how long before texture comes in????

SSBD

New Member
okay i bced last week and i was wondering how long does it take before its stops being scrab hair...
 
SSBD said:
okay i bced last week and i was wondering how long does it take before its stops being scrab hair...

What do you mean by scrab hair? Is it still slightly straight in some areas? Is that what you mean?
 
I think it is too. I've grown out relaxers a bunch of times and I've never experienced any scab hair. I had very dry natural hair when I wasn't taking care of it, but that didn't have anything to do w/ the relaxer.
 
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Some people do get scab hair. The hair may initially grow in very dry and hard to manage but eventually grows in softer and shows its true texture, whatever that may be. When I first bc'd my nape area was super dry and and would coil up into little beads, after a few months of no relaxers and being babied it got softer and softer. Some people may always have little beads but for me that was scab hair. I've read for some it's gone in a few weeks, I think most in a few months. As time passes I will tell you that your hair may continue to change. I don't think I personally will see my true true texture until I am 2-3 years natural. My hair keeps getting softer and coilier.
 
i've was natural before and my hair is not doing what it use to do and somebody said it might be because ur texture may not have come in, so i was wondering does it have to grow more before it gets texture or what???

i don't know if its a myth or not, but i have heard the term around here somewhere, but it was during a time when it did not effect me
 
hopeful said:
Some people do get scab hair. The hair may initially grow in very dry and hard to manage but eventually grows in softer and shows its true texture, whatever that may be. When I first bc'd my nape area was super dry and and would coil up into little beads, after a few months of no relaxers and being babied it got softer and softer. Some people may always have little beads but for me that was scab hair. I've read for some it's gone in a few weeks, I think most in a few months. As time passes I will tell you that your hair may continue to change. I don't think I personally will see my true true texture until I am 2-3 years natural. My hair keeps getting softer and coilier.

Wow, I've never heard of this before. When I bc'ed about 4 years ago i can't remember having scab hair, but then again, I kept my hair in extensions for a while. now that I think of it, my hair does seem softer now than it was before and the curls are looser.
 
SCAB hair is real and all the people who says it doesn't exist can only really speak for themselves because obviously there are people put there (like myself that has it).

I have been transitioning for over a year and I can tell you first hand that I have scab hair and that intial hair that grew out ESPECIALLY in one section of my head was very hard and dry and the rest of the hair that was growing out after months 9 and beyond is much softer.

It is not a myth to those that are experiencing it. You might find more information on nappturality.com or at least a better response than people just telling you its a myth.
 
Scab hair is hair that grows dry and ruff because chemcials have been absorbed by the skin. These chemicals alter the structure of the hair until the body cleanses itself of these chemicals. The amount of scab hair you have depends on the amount of chemicals left on the scalp. I had it when I first bc'ed. It was not fun. It took about 6 months for me to really notice a change in my hair, and the only thing I could do was cut it off. Some say it takes years to truly remove all the chemicals from your system. This build up is the reason that many woman experience hair loss from chemical use. So, if they can make your hair fall out I can't see why it conldn't change the texture.
 
Any of us can look at a picture and identify a split end. Any of us could look at a picture and identify dandruff. Any of us can look at a picture and accurately identify a line of demarcation between permed and natural hair. But who can actually look at a picture and diagnose scab hair with any amount of certainty?

Hell, when was the last time anybody saw a picture of scab hair?

I ain't go argue with anybody who feels like they've had it.

I'm just sayin.

ETA: Wouldn't there be a demarcation line between the scab hair and the 'real' hair?

I'm just sayin again.
 
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JCoily said:
Any of us can look at a picture and identify a split end. Any of us could look at a picture and identify dandruff. Any of us can look at a picture and accurately identify a line of demarcation between permed and natural hair. But who can actually look at a picture and diagnose scab hair with any amount of certainty?

Hell, when was the last time anybody saw a picture of scab hair?

I ain't go argue with anybody who feels like they've had it.

I'm just sayin.

ETA: Wouldn't there be a demarcation line between the scab hair and the 'real' hair?


I'll try to see if I can borrow a camera this weekend. I have a demarcation between my scab hair and my real texture. I have bone straight relaxed hair, about 2-3 inches of fuzzy looking underprocessed looking straightish stuff (scab hair almost 7 months post) and now soft silky feeling hair the last 1/2 to inch. I'll try to post this.
 
one side of my nape is recovering from scab hair. it's growing out on the right side - i have pix of it in my fotki.

it's very dry, very hard and coarse and frazzled looking - it's texture doesn't match anything else on my head including the left and middle nape areas.

also when i permed, it was the first point of application and the perm stayed there the longest (following instructions on that stupid perm box).

it getting much better now and has mostly growed out but won't be completely gone until i cut the ends off on that side.

i didn't believe in it either.
 
I've been natural a little over a year. I had what you call scab hair for the first 6 months. It was very dry, hard, and barely curled. Nothing could moisturize this hair. After about 6 months it started to grow in softer and curlier. My hair texture is still changing. I'm a mixture of textures, but it's becoming alot more coilier as time goes on. :look:
 
It took til about 5-6 months after my last relaxer for my hair to fully show texture. I transisitioned for 3.5 months.

It may not be scab hair that you have, from my understanding you can only really have about 1cm of scab hair because how much further into your scalp can the chemicals seep? Your folicles aren't in your brain. My hair was quite brittle for those first few months but that was probaly cos I chose poor moisturisers, you shouldn't be afraid to experiment with different products even if they aren't recommended because everyones hair isn't the same.

The longer your hair is the more it's likely to curl, sometimes it takes a while for it to realise tho, I don't know why.
 
After my big chop, I had hair on one part of my head that was super dry, did not curl and didn't respond to any products. I don't know what it was or what to call it, but I basically ended up cutting it off a couple of weeks later. I've never had anything like it since. Maybe that was scab hair or maybe it could have been damaged somehow, but there was a clear difference between that portion of my hair and the texture even further up on the same strands.
 
I think I have scab hair. The hair in the front is much dries, harder to manage and has no real curl pattern. All over the rest of my head the hair is in tiny spirals and is really much softer. I couldn't figure out why my hair looked like that in the front, but now I do think it's scab hair.
 
JCoily said:
Any of us can look at a picture and identify a split end. Any of us could look at a picture and identify dandruff. Any of us can look at a picture and accurately identify a line of demarcation between permed and natural hair. But who can actually look at a picture and diagnose scab hair with any amount of certainty?

Hell, when was the last time anybody saw a picture of scab hair?

I ain't go argue with anybody who feels like they've had it.

I'm just sayin.

ETA: Wouldn't there be a demarcation line between the scab hair and the 'real' hair?

I'm just sayin again.

Here it a picture of my scab hair when I first cut my hair. But, I don't know how much you will get out of it since scab hair for me had more to do with the hair's feel and product reponse. I am sure I had a line. I could feel the difference.

http://public.fotki.com/brittanynic16/hair/the_big_chop/pictur53.html
 
dimpalz said:
, from my understanding you can only really have about 1cm of scab hair because how much further into your scalp can the chemicals seep? Your folicles aren't in your brain. My hair was quite brittle for those first few months but that was probaly cos I chose poor moisturisers, you shouldn't be afraid to experiment with different products even if they aren't recommended because everyones hair isn't the same.

The longer your hair is the more it's likely to curl, sometimes it takes a while for it to realise tho, I don't know why.

i agree................
 
dimpalz said:
It may not be scab hair that you have, from my understanding you can only really have about 1cm of scab hair because how much further into your scalp can the chemicals seep? Your folicles aren't in your brain. My hair was quite brittle for those first few months but that was probaly cos I chose poor moisturisers, you shouldn't be afraid to experiment with different products even if they aren't recommended because everyones hair isn't the same.

The longer your hair is the more it's likely to curl, sometimes it takes a while for it to realise tho, I don't know why.

I actually believe it has more to do with skin renewal and waste removal rather than hair growth. There are many ingredients that we put on our bodies that stay in the system long after application.
 
brittanynic16 said:
Scab hair is hair that grows dry and ruff because chemcials have been absorbed by the skin. These chemicals alter the structure of the hair until the body cleanses itself of these chemicals. The amount of scab hair you have depends on the amount of chemicals left on the scalp. I had it when I first bc'ed. It was not fun. It took about 6 months for me to really notice a change in my hair, and the only thing I could do was cut it off. Some say it takes years to truly remove all the chemicals from your system. This build up is the reason that many woman experience hair loss from chemical use. So, if they can make your hair fall out I can't see why it conldn't change the texture.

Thank you so much for this....oh my goodness...this explains why my nape keeps breaking off...In June 06 a hair stylist cut my nape so low that it looked taperd...but now that it's growing in...it's so hard, dry & brittle that I couldn't figure out why, but the other sections of my hair is fine... This post explains it. Thank You!
 
I "never say never" but "the proof is in the pudding" too....

Has anyone had any lab tests on their blood, hair or scalp tissue to see if the chemicals from the relaxer is in your system months after your last relaxer to explain the change in texture?


If not, then ......... it makes me wonder. Changes in texture/dryness is a result of so many things....

diet (taking MSM or other high sulpher stuff)

consumption of fatty acids (like flaxseed oil or cod liver oil) -- [OT: this happens so often with mammal pets --dry fur on cats or dogs usually has to do with their diet or lack of enough fat in the diet.]

age (some people's hair thins out or becomes kinkier as we age) that's what happened to both my grandmothers.

illness (sometimes having a terminal illness results in a change in hair texture)

pregnancy - how many women have spoken of how their hair changes during pregnancy -- even old wives tales exist about it.

Not to mention...we are not all born with uniform hair texture on our head. Some have a combination of 4a/4b in different spots.

Plus, taking care of your hair will result in softer hair. That means using the right products for your hair. If you switch products and change your regimen, you will see a difference.

That said, how can you attribute it to just chemicals in your system? have you changed other things about the way you live (hair care, diet, etc.) that may have attributed to a change in hair texture?
 
hopeful said:
Some people do get scab hair. The hair may initially grow in very dry and hard to manage but eventually grows in softer and shows its true texture, whatever that may be. When I first bc'd my nape area was super dry and and would coil up into little beads, after a few months of no relaxers and being babied it got softer and softer. Some people may always have little beads but for me that was scab hair. I've read for some it's gone in a few weeks, I think most in a few months. As time passes I will tell you that your hair may continue to change. I don't think I personally will see my true true texture until I am 2-3 years natural. My hair keeps getting softer and coilier.

I totally agree. I don't think everybody gets it but I know I did. Mine was so hard to handle that it made me re-think my decision to transition but I'm glad I hung in there with it. Now my hair texture is totally different, much softer, curlier and easier to work with. It took about 5-6 months before I really fell in love with my new texture.
 
I'm not too sure I have it either.

In fact I doubt it. My new growth would be proof of that.

I just didn't know how to take care of natural hair. LOL, go figure. Once I got that sorted out, my hair was soft to the touch.
 
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