InTherapy: I'm sorry, I certainly didn't mean to offend. I am 1/2 black and 1/2 Mexican. The Mexican side of my family is always playing with, brushing and braiding each others hair. The black side- never. Never, never. Certainly it depends on the person, but I wanted the OP to know that for many black women it is more than personal discomfort about touch, and it is not necessarily about therapy or even just personal preference- it is a bigger deal than non-African American women may understand. (Personally, my hair takes after the Mexican side, but I keep it very, very short and don't like it touched.)