A sad story and a warning (long)

[HoneyRockette]

I talked to my crazy co-worker today, you know, the one who relaxes her hair everyday and her hair has yet to fall out in clumps at the roots. It has thinned out a teeny bit but she is so happy because she had ultra thick hair and she said she has been searching for something that will "deflate" it. Her hair is still as straight and shiny and as long as it was before. There has to be damage somewhere I am sure, but it has yet to rear its ugly head.

We were talking yesterday in the lounge and someone, (another white woman) asked her what she does to her hair to get it so smooth and straight (her hair looks like a Pantene commercial, it REALLY does) and she raved on and on and on about the relaxer thing. The woman said right away, "I would be completely bald if I did that. You are so lucky." That is surely true because it has been several months since she began doing this and her hair has yet to suffer. The thing is another (white) woman who no longer works on our floor DID do the daily relaxing thing and her hair DID fall out. I was with her in the bathroom this morning and she ran her fingers through her hair and it just all came out. She let out a scream and started bawling almost instantly. I wanted to console her but that is my worse nightmare. I just froze.

Anyway I have noticed that people here describe somewhat damaging practices too and uses a friend with long hair as a reference. It doesn't make it safe just because someone with waist length hair has gotten away with it. Everyone's hair is different. Some people can relax every two weeks and grow waist length hair but some people would experience severe breakage or shedding. The moral of this story is not everyone with long hair knows what they are doing. Some people are just lucky. I don't want anyone here to lose their hair following behind someone else. Some people just have tough hair that can withstand a lot of damage and still grow. Most women, however, do not. Okay, I am stepping off of my soap box now. I just had to throw that out there. Sorry so long. /images/graemlins/crazy.gif

 

[HoneyRockette]

I don't know how I posted this twice. Ignore the first one because I mixed up the days on the first one.

 

[Crysdon]

Did you warn her in the past? I REALLY hope you did. I would hate for this to happen to anyone I know. /images/graemlins/frown.gif

I think I would have showed her a couple of internet sites about the dangers of relaxing too frequently.

 

[vevster]

Relaxing every day? How foolish.... well, hard lesson learned... geesh......

 

[Eyvonne7131]

you bring up a good point honeyrockette, but I think the thing to remember is that we are here to share ideas and things that have worked for us....i sincerely hope we are all mature enough to realize that what may work for someone else maynot work for you......I remember your store aobut your co-worker and wondered how all that was panning out. She is EXTREMLY LUCKY at this point....I do not understand why she will not just go to a professional and have them do it for her /images/graemlins/confused.gif

 

[candycane]

I just wonder how this woman makes the time to relax her hair <font color="red"> </font color> EVERYDAY <font color="black"> </font color> The relaxing process takes me a few hours, basing the scalp, smoothing the roots, rinsing and rinsing and rinsing, conditioning, conditioning and more conditioning.

Candycane

 

[Monicurl]

It just /images/graemlins/shocked.gifboggles the mind /images/graemlins/shocked.gif that someone is actually putting lye/no lye or whatever on their hair each and every day! What I wouldn't give to look at a strand of her hair under a microscope. And her poor scalp! Lye is so caustic her scalp should be a mass of open sores!

 

[BlkMane]

HoneyRockette-

Can you find out the EXACT product your co-worker is using to relax her hair? I cannot believe that she is using an actual relaxer. It MUST be a balm or something. How can her hair still be in her head if she relaxed EVERYDAY for months?

And why WOULD she relax everyday? Once hair is relaxed, it's relaxed.

 

[pebbles]

Relaxing her hair every day???? /images/graemlins/shocked.gif She's white? I would have thought her hair would be damaged with all that chemical application. Go figure...?

I don't know of a lot of black women that would take that advice, no matter how long a persons' hair was! But, I suppose there are a few gullible people out there. What relaxer does she use?

 

[HoneyRockette]

It is actual relaxer. It is something silky. I believe it is Smooth and Silky. She just grabs a handful and smooths it on her hair and washes it out every morning. I don't think she leaves it in for thirty minutes like we do, nor does she go through the whole smoothing process. If she does then she just doesn't mention it because she talks about it damn near every day.

</font><blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr />
you bring up a good point honeyrockette, but I think the thing to remember is that we are here to share ideas and things that have worked for us....i sincerely hope we are all mature enough to realize that what may work for someone else maynot work for you......

[/ QUOTE ]

I didn't mean that someone here would follow THAT advice. Heavens no! I mean when you see a woman in general with nice waist length hair you follow THEIR advice whether it is sound advice or not.