Hair part II

After I heard the presentation on “Processed Hair” I was very fascinated by the information that was given to me. I met with the author to learn more. I knew I wanted to make a change, but didn’t know where to begin. For the following few weeks I had a dialogue with myself, to perm or not to perm. That is the question. The dilemma was if I stopped perming my hair what was I going to do with it. I didn’t know anyone at the time that had natural hair. What would my natural hair look like? Would I like it? Would others like it? I was afraid to see myself because I hadn’t seen myself in such a long a time. Would I recognize myself? I was tormented. I was frustrated. Why hadn’t anyone share this information with me prior? It all made sense, the people I was expecting to provide with this type of knowledge was not aware. They were also lost.

On December 12 2003 I decided to save myself from the rat race. I was a struggle at first because I didn’t know how to style it or treat it. After a month I started to notice new hair growth, I was excited to see what my natural hair looked like. With in four month my hair looked like it had a jerry curl, s curl, perm, twist, and kinky all at the same time. The roots of my hair were revealing itself and the ends were straight as an arrow. I had to make a decision again, this time I had to literally cut the perm out of my life. The hair I had been growing all life was about to be removed. As I sat down I could actually hear my grandmother saying “You never gonna find a husband now”, “Ya gonna missed that hair and when you come to your senses it won’t be there”. I could hear close friends and family members saying, “I pay $150 to get this weave and you want to cut your hair” “What are they teaching you at that school”, “Mrs. X.”

The decision I was making was going to benefit me and possible inspire my friends and family to consider what they are doing to themselves and their children. During spring break of 2004 I went into a salon and demanded the stylist to cut as much of the perm as she can. She repeated exactly what I said to her and asked me what I wanted to do with my hair. I figured her English must be limited so I repeated myself, she then said with a surprising tone “You want to cut all that hair?” My response was yes. After going back and forth for a while she convinced me to cut it up to the neck area; instead of cutting 17 inches she cut 12. The stylist blow-dried my hair so straight I couldn’t tell I didn’t have a perm. But after a few weeks I saw the remaining perm strands and had to muster up the courage to cut it off. With in one year I went from having hair down to my butt to looking like Don King. I didn’t know what to do. I begin to notice other women with natural hair and I would ask them what products they used or who does their hair, or what suggestions they night have for me……
To be continue

Hair part I

Why is hair such a big issue? Particular for African American/African descendents with coarse, semi curly hair, kinky or as others view it “Napps”. In 2003 I started my graduate psychology program at Florida A&M University. There I met several women who had natural hair and spoke about maintaining a healthy lifestyle. As far as I knew it, I had a healthy lifestyle, I didn’t smoke, drink, or engage in any drug activities. It wasn’t until towards the middle of the semester when I was enlightened about what exactly a healthy lifestyle was and it starts with the chemicals one puts in his/her hair.

I attended a thesis presentation one of my classmates was presenting on; it was titled “Processed hair”. What exactly is processed hair? Well it starts with chemicals, any type of chemicals used to alter the color, length, or texture of a persons hair is processed. I had not realized I fell in the category of young women who processed their hair. Processing my hair was part of my culture. I remember as early as nine years old what a big deal it was to get a perm or to hot comb my hair. When I had my first communion it was a two day process to complete my hair. My grandmother washed my hair, air dried it for half a day and braid it into small sections. I even missed a school day so I wouldn’t sweat at gym class. The morning of the communion ceremony I had to wake up at 4 o’clock in the morning to start the straightening procedure. The first step was greasing the scalp so the hair doesn’t fry. It was the most painful procedure I had ever experienced as a child, yet I felt it was the best my hair had ever looked because I got so many compliments. While having my hair straightened my ears were burned, my head ached, I had dry scalp, and the steam from the comb irritated my neck. No one seemed to notice the agonizing look on my face, but even if they did this was part of our culture. They weren’t going to allow me to embarrass the family with my kinky hair; this was tradition. As I got older I under stood the “importance” of perming, hot combing and coloring my hair was.

At any rate the presentation explained the difference between women who processed their hair and those that do not. Women who continuously process their hair are linked to terminal illnesses such as cancer, all sorts, skin dysfunction and damaged hair. The presenter showed pictures of women’s brains that processed their hair, and these women had developed all sorts of green mucus around their heads. Women who continue to perm, color, Jeri curl, S curl, organic perm or what ever fancy names marketers came up with for altering your hair, are at high risk for:
· Cancer (brain, ovarian, breast, skin)
· Damage to hair and follicles
· Hair loss and thinning
· Burned scalp and skin
Also women process their hairs are more prone to other diseases.
To be continue