Can Scab Hair Just = A Unhealthy/Damaged Scalp

KurlyNinja

KurlyNinja

New Member
I didnt know what to think of this phenomena when I first heard of it. But I thought it could be plausible. For those who do not know what scab hair is, it the hair that comes before your "real" hair when your transitioning to natural hair. The hair may be dry, wirey and have NO type of hair pattern at all. Some people say that the hair is like that because of the relaxer that is left under your skin, but that just doesnt sound scientifically correct. Especially seeing that some say scab hair could possibly take up to a year to grow out.

I do believe in scab hair since I am now seeing some of the same effects other ladies have seen. The very front of my hair was growing in very differently than the rest of my hair when I first began to transition. It was drier and frizzer. I could see some sort of curl pattern, but it never clumped together like the rest of my hair even if I used gels and curling puddings and twirled it around my finger. Now i'm seeing a different type of hair grow in. Its smoother, shinier and now a similiar curl pattern to the rest of my hair. There was also thinning parts of my hair from relaxers that is now starting to grow back (thank God) that is also growing in like the scab hair was in the front, but I also get psoriasis flare-up there as well.

So this comes to my question. Do you believe that hair could grow in differently or less healthy because of an unhealthy scalp regardless of how it became unhealthy (chemicals from relaxing, skin condition, unhealthy eating habits, sickness)? And do people who are transitioning just happen to notice this because they are taking care of their hair in a different way?

Sorry for this long post btw. Just throwing a theory out there. :spinning:
 
mischka said:
I don't believe in "scab hair"...
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If the scalp is unhealthy, I believe that it would not be able to produce hair to its maximum ability. Therefore a different type of hair may be produced. I'm not saying that there is relaxer still left under the scalp, but maybe that there is a chance that something became damaged due to that chemical or maybe some other type of problem (skin disease etc) And as your scalp is able to heal by either stopping the relaxer use that could have possible caused the damage or eating healthier or fixing the skin problem that your skin follicles will be able to work at their maximum ability. It is indeed plausible.
 
mischka said:
I don't believe in "scab hair"...
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Same here. I remember reading alot about "scab hair" when I first went natural back in 2005. I never experienced it myself. I think for those who did experience this phenomena, it had alot to do with their mind adjusting to the new look and feel of natural hair.
 
Naw, son.. I had scab hair on my edges. It was dry, unruly, and not willing to be manipulated. I honestly thought it was my natural texture until my new growth was super soft compared to the ends. I started snipping away all my ends and my hair is soft as ever. I had to do my last piece last night. I was messing up my hair style! It's real y'all, but of course you wouldn't know unless you experience it.
 
I found this picture on Natural Haven that sort of explains what I believe may be happening.

scabhair.png


this is the blog I got it from http://thenaturalhaven.blogspot.com/2010/09/scab-hair-theory-relaxer-burns-and.html
 
Hi Transitioning Buddy! :wave: Yeah, yeah, yeah I have been incognito lurking for months but I'm still here. I think there is another answer other than "scab hair". My DH is growing locs and he has random wiry strands that are thicker and have a different texture than the rest of his hair and he never relaxed in his life. BTW those strands are mainly grey - he has had grey hairs since he was 14-15 and it runs in his family. Maybe there are just random follicles on your head that are shaped differently than the others which results in the different texture. It's the follicle that determines the hair pattern/texture (right)? If I'm way off base someone please chime in.
 
AnitaTheLengths said:
Hi Transitioning Buddy! :wave: Yeah, yeah, yeah I have been incognito lurking for months but I'm still here. I think there is another answer other than "scab hair". My DH is growing locs and he has random wiry strands that are thicker and have a different texture than the rest of his hair and he never relaxed in his life. BTW those strands are mainly grey - he has had grey hairs since he was 14-15 and it runs in his family. Maybe there are just random follicles on your head that are shaped differently than the others which results in the different texture. It's the follicle that determines the hair pattern/texture (right)? If I'm way off base someone please chime in.
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Hey! :wave: I was wondering if you were still around! I would definately believe that if I couldnt see a distinct difference on the length of the shaft of my hair. I only have this problem in the front though where I have psoriasis and use to get relaxer burns. Its the relaxed ends, lots of frizzy, wirey mess, then curls. I also went through the theory that maybe that part is just underprocessed relaxers, but all of my relaxed ends are dyed a lighter brown color and this section is not dyed.
 
I believe an unhealthy scalp caused by anything is going to effect the health & look of the hair. To me, that's scab hair, but maybe the damaged follicle thing holds true too.
 
SkysMommy said:
Naw, son.. I had scab hair on my edges. It was dry, unruly, and not willing to be manipulated. I honestly thought it was my natural texture until my new growth was super soft compared to the ends. I started snipping away all my ends and my hair is soft as ever. I had to do my last piece last night. I was messing up my hair style! It's real y'all, but of course you wouldn't know unless you experience it.
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Had to quote you because thanks was not enough. I was not shocked at the texture of my hair nor do I hate it. I know what moisturized is suppose to feel like and that wasn't it.
 
since when does new hair folicles just come out of nowhere? if this was the case there wouldnt be so many bald people. i coulds see a folicle getting damaged and over time it heals but i still am not buying the scab hair theory because that kind of damage would have to be done over a long period of time and it it was done so long i would think it would be permanent. also as far as i know most relaxer burns do not change the shape of the folicles which is where curl pattern originates. if it burned that bad i dont think the hair would even grow out. if scab hair is real,that is now how it comes about especially if the person never got burned...
 
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I believe I've experienced scab hair. I don't know about the new follicles growing, but I did experience a texture change. Back in 09 I went to a stylist to relax my hair and she left it on too long and she burned my scalp. My natural hair has a s-curl pattern, but after that scalp burn, the subsequent inch of ng grew in a slightly more zig zag pattern like in the diagram above.

The difference was subtle visually, but the feeling was clearly different. It was really dry and rough feeling and had very little elasticity. After that inch, the hair gradually started to get back to its usual texture. I stretched for about 9 months during that time; I had 4-5" of ng. I could definitely feel the difference in the texture of the hair as my scalp recovered.

I did a successful self relax in Sep '10 and the ng that has grown since then is what I know to be usual look and feel; nothing like the hair that grew when I was burned. That experience has convinced me of scab hair.
 
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I believe it. I mean think about it logically. They've done autopsies and found traces of chemical relaxer in the skull. If it can affect/effect the bones, what's to make you think it's not going to do the same to the hair follicles?

I don't think everybody experiences it, but I do believe it's entirely possible.
 
I believe it. Bad soil doesn't yeild healthy plants/fruit, and IMO a damaged scalp cant grow healthy hair.

I suffered from relaxer burns and scalp irritation with every relaxer for YEARS. I thought my hair had absolutely no curl pattern except zig zag and frizzy tangles. As my hair grows out, my new growth is soft and has a definite curl pattern.
 
I think it might be something to it. I notice some similarities in my hair. But who knows... I found this:

Scab hair – Hair that is directly underneath the scalp that has been affected by the hash chemicals (i.e. relaxers, texturizers). Even though the hair is new growth it isn’t “trained” to behave in it’s natural state. The hair can be straight-wiry, very dry, hard, and brittle. It usually takes somewhere around 6 months to a year to completely grow it out. – Derived from Motowngirl.com
 
I never thought I'd see my thread pop back up especially about scab hair. But I still believe that damaged scalp can cause unhealthy hair. I think it has less to do about a dying follicle and more to do with what was damaged inside the follicle itself and needs time to repair itself before it can produce the healthiest hair. Even people who take MSM see a difference in their hair because a nutrient was being added. So why cant it be possible for that if you are damaging a follice that it would produce subpar hair?
 
I just don't understand why people say it's a myth or its not real. Just because you've never experienced it doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Others have experienced, such as myself. I still have about 1 1/2 inches of it in some parts of my hair. Samara over at growblackhair.net has even taken pictures of her hair with scab hair.

2w25074.png


http://growblackhair.net/blog/scab-hair-it-is-real

In her post she goes into detail about it. She is big on moisture, so she highly doubts it had anything to do with that or heat.
 
Miryoku said:
I never thought I'd see my thread pop back up especially about scab hair. But I still believe that damaged scalp can cause unhealthy hair. I think it has less to do about a dying follicle and more to do with what was damaged inside the follicle itself and needs time to repair itself before it can produce the healthiest hair. Even people who take MSM see a difference in their hair because a nutrient was being added. So why cant it be possible for that if you are damaging a follice that it would produce subpar hair?
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Because damaged follicles usually don't produce ANY hair. Follicles can be can be damaged, but until it is completely healed, hair won't grow. Hair cannot grow out of the scalp unhealthy unless one is taking some form of medication that causes hair to be fragile or brittle to begin with.
 
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Hey! My thread is back up! I still believe in "scab hair" or as they say in that article "residue hair". Chemicals can stay in the body for a long time and effect us in many different ways. That product says it detoxifies which makes sense since your trying to remove a harsh chemical residue from your body.
 
The way my hairdresser described it was like your hair has a memory. So you can cut your hair off and start all over, but the first hair that grows out "remembers" how you mistreated it. I know I experienced it when I bc'd. That first twa hair was mad at me! LOL! As it grew out, the ends (the scab hair) still didn't act right and I cut my ends off. Then I was able to see my real natural hair in it's healthy state.

I don't know the real reason, or the scientific reason, but from my experience, it's real.
 
Bumping for more replies!!

I having been transitioning for almost 8 months, but I have been relaxed for over 20 years and Im wondering who else believes they encountered "scab" hair that was drier and kinkier growing from the scalp when first transitioning than the hair they now posssess.
 
When I went natural back in 2008 I had an entire head of scab hair. I attributed it to using a no lye relaxer. My hair was a hot mess. I could literally see the softer hair an inch from my scalp and the rest of my hair was hard and wiry. When I went back to the salon to have it trimmed up again he even could tell the difference.

This go round when I went natural I didnt suffer from the same problem because I used a lye relaxer when I relaxed again back in 2010-2013.
 
tjrj1998 said:
When I went natural back in 2008 I had an entire head of scab hair. I attributed it to using a no lye relaxer. My hair was a hot mess. I could literally see the softer hair an inch from my scalp and the rest of my hair was hard and wiry. When I went back to the salon to have it trimmed up again he even could tell the difference.

This go round when I went natural I didnt suffer from the same problem because I used a lye relaxer when I relaxed again back in 2010-2013.
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Thanks for your input!! Im almost 98% positive my Affirm relaxer is no lye. Im going to verify with my stylist to be sure though.
 
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