This is Why I'm Going Natural (Scary Pic)

[fluffylocks]

I really think her hair got on fire & burned her scalp up.

 

[dillard]

:burning:

.... i couldn't resist. if you're reading this lady, i really don't mean it in a bad way...

 

[aloof one]

I agree with all that you said BUT I do understand why ladies relax. I did it for years b/c it was all I ever knew. I did have some major burning from a relaxer when I was 12 that had all my hair glued to my scalp and I was like but it wasnt until years later that I wanted to go natural and didnt know how.


I think relaxing your hair is fine for some who prefer that choice but the manufacturers should put better warning labels on there. I'm surprised they havent been sued up the wazoo many times already.

DISCLAIMER: I am NOT judging the relaxed ladies. Its all a personal choice. I was relaxed myself for years so what could I possibly have to say that would condemn you?

Im glad you understand too-- and want to point out I do understand why. There were plenty of times my hair was melted into my head and I had to pick the crust and fried hair out only to relax again 4 weeks later and have the skin burnt off my ears. All because my whole life I thought I HAD to relax. Just like people have to bathe or brush their teeth- I thought it wasnt an option. I thought it was dirty or unacceptable if I didn't do it. I never saw that many naturals until I looked it up on the internet. I was literally doing searches on ways to take care of black hair WITHOUT perming, because I thought that was the only way we could do it. I think more women would go natural if they knew how to care for it and the benefits that come with it. But I also think people would continue to relax because that is a personal preference. However I still hope there is a day relaxers clean up their act and start getting better labels, whether some folks here think theyre efficient or not.

 

[chellero]

Some of you are so critical when you fail to realize the point.

THIS CAN HAPPEN. IT HAS HAPPENED, AND RELAXERS ARE DANGEROUS. Even when you follow derections. Some are allergic, and a different brand of relaxer could have more sodium hydroxide and be the turning point that causes a reaction. Just because it makes your hair look straight doesn't mean its good for you. I remember some idiot told me perming conditions and cleanses the hair. I wanted to slap her through the internet and I'm glad we haven't met.

Relaxers has the same caustic ingredient DRAINO and NAIR has. Why do you think people have to wear gloves? You think it can burn your hands but won't burn your scalp? Ever wonder why fingers turn yellow and brittle and hard and dead and hurts overtime from touching relaxer? Same thing happens to your scalp after years of relaxing! Why do you think white people look at us like we're crazy when we explain that we put a cream on our head and rinse it out when it starts burning? If Bleach and Cigarrettes and alcohol has all these warnings about being corrosive and damaging and/or volatile, etc... why doesn't perm? Because a lot of black people are flocking to stores to buy the stuff like candy so that they can have hair straight like white people. And they have the nerve to do it to their children too.

Personally, I don't think it is worth it. When I see pictures of people with holes in their cheeks who smoked because it never hurt them at the time(until they were in their 50s with cancer...), pictures of black women with alopecia and patches of bone straight hair surrounding bald spots who say "at least my hair looked good" (until the stuff magically fell out after a number or years),... people with cancers and skin problems and all the like from using Hydroquinone & other chemicals on their skin for years...

I think to myself... why would you hurt yourself to look a certain way that God didn't make you? Why would you potentially harm your body? I was relaxed because I had no choice- my mom did it since I was a toddler. Here I am old enough to make my decision to quit, and yea, that picture just confirms it that I made a good one!

This is the truth: I have a scab on the back of my head about the size of the tip of a pencil eraser. It has been there for YEARS. Possibly a decade. It NEVER HEALED from a relaxer I was given. My mom followed directions most of the time, rinsed, neutralized, and neutralized again. I neutralized everytime I washed for like 2 weeks after a perm to be safe. But it STILL damaged my scalp. Why do some of you relaxed heads think yall have itchy scalps? Sores that don't heal? Scars? Now this is just me guessing but I think Black people don't just get dandruff out of the blue, I think some of it comes from putting perm on the head. I promise you, when I started transitioning, and even after I started stretching years ago, I forgot what dandruff was because it magically went away, like most of the scabs on my head. Unfortunately a lasting effect is that I STILL have a scab, and it STILL hurts, and bleeds and itches like I just got it yesterday. That's not natural.

So don't downplay something clearly unnatural and clearly dangerous, and clearly should be labelled as such. And by labelling, I want to see on the box that the stuff causes alopecia in some people, because it does. That it shouldn't be used every 4 weeks, because it shouldn't. That Sodium Hydroxide is right up there with all the other volatile chemicals like bleach and not a joke. I hate to offend, and I probably have, so for those of you who do relax, I understand why you do it, but you shouldn't shun this woman for doing what she is doing. They need to regulate perms, they need to label better, and they need to find a way to make it safer than what it is. ANYONE can buy a perm and use it at home, and this shouldn't be the case.

I would go and see another doctor about that. It could be some kind of cancer or something. I don't see why a burn wouldn't have healed by now.

 

[aloof one]

I would go and see another doctor about that. It could be some kind of cancer or something. I don't see why a burn wouldn't have healed by now.

I already did. I think I already replied to that from someone else b/c I guess I didnt elaborate enough?

I saw a doc, he said it was a burn. It scabbed over, but its probably the slowest healing would I have ever had. We think that the reason it never healed was because everytime I relaxed, or even when I got braids, the scab would open up again from being sensitive and burning after just healing on the surface.

IT IS better, but I can still feel the bump because it is a scar now, and bad scars typically don't grow hair on them, so there is a bald spot. I have the habit of scratching there, so of course it gets raw sometimes and thats why it won't go away. Apparently its a hypertrophic scar (spelling?) that is raised and may shrink (which I think it has because at the time I got it it felt a lot bigger)

My problem is that I never would have gotten the thing (because I RARELY have scalp problems, dandruff went away when I started transitioning and Ive never had any other issues, not even dry or oily scalp or those little head pimples some folks get...) had I not relaxed. I know because I had a few others and they went away. This one was just stubborn. I always take a long time to heal when Im sick or get injured, thats just how I am. The fact is it never woulda happened had I never got relaxed.

Thanks for your concern, but its NOT cancer--- I already have lupus and thats bad enough lol...

 

[Energee]

This same thing happened to Oprah long ago! My Goodness! I agree..this isn't inevitable for all 'relaxers'.

 

[sylver2]

okaaay so Oprah and this woman. So far thats 2 out of 250000000000........
so anyone know of any more cases like this..

 

[Jessica Rabbit]

Let me start this with the following disclaimer: I don't care if you are relaxed or natural, texturized or have locs. I think that the women here know how to responsibly apply a relaxer. My statements are solely going to be about the woman in the pictures until further notice.....


THIS IS A BIG CROCK OF ISH! SHE IS A LIAR OF THE DEVIL. Notice how she had to be prompted to go into detail about how she applied it. "I did it like you normally do." No you didn't. Then you would know you normally neutralize. She messed up and is embarrassed and trying to get a come up. This is a frivolous lawsuit. I hope they kick her and the suit out of court. Why did it take so long for the hair to start falling out? If it didn't start falling out for MONTHS, how are we not to know that she didn't do a touch-up in the meantime. And I'm not even going to speak on the modeling career. She should have taken the settlement offer. This may be harsh, but it's real talk. Her stupidity and ignorance should not result in a financial windfall.

With that said, have a nice day.

 

[Nice & Wavy]

okaaay so Oprah and this woman. So far thats 2 out of 250000000000........
so anyone know of any more cases like this..

I love your hair, sylver....all long, relaxed and luxurious...just absolutely healthy and beautiful!!!

 

[sylver2]

I love your hair, sylver....all long, relaxed and luxurious...just absolutely healthy and beautiful!!!

aww thanks girlie your hair is gorgeous..u had me feenin for a blowout..

 

[NYAmicas]

I think she used a plastic cap under a hooded dryer

The thought of that is making me cringe.
You and others that have posted made me rethink a lot. I'm considering myself extremely lucky that I didnt have the same results she did especially when I was young and buying the kits and just slapping them on my head. I really need to do some more research.

 

[NYAmicas]

You not right! I thought I was bad but this thread got a little to deep for me. It ain't too many things I feel passionately about and of the few relaxing aint one of them. But to each his own.

I know
I felt bad after reading her story and about her being an aspiring model but it seems like her life has taken another direction from her misfortune.

 

[sylver2]

The thought of that is making me cringe.
You and others that have posted made me rethink a lot. I'm considering myself extremely lucky that I didnt have the same results she did especially when I was young and buying the kits and just slapping them on my head. I really need to do some more research.

My aunt who has very thin hair put in her relaxer. she fell asleep. woke up the next morning
the relaxer had dried in her hair. it was eaten up all over breakage here and there. a few scabs. i'm surprised she wasn't bald and not looking like this lady.

 

[Jessica Rabbit]

My aunt who has very thin hair put in her relaxer. she fell asleep. woke up the next morning
the relaxer had dried in her hair. it was eaten up all over breakage here and there. a few scabs. i'm surprised she wasn't bald and not looking like this lady.

This story here is Exhibit D why this chick is lying. I'm inclined to believe she set herself on fire like somebody else suggested because she has those dark weed smoker lips. She probably was lighting up and set herself ablaze like MJ back in the day.

 

[Bint Yusef]

This story here is Exhibit D why this chick is lying. I'm inclined to believe she set herself on fire like somebody else suggested because she has those dark weed smoker lips. She probably was lighting up and set herself ablaze like MJ back in the day.

 

[BillsBackerz67]

ditto that

 

[WomanlyCharm]

This story here is Exhibit D why this chick is lying. I'm inclined to believe she set herself on fire like somebody else suggested because she has those dark weed smoker lips. She probably was lighting up and set herself ablaze like MJ back in the day.

Ooooooo....can't breathe!

 

[candy1214]

This story here is Exhibit D why this chick is lying. I'm inclined to believe she set herself on fire like somebody else suggested because she has those dark weed smoker lips. She probably was lighting up and set herself ablaze like MJ back in the day.

toldja bout them lips....joints were purple.

 

[Sistaslick]

Jessica don't say nothin else in this thread... nothing.

 

[Jessica Rabbit]

toldja bout them lips....joints were purple.

Like she borrowed Foxy Brown's lipstick

 

[candy1214]

Like she borrowed Foxy Brown's lipstick

AAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!! you need to stop it! im bout to walk over there and die on your front porch!

 

[Sistaslick]

Her before pictures kinda look like weaves. Was that her real hair before?

 

[Bint Yusef]

Like she borrowed Foxy Brown's lipstick

Gives a whole new meaning to "take it to the head"

 

[candy1214]

Her before pictures kinda look like weaves. Was that her real hair before?

u know better. leave Shima alone. yes her hair is real....just like Beyonce's.

 

[Eiano]

This story here is Exhibit D why this chick is lying. I'm inclined to believe she set herself on fire like somebody else suggested because she has those dark weed smoker lips. She probably was lighting up and set herself ablaze like MJ back in the day.

STOP!!!!!!!!!!

JUST STOP!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OMG OMG>.........................
Now I'm thinking about the scene from Jacksons: The American Dream when he tumbled down the stairs.

"I liked the sounds of the sigh-reens"

 

[aloof one]

The thought of that is making me cringe.
You and others that have posted made me rethink a lot. I'm considering myself extremely lucky that I didnt have the same results she did especially when I was young and buying the kits and just slapping them on my head. I really need to do some more research.

lol... she prepood with the activator and DC'd with the base
while sitting under the dryer in a plastic cap... after roller setting
i bet thats what she did

 

[aloof one]

This is why I'm going natural

yep. you can see the line where the showercap was.

but for real though, i see how its possile
she could have been burned overtime by her relaxers and just accepted it as a part of the process. Sometimes you get a bad perm and your hair stays for a long time. The follicle gets damaged over time. You shed a lot, and eventually, at some point... that hair is going to shed for the last time, and that follicle will be dead . Her last relaxer was probably done over a scalp that had had too much, and it was the straw that broke the camel's back... or rather the scalp... Those white parts could be where she was repeatedly burned, and the black spots could be newer. Or the other way around. My burn only stopped growing hair on it after a few years of repeatedly relaxing that spot. Think of it as a process that has a breaking point. her hair got worse overtime... her scalp got worse... her shedding probably increased overtime... then eventually... she went bald. Many people have gone bald after a relaxer, especially the ones who didn't know they were doing the relaxers wrong before that. Its like when you don't even know youre failing all semester and suddenly you get your final grade and failed! She probably made mistakes for YEARS before this happened.

The fact that she still has about 1/16 an inch of kitchen and sideburns intact left amazes me

 

[Jessica Rabbit]

yep. you can see the line where the showercap was.


The fact that she still has about 1/16 an inch of kitchen and sideburns intact left amazes me

Exibit E! Thank you al00. She was lighting up, the front caught on fire, the activator made it spread and POOF! All that was left it the kitchen.


OK This next comment is going to be so off color, but I don't care right now, I am amusing myself: Looks like she got burnt to the WHITE MEAT! Hope that crack rock was worth it!

 

[Poohbear]

-Alot of people are like that too, but they havent learned any other options...but while you thought you had no choice did you still have these opinions that you have now? You probally didnt, so thats why i think its better to try & educate people than to be so judgemental like everybody else knows what they are doing and knows about their natural hair....

BTW, there is no probably about it, I DID have the same opinion. My mother relaxed my hair until I was in middle school, and my family perpetuated the feeling of embarrassment associated with having natural (because apparently some folks think only mixed people can) hair that caused me to perm my hair through high school. There has been A LOT of societal pressure to relax if you are an African American female! Not as much today with the wave of naturals on TV, but you would be a lying-ass-fool if you stood there and said there wasn't. All the while with my burnt scalp and constant itching, etc. and all the other things that came from it. I have ALWAYS wished I could stop letting my mom do that to me. I have ALWAYS dreaded sitting through a relaxer because I felt like "What is so wrong with my hair that she has to do this every month???" I have ALWAYS hated knowing that everytime I relaxed, I was continuing a cycle I didn't want to. It took a long time, but now that I am an adult, Im glad I made this decision. I can understand going relaxed after being natural all your life for a "look," but I can understand goin natural after being relaxed for life even better (cause Im livin it).

A lot of people don't know about their natural hair because they get relaxers. Others just don't know, I can understand that. But you act like my whole point ISNT TO EDUCATE them. WARNINGS ON LABELS AND REGULATIONS that I am talking about WOULD educate them. Its not about being judgemental, its stating facts. Relaxers make hair straight. A lot of White people typically have straight hair. Typically Africans are born with kinky/curly/coily hair. Many black women today have Alopecia, and MANY of them got it from relaxers. These are all facts. My opinion (and many will agree) is that there is not enough warning associated with perms, and there should be.

I guess you can call me that lying-*** fool because -- as an African-American female -- I didn't have ANY pressure to relax my hair. My mother relaxed my hair out of habit. I thought this was what black women were suppose to do. I didn't know natural hair was an option. I didn't know about the hate for natural hair. I didn't know about "relaxed straight means you're trying to be White". I didn't know about all that stuff until I started reading about these hair issues online. Then when I came across Long Hair Care Forum in 2004, that's when I first discovered that there were Black women with non-relaxed hair. I thought to myself, "HEY! I don't have to get a relaxer!" After a few days of being a member here, I wanted to go natural! I didn't care what my hair texture was going to turn out to be, I just wanted to stop relaxing my hair. I hated that burning feeling or getting scab occassionally. So I did my research on caring for natural hair, transitioned for a few months, then I cut my hair off. I didn't care what people thought. I don't hate straight hair or anything like that. I just hate relaxers. So that's my story and I'm staying natural for life.

 

[spiceykitten]

I guess you can call me that lying-*** fool because -- as an African-American female -- I didn't have ANY pressure to relax my hair. My mother relaxed my hair out of habit. I thought this was what black women were suppose to do. I didn't know natural hair was an option. I didn't know about the hate for natural hair. I didn't know about "relaxed straight means you're trying to be White". I didn't know about all that stuff until I started reading about these hair issues online. Then when I came across Long Hair Care Forum in 2004, that's when I first discovered that there were Black women with non-relaxed hair. I thought to myself, "HEY! I don't have to get a relaxer!" After a few days of being a member here, I wanted to go natural! I didn't care what my hair texture was going to turn out to be, I just wanted to stop relaxing my hair. I hated that burning feeling or getting scab occassionally. So I did my research on caring for natural hair, transitioned for a few months, then I cut my hair off. I didn't care what people thought. I don't hate straight hair or anything like that. I just hate relaxers. So that's my story and I'm staying natural for life.

Poohbear:

I think you both are correct. Most AA relax out of habit but where did that habit come from or the feeling that the habit was necessary to continue.

Most people think there isn't any option and this is what they are suppose to do.

You are an exception to the rule.

How many times have I heard Oprah say "we need that relaxer" or Tyra say "one day I hope to have the courage to stop wearing this wig or fake hair".


AA or any other curly hair women don't need a relaxer. I am not against anyone who wants a relaxer. It is not my hair but I do get a bit uppity when I read people "need a relaxer". Kinky, coily etc hair don't need anything but proper hair care and acceptance from the person's whose head's it is growing out of.

I really don't think the poster is wrong because you still have black people saying her hair looks tore up, she needs a perm..when the correct term is relaxer, you should straighten your hair, how do I get my curls to pop etc. I am glad you have acceptance of your hair but a lot of people do not, even some people who are natural.

I mean there has to be something deep going on in your mind if you put something on your head that has a potential to be harmful. Everytime you put any chemical on your hair..you bite the bullet. For those who say everything we use has some chemical substance in it..well true but those products don't burn the crap out of you nor do you have to base your scalp to prevent chemical burns.

The whole process is just deep, whether you relax out of habit or feel you have no choice no one can deny the truth why relaxing became a habit or not a choice.