#8 Extensions, weaves, and tracks.

This category is an obivous one for Black people.  However, many people outside the Black community are unaware that extensions are products that are commonly used by many Black women, and maybe some men.  (Hey, whatever floats your boats . . . I ain't mad atcha.)  Many black women use extensions and weaves because it takes a long time for their hair to grow out because of the natual texture of Black hair.  However, many rich women, take Oprah for example, can afford to not have to resort to the use of extensions because they can pay thousands of dollars or whatever it cost to get their hair done to their liking so that they don't have to resort to the use of weaves and tracks.

At this point, it is a good idea to establish the difference between weavea and tracks.  Both weaves and tracks are a type of hair extension.  However, weaves, as the name implies, are hair pieces that involve weaving fake hair into a person's already existing hair or, in the case of someone like Beyonce and other more daring and ambitious people, into the persons scalp.  A track is a hair piece that is glued into a person's already existing hair through the use of a special hair glue.  If you ever see a Black woman patting her head with the palm of her hand, it's probably because of the glue in her track.

Koreans and many other Asian groups, including African immigrants or other immigrants groups, are aware of this affinity of Black women for fake hair.  It is very common for many of the beauty supply stores that Black women go to to be own by one of these ethnic groups.  Why is it that few African-American women own their own beauty supply stores?  My answer to you is the following:  I don't know.  They just don't.

Another amazing phenomenon is the affinity of Black women for extensions that are made of real human hair.  They prefer Korean, Philipino, and Chinese hair pieces because their hair is supposed to be straighter and it matches the natural color of a Black woman's hair.  Human hair is also very expensive.  You can learn more about Black women's hair by watching the documentary/movie "Good Hair" starring Chris Rock. 

If you are not a Black person and you have a neighbor, friend, relative, or in-law who is a Black woman, you may notice that one day her hair is very short and the next day, all of a sudden, it becomes very long.  This is because the Black woman in question has gone to the beauty salon to get her hair extended through the use of weaves or tracks. 

Another area of concern is the fact that it is NEVER, NEVER, NEVER a good idea to ask a Black women the age old question "is that your real hair?"  The Black woman will become highly indignant and might become highly aggressive with you.  Asking this question will always backfire no matter who you are. Even if you are another Black person, this question almost always ends up insulting the Black woman in question.  They will usually initially respond by saying "Of course this is my real hair . . . I bought it, so it's mine."  Then they might start hollering and screaming and/or simply precede to insult you and try to make you feel as uncomfortable as possible through the use of some crude racially charged joke or by being real blunt with you, in other words, by "keepin' it real."