OK, What in the world is scab hair??

[tekmommie]

Can somebody give me a good explanation, please??!!

I had never heard of this until somebody made a comment about in a post re me growing out my hair and the first 3 inches of new hair being scab hair

I would like some more info, because right now it is making no sense theoretically or logically

...Someone shed some light please??

TIA

 

[Sunnysmile751]

Well, I read in some Yahoo group that i'm in that for most naturals, the first few inches of their hair that grows out after the perm is usually very coarse and dry due to the fact that the scalp is healing from some of the damage that the relaxers did. Before I learned this I tried *everything* to get moisture to my ends, but they were always coarse, brittle and dry, with little curl definition. I thought this was due to the relaxer still being in my hair but I couldn't understand it because I actually overtrimmed my hair when I cut out the perm. But know I know it is scab hair. My hair is growing in much softer and I was surprised to see ringlets in the mirror after i washed my hair the other day. I have about a half inch of scab hair left on my head and I can't wait to cut it out. It's funny because if I take a few strands and run them between my thumb and forefinger, my hair is soft and moisturized until a certain point, where the texture changes to coarse and brittle. Even if i take a single strand I can feel the same thing. I will try to get the post for you, because I don't think I explained it properly. You can also do a google search on it too. Put the phrase scab hair in quotes when you do it or else you'll get a ton of results, lol!

 

[sassygirl125]

I read in a natural hair book that some of the chemicals in relaxers are absorbed through the scalp. So the first few inches of hair aren't your true texture.

 

[tekmommie]

Skin is not pourus, otherwise we would be absorbing some chemicals from everything we touch...anyway I'll look into this some more as I was already doing...My scalp is not damaged and my new growth is not dry

For arguments sake

let's just say it does absorb into the scalp...are you then saying my full head of hair is scab hair??

Okay, I'm not convinced yet so I will do some research. Thanks for the info though.

More later...

 

[sassygirl125]

I'm not convinced, either!

But this woman was referring to people that were growing out relaxers. If you keep relaxing, it isn't scab hair--it's just processed hair. Processed scab hair...

What I thought at the time was my scab hair was really just the result of hard water and the wrong products. The same dry, matted hair softened up practically overnight.

 

[dontspeakdefeat]

 

[Sunnysmile751]

Re: OK, What in the world is scab hair?? (long!)

A lot of substances can be absorbed by the skin it depends on the chemical. Like hormones can be readily absorbed by skin, that's why they have the new birth control patch that you can slap on your arm (or your butt, as the commercial suggests! Lol!) I don't think everyone goes through scab hair, but whether it's caused by a damaged scalp or absorbed perm, a lot of naturals seem to experience the phenomena. I wish I had a really scientific explanation for it but unfortunately I don't. I do know that up to 2 inches of natural hair that grew in after my relaxer is different from the rest of my hair. They don't curl as much and seem coarser. When I wear my hair in an afro you can sometimes see these little straighter ends sticking up all over the place. In the front of my hair where the relaxer always took well, the ends didn't even stay when i had them in twists. I have since cut off some of it but I still have 3/4 to one inches of hair that is different from the rest.
In the Yahoo Group that i'm in, Black Tresses, a member named Melissa posted this (it's very long, sorry!):
"Hi,
My name is Melissa and this is my first time posting. I have been growing my
hair out for over a year using braids.
Before I heard about "scab hair" my braidest told me that she noticed a
change in my hair's texture around the sixth month of me growing out. She
said it was softer and easier to comb through than it was when she first
started braiding it during my first and second months. I too was skeptical.
I thought that if there was a difference in my hair, it must be because she
was pulling my hair out and it was thinning. Later a friend of mine who wore
a twa told me she was prepared in the transition phase for really rough hard
to manage hair immediately following the perm and that that it was a stage
that you have to get through. She wore a lot of headwraps after she cut her
perm out. After that stage she saw a softer texture of hair. She didn't
call it "scab hair" but that is basically what she was talking about. I'd
never heard anything like that before, but I immediately connected what she
said with what my braidest said about my hair. I took my braids out last
week and decided to wait a while to get them put back in so I could practice
styling my hair. It's been 15 months since my last perm and there three
hugely different textures of hair on my head. My permed ends were limp and
thin. The perm was immediately followed by maybe an inch to an inch and a
half of wild woolly super curly hair. After that is a softer less curly and
more wavy hair. The difference is utterly amazing to me. I did my hair in
two strand twists and finally cut those permed ends out. I will cut the scab
hair next summer. I wouldn't be surprised if there are still different
textures of hair in different parts of my head that I notice more by then, in
fact I expect it, but I know for sure that I have two textures on each strand
of hair right now. Scab hair and virgin hair.
When you think about it it make perfect sense too. That scab hair is the
hair we would feel six weeks after a touch up and say "I need a perm now!"
It is really rough and brittle and kept us chained to the relaxer industry.
It why so many women think they would like to stop perming, but don't think
they can stop because they believe their hair is "too nappy." If I hadn't
decided to get braids to grow my perm out, I might have decided my hair was
"too nappy" to in September before school started and went back to my
beautician and got a perm on my summer new growth. She would have been
happy, charged me twice the amount she usually did to make up for that loss
of income when I didn't come get that regular touch up, and I might have even
been happy to have visibly longer straight hair when I went back to school in
the fall. I didn't quit perming for any social or political reason, but the
more I think about it the more I see that there is an industry that needs us
to need them and their products and services. If we are all chemical free,
they would lose all kinds of money. They rely on that new growth to be
brittle and rough and hard to manage because if it wasn't we wouldn't
regularly spend $60 to $200 every six weeks getting it smooth and straight.
If we all knew that beyond that scab hair is hair that we CAN take care of
without a professional, wouldn't it empower those of us who are afraid to
stop perming because our hair might be "too nappy"?

Sorry this is so long,
Melissa"

Hope this helps.

 

[CurlyCrly]

Re: OK, What in the world is scab hair?? (long!)

That term came from the book Let's Talk Hair, by Pamela Ferrell. She discusses "scab hair" on page 68.

She says this:

I have found many women become depressed or apprehensive by the idea of growing the chemical out of their hair. Women have complained that the new hair growth feels coarse and hard. This is usually an unfair analysis of natural hair that is compared to the straightened ends. I classify the first stage as the scab stage.

Hair that has been chemically processed for many years will grow out curlier and in some instances feel dry because of the long-time use of the caustic lye (relaxer) that has stripped the hair follicle of its natural oils and nutrients. Your hair goes through a healing process similar to a wound on the skin, which becomes supple again after the scab falls off. As the new hair growth lengthens, the follicle and scalp have a chance to be rejuvenated, heal and eventually replenish the natural sebum to the hair. The new hair will then begin to feel soft and pleasing. And of course, changing to hair care products that are formulated for curly hair will make a difference in how the hair looks and feels.

 

[LondonDiva]

[ QUOTE ]
Skin is not pourus, otherwise we would be absorbing some chemicals from everything we touch...anyway I'll look into this some more as I was already doing...My scalp is not damaged and my new growth is not dry

For arguments sake

let's just say it does absorb into the scalp...are you then saying my full head of hair is scab hair??

Okay, I'm not convinced yet so I will do some research. Thanks for the info though.

More later...

[/ QUOTE ]

Tekmommie

The skin (largest organ on the human body) is porus. Everything right down to all those chemicals in body creams are absorbed through the skin and into the bloodstream. If it wasn't porus then how can we sweat and emit water through our skin. If you touch a chemical (depending on the size of it's molecular structure) you best believe it's going to absorb into your skin somehow.

 

[tekmommie]

What I was trying to say is not porous enough to effect 3 inches of hair.

Still researching, thanks for some good answers...

 

[Boadicea]

I am also not convinced. The first few inches of hair may not look like the n# of inches that come after it because it may have more definition once it is longer. Also, I think people would be walking around with all kinds of problems if relaxers soaked into their heads. Wouldn't someone somewhere be suffering neurological damage?

And what makes it stop at three inches?

I'd be less skeptical if a certified trichologist had something to say on it.

 

[tekmommie]

Well, I've just decided this is not a theory I will subscribe to. I have helped many people grow their natural hair out and have never experienced this in a salon or beauty school.

IMHO when you are growing your hair out, it will of course act different from the relaxed hair. You will need to have two different regimines essentially...

Anyways, I was just wondering thanks to all that replied

 

[Allandra]

I too am not convinced.

 

[LondonDiva]

If that was the case wouldn't it be straighter as opposed to coarser.

 

[dontspeakdefeat]

[ QUOTE ]
I too am not convinced.

[/ QUOTE ]
Me either!

 

[Allandra]

[ QUOTE ]
If that was the case wouldn't it be straighter as opposed to coarser.


[/ QUOTE ]
Exactly. Great question, LD.

 

[LondonDiva]

And on top of that could the coarser hair feeling during transitioning be due to not being familiar with our hair texture after relaxing it for long periods of time.

 

[dontspeakdefeat]

That's a good question!

 

[zoya_j]

Isn't it funny how the ladies with relaxed hair disagree with this theory while ladies with natural or transitioning hair who may have experienced this do agree with the concept of scab hair? After transitioning for about 6 months I finally cut off my relaxed ends. My hair was very dry and coarse and brittle. I set out to revitalize my hair because I had not heard about this scab hair stage. I applied moisture, moisture and more moisture. I don't think I actually experienced scab hair myself, because after a week or two, my hair was softer and more moisturized. Now after a few months, I notice that there is a slight texture diffrence between my hair at the roots and my ends. I'm gonna wait till the end of the summer after my hair grows a little longer and then cut off the ends of my hair. Then maybe I can determine whether I actually had scab hair or not.I guess what I'm trying to say is although nobody can make you believe anything, you can't just dismiss something completely because you've never seen it happen.

Slowly, but surely

 

[smooches]

<font color="orange">I wore my natural hair for a while and I didn't experience scab hair. My hair definitely felt coarse when I cut the relaxer out but I think it was the difference between relaxed hair and natural hair. After a few months, I became more comfortable with my natural hair, it got longer, I learned which products to use and how to style it. My hair was a million tiny coils and very soft. I never cut the ends off and didn't experience any texture differences between my ends and my roots.

I think the difference is about hair care. The same way some of us make our new growth softer with castor oil, s curl, msm, etc.</font>

 

[sassygirl125]

My hair looked and felt like shag carpet!

But once I revamped my routine, got some new products and started shampooing with filtered water, my hair softened up. All of it--not just the "new growth".

[ QUOTE ]
I guess what I'm trying to say is although nobody can make you believe anything, you can't just dismiss something completely because you've never seen it happen.

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm not dismissing it completely, but something about the theory just sounds "off" to me.

Someone posted a link a while back to a site that discussed "the dangers of relaxers". The site listed all the ingredients in relaxers. I'll see if I can find it. Maybe someone here knows which ingredients can be absorbed by the body.

 

[skegeesmb]

I'm not exactly sure what scab hair is, but I experienced something when I cut most of my relaxed hair off. My hair felt rougher and dry. When I cut that hair off, in November, my hair has felt much better, and most of my ends curl and feel soft.

For some scab hair isn't an issue. For others it is. I wouldn't say scab hair doesn't exist just because I didn't experience it.

 

[EbonyF]

http://members.tripod.com/~Karmella/relaxers.html

[ QUOTE ]

Someone posted a link a while back to a site that discussed "the dangers of relaxers".

[/ QUOTE ]

 

[sassygirl125]

That's it! Thanks Ebony! I was looking for it and came up with nothing. I did find some interesting looking products here though.

Too bad I don't live overseas!

 

[Ipanema]

I've been completely natural for close to 7 months now, and I had never heard of "scab hair" before joining this board. First of all, it sounds horrible and gross. I did not believe in this, but now I think there's something to this. My hair is growing in softer &amp; the ends are extremely coarse in comparison. I am also starting to see ringlets &amp; coils which I did not think was a characteristic of my natural hair. However, I have been taking a multi-vitamin, MSM, using better products, and eating healthier, so that may be a factor, too.

 

[Sunnysmile751]

When my roommate, who went natural two years before me told me about it, I didn't believe her either. But now I'm experiencing the same thing.
[ QUOTE ]
If that was the case wouldn't it be straighter as opposed to coarser.

[/ QUOTE ]
Coarseness is different to curl pattern, you can have course straight hair, course wavy hair or course curly hair.

[ QUOTE ]
And on top of that could the coarser hair feeling during transitioning be due to not being familiar with our hair texture after relaxing it for long periods of time.


[/ QUOTE ]
I am totally natural now with 4 inches of hair. if i run my hand over my hair from scalp to bottom at a certain point my texture changes. Even if I pluck a single strand out of my head an run it between my fingers, at one point (usually an inch up from the bottom) the texture changes. Believe me, when my hair was shorter I dismissed it to just not being familiar with my natural texture but it's different now that my hair is longer. I'm not taking any vitamins or any products (I'll wait till i get back to the states) but I can still feel a difference. No one has to believe it though, it's just a journey between me, my hair, and I! ;-)

 

[inthestars]

Relaxers definitely affects the skin as it penetrates.. I've noticed that the sides of my head which were over processed less sensitive to the touch that the top of my head which was not overprocessed. So undoubtedly, relaxers cause some nerve damage..

I've been natural since last August and have had two trims in the interum. My hair has become softer after each one..

 

[Integrity]

[quoteI'm not dismissing it completely, but something about the theory just sounds "off" to me.

[/ QUOTE ]

exactly, some intelligent posts were made here. the theory doesnt hold too well. of course it will take time to get used to the new hair. it sounds like a typical argument to scare women off relaxing or to bash

 

[ChocolateCutee]

[ QUOTE ]
[quoteI'm not dismissing it completely, but something about the theory just sounds "off" to me.

[/ QUOTE ]

exactly, some intelligent posts were made here. the theory doesnt hold too well. of course it will take time to get used to the new hair. it sounds like a typical argument to scare women off relaxing or to bash

[/ QUOTE ]

If anything the theory would discourage women who want to grow their hair out. I see many posts on this board saying that their newgrowth is hard and unmanagable and you dismiss the theory that scab hair may infact exist.

I for sure know it does because I had it when I was transitioning. My hair felt so hard and coarse. It nearly put me of transitioning b/c I thought my hair would be like that.
After a couple of months my hair became softer and more managable. I honestly think that some people get it (those who are transitioning) and some don't. I for one thought I had no curl in my hair and after a few months the curl/coil def. did improve.

Not being rude but if you have relaxed hair how can you dissmiss something that your not going through. (transitioning)

 

[ChocolateCutee]

Also I just wanted to add that if you look at a number of natural hair websites that a lot of women have gone through the scab stage. Scab hair like someone said is hair that feels dry, coarse or hard after not being relaxed. Some people experience this some don't. After a while the texture will soften up and will reveal your true texture.

I don't think it has anything to do with not knowing your hair tex. but I think that your hair must be affected by long term use of chemicals.