How the perm under the scalp effects the new growth

[Poohbear]

What do you ladies think of this?



Q. Now you have an interesting concept on how the perm under the scalp effects the new growth. Can you explain it?
We all know they did a study about 10 yrs ago on black women specifically who had perm their hair and they went to the continent and got African woman who never put a perm in their hair. They also did with African Americans here who never put a perm in their hair its just harder to find that here. They found that African American woman who perm on their hair extensively over a along period of time had a green layer that happened its like the chemicals collect under the surface of your skin, They could not tell you exactly what it was but they did x-rays and cat scans, they could actually see a thin layer green stuff surrounding your scalp. So that green doesn't just dissipate over a one month two month three month period, it actually take six to seven months for your hair to actually be the texture that it will always be from your perm. Then it will take years to soften up and get a whole other texture because your body continues to (purge). I have dealt with a sister's hair specifically, growing their hair out for about two years and you could actually feel the difference in their texture as time goes on. Because it has to grow threw the perm and go through the goop that's in there it has to go through it. So when people get happy, I have grown my hair out for two months. You have to keep going because I can't do anything yet, I can't do everything you want even if you cut it because your texture isn't ready.
Excerpt from this site: http://www.letstalkhair.freeservers.com/locks2.htm

 

[CharUK]

Interesting. But I was told it could take as long as 2 years to reclaim your real natural texture.

Anyone heard anything similiar?

x

 

[ponytail2]

Hi everyone. This is my first post. About four years ago, I came across an article that talked about this same study. At the time I was pregnant with my youngest daughter and gave up relaxing for about 5 months because of this study. I don't think it specifies if they studied lye based relaxers, no-lye relaxers or relaxed hair in general. Since then I have continued to relax because I love to wear my hair straight and the lye for the relaxer tends to keep my breakouts at bay for about three weeks after I relax. I've been reading about natural health since the eighties and find this article totally believable. Since the skin also acts as an organ that expels toxins from the body, maybe the green stuff is the flaking so many relaxed heads experience. Since these chemicals enter our bloodsteam and could possibly be incorporated into any of our body systems, I doesn't surprise me one bit when people say it can take years to purge the chemicals from your system. Since all people are different, one person can experience their true hair texture in 3 months while another may still have chemical hair after 3 years. I think it depends on your hair makeup and the rate your body cleans/repairs/rebuilds itself.

 

[crml_buttafly]

WOW! good looking out PB

 

[Poohbear]

Hi everyone. This is my first post. About four years ago, I came across an article that talked about this same study. At the time I was pregnant with my youngest daughter and gave up relaxing for about 5 months because of this study. I don't think it specifies if they studied lye based relaxers, no-lye relaxers or relaxed hair in general. Since then I have continued to relax because I love to wear my hair straight and the lye for the relaxer tends to keep my breakouts at bay for about three weeks after I relax. I've been reading about natural health since the eighties and find this article totally believable. Since the skin also acts as an organ that expels toxins from the body, maybe the green stuff is the flaking so many relaxed heads experience. Since these chemicals enter our bloodsteam and could possibly be incorporated into any of our body systems, I doesn't surprise me one bit when people say it can take years to purge the chemicals from your system. Since all people are different, one person can experience their true hair texture in 3 months while another may still have chemical hair after 3 years. I think it depends on your hair makeup and the rate your body cleans/repairs/rebuilds itself.

Congrats on your first post! I agree with you when you said "Since all people are different, one person can experience their true hair texture in 3 months while another may still have chemical hair after 3 years. I think it depends on your hair makeup and the rate your body cleans/repairs/rebuilds itself"

 

[Poohbear]

your welcome c_b... kinda' scary isn't it? i wonder if the chemicals buildup over time as you keep applying and applying relaxers. does anyone know if someone has ever suffered side effects of prolonged usage of relaxers?

 

[BLESSED1]

wow Well there goes reason #34 why I can't wait to be natural, unless the damage has already been done to me... :creatures

 

[RushGirl]

your welcome c_b... kinda' scary isn't it? i wonder if the chemicals buildup over time as you keep applying and applying relaxers. does anyone know if someone has ever suffered side effects of prolonged usage of relaxers?

What that article is talking about is basically what the term "scab hair" comes from.. if you do a search on the board..it's been talked about before.. I stopped relaxing Feb. 9th of last year and I had a TON..and I do mean a TON of scab hair.. it seems like I had more than anyone else on this board... for example..the whole back of my head/hair was basically scab hair once I stopped relaxing.. I didn't know really till I had a BC which was in Nov. Now, in the back of my hair I FINALLY have maybe a 1/2 inch of "normal" hair.. after all this time.. some areas back there..I still don't have that much "normal" hair. I have scab hair all over my head..I cut alot off..but I still have alot.. the difference between the scab hair and my normal hair is like night and day.. it's unbelievable the difference.. I had alot of it because I use to relax every 4-5 weeks.. like clockwork and I never knew that I shouldn't be putting it on my scalp.. in fact, I use to part my hair and put the relaxer down the middle so that I didn't miss any parts.. I never had to keep the relaxer on long..because my hair relaxed easily.. It was prolly on like 10-12 minutes at most.. in the back of my hair..I could never see back there..so the relaxer went everywhere.. I find it interesting that the parts of my hair that has less scab hair than the rest.. the sides and my nape area.. are the parts of my hair that the relaxer went on very last..right before I washed it out.. it never sat there for even a minute.. So the sides affects for me..is all the scab hair I have.. I have alot.. you guys have no idea..

 

[Poohbear]

Rushgirl, sorry to hear you have so much scab hair after 1 year and 1 month. I remember the thread about scab hair. I just posted this for everyone's information about the study showing this chemical buildup underneath the scalp of relaxed heads. I just thought it was shocking/scary/mind-boggling.

 

[Barbi]

Ladies,

I cannot relate to what you are talking about regarding the scabing because I still relax my hair. I love relaxing and wearing it straight and don't think I will ever go natural. Don't you think that if relaxing were a big problem to our health and hair, we would hear more about it on the news, healthboards or BET.com? I'm just curious. My mother, grandmother and her grandmother permed their hair and never had any problems, should I be concerned?

 

[ThickHair]

I believe it is an Urban Legend. I have read this many many times but no one can pinpoint the specific medical journal that this came from. No actual source, author, date and such so to me it is an urband legend until it is proven otherwise.

 

[RushGirl]

Rushgirl, sorry to hear you have so much scab hair after 1 year and 1 month. I remember the thread about scab hair. I just posted this for everyone's information about the study showing this chemical buildup underneath the scalp of relaxed heads. I just thought it was shocking/scary/mind-boggling.

Aww...thanks girl.. yah, this scab hair SUCKS..but it will eventually go away.. I was just talking about it because I think the whole green layer, residue thing is what causes the scab hair.. kwim? It is interesting.. Had I known the side effects of getting the relaxer on my scalp..I would have been MUCH MUCH more careful.... They should really start putting this information on the box somewhere..

Barbi: I don't think there is a need really to be concerned IF you are relaxing the right way.. I never thought I'd go natural so I never thought about any effects of a relaxer regarding the hair that hasn't even come out of my head.. I never had any problems and I relaxed about 26-28 years... there obviously was a problem once I decided to go natural and I saw the effect it had on my "natural" hair.. does that make sense?

 

[Allandra]

I believe it is an Urban Legend. I have read this many many times but no one can pinpoint the specific medical journal that this came from. No actual source, author, date and such so to me it is an urband legend until it is proven otherwise.

I also heard that this was an Urban Legend.

 

[tropicexotic]

Somehow I just don't think there's been that many people to push the issue and look at the side effects. That filmy green or whatever color substance has also been a side effect of repeated coloring, and relaxing with other nationalities as well. Relaxers are a very lucrative industry (when you think of the percentage of women who relax), and that's no reason not to have safety guidelines but I don't think it's something regulated well here unless it's a really bad relaxer like RIO or Copa (I never used those so I might have the names really screwed up) that has an extreme amount of people complaining. I'm interested in the subject, cuz I think it's really screwed up (on one board a women said she saw this first hand during an autopsy). Many women don't care, I mean who's looking under your scalp anyway? But, it could possibly have other effects that just haven't been studied. Hopefully more scientific research is done, but I can see it turning into one of those bad movies where the big people involved don't want the information getting out. Perhaps more relaxers with less toxic ingredients (Phyto??) will hit the market in the future. Or more substances like ORS's demi perm...or more ppl transitioning to natural. Till then, I'm feeling like I'm in Bizarro world. Thanks for posting this poohbear!

 

[Poohbear]

Aww...thanks girl.. yah, this scab hair SUCKS..but it will eventually go away.. I was just talking about it because I think the whole green layer, residue thing is what causes the scab hair.. kwim? It is interesting.. Had I known the side effects of getting the relaxer on my scalp..I would have been MUCH MUCH more careful.... They should really start putting this information on the box somewhere..

Barbi: I don't think there is a need really to be concerned IF you are relaxing the right way.. I never thought I'd go natural so I never thought about any effects of a relaxer regarding the hair that hasn't even come out of my head.. I never had any problems and I relaxed about 26-28 years... there obviously was a problem once I decided to go natural and I saw the effect it had on my "natural" hair.. does that make sense?

Yeah Barbi, I never thought about going natural either and it wasn't because of the bad things said about relaxers. I have nothing against relaxers since I've been relaxed for about 10 years (I'm 21 right now), and they really never gave me any problems (except the fact that my mom would relax the entire hair shaft all the time which made it overprocessed as time progressed). I'm just going natural to try something new, see what it's like to have natural hair, and appreciate the texture God gave me without chemically straightening it.

 

[Bublnbrnsuga]

Yes. This was discussed on another forum where a detective was in a forensics lab discussing what happened with this black lady. Well the forensics doctor pulled back the top layer of her scalp ,revealing this green film. He explained to the detective that he sees this normally in black women, due to chemicals used for their hair.

 

[Barbi]

Rushgirl, It does make sense to me. I am really not concerned because my ancestors have been doing it for decades and have lived long and healthy lives. Although I do believe that over relaxing does more harm than good, I do feel that it is harmless if you stretch them out and only relax the new growth. I leave my relaxer on for no more than 6 minutes. I used motions conditioning relaxer, which is diluted with a bunch of conditioners.

Does anyone else here use Motions?

 

[SherryLove]

Yeah Barbi, I never thought about going natural either and it wasn't because of the bad things said about relaxers. I have nothing against relaxers since I've been relaxed for about 10 years (I'm 21 right now), and they really never gave me any problems (except the fact that my mom would relax the entire hair shaft all the time which made it overprocessed as time progressed). I'm just going natural to try something new, see what it's like to have natural hair, and appreciate the texture God gave me without chemically straightening it.

and that's a beautiful thing... smile.....

 

[Tru_Mind]

Thankx for the info PB. I know that there's a lot more about relaxers that we still don't know. Only time will tell!

Does anyone know when black women started relaxing their hair? Has it been over 60 yrs? I know that it's less than 100 yrs.

 

[Poohbear]

Does anyone else here use Motions?

I used Motions relaxer when I used to relax my hair. What strength do you use? I usually used Mild.

 

[superstar]

It makes perfect sense to me. Your sclap is skin and you put chemicals on your skin for 20-30 minutes every other month. It seems like over a period of time it will asorb in your skin. It's like giving yourself a facial with motions or affirm every other month. I beleive I had scab hair because the hair that's growing now is alot softer and I'm trying to trim away the "scab" hair. Just a theory.

 

[Crysdon]

I believe it is an Urban Legend. I have read this many many times but no one can pinpoint the specific medical journal that this came from. No actual source, author, date and such so to me it is an urband legend until it is proven otherwise.

I was going to write something similar to what ThickHair wrote. This "story" cannot be connected to any person in the medical field...AND no one has come forward yet to prove it.

I believe it's just a scare tactic. :scratchch

 

[Tracy]

I was going to write something similar to what ThickHair wrote. This "story" cannot be connected to any person in the medical field...AND no one has come forward yet to prove it.

I believe it's just a scare tactic. :scratchch

Ditto. Urban Legend.

 

[SherryLove]

i would think there would have to be some type of adverse effect after from continuously slapping foreign, caustic chemicals (that can cause scabs on the scalp, excessive hair shedding, and itching and only God know what else) on your scalp for such a long period of time...that's why i have resorted to just relaxing my hair twice a year before i finally make the decision to go natural....

 

[mkstar826]

I agree with SherryLove....

I've read these "green film" statements before and I don't know if it's true or not. BUT I do know that relaxer contains caustic chemicals. It only makes sense that repeated and prolonged use has got to have some kind of effect on the body. This is just one of the many reasons why I stopped relaxing

It would be interesting to see research done on this but oddly enough if there was research done and it proved the green film theory, I don't think the majority would care or stop. Just my opinion though...

 

[Poohbear]

I agree with SherryLove....

I've read these "green film" statements before and I don't know if it's true or not. BUT I do know that relaxer contains caustic chemicals. It only makes sense that repeated and prolonged use has got to have some kind of effect on the body. This is just one of the many reasons why I stopped relaxing

It would be interesting to see research done on this but oddly enough if there was research done and it proved the green film theory, I don't think the majority would care or stop. Just my opinion though...

Yeah, I don't think people will quit relaxing just because of the bad things said about it. Scalp burns and other things that may happen when you relax should be enough to make someone stop relaxing, it didn't stop me when I relaxed. Just like smoking cigarettes...people aren't going to stop just because they hear bad things about it or if bad things happen to their body because of it (Just making a point here, not comparing ladies who relax to smokers).

 

[SherryLove]

Yeah, I don't think people will quit relaxing just because of the bad things said about it. Scalp burns and other things that may happen when you relax should be enough to make someone stop relaxing, it didn't stop me when I relaxed. Just like smoking cigarettes...people aren't going to stop just because they hear bad things about it or if bad things happen to their body because of it (Just making a point here, not comparing ladies who relax to smokers).

and point well taken, Ms. PoohB...... Smile....

 

[caligirl]

In regards to scab hair...I think your hair texture may improve over time because you learn how to take care of it. For example, you learn what products make it feel soft, silky and easy to comb. I have type 4a hair that I have always worn pressed and I had a relaxer for just under a year. I would have never known I had such nice hair had it not been for my transition and learning what products work best.

 

[IvyMichael]

I also think this is an urban legend, mainly cause it doesn't sound scientifically valid. Seeing green stuff could only happen if a biopsy of the person's scalp was done or if it was seen at autopsy. You wouldn't see it on X-ray or MRI, which are for bone and soft tissue (protein) visualization.
Also, I did a search for studies about relaxers in PubMed which is the king of databases of essentially every scientific journal around the world. The only thing that came out concerning hair relaxers is how kids are ingesting them and having to go to the ER cause of chemical poisoning. I think we should just worry about the side effects of relaxers that we KNOW to be true, cause as a lot of us can attest those are plenty damaging enough. Hope that info helps.

Ivy

 

[BLESSED1]

I also think this is an urban legend, mainly cause it doesn't sound scientifically valid. Seeing green stuff could only happen if a biopsy of the person's scalp was done or if it was seen at autopsy. You wouldn't see it on X-ray or MRI, which are for bone and soft tissue (protein) visualization.
Also, I did a search for studies about relaxers in PubMed which is the king of databases of essentially every scientific journal around the world. The only thing that came out concerning hair relaxers is how kids are ingesting them and having to go to the ER cause of chemical poisoning. I think we should just worry about the side effects of relaxers that we KNOW to be true, cause as a lot of us can attest those are plenty damaging enough. Hope that info helps.

Ivy

check out Bubs post, I think she said something about a coroner confirming this...