If someone asks "Is your hair real?" do you take it as a compliment or insult?

Question

•I would ♥ input from all backgrounds...I am Afr.Amer; my natural hair is wavy-(Why cant ppl just keep their mouths shut!!!)

Eri Cherri Lydia: I am sorry if you thought I wanted to know your ethnicity; I just meant that my question was not just limited to only afri.amer. women responding to it...
BTW: I never heard of Eritrea; I just looked it up...The women are very beautiful!!!

Answer 1

They could say that because
1. Your hair is extremely shiny
2. Your hair looks so bad that it looks fake

I know that if they say something like that i wont like it. Why can't they just say "I like your hair", or else stay quiet.

LINA: I should add instead of shiny, "healthy and beautiful"

Answer 2

I'd be insulted, but that's mostly because I'm a guy with short hair and that question would mean that the asker thinks my hair looks like a toupee.

If I had longer hair though, I'd probably take it as a compliment.

Answer 3

both. sometimes I want to be offended because someone assumes that I can't have a certain type of hair because of my ethnicity but I can't help feeling flattered that someone thinks it's nice enough to be fake.

and I'm from Eritrea in North East Africa, since ur askin about backgrounds too.

Answer 4

Well, I guess it depends on who's asking...is it another sistah who also wears weaves or wigs and is just curious...is it a stylist, or is it someone just trying to be provocative. Either way, I wouldn't be offended. Everyone asks questions for different reasons.

Some people think I would get offended when they say "oh you're loosing weight" (I'm chubby), but I'm not. Some people just want to know how I'm doing it. It's no big deal.

Answer 5

I think this question is meant to be insulting. Nosey people ask this question all of the time, because they are stereotyping black women. they believe all black women are identical, and all have the same hairtype, and hair length. nothing could be farthest from the truth. It's sort of the same way people ask skinny, emaciated looking white women with big boobs, are their boobs real.

Answer 6

I used to get that all the time before I permed my hair and I still get it. Before my perm my hair was really wavy like I had a Jeri curl, now it's shoulder length and bone straight.

So many people think I'm wearing a weave. I've learned to laugh it off and say 'No it's the Cherokee gene'. It kind of shuts people up really quick which I like to do anyway.

Answer 7

I take it as an insult, actually. I don't know exactly why it matters to other people, but some people assume that because I'm half black and my mom has short hair that my long, naturally silky hair is not real.

Answer 8

I usually get that question myself.

As for your question,I kind of find it like an insult.However,some people can tend to be very nosy and ignorant when it comes to seeing something different,so don't even worry about them :)

Answer 9

I find it insulting. I've been asked that many times. It's like they're saying that can't possibly be your real hair because it's too long, straight or whatever else. And I always say yes it's my real hair and I come back with the same comment and ask them is that their real hair.

I mean is it really their business if it's my real hair or not?

Answer 10

It's insulting from the perspective that there are certain things you don't ask people. It's just called being proper and using ettiquette.

Answer 11

Some are ignorant think that all black people have the same type of hair and same length. This is MINE hair and people ask all the time is this my hair.