Hair Dye, Relaxers And The Increased Cancer Risk For Black Women

On Wednesday, December 4th, 2019, there was an article published stating that hair dye and chemical relaxers increases the risk of breast cancer in women, but especially in black women by a whopping 9%. If you haven’t read the article, here it is: https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2019/12/04/784838430/hair-dye-and-straightener-use-linked-to-higher-cancer-risk-especially-for-black-

The truth about relaxers

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The harmful effects of chemical relaxers: Breakage, scarring, and permanent hair loss.

This article and it’s findings is alarming yet not surprising. Relaxers are made of very harsh chemicals, even if there isn’t any lye in them. Some of the main chemicals used in hair relaxers are sodium hydroxide, ammonium thioglycolate, and sodium thioglycolate. The fact that these chemicals have been tested and proven to eat through and melt various metals should frighten us. (See Chris Rock’s movie Good Hair) When relaxers are left on our hair and scalp too long, guess what happens? Our scalp burns, and once it heals, you’re left with ugly scabs and patches and loss of hair. When you do this continuously over the course of decades, imagine the damage done to our bodies inside and out? Our body is absorbing these chemicals, and these chemicals are damaging our insides. No one should be surprised at the rise of fibroid tumors, endometriosis, permanent hair loss, and cancer in black women who use chemical relaxers and hair dyes on a regular basis.

An attack on black women and their hair

I’ve read some interesting opinions about this study, and there are those who have stated that the findings was ‘yet another attack on black women and their hair.’ I totally disagree. This article is bringing attention to a problem that still permeates the black community: The dangerous things black women do to have straight hair. More importantly, why we still feel that in order for our hair to be pretty it has to be straight. Also, why aren’t we teaching our young girls that their natural hair is beautiful and enough?

I hate that we’re still willing to overlook doing things that have been proven to be unhealthy for us. We’d rather keep doing things that we know are harmful to our bodies because we’ve been taught that straight hair is the standard of beauty. Basically, we refuse to see the beauty in our natural hair. That is very sad to me. I know women who would rather die than let their natural hair show. The idea of showing their natural hair to the world gives them anxiety. That’s how deep the issue of straight hair versus natural or ‘nappy’ hair is in the black community.

There is no judgment from me as to whether if you choose to get chemical relaxers or have natural hair. The choices we make in life all have consequences. We know eating junk food is bad for our health, yet many of us still eat it, myself included. It’s been proven for years that there are harmful chemicals in junk food that contribute to poor health and preventable diseases. On the flip side, there are numerous reports and studies that show that healthier fruits and vegetables claiming to be organic aren’t organic. Harmful pesticides are still being used on fruits and vegetables that in turn, make us sick. Chemicals are in everything. However, we do have some control over what we put on and into our bodies. We don’t have to use chemical relaxers or hair dyes. We don’t have to eat foods that we know are bad for us. So when we know better, why is it so hard to do better?

Change is hard

Change can be hard. We all know this. Regardless of color, we tend to do things out of habit, tradition, or what we’ve been told and taught. The same goes for black women and straightening their hair. We grew up getting our hair straightened with straightening combs or ‘hot combs.’ When we got a little older, we were introduced to chemical relaxers. Unfortunately, some have been introduced to chemical relaxers at very young ages, some as young as three years old. But WHY?

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African Queens and Princesses

We can’t have this discussion without going back to where this all originated, which is slavery. Our ancestors where kings and queens, princes and princesses in Africa. Our hair was worn in regal, intricate styles that told important stories of what tribe we belonged to, who our family was, and if we were of royal descent or not. When we were kidnapped and shipped to the United States, we were stripped of our identity and heritage. Our hair was shaved off. When we still found ways to braid and adorn our hair, laws were put in place where we legally had to keep our hair covered with rags and scarves. We were told that our hair was nappy, kinky, unkempt and ugly. All of these terms were meant to degrade our hair.

Imagine being taught that your hair was beautiful, regal, something to be proud of. Then one day, you’re forcibly taken to a new country and forced into slavery, and told that your hair and your heritage is not beautiful and has no meaning. Many lengths are taken to strip you of your identity. Instead you’re taught that only straight, blonde or brunette hair is beautiful. And over time, you believe this because it has been literally beaten into you, and you in turn pass this down to your children, grandchildren, and so forth. And here we are today.

Wake up call

Articles like this should be a wake up call to the African American community. We should be moved to do better, to educate, and to advocate for natural hair. There are so many things that affect us disproportionately more than any other racial group, and our health is at the top of the list. It doesn’t have to be this way. We can do things to better our health, to give ourselves a chance to live longer, healthier lives. This includes how we care for our hair.

Natural Kids Hair Salon in Richmond, VA

More education on natural hair, how to take care of it and maintain it from birth into adulthood is desperately needed. I feel there should be college courses or resources offered specifically geared towards educating ones on natural African American hair and how to care for it. There needs to be more natural hair salons that offer classes to mothers, fathers, caregivers, non-African American couples who have adopted black children on how to care for African American children’s hair. There is a strong need for education in our community, and if there were more resources in every community, I truly believe more people would see how beautiful natural hair is, and how natural hair is the best option for their overall health.

What are your thoughts on this article’s findings on the connection between chemical relaxers and hair dyes and the increased cancer risk in African American women? I want to hear from you!

Dry, Brittle, Dusty Looking Sisterlocks

This time last year I was almost two months into my sisterlocks journey, and I didn’t experience any extreme dryness or curly pieces of hair falling onto my shirt. Well, this winter I have very dry, dusty looking sisterlocks with small pieces of hair (shedding) falling onto my shoulders when I run my fingers through my locs. I’m one year into my loc journey and I haven’t used anything in my hair other than the sisterlocks dandruff shampoo that I just ran out of…until a few weeks ago.

I use vitamin e oil on my locs

*GASP*

Because of my dandruff and itchy scalp issues, I began to oil my scalp with vitamin e oil and other essential oils that help scalp conditions naturally. I only oil the problem areas, not my entire scalp. I also made an oil concoction mixed with distilled water that I can spritz onto my locs and scalp every so often. But lately I’ve noticed that wasn’t enough. My locs are extremely dry and the shedding began to concern me. So after I washed my hair this past Saturday, I decided that I would lightly apply vitamin E oil directly to my locs. I decided to go this route because I haven’t researched a good loc moisturizer to use yet, and I want to consult with my loctician. Remember, I haven’t seen her since October. Anyhoo, not only do my locs look better, but they feel better. Please keep in mind that I don’t put oil on my scalp or locs daily. Only as needed. Also, I know that oil alone is not a moisturizer, that’s why I made the oil and water blend to balance it out.

Hair washing increased and on a regular schedule

Of course, since I am using oil on my scalp and locs, I need to wash my locs regularly so that I don’t get nasty build up in my locs. So far I am not noticing any build up. In order for this to continue, I have to continue to be diligent about washing my hair. I am determined to stick to washing my hair once a week as long as I use oil on my hair. When I see my loctician next week, I will express my desire to use a moisturizer of some kind on my locs to combat the dryness and shedding that I’m experiencing due to our cold winter weather.

Satin lined beanie from fairlyblackmother.com

On a side note, it’s time for me to think more about covering my locs and protecting them more. I need to stop leaving the house without covering my locs. I’m going to purchase a satin lined winter hat. I found some nice ones on Amazon, Etsy.com, kinksandcoils.com, and graceeleyae.com. When visiting their sites, search for satin lined winter hats.

Dry, brittle, dusty looking locs isn’t cute on anyone. It’s bad enough I have a bush of new-growth under my locs, but to have them looking dry and ashy too? No ma’am. Not cute. What do you do for your locs during the winter months? Do you moisturize them, and if so what do you use? I’d love to hear from you no matter what kind of locs you have!

Sisterlocks: Breakage and Thinning Locs

The other day I made a video about my one year locversary and my thoughts on it. Of course I spoke on the high’s and low’s and where I am in my journey today. Right after I uploaded the video to YouTube, I was going through my locs and noticed the end of one dangling by a few hairs and I pulled it off. Then I noticed a loc at the crown that had serious slippage/thinning at the base. It was at least an inch and a half worth. So the base of that loc is very thin and weak. Not good.

Surprisingly, I didn’t freak out

I was shocked (sort of) to see such damage, but I didn’t freak out. I say ‘sort of’ because I know I did two things that more than likely contributed to the breakage and thinning: 1. I flat ironed my hair and 2. I washed my hair in the shower recently. Also, I braid my hair every night, and I could be braiding too tight. Now back to washing my hair in the shower, I’m still braiding and banding. I know I’m not fully locked yet. I decided to wash my hair in the shower because I have this nagging feeling that I’m not rinsing the shampoo out of my hair good enough when I wash it over the kitchen sink. My thinking was if I washed it in the shower, the shampoo would rinse out completely. Once again I didn’t factor in the water pressure, and I forgot to adjust the water pressure. I truly believe that accounts for the severe slippage at the base of this one loc. And this is the only loc that has this.

how do i strengthen this weak loc?

Instead of freaking out, I kept thinking of how I could save this weak loc? The only answer to that is to combine it with another loc, but I needed to do some research on how to combine it. In the meantime, to protect it, I gently braided it with other locs and let it blend in with the rest of my hair. I watched many YouTube videos on how to combine your locs. The easiest one I found was simply two strand twisting them and interlocking at the root. My goal is to learn how to interlock so I can self-maintain my locs going forward. Anyway, I two strand twisted the weak loc with a stronger loc, in effect saving that loc. There are various suggestions and ways of how to secure the ends so they don’t unravel after combining them. Some glue them, others sew the ends or secure them with rubber bands. One person suggested just twisting them and leaving them alone IF your ends are still curly (meaning not fully locked). They will join together quicker versus combining locs that are fully mature.

What’s next?

Well, this is the first time I’ve gone a whole month, over a month actually, without a retie. My next retie isn’t until December 9th. So until then, I will continue to wash my hair, oil my scalp as needed to help those dry itchy areas, and keep an eye on the locs I’ve combined. I’ve already been more mindful of how tight I braid my hair at night, making sure I’m not pulling or tugging too hard on them, particularly on the ends. I don’t want any further damage. I’m trying to wash my hair more because I can tell that my locs have not swollen or matured the way they should have at this point in my journey. That’s because I wasn’t washing my hair regularly due to slippage earlier in my journey. When I look at my locs, I still see stringy hair. I know I’m being a little dramatic, but I truly thought that once I reached my one year mark of being sisterlocked, I’d have more mature looking locs. Nope. Washing your hair more and time are the only things that will help your locs mature.

Questions for my loctician

Dr. Locs Moisturizer

The main question I’ll have for my loctician is what can I use to moisturize my locs? I know how dry and brittle my loose natural hair would get during the winter months, and my locked hair won’t be any different. Avoiding breakage and having healthy locs are my main goals. I’m pretty sure she’s going to have me continue to braid and band because of what happened to my one loc, but I’ll still ask her.

I’ll also bring up the bombshell of me wanting to combine my locs and what’s the best way to begin that process. If she would be willing to start the process, that would be great, but if I have to do it myself, I’m willing to do that as well. I have three people to ask as back up plans to get the traditional locs that I want and to teach me how to interlock. I have some options and some ideas that I plan on exploring, and I’m excited!