How fast does African, 4c hair grow?
This is an age long question that has bugged many African beauties. I have also asked this question at some point in my life.
Infact, oblivous to the facts, I had resigned to believing 4c hair wasn’t made to grow. I strongly believed that God was gracious enough to have granted us the sparse hair we possess, but that this hair wasn’t made to thrive or grow as much as we see in women of other races, such as the Asians and Europeans.
Boy, was I wrong! 4c hair does grows y’all!
It might not blow its trumpet like its straight counterparts due to shrinkage, but it does grow when given the right environment for thriving.
Let’s examine the facts and debunk those silly myths
A certain length cannot be surpassed in the hair journey of African descendants
The most ridiculous myth I have ever heard of 4c hair growth is that a certain length cannot be surpassed in the hair journey of African descendants. Basically, what was being proposed was that…….if by some stroke of luck your 4c hair does grow, it would ultimately become stunted.
People! This is absolute garbage. 4c hair isn’t condemned to such an outrageous fate. If the hair doesn’t seem to be growing, it might be that the rate of hair breakage is constantly surpassing the growth rate of the hair. Length retention would become a drag with continuous hair breakage. Please note that breakage could be rectified for maximum length retention by making simple hair care changes such as; getting rid of split ends as soon as noticed, reducing hair manipulation and keying in on a healthy hair routine. Please throw this stunted growth myth into your trash can.
4c hair grows slower than those of other races
What does this even mean? This is laughable honestly. You would think our creator had it in for black women, or that he didn’t consider us deserving/worthy of a beautiful and flourishing crown.
Let me inform you guys, that on an average, our hair should grow by 6 inches per year. This means we expect a growth rate of about half an inch per month like many other races. It might seem like this isn’t the case for the African ladies, but it is. Asides those who have issues with retaining length due to substandard hair care practices, some others just don’t know that their hair has grown much because of its profound shrinkage.
I used to be on this ship, pondering, and filling myself with worry on if I had made any hair growth progress. All of this however stopped when I started to become intentional about stretching out my coils and taking note of the actual length of my 4c hair. The joy that came with the realization that my hair was growing but glaringly overshadowed by shrinkage was intense. I finally felt fulfilled! Please never conclude that your hair isn’t thriving darling, shrinkage might just be hiding that new growth.
Another myth I have heard is the role genetics play in hair growth
In my opinion, illd say this is partly true and partly false, Yes, Genetics might favour faster than the average growth in women of certain lineages but that’s about it. No woman in my opinion inherits bad hair genes, only bad hair practices. Saying that women from your lineage never have good hair is not something illd gulp down without raising an eyebrow. Why don’t you check their hair practices first. Just maybe if the tender love and care to the crown is highlighted and upgraded, their crown would exceed imaginations with growth.
So guys, Now you know that God has blessed us with a beautiful crown. Though fragile, it does grow when given the right atmosphere. Please don’t let anyone ever dampen your black girl hair spirit. You hair can flourish fine, if not better than those of other races.
Take care loves and keep growing your gorgeous coils.
