cannot rightfully pass judgement.
2. Historically we all believed that black hair cannot grow
For a long time we were all programmed to believe that black hair cannot grow past our shoulders. With bad hair practices we have all suffered a great deal when it comes to our hair.
We have very fragile strands so until we learned exactly what we needed to do to preserve our natural length, most of us had no idea what it was like to have waist length and beyond afro textured hair.
These days things are much different, now we know what it takes to grow our hair long, and if we see another woman with long hair we should be less doubtful that she has a weave.
3. Black women love weave
Hey we make no apologies for our love for extensions* so if someone is asking you if you have a weave it is only because there is a chance that you might actually have one in.
To be honest we should not be offended if someone asks if we are wearing a weave, we should be more offended if they ask and once you tell them ‘no’ they still decide not to believe you.
That is where things get a bit ‘hairy’ no pun intended. Why do you think some black women tend to not believe that all of your hair is yours when you have long hair? Comment below.
Lol took it right from my mouth
Damn me too….
I have seen many black woman with long black hair and it looks good. I wear weave because I am protecting my real hair from the cold and it takes a lot of time and effect to looking after my real and natural hair and sometime I really don’t have time for that.
Black ppl can do anything and everything.. Sad thing Black folks doubt themselves
Why are black women so caught up in long hair, short hair, so-called good hair, or natural hair
I have this one friend who said she wishes she was another race so she could have “long,pretty” hair.. After catching my itching hands from reaching the back of her head.. I just said “i wish you’d take care of the hair on your head properly so it’ll have a change to see it’s full,healthy potential” and this was an adult smh… I get on Her and others for limiting our potential and power. All we need is hair education & confidence.. Not a wish and a few 7a bundles to have healthy hair(,which healthy hair, is good hair)..Not bc of it’s length,texture,color, or state…im down with weaves,relaxers and natural hair.. As long as you know you’re beautiful with your natural 1st and take care of it
I have this one friend who said she wishes she was another race so she could have “long,pretty” hair.. After catching my itching hands from reaching the back of her head.. I just said “i wish you’d take care of the hair on your head properly so it’ll have a change to see its full,healthy potential” and this was an adult smh… I get on Her and others for limiting our potential and power. All we need is hair education & confidence.. Not a wish and a few 7a bundles to have healthy hair(,which healthy hair, is good hair)..Not bc of its length,texture,color, or state…im down with weaves,relaxers and natural hair.. As long as you know you’re beautiful with your natural 1st and take care of it
N there u hv it!
For real. I can tell you that my hair didn’t get healthy or start growing out until I stopped getting relaxers. I never even had to change my hair routine either. I love it now.
I have plenty of all black relatives with super long hair i would have longer hair but i cut it alot i just recently stopped and now its to the middle of my back i hate that people think all black women are bald headed when that is not the truth
I cut my hair all the time also, but I always get yelled at :- it always grows back in like a month maybe two
Because the other race have so little respect for black women that if we have something that beautiful it can’t possibly be ours ..sad .
Yeah I was just talking to my mother about how this lady started talking to me about wigs and I told her “I don’t know anything about fake hair” and she said “oh. You don’t?” -.-
Black woman’s main problem we care too much what people think they can think what they want it does make it true
Jessica Myers Young it seems like another form of brainwashing they are creating within themselves. All of it is ridiculous. All I see is black folks willingly supporting and furthering the division among us.
I get the weave check too. Since I am a dark skinned woman (apparently only light complexioned BW are supposed to have long hair!), people don’t expect that I would have long hair, Black people have actually said that to me. A WW at my job once asked me if my hair was real, I didn’t get upset or anything, because at least she didn’t reach around and rub the back of my head doing a weave check. In this day and age where women have fake everything, it’s understandable.
When I was relaxed I got wig/weaved checked quite a bit. My hair wasn’t super long,but, I felt I was asked the question was partly because of my dark complexion. SMH
That stuff is perpetuated, passed down from one generation to the next. I had this much older woman – in her 80’s say to me. In fact the woman I was with knew her and was talking to her, but she was busy scrutinizing my head (I never even noticed) – she interrupted the woman and addressed her remarks to me “You know, you have to stop wearing those wigs, and weaves and things, and wear your own hair”. I was so dumfounded I said “What did you say?” and she repeated what she said . then both me and the lady I was with told her that it was my hair, then she and the lady she was with – her home attendant did a double take. I was like “What’s wrong with these people? how could she ever think it’s fake when you can plainly see my scalp- in strategic places’ to myself. On another occasion one lady I saw in the gym for the first time, mind you she was on the thread mill in front of me, so she was supposed to be backing me – she accused me of wearing weave, mind you it was the first time I’d even seen this lady, my friend Gina told her – No! I was just going to ignore her, my mother’s friend did the same thing, my brother’s girlfriend was with him and asked him, not in my presence – he mentioned it later to me because he promised her he’d find out, because he didn’t know, my own sister looked at me one day and said out of the blue – “You know if I didn’t know you I would swear you was wearing a big wig. and the list goes on and on and on.
So, they don’t see sisters and brothers with locks below their butts?
Yall are going to hate me for this comment but truth be told there are more black women with short hair than there are long. Amd most times when a blackbwomans hair grows pretty long its because it is mixed. Now I am not saying that there are not women with a more coarser hair that is not very long, key word (very ) but its not a whole lot. This is part of our culture and we have grown accustomed to it. Can we grow long hair, many of us cant, and even if we care for it, it only reaches a certain length, now before I get booed off the stage, think about it.
I’m not trying to boo you off the stage 😉 I’ve seen plenty of mixed hair that looks and feels %100 not mixed that can grow and can’t. But I see what your saying.
Not all mixed women have long hair, and not all black women have short hair. Like the article said, you can’t make assumptions based on only your own personal experience.
No, I agree hair growth and length is genetic in most cases,but,think about it…..black women severely damage their hair with relaxers and everytime New growth appears on they scalp the black females damage their hair even more by adding more relaxers…..their hair is growing!
I’ve been natural all my life,My mom refuse to put chemicals,relaxers on my head…..My hair has always been to the middle of my back! I will give some advice to all black women, in order to achieve long beautiful hair, You absolutely must eat healthy, lots of fruits, vegetables, seafood and drink lots of water! Excersize and take vitamins! Keep your hair moisturized all the time. Stay away from beef,pork and most animal meat, animal meat will prevent your hair from growing.
So not true. Animal meat will not hinder hair growth! I and my mother are living proof! I know plenty of people with long hair who eat meat. Don’t know where you got that from. I eat meat at least every day including, beef, chicken, lamb and fish. We do however stay away from pork. My hair still grows. Eating meat also does not slow down growth either. My mom also eats meat and has the thickest hair of everyone in my family. Down past her armpit. Mine is just reaching the top of my armpit and still growing.
Thank you for that comment – not everyone will agree with that comment – but it is DEFINITELY true, meat has a tendency to slow down hair growth. My hair is pretty long and it grows faster than most, but since I’ve been eating lots of meat I’ve seen the effects on how fast my hair grows. I was doing research and found out that it does, in fact i’m thinking of doing a detox to get rid of the animal proteins that clogged my hair follicles up- it is long mind you. I cut it down to where I couldn’t even grab it to twist it , just over a year ago, right now it’s past armpit length, but I know my hair’s potential and I’ve definitely seen a slow down in growth rate.
I still say that’s a fallacy. I had long mid back hair as a child & so did my mom. Many women in my family did,too & we all ate meat. Same for the women & families I know now. I only know 2 black vegetarian women right now; one has long naturally wavy hair, the other has very kinky hair that she always wears in a TWA Both are very health conscious but the one with kinky hair is in her early 70s & her hair is healthy but is thinning over the years. I don’t know if she ever had long hair or not. The people I’ve met with the longest hair..either black,white,Asian or Hispanic have all been meat eaters. My late mom insisted on taking very good care of my hair because she said many blacks pressed their hair too much with very hot combs,didn’t keep it well oiled & their scalps clean. She was a teacher & knew a lot about healthy eating & we always had healthy meals.
You are completely wrong! Knowledge is power. How you eat, what you put on your body, how you take care of your hair all contributes to growth. Many black women didnt have education or knowledge in order to grow their own hair. Shit when i learned how to take care of mine it grow almost waist length and that was on relaxers. Hair growth takes time, commitment, and patience. Learning how your hair grows, what your growth patterns are.
I am natural now. 1 year and two months and 8 inches later. My so tired of people thinking im mixed or something just cause my hair grow. It grow because i take care of it and avoid heat and excessive styling.
I just wish people would really know themselves you can achieve whatever you’re determined to achieve. Before relaxers, colors, and serious manipulation black women enjoyed their locks. Change your diet, drink water and focus on distressing and watch how you blossom
Not true, I can and have grown long hair, I’m %100 black.
That’s not true . Most of the black and mixed woman in my family have long hair but some of them have short hair . My fully black grandma had short hair when she was a kid and teenager then she started focusing on growing her hair and she had long hair when she was in her 20s. Her hair was past her waist but one stylist cut it . She is in her 60’s now with mid back length hair . I always had shoulder length permed hair but I went natural and I’m growing it long . It’s very healthy and I’m taking good care of it . Alot of black woman had no idea how to take care of their hair . Our curly and kinky hair provides more gentle hair care then other races hair because it’s so curly and fragile . We damage our hair with relaxers , heat , weave , glue , gel , grease , combs , brushes , etc . This is why many black woman have short thin damaged relaxes straight hair . By the way i met black friends with long hair but the rest of their family has short hair. I also met black friends with short hair , but the rest of their family has long hair. Fortunately more and more black woman are learning how to take care of their fragile hair and grow it to it’s full potential . So genes definitely doesn’t determine how long your hair will grow . Genes determine your hair texture and how fast it grows . When it comes to getting length its all about length retention not how fast it grows . If it grows fast but doesn’t retain any of the length then it will seem like your hair isn’t growing and you need to change your hair routine . To get length retention to grow your hair a good hair regime , trims , healthy diet , and protective styling is the key.
My natural hair is armpit length and growing and Im black. I have been natural for 2 and a half years. My grandma has long thick natural hair and she is just black. I know many black woman with long hair. You are very ignorant. Many black women just don’t know how to take care of their hair and they put too much heat on their hair.
Mine cuz my hair needs help
Never understood that mentality, as long as it is healthy. Hair length maybe genetically predetermined but it is attainable regardless of texture. @adelle McKnight you have not met all the black women of the world to make that bold ass statement. Short hair is a convenience for some. Being mixed is not the reason. My daughter is not mixed is able to have long hair, my nieces have very long hair are not mixed. My two other nieces that are mixed do not have very long hair. Yes straight hair seems to grow at a faster rate but all hair grows at the same rate. We just have the most fragile hair.
Yes…..yes!!!
I think that i covered all of that in my comment. Thanks for your response
So!
I know several black women.that have.long hair middle part of there back long without a weave
Is that a man?
I feel like many black girls growing up arent taught proper care of their natural hair but Instead are taught to put a relaxer in it as soon as possible and if u can’t take of your natural hair u definitely wont know how to take care of your relaxed hair either. Whether relaxed or natural if u ain’t doing shit for your hair it ain’t gone do shit for u. Period. And people have no excuse now because there are computers and smartphones where u can get all the information u need. YouTube is absolutely teeming with videos on how to take care of black hair.
I’m not even going to read this mess. Who cares what others think?! Really?!!! SMH FOR REAL!!!!!!!!!!! WHY PUT THIS NEGATIVITY OUT THERE?!!!!!!
I had long thick hair but I cut it by choice.
And I wish people would stop making light of hair in regards to black women. It NOT just hair. We live in a world and society where caucasion hair is the standard of beauty so our “naps” and kinks for a long time and even to this day are seen as ugly and unmanageable and in trying to assimilate to this standard many black women destroy their hair and because they were never taught to love and take care of their natural hair, they then believe it can’t grow or be beautiful.
You are so right !
Who cares what people think.
.. I have a solution. If black females change their diet and stop eating meat,then your hair will grow. All that pork and beef meat prevents and slows down the hair growth. Eat healthy diet,fruits, vegetables, seeds,nuts,drink plenty of water! Ok! I know everyone is different, But this has worked for me since I was a kid,my family is vegetarians and my hair has always been to the middle of my back and I’ve always been natural. No chemicals, no relaxers…. Now,I’m not trying to force being vegetarian on any black woman. I’m just letting you know what works for me…….You want long hair, You have to take care of it from the food you put inside your body to the products you put in/on your hair!
I actually agree with you I have seen it myself the more you take care of your body it shows in your hair raw food and drinking water lots of it is a sure fire way to see not only hair growth but overall good health glowing skin etc nice pint my friend.
I pretty much agree to the testament of taking care of one’s body, however, when you start off by saying, “stop eating meat” that makes people extra salty. Meat is protein. Hair is protein. You can eat whatever you want in moderation. That goes hand-in-hand with everything especially in terms of how to take care of your body in general. How you take care of your body is how you take care of your hair. I’m gonna continue eating meat because it’s what I like and what my body appreciates; my hair is fantastic. Do you on your vegetarian diet, but “stop eating meat?” No thanks.
Speak up – sis. if even water (something you wash your hair with, can affect your hair) if you are sick, pregnant, it shows up in the hair – it behaves and looks different) how much more so is the food you give your body. If you want to eat meat, that’s your choice, but meat lovers just know that it shows up even in the hair for it retards hair growth. I am proof of that, my hair has slowed down in growth significantly.
These doubters are ahole and i have spent half my adult life proving their dumb asses wrong.
Khadidja Abdallah your goal bientot !
Haha insha’Allah
That’s a damn lie. Back in the day we all had long hair. We’re just lazy now lol. Weaves r easier
Hmmm i dont know if i agree with all of this or disagree
My natural hair is a pain in the butt. It’s too short and thin for the styles I want so I just keep it twisted back. Can’t wait to get some crochet braids!
My mom had very long hair (her own) no tracks or weaves, but as she got older she cut it and was happy she did, and after having four daughters whom all had alot of hair. We were rasied to think that our hair wasn’t everything. As long as you keep it clean and combed everyday.
The sad thing is for years our very own race has convinced us that our natural hair is not beautiful and there is no way that our hair can grow to waist length. While at the same time other races compliment our hair and texture. I have a niece that is 4 years old with beautiful curly hair. When she was 2 she loved her curly hair and loved to wear it out until my stepfather told her it was ugly and “nappy” . Now at 4 years old she has been programmed to believe that curly hair of any kind is nappy and ugly . In fact she has even gone up to strangers and told them their hair is nappy and a mess. She only thinks her hair is pretty when its pullef tightly in pony tails with tons of gel laying it down. Its sad that our own race will oppress each other and try to make each other feel bad about what we have and the way we look.
HEALTHY HAIR IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING SHORT OR LONG
Sad, I know a lot of black women who get mistaken all the time for having a weave when it’s actually their own hair.
You’ve said pretty much everything. when I had relaxed hair some people thought that it was weave and when I asked why, they simply said that they’ve never seen anyone(a black person) with that length before. when such comments are thrown at u, it makes u wonder what planet these ppl live in. They are just narrow minded. interestingly they are also the ones that craves for longer hair.
Because we continue to be discriminated and made fun of for it in this oppressive society.
why waste your time explaining stupidity or negativity!
Beautiful love her you tube videos
That’s so ridiculous, I know and see a lot of black women with long hair…doesn’t matter to me…short and sassy or long and sexy!
I have heard of ppl doing the weave check thing. I am appalled that anyone would touch another person to check if their hair is real. I would never ever do it nor would I ask it’s none of my business. I will compliment people on their hair though, good hair care is always nice to see. Someone once thought I had a weave though and asked me if my natural hair was a weave I was kinda flattered!
They have long hair and many other things as well they can afford any hair products they want and also sure they can afford to eat healthy etc
I had an older lady ask me once and when I said yes, she pulled my hair. Her response was it looks like a wig. A coworker I’ve known over ten years assumed I always had “a head full of weave”. My hair we only below my shoulders and very thick. Not sure why we are so concerned about it one way or the other. Weave or not, be happy with what you got.
Poor or which you can grow a full head of longer hairits just having patience and taking care of it
I hate to say it, but I still find it hard to believe that such beautiful hair is coming out a black woman’s scalp! Like the article said, we’ve been programmed. Going to time to get used to the new normal. I’d like to thank all the long hair black beauties who inspire us to embrace the new normal!
I have a huge Betty Wright / Angela Davis sized afro. Its shocking to me when people think its a weave. One woman, WITHOUT WARNING stuck her hand so deep into my hair to feel my scalp until her wedding ring got stuck in my 4C kinks when she pulled it back out… I started to keep the ring… I’m like really? It was that important to you to know if it was real or not? After my transition and I started to wear my natural hair vs braids I didn’t mind people wanting to touch it etc. But once it got really thick and long people reaction to whether it was real or not got ridiculous. Now when ever someone says something about my hair I automatically take two steps back not wanting them to grab or touch it…
Well I honestly believe that the first one sounds like “hate: ” pure and simple”. Just because you cannot achieve what you see others with does not mean they are rocking a weave. If you believe that if they can do it then so can you….that’s more like it. JMHO
My natural hair is not as long as this lady above ,its below my shoulder and full , I love wearing it out just raw as I dont like heat ,if I need a style I plait it for little while ,its relaxed so easy curl by it self, however, I am often accused of weaves or get the its a weave look or the Is it a weave stare..lol ,I never tried to grow my hair long with any special care ,lately since everyone been wanting to I am considering Waists length , I wonder how long it would take to grow that long. Well as to the question, I thing first answer maybe correct, I never had such thought as I have always had hair so honestly didn’t noticed women were having troubles growing their. I figure most simply liked weaves as in your last reason , would be good to hear from others why they dought.
P.s I dislike anyone touching my hair so I dont stand within hands reach of anyone while am out… Yes I have had someone stick fingers in my hair and I dislike it so bad I wanted to slap her! It is rude and disrespectful , simply ask and if no is the answer respect that…
My natural hair is not as long as this lady above ,its below my shoulder and full , I love wearing it out just raw as I dont like heat ,if I need a style I plait it for little while ,its relaxed so easy curl by it self, however, I am often accused of weaves or get the its a weave look or the Is it a weave stare..lol ,I never tried to grow my hair long with any special care ,lately since everyone been wanting to I am considering Waists length , I wonder how long it would take to grow that long. Well as to the question, I thing first answer maybe correct, I never had such thought as I have always had hair so honestly didn’t noticed women were having troubles growing their. I figure most simply liked weaves as in your last reason , would be good to hear from others why they dought.
P.s I dislike anyone touching my hair so I dont stand within hands reach of anyone while am out… Yes I have had someone stick fingers in my hair and I dislike it so bad I wanted to slap her! It is rude and disrespectful , simply ask and if no is the answer respect that…
I was highly surprise when I moved to Atlanta that every black woman I asked where she did her hair they will say with low voice…oh is not my real hair. I was sooooo disappointed. People are uneducated about how fragile the hair is and how much care requires. Even if you don’t want it long, you still need to take care of it. After have hard time finding a place who can do proper relax on my hair (Dominicans was my last hope but they were too far) I went natural. Don’t blame anyone, even if you have straight Chinese hair you need to take care of it. But people not only relax it then want to color it and put bunch of stuff over it….and don’t want to take care of it. It takes time and if you don’t have it then think what you want.
The black woman love weave statement is FALSE . I’m a black woman and i hate weave . I tried it a couple of times and hated it . I have natural hair and I wear my natural hair in a braided updo to grow it . Yes the majority of black woman love weave BUT NOT ALL . Also my grandma has natural long hair and never wore a weave in her life !
I also see black men and woman with dreadlocks to their butts ALL THE TIME . Who the freak created this stereotype ? I also see black men and woman with natural big afros and black men with long braids .
My grandma has long natural hair and she is a dark skin black woman . Almost all the black woman and mixed woman in my family have long hair . I went natural and cut my hair two years ago and it’s armpit length and still growing.