How many of you remember the sizzling sound of the hot comb?

[sunnieb]

Yep, I remember. My mom was pretty skilled, but she would still nick my ear every now and then.

I didn't vote in the poll because my response would be:

"Horrifying! Happy to be Relaxed!"

 

[toinette]

i also remember the burns on my ear and my forehead. and that time that my neck literally snapped/crack and I was in excruciating pain for like 3 days

 

[halee_J]

My hair was never pressed.

Not mine either...as a child. I do it voluntarily as an adult now, with grease too...I like it more than flat ironing

 

[Lynnerie]

I loved the end result but the process to get there was horrifying! It wasn't even just the pressing the blowdrying process was just as bad too. I was tender-headed, my hair was super thick and resistant. I had to sit by the stove...oh the heat!!! :burning:

 

[Myjourney2009]

NOPE never had a flatiron touch my head until I was older and did it myself.

 

[winona]

Oh the horrible memories. She use to fuss at me to stop moving. The heat was burning me.

 

[Burbujas]

I do and although the memories aren't that terrible (my mom was always gentle) I do remember the top of my ears and forehead getting burned when she tried to do my edges one time .

 

[kittenz]

I remember and I loved it, my mom took excellent care of my hair and it was the healthiest as a child. Sad to admit that any damage to my hair I caused when I started doing it myself. Biggest setback.... burning off my entire bang when I was around 12. The whole curl was still wrapped around the iron

I love that picture too!

 

[DarkVictory]

Good memories because my mom was really good with the pressing comb. No burns and no sizzling. I remember pressing cream, like Apex and Ultra Sheen Creme Satin Press, as well as old-school grease like Afro Sheen and Glossatina.

 

[yaya24]

I never got my hair "hot combed"

 

[TaraDyan]

I loved it ... loved it, I say!!

 

[ANUBIS]

i think i got my hair hot combed twice with the one you put on the stove but my auntie would do it...my mom tried with an electric comb once but said my hair was too hard for her to handle...shes white...but she would use it on my sisters 3a hair often. my hair was always a hot mess because my mom gave up on doing my hair when i was 9 so i was putting in 6-7 scrunchies in a bun that i would never comb or wash just knew how to brush the sides back and put a ton of grease in. yikes at least you ladies had moms that actually cared about what your hair looked like even tho it was fried dyed and greased to the side...

another example of why you need to reserch black hair care before deciding to have biracial children...

 

[whiteoleander91]

my mom would always just use a flat iron on my hair. But one time when I was little I went to the salon to get a relaxer touch up and the lady used one on me. I had been so scared! In my mind, I thought she was going to be literally combing my hair like you would with a regular comb; all the way to the scalp. I panicked! haha but it was okay

 

[Qualitee]

I love the picture in the OP

 

[zuriqueen]

i hear it now lol...that was truly horrific. the things we do for beauty smh lol

 

[Aviah]

I can't relate. I never had my hair pressed as a kid. Maybe curling irons, but that was pretty rare. It was the blowdryer in our house that did the job.

 

[Chiquitita]

Nope. I was relaxed at the ripe old age of 4. I wouldn't sit still for a press.

^^^ This... I was relaxed at a very early age as well. No memories of a hot comb ..

 

[EbonyCPrincess]

lmao! I definitely remember it but I couldn't vote because none of the above applied to me. Mommy only washed and blow dried my hair for the "pressing lady" to straighten it. Although I didn't mind the ritual, I'm definitely happy to be relaxed now!

 

[belldandy]

it wasn't that bad..i got burned a couple of times but other than that it was fine. we only did it once a month and my hair was still healthy.

 

[LynnieB]

Wow @ so many who heard the sound of sizzling hair.

My sister and I had our hair straightened every 2 weeks while we were in school and our hair spent most of its summers in plaits.

Never heard a sizzling sound when she did our hair. Never. But did get an occasional singed ear because we didn't hold our ears down like she said

Wow at sizzling hair - omg. That's just sad.

 

[ashleymichelle1]

I never had a bad hot comb experience. When I was younger I loved when I would get my hair straightened..I always asked my mom to hot comb my hair. Of course I got burned a couple of times but it never sizzled because she knew when it was too hot..

 

[Chameleonchick]

Most times I absolutely hated it! There are a few times where I enjoyed it though, so I guess it depends.

 

[BklynHeart]

yeah, it was a love/hate thing for me. Loved, because me, mommy and sis would be in the kitchen talking. Hate, because I hated anything hot coming that close to my head, so I'm sitting there sweatin' up a storm. Plus, I had the type of hair that would revert by the time we got to where we were going. Mom put that relaxer in my head when I turned 8.

 

[hair4romheaven]

Never had my hair hot combed in my life. I barely used a flat iron on my hair. I did abuse the curling iron in H.S. I didn't get my first relaxer until I was about 13.

 

[DDTexlaxed]

Your poll was a bit short for me. Hot combing was a bad experience for me because I equated it with me having horrible hair. I was very young, but I was not happy to be nappy. My hair broke combs and brushes because it was so thick. My mom had no clue how to handle my natural hair. I used to have scalp and ear burns, too. My hair looked great hot combed, but to get to the desired results was very painful for me.

 

[AHeadOfCoils]

My mom would cool the pressing comb off before she ran it through my hair. I always had relatively easy to straighten but hard to damage hair. She would run the pressing comb through once then flat iron.

 

[BraunSugar]

Many first moments with the “straightening comb” were a rite of passage for some, for many it was the beginning of a painful relationship. How many remember that sizzling sound?

​

I remember the sound and I can feel the heat on my scalp as we speak. I said I was gonna pick up a hot comb and press my hair. The feeling passed though.

 

[mzbrown]

I remember flinching everytime the comb was near my edges. I also remember my mom and aunts telling me it wasn't my hair burning it was the grease.

 

[Tiye]

I didn't have my hair pressed very often, but I enjoyed it. I don't remember a sizzle perhaps becoz my mother didn't use much grease. I remember liking the warmth of the comb as it came close to my skin but not close enough to burn - it felt therapeutic - kinda like the hot stones in a spa.

 

[Laela]

I have mixed memories...Saturday morning rituals..the smell of the hot comb wafting from the kitchen helped wake me up to get my new 'do... but the singing of my ears or mom hitting my scalp too closely made me break out in cold sweat and was the reason I learned to sit very still, poised like a lizard waiting for prey.