some articles on hair relaxers

[Lucia]

I know that many ladies on this board have proved that you can relax, texturize and still maintain healthy head of hair.


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Caution Needed when Using Hair Relaxers

Many African American women like their hair straight. Either they prefer that look over natural coils or they want a texture that can be combed and styled with ease. So they choose to use relaxers to achieve the smooth hair texture that they desire. Yes, properly applied hair straighteners succeed in giving natural black hair a straight, silky look and feel. But the potential dangers of relaxers necessitate a warning to all who use these products. Consumers should know that possible negative effects exist when relying on chemicals to straighten the hair.

Relaxers chemically altar the composition of the hair. The ingredients in relaxers are harsh to natural hair. The January-February 2001 FDA Consumer magazine warns about the possible dangers of chemical straighteners. In the article Heading off Hair-Care Disasters: Use Caution with Relaxers and Dyes, author Michelle Meadows states that “according to the Food and Drug Administration's Office of Cosmetics and Colors, hair straighteners and hair dyes are among its top consumer complaint areas.” Ms. Meadows then details how relaxers can cause bald spots, scalp irritation, and hair breakage. And worse, 2nd degree chemical burns can result when relaxers are improperly applied directly to the scalp.

But chemicals that over process the hair aren’t the only culprit. For the woman who chooses to relax her hair, heat serves as both friend and foe. Heat has to be applied to the relaxed hair to completely straighten it. Blow dryers and curling irons maximize the straightening process. This makes the hair silky and smooth, which is the desired result. But at the same time, heat damages hair. It can cause dryness and can make hair brittle. This increases split ends and breakage.

 

[Lucia]

this is website/blog
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THE "MAGIC" OF CHEMICAL RELAXERS

The fact is lye is just an effective hair dissolver. Read the ingredients of Drano and you'll see sodium hydroxide is listed first. Drano is the stuff you use to dissolve hair in clogged sinks!! So the reality of chemical relaxers is they are designed to break down your hair to it's weakest state so you can "smooth" the kinks out of it. Both lye (with sodium hydroxide) and no-lye (with calcium hydroxide) relaxers use similar techniques to change the hair. Warning: This "creamy crack" is addictive. Healthy natural hair becomes the enemy. Some magic, huh? Don't you feel stupid now? I know I did when I stopped to think about it.

Have you ever stopped to think what that burning feeling on your head really means? It's chemical fire on your precious scalp and hair! It can leave your scalp with burnt patches, scales, and clumps of partially dissolved hair stuck to the head. Try to scratch at these wounds and you see blood and tender, red skin. And you wonder why you still have dandruff! The result of this repeated damage is likely to be weaker, damaged, and broken off hair that becomes hard to style (hence the everyday "ponytail" or better yet, a track of Asian hair sewn into the broken off parts). Why do we tell ourselves we need a "break" from chemical relaxers and then hide it all in extension braids or full weaves of Asian hair? Of course, we go right back to relaxers after our "break" and the same process starts all over again. Pure genius? Or foolhardiness? You decide. The Asians who sell and distribute the hair and black beauty products sure ain't complainin'. No, they're laughin all the way to the bank. So are the white owned companies that have taken over black hair companies in order to get in on the booming business of black hair products.

The worst part about it is that those with (unmixed) African hair (fuzzy, dry and very tightly coiled - "bad" hair) are the ones who take the most "heat" so to speak. We don't have the choice to wear our hair natural because it doesn't hang downward in the way that white people's hair does. Instead we are told we "need" Super strength chemicals to make our hair more "manageable" and "good". Meanwhile, those with mixed textured hair (with curl definition, more natural moisture, much looser coils - "good" hair) are given more of a choice. They can either wear their hair natural or use a curling iron or flat-iron or even a mild relaxer (for "fine, easily relaxed hair") to straighten their curls or waves. Those of us who are naturally nappy are judged by the texture of our hair and the judgment is harsh. It results in years of chemical use and abuse that degrades us even more while upholding stereotypes and negative ideals about black women.

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