Different Textures On One Head Caused By Relaxer Damage?!!

[CocoGlow]

Ok ladies, I want you to think about something...I know this may not be true for all of us but I think it is true in my case...

The majority of my hair is 4B cnapp texture, however a small section at the nape of my head is definitely in the 3 category...probably 3B-C, and then there is a small section in the middle of my head that is a weird nappy-straight texture, I don't know how to categorize it

The funny thing is...those 2 sections of my hair were damaged by my relaxer, especially the middle section of my head....I had a bald spot & everything there! The nape section was always pretty bare and would not grow, even before relaxers but it has been growing like crazy since I've gone natural this time...

So could it be that the relaxer damage somehow changed my texture in these 2 areas?

Also what makes me think this is the fact that I have heard...I cannot confirm this..but I have heard that when chemo patients lose their hair, sometimes their hair grows back a completely different texture..for instance if they had curly hair, it may grow back straighter or vice versa

I can't compare relaxers to chemo but in a way I can b/c they are both very toxic and have the potential to do some serious damage to your scalp

What do you ladies think?

I know a lot of us have at least 2 different textures going on in our heads ---some of us always had it but for those that only found these changes after they went natural, do you think I am on to something here?

By the Way: I was natural most of my life, but hiding in extensions and then had locs for 3 years and my hair was always one texture (4B) before I got the relaxer......

 

[hopeful]

I think it's possible.

 

[AstroQueen77]

Bingo! I absolutely believed that this is what happened to me. I have 4 z hair everywhere except the nape of my neck, which is 3b. I had a relaxer that burned that part of my head soo bad. The hair was soo straight ..but it continued to grow out that way!!! I always thought the chemicals really dug themselves deep inside my scalp for that to happen. I was told that when I big chopped six years ago that i would have to wait a few years before my "real" texture starts growing after all those years of relaxers...but the nape of my neck is still 3b

 

[JustKiya]

OOohh!! This just sent chills down my spine! The one section of my hair that is 'different' (reallly tight and wiry hair) over my left ear - is the SAME area that got repeatedly burnt/scarred by the relaxers - I can remember picking off the scabs (I know, so gross!) from right there....

Considering that the follicles lie directly below the skin, I can definitely see how relaxer might damage/warp them enough that they produce slightly - different hair.

If a scar in someones scalp can change the COLOR of the hair (which seems to be an indicator of change on the cellular level), then I definitely think that mild damage could change how the follicle is 'set' in the skin, which has a HUGE effect on texture!

Oh, wow, that's so scary.

 

[Forever in Bloom]

I have been thinking about this for some time now. I used to envy my older sister and younger brother's hair texture. They are both 3b like my dad was before he went through chemotherapy (his hair grew back in with hardly any curl).

After I did the BC and began cowashing my hair, my little brother (not very little, he's 24) noticed my hair and said, "Your hair looks like mine. How did that happen?" I hadn't really paid attention to it though because I was constantly covering it up with beanies. My hair was not like this when I was little, I looked through all my baby photos to compare. I know that texture can change over time, but I think if I never got a relaxer, my hair would stil look the way it did when I was younger.

I still think I am 4a, but there are random spots in my head that are 3b/3c...very weird. The more my hair grows, the more the curls are weighed down from the new growth and look like a completely different texture from the rest of my head

 

[harrison]

IDK My nape is 3 something too. But I thought it was because that area was shaved off before I turned 5. So when I turned 22 and shaved my whole head for the 1st time, I thought my texture would grow back differently, but it didn't. IDK- Don't remember too many bad encounters with relaxer burns. But hey you never know.

 

[aloof one]

Some braids tore a chunk of my edges out (like a nickel sized amount of hair) and it has grown back an inch (unstretched) since it happened around Nov/Dec. It used to be 4b and black with thick strands. Now it is 4a, a lighter shade of brown and finer strands. The hair was torn clean out, follicle and all is what it looked like. I had a bald patch and the hair grew back from nothing. I think its sensitive because of what happened, and when you wax the hair gets thinner, so I think yanking the hair out made it thinner, and the thinner the hairs on my head, the curlier they usually are. I have no idea what made it brown though.

The relaxers can do some freaky stuff to your scalp and hair, I wouln't doubt thats what happened.erplexed

 

[texasqt]

It's possible. My nape area is a different texture and it could be because that was where I would apply my relaxer first. But I noticed the change in high school after I had my nape shaved to wear a short style. The new growth was 3c/4a while my crown remained 4bbb. My oldest sis has 3bc hair, so it is in the family. Also, my 3-month old neice's nape is straight while her crown is curly. Worth investigating but not enough to relate relaxers to chemo just yet.

 

[glamazon386]

I doubt it was the relaxer. That's probably just how your natural texture is. A lot of black people's hair is looser in the nape. I read it in a hair book. If I'm not mistaken it was Diane DaCosta's book. Mine is like 3a/3b and the rest of my hair is mostly 4a.

 

[BrownSkin2]

I doubt it was the relaxer. That's probably just how your natural texture is. A lot of black people's hair is looser in the nape. I read it in a hair book. If I'm not mistaken it was Diane DaCosta's book. Mine is like 3a/3b and the rest of my hair is mostly 4a.

I read that as well that most AA have a looser texture in the nape. My texture is mostly 4b with a loose 4a in the back. It was really damaged while I was relaxing, because stylist relaxed that area first and treated it like the rest of my hair.

 

[Crystalicequeen123]

Yeah, I've noticed this too with my own hair.

My nape is like 3c or maybe even 3b, while the crown of my head is 4a/b. It's MUCH thicker than my nape. I just thought that this was how my hair naturally was, but maybe it could be due to years and years of relaxers.

That's why I never understood why they always say relax the back first. I'm like: "What the??" MOST people have a looser curl pattern or more fragile hair in the nape of their head. That's why I always tell my stylists to relax my nape and edges LAST.

Has anyone tried massaging the nape area a lot in order to get more growth and/thickness? And if so....has that actually worked?

 

[aurora3140]

My nape is definitely 4a with little coffee stirrer- sized curls, but as far as I can tell, the rest of my hair is 4B with no discernible curl pattern. I used to get my nape relaxed first for years...

 

[Southernbella.]

I doubt it was the relaxer. That's probably just how your natural texture is. A lot of black people's hair is looser in the nape. I read it in a hair book. If I'm not mistaken it was Diane DaCosta's book. Mine is like 3a/3b and the rest of my hair is mostly 4a.

I agree. Most of my hair is 4AB, with 4B around the ears, but the nape is 3A/B and the crown is nappy/straight/frizzy. I think it's pretty common. I also have never had any real relaxer burns.

 

[CocoGlow]

Thanks ladies for your responses

I will post a comment from another site where I first aksed this question:

Imnotmyha1r wrote:

"So, the grad student researcher in me had a theory as to why your hair texture changed, and had to research it

The facts:

Relaxer applied directly to the scalp or very close to the scalp seeps into the pores of the hair follicle. [http://www.dplproducts.com/index.ph...me/cat_id/33269]

Hair is made of protein which originates in the hair follicle. Approximately 91 percent of the hair is protein made up of long chains of amino acids peptide bonds.
[http://www.texascollaborative.org/h...iles/topic3.htm]

When the bonds are destroyed the hair straightens. (this is how relaxers work)
[http://www.angelfire.com/journal2/m...hairdresser.htm]

One can conclude from this that the relaxer seeped into the pores of the hair follicle and permanently damaged it (a common thing). Since the follicle controls the production of peptide bonds (the bonds in hair that determine how curly or straight it is) the follicle's ability to make adequate peptide bonds has been compromised. As a result, the follicle is producing hair with less peptide bonds (less curly) in these damaged spots.

I call this... Hair's Theorem...
LOL.. forgive me if this is overly silly, it's late and I've been in the lab too long!"

***********
Also I wanted to add, I do believe that most of us naturally have various different textures all over but I think it is supposed to blend better...like some of us may naturally have 4B mixed w/ a little 4A somewhere but I think those DRAMATICALLY different silky, curly 3B's & C's are definitely caused by that relaxer damage (especially if you know your hair was not like that in those sections before the relaxer)

I agree that most of us are affected in the nape area due to the fact that most stylists apply relaxer to that area first!

It is a theory that may not apply to everyone but I know that at least in my case and the case of lots of other ladies, this is true...it's just amazing to me....

 

[SEMO]

Hmm, this is an interesting theory. I never had super bad relaxer burns but I definitely have different textures in my hair being natural now. I wonder....

 

[cmw45]

I doubt it was the relaxer. That's probably just how your natural texture is. A lot of black people's hair is looser in the nape. I read it in a hair book. If I'm not mistaken it was Diane DaCosta's book. Mine is like 3a/3b and the rest of my hair is mostly 4a.

I agree with this whole post. A woman at the beauty shop asked me if my hair was always this texture...to be honest...I don't really know. My stayed in my head with the hot comb and hair grease. Also, the first time I went natural my hair was really wirery and rough; I am convinced it was scab hair. You can see the photos in my fotki.

The hair that I have in the back that is looser is also very similar to my father's hair (which I would die for). His hair in the back is also looser and straighter on the top...and he's never had a relaxer a day in his life.

 

[CocoGlow]

BUMP!