SteppinOut (not pictured) writes;
Recently here I’ve been getting “Weave Checked” quite frequently by strangers out here in these streets 🙂 What this means is that people are questioning the authenticity/realness of my hair. I’ve had some people try to reach out and touch (GASP!) my hair and search my scalp for tracks! Some of my other naturally glamorous amigas have also reported folks REFUSING to believe that all of their hair/locs is growing directly from their scalp! Really? Insert here the irony that I don’t consider my hair to be particularly long or extraordinary. Apparently I have a fan following that does, I get stopped several times a week with compliments, comments and the question: “Is all that your hair?”
Does the public at large still have a hard time believing that Black hair can grow long?
Has the availability of “afro-textured” hair pieces and extensions caused some confusion?
It just urks me when black people don't get the fact that black hair grows long. I am annoyed, frustrated, and offended when people assume that I have a weave or a texturizer.
If Blaack women cant grow long hair then why does nearly EVERY Black women I know with locks have EXTRA long hair? It is beacuse IT GROWS!
I Gotten weave checked so much i'm in a competition with my friends to see who gets the most in a month LOL! But the most i really get is a lot of women asking me if i did a twist on my hair when i was just a wash-n-go. I can stop laughing when they realize that its my natural hair pattern.
You know-I never get weave checked on a good hair day. I can't blame people for wondering though-it's so humid where I live right now that my hair will shrink from my shoulders to my ears in a couple of hours, lol.
That title is a chuckle. But the reality is ignorance, stereotypes and rudeness, hello. Some folks have no tact.
All the time! I always get asked "where did you get your weave:. My BF mother reached into my hair to feel my scalp when she first meant me because she couldn't believe it was mine. I don't really get offended though i think it's kinda funny.
_______
Quality Natural hair t-shirts available at KandyCurls
http://www.kandycurls.com/products-page/
I had an elderly white man ask me with great enthusiasm how long it took for me to " fix my hair- curl my hair in all those many teeny tiny curls". Bless his heart! I told him 9 months- the gestational period it took for my genetic development. His wife was sooo embarassed by his curious question. He laughed his head off at my response. He said he was asking because he knew another black woman who "sewed hair pieces in and it took her hours".
Ive been weave checked too. . . called out by a brother at a HUGE party which was being held at a hotel. He was super convinced that I was weaving it. I didnt bother to even shout him down. I figure, if he was that desperately ignorant, my having real hair wasn't going to make him get some sense and home training. LOL
YES! folks at church, in the beauty supply store, at work… one woman at the grocery store asked me "where did you get your puff?". um…. lol. or "who did your hair? YOU?! can you put mine in for me?" huh?? put in your what?! smhl. but i think the more women start wearing their hair natural and healthy the less this will be an issue. hopefully.
The last time I had very long hair, I was a pre-teen. I was often asked, only by Black women and girls, if my hair was real. After shaving my head bald about 10 months ago, I now wear my hair naturally. It is chin length and I do a co-wash and go. I use Miss Jessie's Curly Pudding which adds extra definition to my curls and I deep condition often. Lots of women, only Black women and girls, ask me if I have a texturizer. When I tell them "No", they ask "How is your hair so curly?" My response is always, this is my hair texture. They often roll their eyes, or say "Yeah, okay" in a tone that suggests that they do not believe me. I am often questioned by Black women and girls about my hair routine. I am very forthcoming and don't mind giving the details of my routine. Unfortunately , many Black women and girls make the mistake of thinking that our hair doesn't grow and if it is past a certain length or looks healthy, that it is not real. This is sad. Oh well. Maybe they should stop perming and relaxing and see how fast and long their hair will grow.
I used to get that a lot when my hair was relaxed and now that I'm natural, it still happens, but they reach out to touch more because of curiosity. I've only had one person ask if i used extensions in my hair when I was wearing a two strand twist. It was more annoying when my hair was relaxed because black and white people alike refused to believe the hair on my head was growing from my scalp.
I noticed women looking at my hair all the time. One day a lady stood behind me and I could feel her staring into my hair. I wear my hair in twist-out curls. It always has a shine and bouncy look. My hair is at chin length and when is blow-dried it hit a little pass my shoulders. I assume people think we all have the same hair. My white friends think I have a perm, because my hair stays curly. This cracks me up (LMAO). BTW men can tell real hair from fake immediately, without doing a weave check.
Curly Nikki,
You should implement a LIKE button on your site LMAO @ some of these responses!!!!!!!
Happens everyday!
I tend to get people asking me if my hair is natural. When I say yes, they always want to know what I use, how did I get it like that etc. I am always happy to tell people its all my hair. I especially love it when people come up to me when I am with my husband. He wasnt a natural hair lover when I bc'd. But seeing people wanting to do their like mine, when we have a function to attend, he always says "do your hair real big, it looks hot".
I haven't had anybody just stick their hands into my head, but I have had somebody ask if it was my real hair. I was so taken aback by the question all I could do was silently nod my head. It wasn't even really a special hair style or a particularly long length. Just some braids. When I told her that yes, this was indeed my hair, she was really indignant about it. She seriously got mad at me because I didn't add any weave to my braids! Really girl? She stormed away and just glared at me from afar every time we were in the same room after that.
It hasn't happened to me, my hair's not that spectacular, but I think it's great that our natural hair inspires such shock and awe. It means people are waking up to the reality of natural beauty. Our beauty can no longer be so easily dismissed as weave associated. If it were me, I would say "This is my God-given hair. Our given hair is glorious if you give it a chance."
Sooo glad for this post because it happens to me all the time. It's nice to see I'm not the only one who gets the long stares from people who appear star struck. I usually try to be nice when someone asks to touch my hair but am really put off when they reach in and touch my scalp 0_o I look at them like "Really!??" But I guess it's that old saying, you give people an inch and they take a mile.
I've heard it all… "what's that" referring to my hair as if it was purchased cause they want some. "What are you" assuming I must be mixed to have my "type" of hair and of course the whole "I like your hair…. is it yours?" statement.
Since there's now so many naturals in main stream media you would think that people would be used to seeing such beauty by now. *shoulder shrug*
This happens to me quite a bit … Saturday night getting on the bus to head home was the most recent. I had a ginormously fluffy afro going (thanks to not enough conditioner and too much rain) and the bus driver turned to watch as I passed and just kept staring at me after I took my seat. When I finally raised my eyebrows at him, he said, "No disrespect. I was just wondering if that was really all your hair."
I have to say I'm a little tired of it. My hair isn't even all that long (not even shoulder length). There shouldn't be any surprise that it's all mine. Even if it was down to my knees, people should really bite their tongues.
I have not been weave checked but have been asked numerous times if all my hair is mine…by strangers and old friends who haven't seen me since being naturally curly. I even had a black man at the gym ask if I was black (he thought I was an Arab) and another sister just assumed I was mixed….I said nooooo last time I checked my momma n my daddy are both African American!! Yes it is crazy n sad that we don't believe that our hair can grow long and be beautiful in its natural state!! I have been natural almost 4 years and my hair in a wash n go is about 1-2 inches past my shoulder.
I have also noticed I am meeting more men which is good since I am still single!!!
OMG!!! This happens to me all the time! And my hair is no where as long as it was awhile ago…my hair is a little passed my shoulders…I even had a friend walk up to me after not seeing me for a few months. As she gushed about how pretty my hair was, she actually put her hands in my head and was rubbing my scalp, like she was searching for a track…I almost slapped her silly! It took everything in me not say "ARE YOU CRAZY?" I mean really come on now…there is nothing spectacular going with my hair. I hate when people just take it upon themselves to place there hands in your head…that's just like touching a pregnant woman's belly without asking! HOW RUDE! I can see if I had a 32 inch weave all down my back, then I can see someone wondering…and even that does not give anyone the right to touch and feel all up in "YOUR" like they are conducting an investigation! WOOOSAAAAH! I'm sorry ladies, this is one of my pet peevs! Lol!
I was actually weave checked by a family member. AT A WEDDING!! I was so heated because I was in line with my husband and he was standing behind me and I thought it was him rubbing my scalp. I realized the touch was not the same so I turned around to see and it was my older cousin. Most people can tell its my hair but I guess because she only sees me once or twice a year and it always looks different. But damn, you know I'm natural and have been for 5 years!
Yessss! lol This happens a lot I find a bit flattering though. The only time it gets annoying is when people try to argue me down that this is not ALL my hair or I have that "good grade of hair". Its weird that people still think our hair can't thrive in its natural state when I've seen so many natural little girls with hair all down their backs smh at society.
To Rissa Katharine, I completely agree. Very unfortunate view point. I think that what we've learned from this site and others like it is that the issue is primarily one of hair care.
To anonymous at 3:32, I think every black woman on curlynikki, naturallycurly, youtube and every other hair site would disagree. Maybe YOU just don't know how to take care of YOUR hair and that's why it's not growing. I hate when people make blanket statements like that.
And yes, I've been weave-checked. By my dad. Lol 🙂
I get weave checked every once in a while. It's annoying, but more annoying when it's a black person. I always make sure that when they touch my head, I return the favor. I can't wait for the day when this true stereotype (obviously not all black women wear fake hair) is an untrue stereotype.
This happens to me occasionally and I usually don't get too bent out of shape about it, depending on the attitude of the person asking. But to me, someone's own hair that is healthy is better than ANY weave, extensions, etc.
This summer I was in Botswana (southern Africa) for two months for a summer internship program with my university. People asked various versions of the "Is that your hair?" question A LOT (and all caps does not even begin to say how often it happened). My internship was at a daycare centre and my second day, after morning prayer with all the teaching staff, as I was walking to one of the classrooms I was stopped by some of the older women wanting to know if my hair was real. I literally had to flip my head upside down and let them check for tracks ( or tracts? I never knew which it was…). I could understand the fascination though, because I'm transitioning and was wearing braid outs and twist outs and they probably weren't used to seeing that hair texture on a black person. And forget about when I got it blow dried and straightened… one of the teachers came up to me, touched it and said, "Did you buy this in America?"
I can also understand their questioning because hardly anyone I saw had healthy hair, unless it was locked. Out of the thousands of women I must have seen in two months, I counted a total of TWO good relaxers; everyone else had the pasted to the head look if their hair was relaxed. Other than that it was weaves, braids w/extensions or locks (which were usually very nice btw). And forget about trying to find hair products. I had run out of my KeraCare Essential Oils and went looking for a replacement but all I could find was mineral oil. Funny thing is it was disguised as amla oil but when I looked at the ingredients it was just mineral oil + fragrance.
I felt bad because I know that if the right products were in their market, people would have much healthier hair and people like me wouldn't be such an oddity.
This happened to me once in Chicago last summer. Woman stopped me on the street to ask me "what kind of hair [was] that" and I remember being so flabbergasted that I stuttered a little bit before stammering out, "Mine." I think it's sort of a backhanded compliment to say that our hair is so nice people don't think it's real…what's that saying about dominant cultural perceptions of black women's hair?
I havent been "weave checked" but I have had several women ask where I "get my hair". The first couple of times, I was taken off guard and initially confused by the question. Then I started realizing that folks assume that my hair is not mine. Last week, after telling someone that it is actually my hair, she responded that my hair looked too perfect and that's why she assumed it wasn't mine. I took it as a total compliment. I love rocking my curly afro!
"Weave-checked"! LOL. Too funny.
I aint gonna lie to you, sometimes I've seen some natural hair styles and have wanted to weave check them myself because they looked too perfect to be natural hair LOL. I get people who ask to touch my hair when I have twists but that really doesn't bother me and I never think about if they are weave checking me or not, I really don't care.
I get it all the time, Whether curly or straight…I've been asked what kind of hair is that, I had the chinese lady touch my hair at the cleaners that I ALWAYS go to, boy was I outdone! and I had the chinese lady who used to do my eyebrows asked if it was all my hair. I believe that they think black women can't grow their hair! smh. Just the other day I went to the BSS and some ladies was walking behind me when I was leaving and one commented, "That's a nice weave she's wearing, I like that hair.." LOL… I just shook my head and thought.. , sure is…
Why do we keep asking answering the same questions?
Thank you so much for this post. I love it! I get "weave-checked" all the time! At first I thought it was funny. I don't think my hair is all that for people to think that it's a weave. But since the first time this happened to me (a year ago), it continues to happen at least three times a month. I do not take this as an insult and actually take "weave-checking" as a compliment. This experience has made me appreciate my natural hair even more. I let people touch my hair when they ask. I don't take it as a sign of disrespect since they have asked before they touched. I want people to know that black is BEAUTIFUL! And that although many complain that our hair does not always grow in length, it definitely does grow in width.
I like that women are wearing afro-texured weaves and clips. It shows that many are contemplating going natural and want to see how it looks on them first.
Sometimes when I wear my blowout people ask me if it's all mine. Yes it is. Why do we think black people can't grow long hair? Maybe because out hair breaks off so easily. If our hair didn't grow, we would never need a touch up when we have relaxed hair. Our hair does grow, it's just a matter of keeping it on our head. I remeber getting "track checked" years ago when I had a relaxer. This girl who claimed to be my friend actualy dug her fingernails in the back of my hair.
Just yesterday I was at the McDonald's drive through (getting a smoothie! lol) and the cashier asked me if that was my hair, then told me it looked really pretty, like those girls in the videos. I took it as a compliment. People usually ask if it's my hair, instead of the opposite (is that a weave).
I usually get asked if I have a perm (curly one) lol because my curls are very defined lol cracks me up.
I used to get asked that a lot when I was a kid with long curly hair. Since transitioning and chopping, I haven't yet, but my hair isn't long by any means. But I do get asked if I have a texturizer in my hair.
This happens All the time no matter what state my hair is in, straight or curly. Once when my hair was curly, I was waiting in line in my office buildings cafeteria and a woman looked at me and after rolling her eyes, turned to her friend and said "hmph… can you believe these people and their wigs?" smh I almost screamed "EXPLETIVE go find your edges and then worry about my 'wig'"…But I was a lady I just gave her the whatever shrug and walked away. Man oh man was I mad.
Don't people have anything better to do?!?!? There are so many more interesting questions to ask a new acquaintance.
This comment has been removed by the author.
It is so weird to me that people (including black people) think that our hair doesn't naturally grow long.
I come from a family of women with naturally long hair. My mother and every one of her sisters has long hair. They don't need perms. Their hair is down their back just the same. We are just a black family from the south. No magic, no smoke and mirrors.
Our hair textures and lengths are just as diverse as our complexions. I don't get why this is so hard to believe.
This happens to me a lot and it is annoying. However I do believe that most black women can't grow long hair.the texture is wound too tight and usually ends up in damage and poor retention.i'm not being mean i'm just saying.This is why my hair kept length better wheni was relaxed.