THE DESTRUCTION OF RELAXERS

[Irresistible]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ba3gTZ7ykCM

 

[kgard7777]

Interesting! Just confirms my reasoning for going natural

 

[Inches411]

good informative video.. however we need more info on this .. how did she care for her hair.. did she apply heat everyday even though it was relaxed .. did she moisturized.. and who applied her relaxers... how did they apply it and what strength did they use... im not saying relaxers arent bad.. but i dont think they are the worst either..

 

[Neith]

Dayum

I'm not into relaxer bashing really. I mean, have a look around. If used properly, you can grow a long, beautiful head of hair. Also most people stretch and they are also careful not to get burned/burn themselves, so there is only a limited amount of exposure to relaxers.

I think that it'd be nice to see more people learning how to use relaxers properly.

No one HAS to look like that. They just don't know anything about hair care.

Makes me wonder exactly how much better they would look as naturals.

The whole thing is unfortunate

 

[AfroKink]

This was posted and discussed recently

Lys

 

[kally]

I said it once I said it a thousand times. God did not intend for our hair to be this difficult and self esteem ruining. I bet you the first AA person was not born with this texture of hair. Regardles of products, regimens, styles etc...All of it takes work, not to mention the billions of dollars spent on up keep and trial and error.

Look at the problems that it causes our race of people. Many of us will do anything to keep it staight and the ones who don't and sport the hair the way it is faces rejection from society.

You can have high self esteem all day long and don't care what anyone one else thinks, but when it comes down to it, society really does not except it.

Appearance is every thing to a many women. Others can say they the have no problem with a AA woman being natural, but at the end of the day will turn around and favor the opposite of what they just told you. No one is going to admit their likes and dislikes to your face.

Just my two cents.

 

[Irresistible]

good informative video.. however we need more info on this .. how did she care for her hair.. did she apply heat everyday even though it was relaxed .. did she moisturized.. and who applied her relaxers... how did they apply it and what strength did they use... im not saying relaxers arent bad.. but i dont think they are the worst either..

Girl I dunno I just saw the video and posted it. I agree more info should be included! But I agree with one main point of the video mostly and that its a trauma suffered by no other race of children!

now me just with professional applications and done correctly I still got burns and sores ,and feel very lucky that I got out of that cycle with no major damage to my scalp like in that video

 

[Irresistible]

I said it once I said it a thousand times. God did not intend for our hair to be this difficult and self esteem ruining. I bet you the first AA person was not born with this texture of hair. Regardles of products, regimens, styles etc...All of it takes work, not to mention the billions of dollars spent on up keep and trial and error.

Look at the problems that it causes our race of people. Many of us will do anything to keep it staight and the ones who don't and sport the hair the way it is faces rejection from society.

You can have high self esteem all day long and don't care what anyone one else thinks, but when it comes down to it, society really does not except it.

Appearance is every thing to a many women. Others can say they the have no problem with a AA woman being natural, but at the end of the day will turn around and favor the opposite of what they just told you. No one is going to admit their likes and dislikes to your face.

Just my two cents.

this type of hypocrisy is a cold hard fact! you aint neva lied!

I just came across a post on a group about a mother relaxing her 8 year olds' hair and the damage she is suffering from it. broke my heart, like some of the things she said 'kill the kinks' it was hard to swallow, but some dont know any better and we do live up under this hypocrite bullshat!

but anyway, I found that video for her! just happened to share it here

 

[Irresistible]

This was posted and discussed recently

Lys

oh didnt know that

this has been a recent come back for me, i'm just hanging around a little longer than usual this time lol

 

[Inches411]

Girl I dunno I just saw the video and posted it. I agree more info should be included! But I agree with one main point of the video mostly and that its a trauma suffered by no other race of children!

now me just with professional applications and done correctly I still got burns and sores ,and feel very lucky that I got out of that cycle with no major damage to my scalp like in that video

interesting.. i have had relaxers for a long time now and i have experience a burn maybe at most 3 times and that due to me scratching the area alot. Other than that I have never had a bad relaxer experience... thank god..but yea your right other races of children do not have to suffer this type of trauma. its very saddening but i honestly deep down feel is all about learning proper care and techiques..

 

[Irresistible]

Dayum

I'm not into relaxer bashing really. I mean, have a look around. If used properly, you can grow a long, beautiful head of hair. Also most people stretch and they are also careful not to get burned/burn themselves, so there is only a limited amount of exposure to relaxers.

I think that it'd be nice to see more people learning how to use relaxers properly.

No one HAS to look like that. They just don't know anything about hair care.

Makes me wonder exactly how much better they would look as naturals.

The whole thing is unfortunate

yeah I have seen tons of healthy relaxed heads, I just have a sore spot for relaxing children's hair! grown ups can do what they want and technically they can do what they want with their child's hair too, but like I said its just a sore spot for me

 

[Irresistible]

interesting.. i have had relaxers for a long time now and i have experience a burn maybe at most 3 times and that due to me scratching the area alot. Other than that I have never had a bad relaxer experience... thank god..but yea your right other races of children do not have to suffer this type of trauma. its very saddening but i honestly deep down feel is all about learning proper care and techiques..

problem is anyone that knows nothing can buy a box at the store and use it on their kids hair

they might not even know how to follow directions

 

[PinkPeony]

problem is anyone that knows nothing can buy a box at the store and use it on their kids hair

they might not even know how to follow directions

True.I honestly never even saw a relaxed child till I came to the states and I was one of the very,very few relaxed heads where I grew up everyone else was natchal.

I think it comes down to proper haircare b/c I was natchal and so were my friends and our hair was a damaged hot mess b/c we just didn't know how to deal with our hair.

 

[Irresistible]

True.I honestly never even saw a relaxed child till I came to the states and I was one of the very,very few relaxed heads where I grew up everyone else was natchal.

I think it comes down to proper haircare b/c I was natchal and so were my friends and our hair was a damaged hot mess b/c we just didn't know how to deal with our hair.

I agree both natural and relaxed hair can look jacked without proper care. Its just that Relaxers have the propensity to do major scalp damage and on kids, that just dont sit right with me

its like a form of abuse to me

why should a young child have to suffer that? I do respect another's decision to relax their child's hair and I am not saying it all turns out bad because it doesnt. its just the times that it does is heart breaking

 

[Lucky's Mom]

I saw lots of Black students yesterday ( I was at six Flags here in L.A., and I don't live around many black folks these days.....) - and I saw lots of overprocessed heads. Honestly - the kids looked terrible... Braids that looked terrible... Weaves on young girls... and the heads looked soooo bad. What are we doing to our kids?????

 

[Irresistible]

I saw lots of Black students yesterday ( I was at six Flags here in L.A., and I don't live around many black folks these days.....) - and I saw lots of overprocessed heads. Honestly - the kids looked terrible... Braids that looked terrible... Weaves on young girls... and the heads looked soooo bad. What are we doing to our kids?????

yeah its heartbreaking! Either the parents just dont know any better or they just are giving into the kids hair requests and not caring or taking the time

 

[vestaluv1]

This same video was discussed not too long ago!
IDK, I'm transitioning... and I feel like I've seen the light .
I had to learn the hard way mind you.
It just seems weird that it's ok to put the relaxer on your scalp and hair but at the same time, you gotta wear gloves to protect the skin on your hands whilst using vaseline or something around the hairline to protect the skin around the hairline.
Relaxers aren't for everyone and I don't want to kid myself and ignore the fact that relaxers ARE damaging...even when used correctly.

 

[Neith]

Everyone on this board knows the pros and cons of relaxers and the potential dangers.

I've been natural and I'm transitioning again, but I do not blame relaxers alone for the problems that women and girls face.

I wish the black community was more knowledgeable about proper hair care. I truly wonder why people don't do a little research about how to care for their hair. One little trip to the library or one little google search will give you what to need to make a basic regimen.

 

[hairmaster]

This same video was discussed not too long ago!
IDK, I'm transitioning... and I feel like I've seen the light .
I had to learn the hard way mind you.
It just seems weird that it's ok to put the relaxer on your scalp and hair but at the same time, you gotta wear gloves to protect the skin on your hands whilst using vaseline or something around the hairline to protect the skin around the hairline.
Relaxers aren't for everyone and I don't want to kid myself and ignore the fact that relaxers ARE damaging...even when used correctly.

The video needs to be discussed more check out the kid side of this forum, mothers thinking they are helping their kids by not suffering with nappy hair,
If they don't know how to take care of it after the relaxer you end up with this results. mothers need to learn how to keep up and apply relaxers. DON'T
OVERLAP... use gentle shampoo,condition regulary....

 

[SparklingFlame]

Dayum

I'm not into relaxer bashing really. I mean, have a look around. If used properly, you can grow a long, beautiful head of hair. Also most peopletretch and they are also careful not to get burned/burn themselves, so there is only a limited amount of exposure to relaxers.

I think that it'd be nice to see more people learning how to use relaxers properly.

No one HAS to look like that. They just don't know anything about hair care.

Makes me wonder exactly how much better they would look as naturals.

The whole thing is unfortunate

ITA.

If you use ANY chemical without reading and actually FOLLOWING the directions you will suffer a disaster. For example, if you decide that you want to use Drano to get a stubborn stain out of some jeans then you will suffer a disaster.

The lack of knowledge of the proper use of relaxers and proper haircare in general is to blame for why our peoples hair is falling out. You cant just blame a relaxer. If thats the case, then anybody who has EVER used a relaxer one time in their life should have been bald according to their argument.

 

[SparklingFlame]

I said it once I said it a thousand times. God did not intend for our hair to be this difficult and self esteem ruining. I bet you the first AA person was not born with this texture of hair. Regardles of products, regimens, styles etc...All of it takes work, not to mention the billions of dollars spent on up keep and trial and error.

Look at the problems that it causes our race of people. Many of us will do anything to keep it staight and the ones who don't and sport the hair the way it is faces rejection from society.

You can have high self esteem all day long and don't care what anyone one else thinks, but when it comes down to it, society really does not except it.

Appearance is every thing to a many women. Others can say they the have no problem with a AA woman being natural, but at the end of the day will turn around and favor the opposite of what they just told you. No one is going to admit their likes and dislikes to your face.

Just my two cents.

@ the bolded. I am not directing this at you Kally but I have wanted to say this for a long time.

If you are a secure person, and by secure I mean you already have a deep sense of love for yourself and you really dont care what anyone else thinks of you, then what is some outsider going to say that will make you feel bad about the way you wear your hair?


The above question has plagued me for a while.

When I was natural I have LOTS of nay sayers who called me ugly, toe up, how they'd never walk around like that, whats wrong with me, what are you thinking, ect...thrown at me but did that affect the way I felt about myself? No. Did it stop me from remaining natural and did it make me want to relax my hair ?No. Why? For one I just dont give a dayum about what people think about me, and for two, I have a great self esteem that is not affected by others. If you have a firm root in yourself, then to heck with other people and what they think and their own personal hang ups. After all, what does your fear of natural hair have to do with me? Its your problem and not mine.

Kally, again this is not directed to you at all. I am speaking in general terms.

 

[vestaluv1]

Everyone on this board knows the pros and cons of relaxers and the potential dangers.

I've been natural and I'm transitioning again, but I do not blame relaxers alone for the problems that women and girls face.

I wish the black community was more knowledgeable about proper hair care.
I truly wonder why people don't do a little research about how to care for their hair. One little trip to the library or one little google search will give you what to need to make a basic regimen.

The problem is that a lot of the time people think they are doing just fine with their hair care practises because they learn them from their mothers or other family members and friends and think there is nothing wrong with them. They don't even think about doing research...that is until maybe they actually experience hair problems.

 

[Naemone]

I said it once I said it a thousand times. God did not intend for our hair to be this difficult and self esteem ruining. I bet you the first AA person was not born with this texture of hair. Regardles of products, regimens, styles etc...All of it takes work, not to mention the billions of dollars spent on up keep and trial and error.

I disagree, our hair is like sheep hair on purpose. Read all throughout the bible and see how GOD references sheep in comparison to the beloved. I don't think it's a bad thing. I think so many in our culture wanting our hair to be just like everyone else is the bad thing IMHO

But we are coming out of that!

This is not aimed at anyone, I'm just speaking in general.

 

[Blessed_Angel]

Dayum

I'm not into relaxer bashing really. I mean, have a look around. If used properly, you can grow a long, beautiful head of hair. Also most people stretch and they are also careful not to get burned/burn themselves, so there is only a limited amount of exposure to relaxers.

I think that it'd be nice to see more people learning how to use relaxers properly.

No one HAS to look like that. They just don't know anything about hair care.

Makes me wonder exactly how much better they would look as naturals.

The whole thing is unfortunate

Great points Neith. ITA.

Instead condemning a product; why not learn how to use it properly. This is a prime example of how KNOWLEGDE is indeed POWER AND SUCCESS!!

 

[20Pearls_Girl]

Basic propaganda and bandwagon riding @ its worst.

What's good for the goose is not always......

 

[Starr1]

The problem is that a lot of the time people think they are doing just fine with their hair care practises because they learn them from their mothers or other family members and friends and think there is nothing wrong with them. They don't even think about doing research...that is until maybe they actually experience hair problems.

But I wonder why even people who have mothers/grandmothers/aunts etc still choose to follow the same haircare practices when their family members are looking tore up?

I worked for an elementary education program for years and the entire time I was there I never saw any other race of children with bald spots, over processed hair, receding hairlines, heat damage, etc, except black kids. erplexed If your kid is going bald, wouldn't it make sense to stop doing what your doing and re-evaluate? Because obviously whatever your doing isn't working.

So my question is, why do so many people still choose to continue with ineffective or even harmful methods and not even question the logic of it? Sure looking a certain way is important in the black community, but is it really worth making yourself or your child go bald over it? And I'm not just talking about relaxers, I'm talking about excessive heat, braiding too tightly, gluing in weaves, etc.

 

[Irresistible]

But I wonder why even people who have mothers/grandmothers/aunts etc still choose to follow the same haircare practices when their family members are looking tore up?

I worked for an elementary education program for years and the entire time I was there I never saw any other race of children with bald spots, over processed hair, receding hairlines, heat damage, etc, except black kids. erplexed If your kid is going bald, wouldn't it make sense to stop doing what your doing and re-evaluate? Because obviously whatever your doing isn't working.

So my question is, why do so many people still choose to continue with ineffective or even harmful methods and not even question the logic of it? Sure looking a certain way is important in the black community, but is it really worth making yourself or your child go bald over it? And I'm not just talking about relaxers, I'm talking about excessive heat, braiding too tightly, gluing in weaves, etc.

I agree with you 1000 percent!

again ladies the reason I found that Video and posted it was because I read a post about a Mother talking about the severe damage her 8 years old hair!!!! was suffering due to relaxers and she was having it done professionally! it was heart breaking

and she spoke of 'kill the kinks' ......frustrated me completely

 

[Irresistible]

The video point that was important to me

is the children!!!!!!!!

 

[anon123]

But I wonder why even people who have mothers/grandmothers/aunts etc still choose to follow the same haircare practices when their family members are looking tore up?

So my question is, why do so many people still choose to continue with ineffective or even harmful methods and not even question the logic of it? Sure looking a certain way is important in the black community, but is it really worth making yourself or your child go bald over it? And I'm not just talking about relaxers, I'm talking about excessive heat, braiding too tightly, gluing in weaves, etc.

Because many black people truly believe that is just what our hair does. I mean, you don't question it precisely because everyone else around you does that and looks like that. When you are completely enveloped in a culture, it's hard to see out of it. You don't even think to see out of it. There are probably a hundred things each of us do every day that we've never even questioned but do because that's how it's done and that's what we're supposed to do. Speaking for myself, it just didn't even occur to me that my hair could be something spectacular. I thought I might need some hair tips, though, and started a natural hair care group primarily to meet other black women (my work and school environment makes me the only one). So you don't think your child or you are bald because of your habits, you think you're bald because you're black and black people have bad hair that breaks off and falls off and genetically we have no edges, etc., and you think in order to keep what little hair you do have, you have to avoid things like washing more than once every full moon, pouring on 2 bottles of pink lotion every week, etc. unless you were fortunate enough to have that "good hair", or some kind of hair growing genes or you were rich or related to a hair guru and had someone to take super extra beyond-what-an-ordinary-person-could-do care of your hair. Or at least, that's what I thought.


Oh, and about people preferring straight hair: first off, that's nothing that God did (or at least, that's what I'd say if I were a theist), that's society's standards and society standards can be full of BS. We could say the same thing about skin color, but I won't go into that; second, I was out Saturday on my 30th b-day (woo hoo!) and without being conceited at all but just honest, I was outshining everybody. It is not my imagination or even my high self-esteem or anything. I just looked good and people were complimenting me and calling me beautiful and asking to talk to me every few minutes. Be the change you want to see.

 

[Irresistible]

Because many black people truly believe that is just what our hair does. I mean, you don't question it precisely because everyone else around you does that and looks like that. When you are completely enveloped in a culture, it's hard to see out of it. You don't even think to see out of it. There are probably a hundred things each of us do every day that we've never even questioned but do because that's how it's done and that's what we're supposed to do. Speaking for myself, it just didn't even occur to me that my hair could be something spectacular. I thought I might need some hair tips, though, and started a natural hair care group primarily to meet other black women (my work and school environment makes me the only one). So you don't think your child or you are bald because of your habits, you think you're bald because you're black and black people have bad hair that breaks off and falls off and genetically we have no edges, etc., and you think in order to keep what little hair you do have, you have to avoid things like washing more than once every full moon, pouring on 2 bottles of pink lotion every week, etc. unless you were fortunate enough to have that "good hair", or some kind of hair growing genes or you were rich or related to a hair guru and had someone to take super extra beyond-what-an-ordinary-person-could-do care of your hair. Or at least, that's what I thought.

This is so true too!!!!