HAVE YOU EVER BEEN BURNED? ----results

[pookeylou]

Survey Statistics

Title: Have you ever been burned?

Description: Please tell us your story. If you have ever used a relaxer/texturizer or are currently using one of these chemical processes...what has your experience been.
Date Activated 6/27/2004

Total Participants: 239


Response Statistics

Question: Has your hair ever been or is it currently relaxed or texturized?

Number of responses: 244

Responses
Yes 97.5%
No 2.5%

Question: If you answered "yes", how long has your hair been relaxed or texturized?

Number of responses: 239

Responses

Less than 1 year 4.6%
1 to 5 years 10.5%
6 to 10 years 27.6%
10 to 20 years 46.4%
21 years or more 10.5%
Never used a relaxer or a texturizer. 0.4%

Question: Have you ever received a burn from a relaxer or texturizer?

Number of responses: 238

yes 93.3%
no 6.7%

Question: What kind of relaxer/texturizer did you most often use?

Number of responses: 238

Responses
Lye 39.5%
No Lye 59.2%
Other 0.8%
Never used a relaxer or a texturizer 0.4%

Question: On a scale from 1 to 5, 5 being the worst painful burn, 1 being a minor irratating burn...rate the severity of the burns or irration you received.


Average Rating: 3.2



Question: Have you ever/do you suffer from any of the conditions listed below?

Number of responses: 675

Responses

Thinness(You can read the paper through my hair) 9.6%

Bald Areas (I want to camoflauge certain areas because I am self concious about the baldness.) 5.6%

Constant shedding (I keep a vaccum in the bathroom) 14.1%

Wont grow (My hair never gets past a certain point) 12.1%

Breakage (Just running a comb through my hair causes my hair to snap) 17.5%

Thick roots but thin ends. 12.1%

Thin around the temples and forehead 11%

Skin conditions (eczema, psoriasis, dandruff, itchy scalp) 10.2%

I suffer from none of the above conditions. 7.7%

Question: How do you feel about the word "nappy".
Number of responses: 239


Average Rating: 4

Question: Do you feel that the hair of women of color (African American, Multiracial) should be worn "straight" in order to be beautiful?

Number of responses: 239

Responses
yes 2.5%
no 97.5%

Question: Do/did you use "at home" relaxer/texturizer kits?
Number of responses: 239

Responses
yes 49.8%
no 28.5%
I only allow a professional to apply a relaxer/texturizer. 21.8%

Question: Have you ever used or believed any of the following phrases?
Number of responses: 813

Responses

Some people have a good "grade" of hair. 13.9%

I dont like my hair to be "nappy" 10%

I need a "retouch". 22.1%

Only people with "good hair" can wear it naturally. 7.3%

Nappy hair is unmanagable. 11.3%

Natural hair is not conservative enough for the coporate world. 8.6%

My family and friends would make fun of me if I wore my hair naturally. 7.9%

People don't find natural highly textured hair attractive. 10.9%

My head is to big to wear my hair naturally. 4.9%

I have never used or believed any of these phrases. 3.1%


What do these results say to you?

 

[lsubabiedee]

bump!

 

[deeplyrooted]

Wow. Interesting results.

BUMPING ! ! !

Thanks for posting, pookeylou ! ! !

 

[adrienne0914]

i've never been burned.

where is this survey from? what do you think this should tell us?

 

[DahomeyAmazon]

I don't understand why a poll about chemical burns would include a question about the word nappy and straight hair. But, whatever, I have been relaxed about 4 times in my life. I was never burned. I think having the relaxer professionally applied and basing the scalp helps. That's a strange poll. Where is it from?

 

[Britt]

sounds like a biased survey against permies.

 

[Tai]

I have been burned but it's fairly rare and I didn't take the proper precautions to prevent getting burned.

 

[skegeesmb]

I participated in the survey, and I see that I'm clearly in the minority on every question I answered. But I'm not surprised with the results. I've known this for quite a while, but I was surprised that most women have been relaxed for more than ten years.

I've have five year relaxer stretches. I relax for 5 years or so then I go natural. Weird huh?

Oh and about bias against permies, she posted a thread to asking for us to participate. I was one of the chem girls that voted, so I don't think it's biased.

 

[lthomas1]

[ QUOTE ]
skegeesmb said:
I participated in the survey, and I see that I'm clearly in the minority on every question I answered. But I'm not surprised with the results. I've known this for quite a while, but I was surprised that most women have been relaxed for more than ten years.

I've have five year relaxer stretches. I relax for 5 years or so then I go natural. Weird huh?

Oh and about bias against permies, she posted a thread to asking for us to participate. I was one of the chem girls that voted, so I don't think it's biased.

[/ QUOTE ]

I agree. This was voluntary, so I do not feel it was bias.

 

[ms_kenesha]

I think that the percentages on the last range of questions were too low for what I've actually heard/seen from black women.

Question: Have you ever used or believed any of the following phrases?
Number of responses: 813

Responses

Some people have a good "grade" of hair. 13.9%

I dont like my hair to be "nappy" 10%

I need a "retouch". 22.1%

Only people with "good hair" can wear it naturally. 7.3%

Nappy hair is unmanagable. 11.3%

Natural hair is not conservative enough for the coporate world. 8.6%

My family and friends would make fun of me if I wore my hair naturally. 7.9%

People don't find natural highly textured hair attractive. 10.9%

My head is to big to wear my hair naturally. 4.9%

I have never used or believed any of these phrases. 3.1%

 

[pookeylou]

[ QUOTE ]
Britt said:
sounds like a biased survey against permies.

[/ QUOTE ]

Sorry ya'll, I am just now seeing the post added to the thread.

For Britt:

I believe I stated in the original thread requesting volunteers to take the survey that <font color="blue"> even thought the non-profit organization that I am starting to 1)research the numbers of injuries caused by relaxers and 2)to discourage to use of relaxers on children </font> the site in no way is "against permies". I will find my exact quote in the original thread and post it here. But until I get back...please note that the survey is just for research on your experience with relaxers...have you ever been burned.

The question about "nappy hair" is very pertinant.

Even though many women of color feel we do not need to straighten our hair, the majority relax...why? Is it to fit in? Do they feel that the corporate world wont except them? Have they been taught that "nappy" hair is bad hair?

I want to explore the root of this phenomenon, not just the surface, and that question has to be explored in order to do that.

Please dont hurry to become offended. The data collected in the survey, along with information I will receive from dermatologist will hopefully shed further light on the injuries caused by relaxers and how to avoid them.

Even more importantly...I have heard of several examples of children injured by relaxers. I have an issue with that. So my personal mission is to discourage using the chemicals on the heads of children. I would love it if the parents would allow them to become of age and make their own decision on that matter.

I dont judge anyone by what they do to their hair.

eta: Found it!

<font color="red"> Please note: Loccorg.com is a new organization set up to research the use and effects of relaxer/texturizers. It is also designed to promote the idea that our highly textured hair does not need chemicals. It is not designed to judge, critisize, condemn or attack women who use relaxers/texturizers. Please keep that in mind when viewing the site and the survey. </font>

Hope that clears up the purpose.

 

[sassygirl125]

I participated in the survey even though I no longer relax and only felt a burning sensation once--my first relaxer. She didn't base my scalp.

 

[alliyah4eva203]

interesting results

 

[Tracy]

IMO the results are automatically skewed by the way the questions were asked. I agree that the correlations it suggests are probably accurate, but the questions themselves suggest the very answer that the questions seek to prove - which is an automatic fatality in a statistical survey.

For instance, all of the statements that were used to test how relaxed heads feel about nappy hair are phrased using negative language. That is sure to get you - you guessed it - results that point toward negative feelings about nappy hair to at least SOME degree.

Without being able to compare and contrast the sample's OVERALL feelings about nappy hair (asking both positive and negative questions about napps to provide a point of comparison) the results are simply a reflection of the surveyors own beliefs about how relaxed heads probably feel about nappy hair in order to provide an explanation (incidentally, using their own words, not the participants) for the first portion of the survey. And all that portion indicates is that a majority of us have relaxed for many many years and in those years, (decades in some cases) almost all of us have had a burn at least one time.

Would the number of times matter? Would the circumstances matterss? Should they? I don't get the sense the survey even contemplastes those issues. They may be relevant, they may not be, but the author makes those assumptions for us in this survey.

The same is true of the "conditions" portion of the survey. As a participant, I did not have even one opportunity to choose examples of positive experiences with relaxers (why that is so is clear to me, but why is actually irrelevant - more important than that, it sullies the results). As such, with only negative experiences as available choices for the participants, what you get as far as results is a picture of realxing experiences essentially filled with ommissions, because positive experiences are not available options. In order to understand the "phenomenon" of relaxing for decades despite burns, it would seem to me that there must be pros that outweigh the cons. Again, the author assumes that those "pros" must be related to feelings about nappy hair or feelings about straight hair. But if this is not so, THIS survey won't help you find that out - because it only asks about negative hair conditions and feeling about nappy vs. straight hair.

Just my opinion, but I dont see any statistical validity to the results. They're interesting, and the tendencies they suggest may well be accurtate to an extent, but because the survey is flawed, the results are too.

 

[NubianAngel]

Wow.

 

[Irresistible]

I got lost in the shuffle of this survey and didnt complete it when i got to this point

Responses
Some people have a good "grade" of hair. 13.9%
I dont like my hair to be "nappy" 10%
I need a "retouch". 22.1%
Only people with "good hair" can wear it naturally. 7.3%
Nappy hair is unmanagable. 11.3%
Natural hair is not conservative enough for the coporate world. 8.6%
My family and friends would make fun of me if I wore my hair naturally. 7.9%

People don't find natural highly textured hair attractive. 10.9%
My head is to big to wear my hair naturally. 4.9%
I have never used or believed any of these phrases. 3.1%


because to me we have all (or most of us) been ignorant or lacking in knowledge about our natural hair and unsure , or had varied feelings about it ( and i could add more of those possible feelings to the survey myself), mostly because most (or some) of us dont even remember what our natural hair is even like by the time we are grown, and by that time have dealt with mostly wearing staight styles...so i just didnt feel the questions were relevant to proving a point.....other than the obvious that most of us at some point didnt know what the hell to do with our natural hair and/or were unsure how we felt about it at some point or another and/or had different feelings about it at different times. and at this point in my beliefs and feelings i dont subscribe to any of those beliefs or thoughts...so i just wasnt sure where this left me, or how it would be relevant to me now, if i have had those thoughts before, they are untrue for me now, i didnt see how it mattered if i ever thought that way , now (and most of us have). so i didnt take it.

i also agree with what Tracy is saying that its not a complete survey in that it doesnt include postive experiences and thoughts about relaxing , and that it does insinuate that if one relaxes its only because they have conscious negative feelings about natural/nappy hair

if this is a survery for children only and the sole purpose of the survey is to keep (or discourage) parents from relaxing their childs hair , i believe it should include only negative experiences of relaxing childrens hair....i think that would have a greater impact

ETA: well maybe not a survey on it, but real testimonials on childerens hair being relaxed and the possible outcomes....because even with children (although one might be against it) again, every single relaxing experience doesnt result in burns or negative experiences with children either. (and yes i am against relaxing a childs hair in my own beliefs) BUT that doesnt mean every single child has been damaged by one....

oh lord this is a touchy subject...i shall just tiptoe on out of here, Pookeylou even your greatest intentions are gonna be scrutinized with something like this, there is no way around it , it comes with the territory. you have to always keep in mind those that have had no negative experiences with relaxing (and they do exist) and dont feel they are consciously hating natural/nappy hair or are unaccepting of it because they relax (and they do exist too), i guess this is where it get touchy when we think we know what others are thinking and feeling because of the path we are on now (my poem ,once again, says it all about that) , although you did include in the survey the option " I have never believed any of these phrases" i just felt real lost in the relevance of asking about those beliefs.....

i mean we all know the history of relaxers and how they came about...ahh dayum , like i said im gonna just exit the post while im ahead lol

 

[pebbles]

[ QUOTE ]
Tracy said:
IMO the results are automatically skewed by the way the questions were asked. I agree that the correlations it suggests are probably accurate, but the questions themselves suggest the very answer that the questions seek to prove - which is an automatic fatality in a statistical survey.

For instance, all of the statements that were used to test how relaxed heads feel about nappy hair are phrased using negative language. That is sure to get you - you guessed it - results that point toward negative feelings about nappy hair to at least SOME degree.

Without being able to compare and contrast the sample's OVERALL feelings about nappy hair (asking both positive and negative questions about napps to provide a point of comparison) the results are simply a reflection of the surveyors own beliefs about how relaxed heads probably feel about nappy hair in order to provide an explanation (incidentally, using their own words, not the participants) for the first portion of the survey. And all that portion indicates is that a majority of us have relaxed for many many years and in those years, (decades in some cases) almost all of us have had a burn at least one time.

Would the number of times matter? Would the circumstances matterss? Should they? I don't get the sense the survey even contemplastes those issues. They may be relevant, they may not be, but the author makes those assumptions for us in this survey.

The same is true of the "conditions" portion of the survey. As a participant, I did not have even one opportunity to choose examples of positive experiences with relaxers (why that is so is clear to me, but why is actually irrelevant - more important than that, it sullies the results). As such, with only negative experiences as available choices for the participants, what you get as far as results is a picture of realxing experiences essentially filled with ommissions, because positive experiences are not available options. In order to understand the "phenomenon" of relaxing for decades despite burns, it would seem to me that there must be pros that outweigh the cons. Again, the author assumes that those "pros" must be related to feelings about nappy hair or feelings about straight hair. But if this is not so, THIS survey won't help you find that out - because it only asks about negative hair conditions and feeling about nappy vs. straight hair.

Just my opinion, but I dont see any statistical validity to the results. They're interesting, and the tendencies they suggest may well be accurtate to an extent, but because the survey is flawed, the results are too.


[/ QUOTE ]

Valid points all around. ITA!

 

[pookeylou]

I think the responses I have gotton (not only from this site but others as well) proves even more to me the need for education on the subject.

The perspectives are interesting.

THANK THOSE FOR PARTICIPATING. Your observations and experiences are enlightening.

Thanks!

 

[aregee]

i agree that the survey was a little skewed but i think the responses were a little skewed as well. 97% of responders were relaxed but only 22% ever felt they needed a touchup?

 

[cutebajangirl]

I think the word used was retouch, which to me if going over hair that is already relaxed ie a corrective relaxer.

 

[Karonica]

[ QUOTE ]
aregee said:
97% of responders were relaxed but only 22% ever felt they needed a touchup?

[/ QUOTE ]

 

[ms_kenesha]

[ QUOTE ]
cutebajangirl said:
I think the word used was retouch, which to me if going over hair that is already relaxed ie a corrective relaxer.

[/ QUOTE ]

Nope, a retouch is the same as a touch-up.

 

[cutebajangirl]

I never heard of re touch used in that way before. Clearly others hadn't either, based on the results.