Black women and hair in the Caribbean/West Indies, Central a

I'm Jamaican (only one born here) and when I went down to visit this past summer I was shocked by the number of colorful weaves I saw. Most of my family had their hair relaxed and kept pestering me about my twists. LoL. I was really surprised though that aunt, who's a hair dresser, didn't know any styles she could do on my hair. My friend ended up cornrowing the front and pulling everything back into a pin on bun with some jam. I did see some naturals walking around with puffs when I went to Kingston. My mom and her dad's family are red people from St. Elizabeth and my dad is a little mixed as well so I have some nice curls but my family is still wondering when I'm going to "cream my hair".

Wow this is an interesting topic. I'm Black American born right here in the states (backwards SC). I just automatically assumed people in the caribbean embraced their natural hair but apparrently not. I don't think any of you commented on Africa or antything.

repn panama..and when i told my family and friends i was going natural they couldnt understand why..and when my hair is straight or curled with rolo its gorgeous oh mami its so pretty but when its in its natural state they're like ay u want me to straighten that or add some weave and color 2 it as if my hair isnt beautiful because its natural

i would like to add this link about DR to the discussion:

http://islandista.wordpress.com/2009/11/12/sammy-sosa-black-denial-in-the-dr/

and here is the mentioned article in full-text:
http://www.miamiherald.com/multimedia/news/afrolatin/part2/index.html

I'm from Kingston Jamaica, I go home often, and the last time I was home in July, I thought the natural movement was big there. I have not had any of the negative things mentioned on here happen to me while I was home. Most of my cousins are natural, my mom,Aunties and my grandma (she was always natural, penticostal Jamaican) so when I went home natural they were like "oh cool". I saw a lot of weaves,relaxers and Natural hair everywhere, I felt very comfortable being all Natural there.

Well My story isn't any different from most of the comments here
I was born in Trinidad and Tobago (Gasparillo) and i had moved to the states in 2002.
Back home in Trinidad everyone and they mother had a perm. Surprisingly, only when i arrived in the US i had gotten my 1st perm ( winter of 2002). But as a child growing up, in primary school and junior secondary school i had natural hair ;and, I used to get teased almost every day about my hair being nappy, picky (meaning short) and hard.
Which had caused me to hate my natural hair.

In Trinidad there are some naturals, but majority of women would rather wear weaves, extension or straighted their hair. Truth be told, Trinidad and Tobago is a HUGE COPYCAT. The only thing that is different from the US than Trinidad is Money.

In January 2009 I had BC, and so far all of my friends and family in the states love my natural hair..
But i haven't been back home in years...so i will have to get back with you guys on that one.

Another thing i know for a fact is that if i was to go back home right now, it will be much easier for me to get relax hair products such as relaxers, sulfate shampoos, gel..etc But if i was to get shea butter i will be catching my butt to get some..

Don't worry curlytrini. I'm planning to take the revolution back home lol

Hey yall! Im half Trinidadian, my dad is from there! I grew up in long beach CA, but im now living in canada. My moms is from cape breton, so is have scotish and british in me too. Its so wierd growing up in CA and going to school with alot of blacks and whites and my curly 3b-c hair not accepted? both had staight hair?! and I would be made fun of even though teh black girls hair was so damaged and their ponyails were like as long as my pinky? I was the one who was nappy? dont get me started on the white girls as well. Funny because God made our hair a certain way black peoples hair is mean tfor hotter weather, all my straight heri friends have to pu tin ponytails when we play soccer for fun, but the wind just goes through my hair and the sweat is cooled. I dont get sweaty pasted hair like they do! trust me when that old generation dies out so will the comments of "picken ninny" "goodhair" and others will go too. Afro hair is beautiful and I know plenty of white men who love it! my husband its German/finnish and he hates straight hair, he say s it looks like a plain flat piece of paper, its boring, and dull. It sad alot of black men prefer the relaxed hair, but with the influences of hip hop videos its showing the ideal, no different than white girls having to be realy thin looking at models and celebritys (someone go give those "Hills" girls a burger!) Its good that all uf us choose to go natrual(ye sI have had a relaxer!) it will be better for our children! I dotn get it as well with all the conditioners out there that are cheap it would be easy to care for natural hair! anywho spoke too much!

This is really interesting to me because in my family WE DON'T TALK ABOUT HAIR! but when we have the only thing that gets talked about is how I have "good hair" and how I cant do what my cousins do because I have to much hair and those hair styles are for people with not as much hair or nappy(shudders) hair. Like I didn't already feel like an outcast being the ONLY light skinned one in my Afro-Brasilian family.
Another thing is that I have noticed is that in my family the Af. Ams talk about hair more than the other races do and they only have derogatory comments to make.

i am nigerian and had the wonderful opportunity of traveling there back in december of 2005. i am positive almost all of the women i saw had perms, which is not surprising since colonization of blacks started in africa, specifically in west africa. it was definitely sad to see tho

I'm from the St. Croix, US Virgin Islands and our natural to permed ratio is pretty even....maybe 60% permed to 40% natural. I think the VI like most of the islands have that same old mentality that you either have good hair or picky hair. But alot of people back home have dreads, and alot of the older generation these are still looked down upon. But I must say the weaves and wigs of all shapes sizes ans colors run rampant.

Now being here in Germany, the permies have it hands down. I see a natural sista from time to time, but we are definetly commodities and get the weirdest of looks.

xtremelyperfect wrote:My parents are Haitian as well and when I big chopped my mom was like umm, what's gotten into you?! lol. She thought it would just be a phase and was like so what are you gonna do after you get over this "natural" thing. Then when I told her it wasn't a thing and this was it she's was like oh I get it, you just are too cheap to get your hair done so that's why you're doing this. I'm like NO MOM. Lol. She'll get over it.

My dad hasn't seen me since my big chop yet and I'm going to spend Christmas with them there so we'll see his reaction! You guys are right though a lot of Haitians don't appreciate their gorgeous natural hair. And my parents think dudes with long hair = bums. So sad! Sometimes I wish they weren't so close-minded.

I'm also Haitian as well and transitioning. You have no idea how many times my mom has tried to discourage me from going natural. I think she's just waiting for me to get frustrated so she can rub it in but no siree bob, I'm sticking with my plan for LIFE My parents are the same way with dudes and long hair also.. especially if they have dreads.

I totally agree with the haitians lol. I'm haitian and my parents think duys with long hair are bad lol. So closeminded, but surprisingly my family loves my hair and they've advised me not to perm my hair yet they continue perming theirs. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

I agree with all of the other Haitians. My parents are the same exact way.

This reminds me of a discussion we had in my Britain & Slavery class while I was studying abroad in London. Now I was the only black student in this class and my teacher starts talking about how when he went to Barbados he noticed how all of women had straight eurocentric hair and young girls had hair that was wild (he meant natural, yes very problematic description, I know) Anywho..he turns to me and asks why is that?

I responded I would need an entire class to explain the politics of black hair lol.

I'm Jamaican (been living in the US since I was a child) and I really don't see a huge difference between the way Black American women and Jamaican women wear their hair. In Jamaica there are lots of women who have natural hair but wear wigs and weaves, and there are PLENTY of women with relaxers. Many of us in the African Diaspora have the same European influences, so it makes sense that many women in the Diaspora would wear their hair similarly. Although I dont believe that wearing your hair straight makes you want to be European in any way (I don't think wearing a short blonde flipped wig with green highlights is very European at all, but it shows that there is influence) Its just that straighter hair or hair with a looser curl pattern has a higher value aesthetically, pretty much the same as the US.
I also think that there are regional differences, for example in the more metropolitan areas like Kingston, Montego Bay etc. there is more straightened or weaved up hair (lots of wigs too). But there are still quite a few naturals, one of my visits years ago was the first time I saw women with mini twists in their natural hair, and I saw quite a few. Also many of the devoutly religious women believe that using relaxers is wrong (correct me if I'm wrong, but that doesn't seem to ring true for Christian women here).

Also I definitely think there are regional differences in the US too, for example, I live in an "inner city area" of CT and the few naturals that I do see tend to have locs, but when I'm in NYC I see naturals left and right; loose and loc'd....

I'm also Haitian (born and raised in Haiti). The women on my father's side have long, thick beautiful hair and among my mother's children, I inherited that hair. I decided to shave my head last October 2009 and my family's reaction, excluding my older sister, amazed me. Haitians are so attached to hair that if you cut it, it's considered a death sentence. I remember the school I used to attend in Haiti was predominantly all elites' children (mixed races) with long hair and if you didn't fit that category, you were excluding from their click.
I was very nonchalant when it came to the reactions towards my transition especially the ones from my family because they should have known better. I have no regrets.
By the way, guess who did the big chop? my mother; unfortunately, she mentioned going back to relaxing the other day but I'm going to try and convince her to keep her hair natural.

PS: I reside in Brooklyn as well and must say that I can literally count the amount of people with natural hair on my fingers, not a lot :^(

Let me put in my two cents worth. I am from Jamaica and I lived there for 26 of my 30 years. I have been away for almost 4 years but have gone back to visit. I do not think visiting Jamaica qualifies anyone to talk about the percentage of women on the island who wear their hair natural and those who don't.

My mother has 6 girls and only 3 of us ever got a perm. In my parents' church in which we grew up perming is considered to be wrong for Christians. This is the case with quite a few churches in Jamaica. Wearing locks has become pervasive as well and many people have given up relaxers for this hairstyle. Yes people wear weaves, braids etc but in my opinion a significant number of Jamaicans have always embraced their 'natural' hair. Many people I know only got a perm when they were in their teens because there is the thinking that when you get a perm you are a 'big woman'

I am puzzled why there is the expectation by some here that the females in the Caribbean and Africa would be more likely to be naturals. Please explain because that makes no sense. Also why does it have to be an issue about who is natural and who isn't. I thought this was still a personal choice. I think some people who become natural have some kind of epiphany and feel everyone should follow en masse. We need to respect other people's choice.

Here in St. Lucia natural styles are making a HUGE comeback.

We've got to remember that back in the day (before Independence, which was in 1979 for St. Lucia), people's hair and skin were definitely a boost , or hindrance to their professional aspirations. One couldn't work at a bank or be a teacher if one's skin was too dark, and Afro-textured hair was a HUGE no-no in the workplace.

St. Lucians have been conditioned to believe that the only 'good' hair is hair that lies flat, or curls into silky ringlets. If you don't have that kind of hair naturally, then it's a perm/texturizer/relaxer for you!

These days however, I'm seeing many more naturals. Locks of course, are big, but also people rocking TWAs and larger as well. It's heartening, but at the same time there's a lot of misconception about natural hair and how to take care of it.

It breaks my heart when my sister says 'I can't go natural, my hair is not well behaved like yours'. She has thick, beautiful 4b hair that would look amazing in twisted and braided styles but she keeps relaxing and cutting off her damaged ends. I don't know what to tell her.

My family is from Barbados and we (my family) have always embraced natural hair. I've been natural my entire life and none of my relatives has ever said a discouraging word to me about it. Many of the females in my family have been relaxed, texurized, etc... in the past, but many of them are natural now. The last time I went home (Christmas of 2007) I noticed quite a few twisted and braided styles, and of course lots of beautiful (and not so beautiful, lol) locs. Of course there were lots of weaves and relaxed heads also, but it was the more natural styles that caught my eye.

wyldhoney wrote:Here in St. Lucia natural styles are making a HUGE comeback.

We've got to remember that back in the day (before Independence, which was in 1979 for St. Lucia), people's hair and skin were definitely a boost , or hindrance to their professional aspirations. One couldn't work at a bank or be a teacher if one's skin was too dark, and Afro-textured hair was a HUGE no-no in the workplace.

St. Lucians have been conditioned to believe that the only 'good' hair is hair that lies flat, or curls into silky ringlets. If you don't have that kind of hair naturally, then it's a perm/texturizer/relaxer for you!

These days however, I'm seeing many more naturals. Locks of course, are big, but also people rocking TWAs and larger as well. It's heartening, but at the same time there's a lot of misconception about natural hair and how to take care of it.

It breaks my heart when my sister says 'I can't go natural, my hair is not well behaved like yours'. She has thick, beautiful 4b hair that would look amazing in twisted and braided styles but she keeps relaxing and cutting off her damaged ends. I don't know what to tell her.

Being St.Lucian as well i can't agree more with wyldhoney...texturizers are also very big amonst young adults to obtain that dougs or dougla look (half indian and half black race). Those with 4A hair an above(3c, 3b) etc are more readily accepted when natural.I have 4b/c hair and i have been looked upon by friends and family members."Girl just relax your hair and stop stressing yourself" has been a very familiar phrase to me. Dreadlocks and sisterlocks are very common and fashionable as well.(i plan to lock my hair my self). I must also say that the stigma associated with dreadlocks is lessening as well.

Im Trinidadian.....Sad to say, there is still the 'good hair,bad hair' mentality here. Most of the 4a/b naturals have dread locs or micro twist, they almost never wear afros. Looser curled hair texture is more accepted.. Dougla hair (persons of mixed african and indian decent) is considered 'good' and is more accepted even admired.
As some of you may know... I texturised my hair after being natural for two years.... part of the reason was the comments that I would get about my hair.

For example.... I did a twist-out one day and I thought it was looking pretty good.... I was disappointed and kinda hurt when my co-workers asked me if i left home in a rush or didnt comb my hair .... after all my hard work on that twist-out. This left me feeling pretty self-concious.....

Another time I did big twists and a someone asked if I was going to pick cotton....

I guess I gave up... but I just couldn't take the negativity anymore.

renren that's awful. I can't believe the things that come out of peoples mouths sometimes. WTH?!

I'm glad this thread got bumped up cause I totally forgot about it. So last time I wrote that I was going to Haiti and my father hadn't seen my hair yet. I was so amazed at his reaction! He loved it and told me I'm beautiful regardless of what I do to my hair. I was like, dad have you been smoking some stuff? No but seriously when my mom was hating on my hair over Christmas and he was the one who was saying she was just being a brat.

Now almost a year after my BC my mom has finally come around because she can see that my hair is growing. She still harasses me because my hair isn't "jet black" and I henna and she can see the red tint but that's her problem lol. I'm not gonna stop doing henna treatments just because you don't like my hair color lmao.

Also while I was in Haiti I did see a lot of naturals. They mainly kept their hair in two strand twists or box braids including my own cousin:

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that's us at our Christmas party in Haiti 2009

I think a lot of people in the Caribbean have just been brainwashed to think that their natural hair isn't beautiful. I believe if they saw more people in the media with natural hair they'd embrace their own more. There's so much we can do with our hair to make it fun and beautiful and all they ever see on tv is relaxed women or weaves and lacefronts. I mean I got stared at in the airport and overheard someone asking another person if I was a celebrity cause I wore a faux-hawk lol.

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Hopefully with time they'll come to see that they should save their money for something other than relaxers and embrace what God gave them.

My mother's half is Panamanian, and father's side is Dominican (the ISLAND, not the Republic). NEITHER SIDE APPROVES OF NATURAL HAIR. Period, end of story. Unless it's "coolie" (long and loosely curled--which my hair ISN'T.). [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] You know some jackass called me that when I was in Downtown Brooklyn back when my hair was big? "Ay, COOLIE GYAL wuh gwan??". Like I'm REALLY gonna want to talk to him after that. Such an A-hole. At any rate. My mother came around to my hair, but everyone else is suspect. They're all about conforming and "fitting in", so I KNOW they'll disagree.

I wish i knew where my ancestors where from. Ive heard stories of rumors. But nothing has been confirmed.