Are Hair and Nails the Body's Natural way of Getting Rid of Poisons?

[Country gal]

ladies my friend wants to get your thoughts on some comments she heard from her mom. She recently removed her locks and her mother shared some comments she heard. Please read the email below. This thread is meant for healthy conversation not to point fingers at anyone's choice of maintaing their hair. Your thoughts are greatly appreciated.

As you can imagine, the word is getting around about me taking my locs out. This morning I spoke to my mom (VERY into holistic health) and she said two things that blew me away.

1. She said she spoke to one of her health center guests who I think works for the department of agriculture. He told her the earth has two poisons – cadmium and arsenic – that our bodies are exposed to on a regular basis. I guess it’s in the earth/air. She says he told her the body’s natural way of getting rid of these natural poisons is through our hair and nails. When our hair sheds and we cut our nails it is God’s way of ridding us of these natural poisons. She believes anyone with locs has an accumulation of these poisons and as a result locs can be detrimental to the overall stability of the human body.

(The only thing I do know is that the courts perform drug tests with hair samples)

2. She said she was told a person who performs autopsies said when they look at the scalp of black women who had perms there is a black rim around the brain.

Have you guys heard of any of the aforementioned statements? LovelyZ, Country gal– has your board mentioned anything about this? Could you ask them for me?

 

[lovenharmony]

I've never heard of these ideals, however it's fascinating...bumping for more responses

 

[HAIRapy]

OMG! A black rim?? Interesting thread... I will be watching this thread.

 

[Empress Yahudah]

The black rim part has me scared.
We need more info on this cuz if its true Im going natural again

 

[Traycee]

I've never heard of the black rim....But I have heard the back and forth argument that relaxers and perms can cause cancer...which doctors say is a myth

 

[JustKiya]

I have heard of the black rim - not sure how accurate/true it is, but I have heard of it.

As far as the locs 'keeping' the toxins The hair that should shed, STILL sheds in locs - it ain't still attached to your head, trust. Most long locks are mostly shed hair, that is tangled up with the hair still growing out of your scalp. So, no, it'll give you as many 'toxins' as a human hair weave would - ie, none.

 

[Candy_C]

Hair and nails are the result of the bodys internal status - healthy or unhealthy - according to many a book i've read

I think the relaxer black-rim thing may be true, which is one of the reasons i'm growing out my relaxer (on the down-low so i dont change my mind again so shhhh) this is why i STRESSSSSSSSSS the idea of using natural products! scalp massages can release this so-called gunk, which is why i dont understand slapping the scalp with grease and synthetic medicated products such as - you guessed it, MN. (sorry peeps)

the hair and nails are residual protein left over. if your hair is lush and shiney, your body is in a good way!

 

[shocol]

Never heard of the cadmium/arsenic thing. I always thought that your skin and digestive tract were the ways the body rid itself of toxins. As for the black rim, I do remember hearing something about that. Don't know how true it is though.

 

[taytay86]

Hair and nails are the result of the bodys internal status - healthy or unhealthy - according to many a book i've read

I think the relaxer black-rim thing may be true, which is one of the reasons i'm growing out my relaxer (on the down-low so i dont change my mind again so shhhh) this is why i STRESSSSSSSSSS the idea of using natural products! scalp massages can release this so-called gunk, which is why i dont understand slapping the scalp with grease and synthetic medicated products such as - you guessed it, MN. (sorry peeps)

the hair and nails are residual protein left over. if your hair is lush and shiney, your body is in a good way!

What's MN?

 

[Ivy_Butter]

If black women with relaxers have a black rim, what do white women who get perms and routine color/bleach treatments have?

 

[fluffylocks]

I dont know

If locs are detrimental because you are not allowing your hair to shed...then nails must be deterimental. Because nails do not naturally cut themselves.

I believe if hair AND nails were a natural system in our body to get rid of poisens, then nails would naturally fall off/trim themselves at a certain rate or time....Nails will grow just as long as they can......

I kind of think nails and hair just REFLECT whats inside of you, not that nails and hair actually benefit you in removing poisens.....I think that they are like "tools" for human.....Like how dogs naturally need their hair and nails....Maybe humans in a natural habbitat need our body hair and nails....I know for a fact that eyelashes serve a purpose....maybe the other hair does as well and the nails.

But then i think about how other things that come out of you remove waste like sweat, urine and feces....I dont know

 

[fluffylocks]

If black women with relaxers have a black rim, what do white women who get perms and routine color/bleach treatments have?

Thats what im saying.

Relaxers can seep into the skin.....but there is also a skull sitting right between your scalp and your brain and you only do it like 4x a year....(not saying it can happen)

But wouldnt there be a black rim around the brain or somewhere more-so from any person that uses hair removal face and body cremes with the same chemicals in them daily/weekly? Those will go straight through the skin into the blood quicker, and it hapens much more frequently erplexed

 

[secretrose]

Thats what im saying.

Relaxers can seep into the skin.....but there is also a skull sitting right between your scalp and your brain and you only do it like 4x a year....(not saying it can happen)

But wouldnt there be a black rim around the brain or somewhere more-so from any person that uses hair removal face and body cremes with the same chemicals in them daily/weekly? Those will go straight through the skin into the blood quicker, and it hapens much more frequently erplexed

ITA^^^^. Black Rim is highly improbable. There is no way in hell a chemical can seep through all the layers of skin through the skull into your brain. If any harsh chemical came in contact with your brain, you wouldn't even be alive right now.

 

[It~Can~Grow]

I cant remember but who are the med students or M.Ds on the board? They should have seen a few AA cadavers??

 

[glamazon386]

Hair and nails are two of the ways our bodies expell poisons. They also come out of your pores (skin), through your mouth, nose, and when you go to the bathroom. My mom used to sell these herbal products years ago and the first thing they would have you do is a cleanser to get rid of toxins. Sometimes you would see things come out. Your skin would start to shed so they recommended baths and a brush for the skin. Some people would get bad breath. It would clear up sinuses. All kinds of stuff.

Fluffylocks - I read the thing about the relaxer leaving film on the brain after you're dead before. I don't remember where but it is true. It's from years of continued relaxing and they found it in autopsies. A relaxer is a caustic chemical and is also stronger than dye or facial products or anything else.

 

[Country gal]

Interesting. I haven't heard of the black rim. I stop perming 4 years ago because I wanted to give my hair a break fromt the chemicals. I always felt that I wasn't going to be 60 years old sitting in the salon getting a perm applied.

 

[It~Can~Grow]

I have a MD call in about this question (not that it really will make a difference at this point)...however, the next question would be...at what point does this occur?

1st, 2nd, or the 60th year of perming

Interesting stuff...but I'm also inclined to believe that everything we're exposed to has some effect on the internal structure of the body.

We're still here - learning, growing and hopefully getting healthier with all the information that is available, so I would lean more on the side that 'if' this rim does occur, it poses no more harm 'internally' than other chemicals we are/were exposed to intentionally or unintentionally.

I'm not making light or dismissing the issue - I'm just more inclined to believe that while this chemical process does not aid in the bodies overall health, it also does not accelerate in the bodies decomposition leading to our demise.

 

[fluffylocks]

Hair and nails are two of the ways our bodies expell poisons. They also come out of your pores (skin), through your mouth, nose, and when you go to the bathroom. My mom used to sell these herbal products years ago and the first thing they would have you do is a cleanser to get rid of toxins. Sometimes you would see things come out. Your skin would start to shed so they recommended baths and a brush for the skin. Some people would get bad breath. It would clear up sinuses. All kinds of stuff.

Fluffylocks - I read the thing about the relaxer leaving film on the brain after you're dead before. I don't remember where but it is true. It's from years of continued relaxing and they found it in autopsies. A relaxer is a caustic chemical and is also stronger than dye or facial products or anything else.

Yeah, the nails and hair prob. are wastes and they are dead afterall, and they reflect just like urine and feces and improve quality if the better your diet is do i dont see why they wouldnt be....but i dont think locs would be harmfull...are they?

I just dont understand it though......

If you use a relaxer 4x year for 2o years, u have used it 80 times...and you are TRYING not to get it on your skin for a total of about 1200 min.

If you nair 2x a week for 5 years you have used it about 500 times for a total of about 5200min amd you are putting it all over your chin, or legs, bikini area, and arms. If someone naired 2x a week for the 20 years, they would have used it about 2,000 times and 20,800 min. .....i dont see why it wouldnt even out

 

[Country gal]

Bumping for more responses. She is enjoying reading the different perspectives.

 

[rdm]

I thought the liver got rid of toxins?

Anyway, if there is a black rim around my brain, there is nothing I can do about it now!!!!

 

[Radianthealth]

This is interesting...I am not sure what to believe.

I did have an idea this morning that may sound a little cooky...A castor oil pack for the scalp

I will be researching it to see if it will work

 

[beaux cheveux]

Thats it, I'm going natural!
Cancer runs in my fam so I don't need to be doing something that may cause it or leave residue on the brain.

PEACE

 

[Twisties]

Hey Country Gal

I have heard of both of these comments over the years.

When I was little, I used to bite my nails and to make me stop, my mom and grandmother told me that nails were full of poison. It used to be something folks just believed and repeated-especially to nail biters...it didn't make sense to me though (I still bit them).

On the relaxers, I heard the film was green, not black. But I have never seen documentation on it. It's been one of those stories that circulates from time to time about black women and relaxers. It could be true-we just need to see the cadaver and the scalp.

Really, I don't know if either are true or not.

 

[NappFrizz83]

Hair and nails are two of the ways our bodies expell poisons. They also come out of your pores (skin), through your mouth, nose, and when you go to the bathroom. My mom used to sell these herbal products years ago and the first thing they would have you do is a cleanser to get rid of toxins. Sometimes you would see things come out. Your skin would start to shed so they recommended baths and a brush for the skin. Some people would get bad breath. It would clear up sinuses. All kinds of stuff.

oh wowz thats interesting..i feel like i need to be cleansederplexed

 

[Ivy_Butter]

I thought the liver got rid of toxins?

Anyway, if there is a black rim around my brain, there is nothing I can do about it now!!!!

Amen to that!

I googled the black rim thing. The only thing I came up with is a black rim around a tumor called an edema.

 

[frizzy]

Hey Country Gal

I have heard of both of these comments over the years.

When I was little, I used to bite my nails and to make me stop, my mom and grandmother told me that nails were full of poison. It used to be something folks just believed and repeated-especially to nail biters...it didn't make sense to me though (I still bit them).

On the relaxers, I heard the film was green, not black. But I have never seen documentation on it. It's been one of those stories that circulates from time to time about black women and relaxers. It could be true-we just need to see the cadaver and the scalp.

Really, I don't know if either are true or not.

That's what I heard too, a green film around the skull, under the skin. The lady who told it to me, got the info from a Black Expo exhibit, soooooo...

 

[JerriBlank]

So how do the people performing the autopsies know that the woman is relaxed?
Were they informed of this ahead of the autopsy,or were they told this later?
And i also want to know how the chemical processes affect other races as well.
Was the black rim found many times to come to the conclusion that this was due to relaxers?

 

[Maynard]

I have heard of this I heard about a green film that "caps" the skull. Pretty scary huh?

 

[HAIRapy]

I know one thing, I'm gettin' my black rim touched up tomorrow and I CAN'T WAIT!!

 

[gymfreak336]

Anybody got pics? I want to see the bodies.