What's the deal with Scab hair?

[Miel]

Don't yell, I did try to do a search and checked out the stickies about transitioning but was not able to find the answer to my question . Now that I stated that disclaimer here's my question:

What exactly is scab hair? I know that it is the hair that left after a big chop but if your chop cut out all the relaxer and the only thing left is your natural texture why is it when your hair starts to grow again after the cut is a different texture?

 

[glamazon386]

Don't yell, I did try to do a search and checked out the stickies about transitioning but was not able to find the answer to my question . Now that I stated that disclaimer here's my question:

What exactly is scab hair? I know that it is the hair that left after a big chop but if your chop cut out all the relaxer and the only thing left is your natural texture why is it when your hair starts to grow again after the cut is a different texture?

The scab hair is hair that is effected by the chemical residue left in the scal om the relaxer. It comes out dry, resistant and unruly. Once the residue is gone, your new growth will be your true texture. Everybody doesn't experience it though. I did when I was stretching my relaxers a few years back.

 

[sareca]

Personally, I think it's a myth. I've transitioned (even before I knew it was called that) between relaxed and natural more times than I care to count. I've never had scab hair, but I do clarify my hair and scalp often. I also think natural (like all hair) needs to be "trained"... maybe that's what people are experiencing.

 

[hopeful]

Some people never experience it, but lots of us can attest that scab hair is a reality. I'm 17 months natural and my hair continues to get softer and softer. Before going natural, I'd had a relaxer for nearly 30 years, and I think my hair was tired of relaxers. My hair never did well with relaxers. Everybody is different though. I am not anti-relaxer in general, they just don't/didn't work well with my hair.

ETA: I guess I didn't answer your question. Scab hair is usually much drier and more brittle than a person's true texture. Usually within 6-12 months a person will begin to see their true texture. Again, some people see their true texture right away.

 

[fluffylocks]

Good question

So how much scab hair can you have
Will that hair always be resistant, dry, and unruly?

I never even thought about newgrowth just sitting under your scalp, i wonder how many inches of hair are under your scalp......

Right now im wondering if all of my hair is scab hair, this stuff is very dry and resitant to alot

 

[glamazon386]

Personally, I think it's a myth. I've transitioned (even before I knew it was called that) between relaxed and natural more times than I care to count. I've never had scab hair, but I do clarify my hair and scalp often. I also think natural (like all hair) needs to be "trained"... maybe that's what people are experiencing.

Sareca mines looks like a totally different texture now. It hasn't been trained to do anything. Some people say it just looks better from keeping it moisturized or taking better care of it, but I took care of my relaxed hair too. I have the same routine now as I did then. I use the same products. Nothing else has changed. It looks like totally different hair. I even had beady beads and naps around my edges when I first started stretching 3 or 4 years ago and I had a hard time covering the edges up or getting them to lay down. Now they're nowhere in sight.

 

[fluffylocks]

Personally, I think it's a myth. I've transitioned (even before I knew it was called that) between relaxed and natural more times than I care to count. I've never had scab hair, but I do clarify my hair and scalp often. I also think natural (like all hair) needs to be "trained"... maybe that's what people are experiencing.

That is a good thought

Because the high ph of the relaxer could have some effect on how rough your hair feels if you dont clarify your scalp properly, and if you add that to learning how to really care for your newgrowth/natural hair and moisturize it the way it needs to be..that could be scab hair all day

 

[hopeful]

Sareca mines looks like a totally different texture now. It hasn't been trained to do anything. Some people say it just looks better from keeping it moisturized or taking better care of it, but I took care of my relaxed hair too. I have the same routine now as I did then. I use the same products. Nothing else has changed. It looks like totally different hair. I even had beady beads and naps around my edges when I first started stretching 3 or 4 years ago and I had a hard time covering the edges up or getting them to lay down. Now they're nowhere in sight.

I had the same thing in my nape area initially.

 

[Kurlee]

Personally, I think it's a myth. I've transitioned (even before I knew it was called that) between relaxed and natural more times than I care to count. I've never had scab hair, but I do clarify my hair and scalp often. I also think natural (like all hair) needs to be "trained"... maybe that's what people are experiencing.

I really think ur NG is jus that, new unprocessed hair! Ur hair will obviously look and feel different at 1 inch versus 6 without relaxed ends and dealin gwith two textures and at times forcing ur hair into styles to make the two textures look similar during transitioning. the more i got to know my hair as a natural, the more i realized i can manipulate my hair in alot of ways with products to get different looks, feels and textures.

 

[Kurlee]

I had the same thing in my nape area initially.

Jus an idea, but my curl patterns usually continue to get looser and looser as it gets longer.

 

[sareca]

Sareca mines looks like a totally different texture now. It hasn't been trained to do anything. Some people say it just looks better from keeping it moisturized or taking better care of it, but I took care of my relaxed hair too. I have the same routine now as I did then. I use the same products. Nothing else has changed. It looks like totally different hair. I even had beady beads and naps around my edges when I first started stretching 3 or 4 years ago and I had a hard time covering the edges up or getting them to lay down. Now they're nowhere in sight.

Training isn't specialized. It's just repeatedly styling the hair. Stuff like tying down edges with a scarf every night is training. After months and months they will lay down more easily, right?

The only thing I've ever experienced that was even sort of like scab hair is after I take my braids out. After 2 months of being in the same position they naturally try to stay there. My WnGs look perfectly awful for weeks after I take the braids or twists out. I wear them anyway. Why? Because my hair will eventually get used to being in a different position and cooperate. It works everytime.

My hair texture is also completely different from when I started LHCF. The difference is like that between night and day. Most of the difference I've experienced comes from using better techniques, better products,but the majority came from taking MSM. My relaxer schedule has not changed one bit.

Maybe you're right and some people do have scab hair. I just never understood how it could be from relaxer residue when clarifying doesn't fix it. I also think the longer the hair gets (natural or relaxed) the weight of the hair will make it less likely to bead and more likely to lay down (i.e., less unruly).

 

[sareca]

Jus an idea, but my curl patterns usually continue to get looser and looser as it gets longer.

Stop reading my mind. I think it's nothing more than practice, training the hair, and length.

 

[hopeful]

Jus an idea, but my curl patterns usually continue to get looser and looser as it gets longer.

Would that mean that if I cut the nape area, it would bead up again because it's short again? Since then my nape area has been cut short again and not a bead in sight. I only had those beads when I first bc'd after years and years of relaxers, a few months later they were gone and again after cutting short again, no beads.

Also, initally my crown was wavy, with no coils at all. Over time my waves became coily and gets coilier as it gets longer, so in my case my curl pattern is not necessarily getting looser, but all over my hair continues to be softer, more manageable and holds moisture better.

 

[Miel]

You see, this is the confusion that I've been dealing with. Is there or isn't there scab hair, does it mean that your texture changes (4b to 3b), is the change uniform throughout your whole head.

I mean, I like the texture of my present NG...it's the real reason why i'm thinking of going natural and possibly BCing.But now I'm kinda ascared becuz what i'm seeing may not indeed be what i get.

 

[sareca]

Yeah, I'm afraid you're just gonna have to wait and see... I think I'm willing to concede that some people's hair improves gradually after going natural (for whatever reason :wink2: ) and other get what they see.

 

[cmw45]

I had scab hair and I have pictures to prove it. Even when my hair gets dry now from lack of care it still doesn't look like what it did when it first came out. I know this because I BC'd twice. The hair from the second chop was much curlier wavier and doesn't get anywhere near as dry. You could see the difference between the two 'natural' textures; I tried taking care of both of them after the first BC but my hair looked so much healthier after I BC'd the second time.

 

[glamazon386]

Training isn't specialized. It's just repeatedly styling the hair. Stuff like tying down edges with a scarf every night is training. After months and months they will lay down more easily, right?

The only thing I've ever experienced that was even sort of like scab hair is after I take my braids out. After 2 months of being in the same position they naturally try to stay there. My WnGs look perfectly awful for weeks after I take the braids or twists out. I wear them anyway. Why? Because my hair will eventually get used to being in a different position and cooperate. It works everytime.

My hair texture is also completely different from when I started LHCF. The difference is like that between night and day. Most of the difference I've experienced comes from using better techniques, better products,but the majority came from taking MSM. My relaxer schedule has not changed one bit.

Maybe you're right and some people do have scab hair. I just never understood how it could be from relaxer residue when clarifying doesn't fix it. I also think the longer the hair gets (natural or relaxed) the weight of the hair will make it less likely to bead and more likely to lay down (i.e., less unruly).

I don't tie my hair down with a scarf so IDK. I just sleep on my satin pillowcases. My hair just exists, it's not trained to do anything. It's always the same whether it's braided, weaved, or out. I don't take any vitamins so IDK what else could have made it change. It doesn't even feel the same. My hair isn't coarse to the touch but that scab hair at my roots sure was. It was just dry, frizzy, brittle, etc. I couldn't even get a comb through it. It was tangled and knotty. It hurt to comb it. And my hair's fine. There were no curls, waves, nothing. That's why I was on the fence with transitioning for so long. If my whole head looked like that, I would not have transitioned. There was nothing I could do with those roots. But as I continued to stretch over time it looked different each time I did it. It got softer and loosened up. That's when I started to see curls and coils. I don't have any of those problems anymore.

I remember my mother always fussing about those edges. The past year or so I'd ask her just to make sure and she'd be like nah you're good. If you weren't I would have told you. Some of the styles I wear now, I would have never been able to do before. I couldn't even get through those roots. Now that my hair is all natural, I rarely even get tangles. I just detangle with my fingers in the shower and call it a day. I swear it's like a totally different head of hair.

If it's just training how do you explain people going natural and then perming and then going back to natural and the 2nd time around their hair is different? I've heard people say their natural hair the second time around was totally different. And they believed that what they were dealing with the first go round was scab hair.

 

[glamazon386]

Would that mean that if I cut the nape area, it would bead up again because it's short again? Since then my nape area has been cut short again and not a bead in sight. I only had those beads when I first bc'd after years and years of relaxers, a few months later they were gone and again after cutting short again, no beads.

Also, initally my crown was wavy, with no coils at all. Over time my waves became coily and gets coilier as it gets longer, so in my case my curl pattern is not necessarily getting looser, but all over my hair continues to be softer, more manageable and holds moisture better.

My hair did the same thing. I also didn't have different textures. It was just all dry and fuzzy. I have at least 2 now. Possibly 3. But OP the point is, that scab hair is very much debated. It's almost like if people didn't experience it, then they don't believe it exists. And some people do not experience it. I would say to just continue with your transition and decide if you like what you see the more your roots grow out.

 

[hopeful]

You see, this is the confusion that I've been dealing with. Is there or isn't there scab hair, does it mean that your texture changes (4b to 3b), is the change uniform throughout your whole head.

I mean, I like the texture of my present NG...it's the real reason why i'm thinking of going natural and possibly BCing.But now I'm kinda ascared becuz what i'm seeing may not indeed be what i get.

Don't be scared, the main thing is that what you see now may be what you get and if it is scab hair (lol maybe we need another name for it that doesn't sound so awful) it will likely only get softer and prettier and more lovelier. Besides dealing with tangles and knots I rarely hear people complain about their hair changing dramatically. Most people talk about how much softer their hair is, how much less drier it it is etc. So if you are in love with your hair now, I'm willing to bet that you will just love it even more over time. For me (and I think most people) it's not so much about going from 4 anything to 3 anything, it's more about the quality of the hair, the softness and the manageability.

 

[SouthernTease]

I'm only into my 6 month of transitioning
but I do notice that my new growth is
a lot more curlier, softer, and shiner
than when i first started my transition.

 

[Priss Pot]

At first I wasn't sure about the reality of scab hair, but after giving myself a trim the other day, I realized that there must be some truth to it.

Before, in the crown of my head, the very ends of my hair would be like little bushes while the shaft would coil/curl. After giving myself a trim, I didn't notice too many of those end bushes anymore after doing my wash 'n go.

So with that being my experience, I believe that there is some validity with the scab hair legend.

 

[cocoberry10]

Well I hope what's growing under this is scab hair

 

[cocoberry10]

Jus an idea, but my curl patterns usually continue to get looser and looser as it gets longer.

I've heard that this happens to a lot of people!

 

[SerenavanderWoodsen]

i havent relaxed in 2 years and in the spots where i would self relax , right by my middle part,, i STILL have scab hair,, I HATE it,, scab hair must be a real thing, even tho i didnt believe in it,, I am still suffering from it YUCK

 

[glamazon386]

At first I wasn't sure about the reality of scab hair, but after giving myself a trim the other day, I realized that there must be some truth to it.

Before, in the crown of my head, the very ends of my hair would be like little bushes while the shaft would coil/curl. After giving myself a trim, I didn't notice too many of those end bushes anymore after doing my wash 'n go.

So with that being my experience, I believe that there is some validity with the scab hair legend.

My hair did that too in certain spots. My hair looks totally different now than it did when I first bced. I attribute part of it to dryness and the rest to scab hair. I've had 2 trims since I bced a year ago. I think I got it all since I only had an inch or 2 of hair to start with then.

 

[morehairplease]

Jus an idea, but my curl patterns usually continue to get looser and looser as it gets longer.

this is what I thought too.