Things that make you go hmm...
You ever wonder why so many black girls have receding hairlines? I am referring to the follicle deficient areas framing so many black girls faces. I first encountered this phenomena as a middle schooler in Seattle, WA. A friend, who will remain nameless, had a lovely head of black hair excepting one side of her hair which excepting three fine strands of hair was bald. In fact the not so nice handful of black boys in our class referred to it as a fade. She explained that this had been the result of her heavyhanded mom, a pony tail holder, and a desperate need for slick ponytail evincing all evidence of black ancestry.
I did not know this black girl pattern baldness was endemic until I moved to NY and saw so many women, african american, carribean american and latina, with bald sides.
It's a frightening sight but its impossible not to stare. I wonder how was is that a chick pulled her hair out from its roots and so vigorously that no hair will grow. Do we so despise/fear the nappy edge that we'd rather be bald? I heard braids do a lot of the damage which is why after the once incident my cornrowed hair pulled my head so tight I couldnt smile or laugh (I'm not exagerrating), I made sure if and when I got my hair braided it was done loose to the consternation of the so called trained professionals doing my hair and a community of nap-phobic men and women.
What is most suprising is the volume of Latina women with straight textures of hair who also suffer from this problem. My initial hypotheses was that the baldness which result from tight pulling is side effect of attempts at nap obfuscation but what about the ethnic girl without naps (much like my friend in middle school who had a straighter texture of hair). Well it seams that ethnic women like tight styles. For African American and Latina women the ideal ponytail is one that is tight, framing the scalp like a too tight glove, gelled down, without a hair out of place.
I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and doggone it, people like me."~Stuart Smalley
I did not know this black girl pattern baldness was endemic until I moved to NY and saw so many women, african american, carribean american and latina, with bald sides.
It's a frightening sight but its impossible not to stare. I wonder how was is that a chick pulled her hair out from its roots and so vigorously that no hair will grow. Do we so despise/fear the nappy edge that we'd rather be bald? I heard braids do a lot of the damage which is why after the once incident my cornrowed hair pulled my head so tight I couldnt smile or laugh (I'm not exagerrating), I made sure if and when I got my hair braided it was done loose to the consternation of the so called trained professionals doing my hair and a community of nap-phobic men and women.
What is most suprising is the volume of Latina women with straight textures of hair who also suffer from this problem. My initial hypotheses was that the baldness which result from tight pulling is side effect of attempts at nap obfuscation but what about the ethnic girl without naps (much like my friend in middle school who had a straighter texture of hair). Well it seams that ethnic women like tight styles. For African American and Latina women the ideal ponytail is one that is tight, framing the scalp like a too tight glove, gelled down, without a hair out of place.
I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and doggone it, people like me."~Stuart Smalley
saith جليلة on 7.1.05
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