Month: July 2015

Hair Moment: My Experience with Scab Hair

Scab Hair
My Scab Hair

About two years ago, as I was transitioning from my relaxed hair, I heard about scab hair. The idea behind scab hair is that the scalp still contains residual chemicals from the use of chemical relaxers and as hair grows out of the scalp, these residual chemicals cause that hair to be very dry and rough. This rough, dry hair is what is considered scab hair. It supposedly takes time for the residual chemicals to completely leave the scalp and after that point the hair growing out with no longer be rough and dry and have a definitive curl pattern.

There are still a lot of people within the natural hair community that don’t believe in scab hair. However, I am not one of those individuals. I didn’t whole heartedly believe in scab hair until my own experience with it.

I ended my transition and cut my relaxed hair off in May of 2014. When I cut my hair I immediately noticed that about 1-2 inches of my ends were extremely rough. I mistakenly thought that I just need to pamper my hair to alleviate the dryness and that’s just what I did regularly. By August I realized that despite months of deep conditioning and regular moisturization techniques, the ends of my hair were consistently dry and rough. I also realized that twist outs of any kind, curl former sets, or any styles that required me to manipulate my hair look terrible because my ends refused to cooperate. I would spend hours detangling my hair because my ends always tangled horribly even though the rest of my hair shaft was soft and manageable. Eventually I connected the dots. My ends were extremely rough, dry, and prone to tangling while the rest of my hair flourished. I knew that the state of my ends wasn’t because of over manipulation because I had only recently cut my relaxed ends off so it made no sense how unmanageable my ends were. This is when the light bulb went off in my head and I realized my ends were considered scab hair. I had been relaxing my hair for over 13 years when I went natural so it only made since that my scalp was adjusting to being chemical-free and that adjustment had an effect on the first few inches of hair growing out of my scalp.

I tell you my experience with scab hair not only to make you a believer but to also help you see the signs if you are contemplating transitioning, in the midst of transitioning, newly natural, or maybe you are already an established natural and this article made you realize you dealt with this issue without even knowing it.

Realize the signs of scab hair which are extremely dry, rough, and wiry hair that won’t match the rest of your natural hair as it grows in. Scab hair is still a fairly novice topic in the natural hair community so there is no guarantee that my experience will be the same as someone else’s experience. Some naturals may not even experience scab hair or they may have 2-3 inches of scab hair or maybe just half of an inch. In my case, there was nothing I could do about my scab hair but to cut it off. I was happy to do it and since the cut the time I spend washing, detangling, and styling my hair has been drastically reduced. Overall I am less frustrated with my hair.

No more scab hair
No more scab hair

Has this blog made you a believer of scab hair? Have you expierenced scab hair? Leave your thought’s below and I’ll be sure to comment back. If you are discuss thing on social media be sure to use the #HairMomentwithMarsha hashtag on social media!

Serious Moment: Dealing with Disappointment

disappointment-sign

I recently got some disheartening news. I was tidying my room jamming to some new music and I randomly decided to check my email. At the top of my inbox was an email for a job I had applied to. It was a great job opportunity. I knew I would enjoy the work, the salary, the hours, and the commute were great. I had eve went back for a second and third interview. The last person that interviewed me told me to expect a call within the next week with more information about the hiring process. I was elated. My happiness turned to confidence and my confidence ballooned into arrogance. I thought the position was mine even though it was never directly promised. And then I got the email telling me the position had been given to another candidate.

And just like that my ego shriveled up.

I’d like to think that I deal with disappointment well. This isn’t my first time at the disappointment rodeo. I thought I would share some tips on dealing with the disappointments life may throw your way.

Head in Hands

  1. It’s okay to be sad.

Cry, yell, scream, have a fabulous pity party. But not for long. When I’m down I give myself a space to be human and grieve whatever it is that happened to me. Give yourself a time limit to be sad. But make sure you pick yourself back up, the sun still rises out of the darkness everyday.

2. Make a plan.

Set goals for yourself. How do you plan on overcoming this situation? Was there something you could have done differently to change the circumstances? Make a plan A, B, C, and D. Envision a best and worst case scenario. Prepare for the worst and strive for the best case scenario. Making plans can help to ease some of the anxiety you have about your disappointment because you taking steps to initiate change for the better.

3. Find a support group or an accountability partner

Sharing disappointments may be embarrassing but harboring a secret embarrassment and navigating it by yourself is an extremely lonely process. Confiding in someone else may be scary but it’s also uplifting. You can have an ear to empathize with your situation and also offer fresh perspective on your circumstances. Support groups and accountability partners not only offer a listening ear but those individuals can help keep you on track to change. They hold you accountable for making the steps to get up and through that situation. A text or a call every now in than reminding you how far you’ve come reminding you to stay on track can make a big difference.

4. Look forward

Living in the past is a dangerous thing to do. But we are humans and it’s inevitable to think about past situations. Try to look forward. Take what lessons you can from whatever situation you are/were in and take that with you as you move forward.

I really hope this article can help someone deal with a difficult time. If it did help be sure to comment below or use the #SeriousMomentwithMarsha hashtag on social media!