This is something that baffles me and in fact a white friend of mine asked me this same question. Why do black women keep constantly hitting their head when wearing weaves, or even braids. if it is so itchy, can you not scratch it like a normal person? Why must you bang and hit it as if you are beating a drum. I really hate going in public with any woman that does that shit. Why must you put something on in the first place that makes you feel so uncomfortable? Na wa o. i weep for black women.

Its not just black women only; I've observed it in women of other races. What do you expect? Imagine the amount of microbes that grow in there; bacteria, fungi, dust, worms, etc. Its now a part of their life style.

@Post

That is probably because it is more difficult to itch the scalp the normal way when you have braids that are closely plaited together with no spaces in between. Some black women feel that they will mess up their hair-do if they itch their scalp the normal way while those that 'fix' weave-on can hardly reach the bottom of their scalps because the weave-on is sewn or glued on almost the entire scalp making it rather difficult for the scalp to breath and receive fresh air and thereby causing it to sweat. The result? Itching scalp. Hence you see them patting their head.

Why do some black women make hair-dos that are not comfortable? I guess to impress the men but they forget that they can't win with the average black man. As black women, they're damned if they do and they're damned if they don't. If the average black man out there would embrace natural 'unprocessed' black/African textured hair that is curly or kinky on the black woman, then most black women will not feel compelled to wear all those hideous long straight wigs and weave-on that make them look like some character out of a movie scene. But when some inferiority stricken black men lust after or desire women who are from racial groups where they grow long straight hair, some black women feel compelled to get the same look even at the expense of their comfort.

Lastly, tell your white friend to mind his or her own business. I am not quite sure why the average Caucasian/white person - especially their women - obsesses so much about black women's hair when the average black woman can care less about what Caucasian women do with their hair. I mean its quite absurd that a white person and a black man like you have nothing more edifying to discuss than how some black women choose to itch their scalps. Are you both unemployed or just bored?