# Can an black African baby born with pale skin and soft hair maintain features? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 27, 2016, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-an-black-african-baby-born-with-pale-skin-and-soft-hair-maintain-features/773193 "2016-11-27T18:19:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![femmejean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/0ea827/32.png) [@femmejean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/femmejean)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2016, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-an-black-african-baby-born-with-pale-skin-and-soft-hair-maintain-features/773193/1 "2016-11-27T18:19:57Z")
Something interesting I’ve pondered. My cousin was born to two black African parents but at birth he essentially looked like an Arab/Indian child with soft hair. Now in 98% of cases like other ethnically black African kids, his racial features will set in and look like a fully blooded African, with coily, dry textured hair. However could the skin darkening and hair follicle restructuring be ‘stalled’ without affecting his growth negatively at the discretion of his parents? This is excluding any potentially toxic chemicals to health like skin lightening compounds, hair relaxers etc… They say that blacks that live in Europe and use sunscreen are lighter than if they lived in Sub Saharan Africa. He lives in East Africa so had he been moved to somewhere like Siberia or Northern Europe but received a nutritious diet so that his bones would not be deformed from Vitamin D deficiency would he maintain that light skin colour or at the least not become very dark? Would this though have any effects on his hair texture as he grows into an adult or would that be pretty difficult to prevent? ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2016, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-an-black-african-baby-born-with-pale-skin-and-soft-hair-maintain-features/773193/2 "2016-11-27T18:23:10Z")
What exactly does an Arab/Indian look like? And what exactly are black African’s standard phenotype (hint, there is’nt one). ---
**Author:** ![femmejean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/0ea827/32.png) [@femmejean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/femmejean)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2016, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-an-black-african-baby-born-with-pale-skin-and-soft-hair-maintain-features/773193/3 "2016-11-27T18:33:47Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > What exactly does an Arab/Indian look like? And what exactly are black African’s standard phenotype (hint, there is’nt one). This is an image of him… [https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3d/Black\_African\_Baby\_With\_Pale\_Appareance\_At\_Birth.jpg/800px-Black\_African\_Baby\_With\_Pale\_Appareance\_At\_Birth.jpg](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3d/Black_African_Baby_With_Pale_Appareance_At_Birth.jpg/800px-Black_African_Baby_With_Pale_Appareance_At_Birth.jpg) [https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e8/Black\_African\_Baby\_With\_Pale\_Appareance\_At\_Birth\_%28Close\_Up%29.jpg/800px-Black\_African\_Baby\_With\_Pale\_Appareance\_At\_Birth\_%28Close\_Up%29.jpg](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e8/Black_African_Baby_With_Pale_Appareance_At_Birth_%28Close_Up%29.jpg/800px-Black_African_Baby_With_Pale_Appareance_At_Birth_%28Close_Up%29.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2016, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-an-black-african-baby-born-with-pale-skin-and-soft-hair-maintain-features/773193/4 "2016-11-27T19:07:09Z")
Are we talking parents who are natives of Africa, or nth-generation African Americans? And if the former, what part of Africa? ---
**Author:** ![femmejean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/0ea827/32.png) [@femmejean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/femmejean)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2016, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-an-black-african-baby-born-with-pale-skin-and-soft-hair-maintain-features/773193/5 "2016-11-27T19:10:05Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Are we talking parents who are natives of Africa, or nth-generation African Americans? And if the former, what part of Africa? native Africans from Kenya and Tanzania. ---
**Author:** ![Kedikat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed655f/32.png) [@Kedikat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kedikat)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2016, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-an-black-african-baby-born-with-pale-skin-and-soft-hair-maintain-features/773193/6 "2016-11-27T19:21:17Z")
I suppose lack of light and immersion in fluid accounts for the skin tone and hair being limp. ---
**Author:** ![Kedikat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed655f/32.png) [@Kedikat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kedikat)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2016, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-an-black-african-baby-born-with-pale-skin-and-soft-hair-maintain-features/773193/7 "2016-11-27T19:26:57Z")
Be a hermit in a very damp cave? ---
**Author:** ![watchwolf49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9c0ed/32.png) [@watchwolf49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watchwolf49)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2016, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-an-black-african-baby-born-with-pale-skin-and-soft-hair-maintain-features/773193/8 "2016-11-27T19:57:40Z")
Wikipedia says (I know I know I know) that there’s been Arabs in that part of Africa since the first century … do we know both parents didn’t have a drop of Arab blood in them? ---
**Author:** ![femmejean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/0ea827/32.png) [@femmejean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/femmejean)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2016, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-an-black-african-baby-born-with-pale-skin-and-soft-hair-maintain-features/773193/9 "2016-11-28T11:23:17Z")
> [@watchwolf49](#): > > Wikipedia says (I know I know I know) that there’s been Arabs in that part of Africa since the first century … do we know both parents didn’t have a drop of Arab blood in them? Unlikely. I believe that Arab’s only settled on the coast of East Africa (Somalia, Kenya), so in Kenya the only areas where you would find people with Arab blood in large numbers are along Mombasa. The parent’s are however from near Lake Victoria and Central Kenya. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2016, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-an-black-african-baby-born-with-pale-skin-and-soft-hair-maintain-features/773193/10 "2016-11-28T13:07:22Z")
The parents could be largely of Ethiopian ancestry, whic his quite nearby, and a lot of Ethiopians carry significant ancestry from the Middle East. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2016, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-an-black-african-baby-born-with-pale-skin-and-soft-hair-maintain-features/773193/11 "2016-11-28T14:27:56Z")
Keeping out of the sun might make him lighter than if he saw the sun regularly, but his hair is going to do what it’s going to do, unless artificial means are applied. Hair curl is an internal thing based on the shape of the follicles, not an environmental response. ---
**Author:** ![Jane\_Smythe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f04885/32.png) [@Jane\_Smythe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jane_Smythe)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2016, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-an-black-african-baby-born-with-pale-skin-and-soft-hair-maintain-features/773193/12 "2016-11-28T14:32:11Z")
> [@femmejean](#): > > Something interesting I’ve pondered. My cousin was born to two black African parents but at birth he essentially looked like an Arab/Indian child with soft hair. Now in 98% of cases like other ethnically black African kids, his racial features will set in and look like a fully blooded African, with coily, dry textured hair. > > However could the skin darkening and hair follicle restructuring be ‘stalled’ without affecting his growth negatively at the discretion of his parents? This is excluding any potentially toxic chemicals to health like skin lightening compounds, hair relaxers etc… > > They say that blacks that live in Europe and use sunscreen are lighter than if they lived in Sub Saharan Africa. He lives in East Africa so had he been moved to somewhere like Siberia or Northern Europe but received a nutritious diet so that his bones would not be deformed from Vitamin D deficiency would he maintain that light skin colour or at the least not become very dark? > > Would this though have any effects on his hair texture as he grows into an adult or would that be pretty difficult to prevent? Why do you care about this? Is it better to look like an Indian or an Arab than look black? WTF? ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2016, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-an-black-african-baby-born-with-pale-skin-and-soft-hair-maintain-features/773193/13 "2016-11-28T14:36:33Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Hair curl is an internal thing based on the shape of the follicles, not an environmental response. Composition of the hair I thought, actually. Same as color. Different people’s hair has different aminoacids and different bound non-aminoacids. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2016, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-an-black-african-baby-born-with-pale-skin-and-soft-hair-maintain-features/773193/14 "2016-11-28T15:04:19Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > Composition of the hair I thought, actually. Nope, shape of the follicle determines degree of curl, rounder follicle = straighter hair. Hair composition may play into other elements of hair texture, but basic shape is from how round the hair shaft is, and that’s a function of the follicle shape. ---
**Author:** ![crinoidgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c0e974/32.png) [@crinoidgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crinoidgirl)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2016, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-an-black-african-baby-born-with-pale-skin-and-soft-hair-maintain-features/773193/15 "2016-11-28T15:55:26Z")
> [@Jane\_Smythe](#): > > Why do you care about this? Is it better to look like an Indian or an Arab than look black? WTF? I’m having a hard time with this, too. It shouldn’t matter. You’d think this thread wouldn’t exist in 2016. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2016, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-an-black-african-baby-born-with-pale-skin-and-soft-hair-maintain-features/773193/16 "2016-11-28T16:05:44Z")
> [@femmejean](#): > > Unlikely. I believe that Arab’s only settled on the coast of East Africa (Somalia, Kenya), so in Kenya the only areas where you would find people with Arab blood in large numbers are along Mombasa. The parent’s are however from near Lake Victoria and Central Kenya. There has been a very large Indian population in that area. Sikhs were brought in in the 19th century, and prior to 1972 there were approximately 80,000 ethnic Indians living in Uganda. ---
**Author:** ![chorpler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chorpler/32/2888_2.png) [@chorpler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chorpler)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2016, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-an-black-african-baby-born-with-pale-skin-and-soft-hair-maintain-features/773193/17 "2016-11-28T21:21:09Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Nope, shape of the follicle determines degree of curl, rounder follicle = straighter hair. Hair composition may play into other elements of hair texture, but basic shape is from how round the hair shaft is, and that’s a function of the follicle shape. Interesting. I assume by round you mean … um … like a cross-section of the hair and follicle, if you were looking at it from above the skin surface? What are the alternatives to “round” that cause hair to curl more? An oval shape, perhaps? ---
**Author:** ![Tzigone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Tzigone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tzigone)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2016, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-an-black-african-baby-born-with-pale-skin-and-soft-hair-maintain-features/773193/18 "2016-11-28T21:26:15Z")
Nevermind. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2016, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-an-black-african-baby-born-with-pale-skin-and-soft-hair-maintain-features/773193/19 "2016-11-28T22:30:01Z")
> [@chorpler](#): > > Interesting. I assume by round you mean … um … like a cross-section of the hair and follicle, if you were looking at it from above the skin surface? What are the alternatives to “round” that cause hair to curl more? An oval shape, perhaps? [Linky](https://www.google.com/search?q=hair+shape+cross+sections&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjh_sLnv8zQAhVo6IMKHZMPDLgQ_AUICCgB&biw=1056&bih=512). ---
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2016, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-an-black-african-baby-born-with-pale-skin-and-soft-hair-maintain-features/773193/20 "2016-11-28T22:48:25Z")
> [@Jane\_Smythe](#): > > Why do you care about this? Is it better to look like an Indian or an Arab than look black? WTF? > [@crinoidgirl](#): > > I’m having a hard time with this, too. It shouldn’t matter. You’d think this thread wouldn’t exist in 2016. Not sure, because I’m not from anywhere near there, but my impression is that much of Africa is far more racist (for want of a better term) against dark skinned people than the US is. Lighter skinned people are considered more beautiful, healthier, smarter, they get better jobs, earn more money, etc. I mean, I’m not racist at all, but if I had a choice, I’d only have tall, beautiful white children, myself. The economic privileges alone are impossible to deny. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-an-black-african-baby-born-with-pale-skin-and-soft-hair-maintain-features/773193.md?page=2)