Black & White: Update

Alright, I know we promised you to keep you in the loop on Ropfi & Anne’s hair growth by taking monthly measurements and failed to honour that promise.

Our apologies for that.

While Anne‘s hair is growing out steadily straight, so is Roxy’s. Only once glitch, Roxy has got braids on since December and hasn’t taken them out yet. Once she takes them out (which should be soon), we’ll take our 1st measurements and compare the two.

Black & White growth….

So we realized that a lot of us black women relax our hair convinced that it grows longer as opposed to when it’s in its natural state. Some people believe that Caucasian hair grows faster than African natural hair. Right…well…that’s why we came up with this document.

We found two ladies; black and white; both have just cut their hair short and asked if we could document their hair growth and be able to draw the conclusion to the growth pace debate.

Meet Ropfiwa aka “Roxy”, a first year Law student:

You’re spotting short hair? Do you prefer your hair that length?
Rox: For now, I’m loving it. Plus it’s low maintenance. But I wanna grow it a little and finally lock it.

Why dreadlocks?
Rox: Because I see how good they look on other people & I’d also want to try them out. You know…experiment.

You had natural hair, and then relaxed it. Why was that?
Rox:Combing it became quiet a mission. I also think I became too lazy to take care of it.

What led to the big chop this time around?
Rox: Relaxed hair became very high-maintenance than natural hair. For a student like me, the trips to the hair salon became more expensive as well.

Do you feel or see yourself any different with your hair being natural as compared to when it’s either relaxed or when wearing weaves?
Rox: I think I look better with natural hair. I like the fact that it doesn’t limit my creativity, so I rock any hairstyle I want when my hair’s natural. I also get more compliments when I’m rocking it natural. 🙂

What kind of comments do you get from people now that your hair is not only cut short, but also natural?
Rox: Some are still stereotypical about natural hair vs straight/relaxed hair but luckily for me, on most occasions I manage to influence some of them to go natural also. I find that a lot of my black friends focus more on length as opposed to growth.

Your hair care regimen…
Rox: It’s simple, really. I wash it every second day to avoid extreme dryness. I’m not fussy about moisture for now, so I normally wait for it to dry out after a wash, and then apply “Black Chick” hair food for a nice shine.

And now say hello to Annabelle aka Anne:

You cut your hair short. care to share what led to it?
Anne: This time around, I was in hospital and could not wash my hair as I was immobile.  Seemed to be the realistic thing to do.

Sorry to hear about your car accident.  Was this the first time your hair is this short?
Anne: I have shaved my hair very often.  As I have gotten older I thought it wouldn’t suite me.

What did you honestly think when you saw yourself in the mirror after the big chop?
Anne: I actually didn’t see what it looked like after they cut it in the hospital.  All previous times it was a bit of a shock seeing it for the 1^st time but as the days pass I got used to it.

How do you feel about it now?
Anne: I’m pretty used to it now.  Do get a little self conscious when people seem to stare.

Caucasian women really love their hair. What kind of reaction do you get from other Caucasian men & women?
Anne: Most don’t understand how I can have my hair so short.  I think Caucasian men prefer woman to have long hair.

You have 3 kids. What do they think of mommy with short hair now?
Anne: My youngest boy (4) has got long hair and he always asks me to cut his hair like mine.  I think the older kids are used to me cutting it this short.

Are you planning on growing it?
Anne: Yes I am…. Don’t know how long it’s gonna take but I’m don’t think I’ll shave it again.

Please take us through your hair care regimen.
Anne: I wash and condition my hair every morning.  When it’s longer I’ll wash and condition every 2 or 3 days.  It’s extremely easy having it this short – Wash and go… No need for a brush.

Would you say its easier to take care of your hair now that its shorter?
Anne: It’s sooooo much easier taking care of my hair now.  When it was longer, you need to blow dry, then use a straightening iron etc. every time u wash

The frochic team wishes you a speedy recovery, Anne.

We’d like to say a bit thank you to these two wonderful ladies for allowing us to document their hair growth for the next few month. Stay tuned for next months length comparison.