Friday, June 12, 2015

The dangers of relaxers (a must read)


Women go natural  for a variety of reasons. Those ladies who went natural because it was the "in" thing to do, will often be tempted to relax again. They convince themselves that Afro hair is to difficult and that straight relaxed hair is much easier. Some of them do not like their hair texture and most do not like the shrinkage that comes with Afro hair. At least every other day, I see comments stating,  they are tired and are tempted to go back to relaxing,  When people make the "back to relaxer"  announcement they are usually trying to get people to give them a reason why they should not go back to relaxing.  I will give you the ultimate reason why you should NEVER go back to relaxing your beautiful Afro  hair.

Limp straight hair
Think before you act!


When you apply that relaxer chemical to your hair,  you stand a great chance of permanently damaging your hair follicles. It does not make much difference, if whether you did your relaxer at home or you went to a professional.  There are lots of black women who get in their mid thirties and start to have issues with their scalp. First it starts with itching in a certain area, usually the crown. Then the scalp can become sore to the touch. This itchiness and soreness can stay that way for years, until one day you notice,  the hair has significantly thinned in that area. Many times you will notice a dime size or or quarter size bald spot, which seems to appear overnight. But it has not been overnight, your hair follicles have been dying slowly each day. So what causes this type of hair loss? Inflamed scar tissue under the scalp from past relaxer applications. Yes you can get burns under your scalp from the relaxer chemicals. When the burns heal they leave scar tissue. The scar tissue gets in the way of your hair growth at the root. You hair grows but the scar tissue prohibits it from sprouting from the scalp. Eventually the hair follicles completely close.  Because this condition happens very slowly it is hard to convince many black women that this happens a lot. Think about the fact that by the time a black woman hits 35, she has been relaxing her hair for 25 years at least. She has probably had at least 6 relaxers each year. That is a lot of harsh chemicals exposed to your hair and scalp. It is almost impossible for that chemical to not touch your scalp. This is not scare tactic, this is knowledge so you can make an educated decision on continuing to relax  or going back to relaxing your beautiful God blessed hair.

So what can be done about this condition?

 
Early treatment is crucial!

If your hair itches in a specific spot all of the time go see a dermatologist. If your scalp is sore in one area off and on, go see a dermatologist. Early detection is key. Tell the dermatologist all of your symptoms and be totally honest. He or she will want to know if  you ever used relaxers. The only way to know what is going on under your scalp is for the doctor to do a scalp biopsy. Understand that this can happen from just one relaxer application. It does not matter how many years you used relaxers. There is no cure for this type of hair loss. The doctor will treat it with steroid shots to the scalp. The earlier you seek treatment the more likely the shots will work to stop the progression of the bald area. You may not get back the hair you loss but the shots can stop you from losing more hair. 

So does a relaxer sound tempting after hearing this?


If this does not deter you then nothing will.  Do you want to risk baldness, just for the sake of having straight hair? God blessed you with beautiful Afro curly hair. Learn to love your curls. When you love a thing it flourishes for you. You do not have to destroy the structure of your hair in order for it to be beautiful. There is an abundance of great information available at your finger tips to help you take care of your coily hair. You are currently on one of the best sites that will help you get to know your Afro coily hair. All of this information is FREE, so take advantage of it. 

Wash it and let it FRO! Beautiful!!

Flat twist out!

Flat ironed hair! Beautiful!!
 
Naturally stretched hair.  Beautiful!


Afro curly hair is not difficult. God would not bless black women with difficult hair. Our hair is our glory. Start a healthy hair journey today and watch your hair transform in 3 months. The Coily Queens Method makes it easy for you. You will be amazed!!!




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