Cosmetic Chemical Warfare: Hair straightening and the mutilation of black women


Are you straightening your child's hair? Are you straightening your own hair? Then you should look closely at this mantidote. Never mind what Donald Rumsfield is telling you about chemical warfare... you are already a victim of chemical warfare and you don't even realize it. I am not going to focus on self-hatred and hair straightening(that much), but the biochemical effects of repeatedly putting cosmetic chemical weapons in your hair. Are you being your own Chemical Ali?

Pay attention to the following picture on the bottom left. This is the back of a commonly used hair relaxer that says on the front "NO LYE RELAXER," as if you should be assured that it is safe to use. Yet on the back, it says "THIS PRODUCT CONTAINS CALCIUM HYDROXIDE AND GUANIDINE CARBONATE (TOXIC). YOU MUST FOLLOW DIRECTIONS CAREFULLY TO AVOID SKIN AND SCALP BURNS, HAIR LOSS AND EYE INJURY." It gives an entire list of things to do and not to do, including "IF RELAXER CAUSES SKIN OR SCALP IRRITATION, RINSE OUT IMMEDIATELY AND WASH WITH AN ACID-BALANCED SHAMPOO. IF IRRITATION PERSISTS OR IF HAIR LOSS OCCURS, CONSULT A PHYSICIAN." I laughed at that part because I thought, "It would be a bit late to call a physician after HAIR LOSS wouldn't it?" But it is no laughing matter.

Relaxing African American hair is extremely dangerous. Note that this thing basically told you that YOU ARE PUTTING TOXIC INTO YOUR HAIR. Even if nothing goes "wrong," it would only be smart to wonder exactly what you are doing to your hair. http://=http://www.peterschemical.co...cium Hydroxide is also known as "Hydrated Lime." In general, it is a chemical designed to break down things into components, as acids do. Acids donate a proton in a chemical reaction. A "Base" accepts the proton. Something that is neither an acid nor a base is called "neutral" and has a pH level of 7. When an acid and base come together, they balance each other out but can sometimes produce very violent chemical reactions. So exactly what does "ACID-BALANCED" mean? Does it mean that the acidic effect of the perm is balanced out by a base or does it mean that it has a neutral base? Funny that a perm info site comes up when you do a search for the term "acid-based" on yahoo. On this particular perm site is a section on "acid-balanced perms" that says, "acid balanced perms have a pH range of approximately 4.5 to 6.5 and usually penetrate the hair more slowly." Hmmmm... but what about "acid-balanced shampoos?" Most of them are the same way... seems like "acid-based" has been a commercial term for "relatively low acid." But the acid is still there.

I have heard reports of Autopsies of black women where there have been found astonishing and horrifying amounts of lime under their scalp. Now you know where it comes from. It comes from hair straightening products. The label also mentioned a toxic chemical Guanidine Carbonate , which is also a commonly used for pesticides as well as explosives! Really, is it worth it? Is it worth whatever cosmetic goal in which a sister is trying to obtain committing harmful acts of chemical warfare upon herself and/or her children?

As fo the brothers reading this mantidote... I pose a question for you... is your standard of beauty harmful to the health of black women? committing harmful acts of chemical warfare upon herself and/or her children?

Great post. IMO, black people have more hangups over hair than skin color. It's really sad when you think about it. :(

Cosmetic Chemical Warfare: Hair straightening and the mutilation of black women


Are you straightening your child's hair? Are you straightening your own hair? Then you should look closely at this mantidote. Never mind what Donald Rumsfield is telling you about chemical warfare... you are already a victim of chemical warfare and you don't even realize it. I am not going to focus on self-hatred and hair straightening(that much), but the biochemical effects of repeatedly putting cosmetic chemical weapons in your hair. Are you being your own Chemical Ali?

Pay attention to the following picture on the bottom left. This is the back of a commonly used hair relaxer that says on the front "NO LYE RELAXER," as if you should be assured that it is safe to use. Yet on the back, it says "THIS PRODUCT CONTAINS CALCIUM HYDROXIDE AND GUANIDINE CARBONATE (TOXIC). YOU MUST FOLLOW DIRECTIONS CAREFULLY TO AVOID SKIN AND SCALP BURNS, HAIR LOSS AND EYE INJURY." It gives an entire list of things to do and not to do, including "IF RELAXER CAUSES SKIN OR SCALP IRRITATION, RINSE OUT IMMEDIATELY AND WASH WITH AN ACID-BALANCED SHAMPOO. IF IRRITATION PERSISTS OR IF HAIR LOSS OCCURS, CONSULT A PHYSICIAN." I laughed at that part because I thought, "It would be a bit late to call a physician after HAIR LOSS wouldn't it?" But it is no laughing matter.

Relaxing African American hair is extremely dangerous. Note that this thing basically told you that YOU ARE PUTTING TOXIC INTO YOUR HAIR. Even if nothing goes "wrong," it would only be smart to wonder exactly what you are doing to your hair. http://=http://www.peterschemical.co...cium Hydroxide is also known as "Hydrated Lime." In general, it is a chemical designed to break down things into components, as acids do. Acids donate a proton in a chemical reaction. A "Base" accepts the proton. Something that is neither an acid nor a base is called "neutral" and has a pH level of 7. When an acid and base come together, they balance each other out but can sometimes produce very violent chemical reactions. So exactly what does "ACID-BALANCED" mean? Does it mean that the acidic effect of the perm is balanced out by a base or does it mean that it has a neutral base? Funny that a perm info site comes up when you do a search for the term "acid-based" on yahoo. On this particular perm site is a section on "acid-balanced perms" that says, "acid balanced perms have a pH range of approximately 4.5 to 6.5 and usually penetrate the hair more slowly." Hmmmm... but what about "acid-balanced shampoos?" Most of them are the same way... seems like "acid-based" has been a commercial term for "relatively low acid." But the acid is still there.

I have heard reports of Autopsies of black women where there have been found astonishing and horrifying amounts of lime under their scalp. Now you know where it comes from. It comes from hair straightening products. The label also mentioned a toxic chemical Guanidine Carbonate , which is also a commonly used for pesticides as well as explosives! Really, is it worth it? Is it worth whatever cosmetic goal in which a sister is trying to obtain committing harmful acts of chemical warfare upon herself and/or her children?

As fo the brothers reading this mantidote... I pose a question for you... is your standard of beauty harmful to the health of black women? committing harmful acts of chemical warfare upon herself and/or her children?


"Is your standard of beauty harmful acts of chemical warfare upon herself and/or her children?"

I can honestly answer a resounding NO to this question because when women ask me I always tell them I prefer a NATURAL WOMAN...in fact, women who wear wigs and hairpieces turn me off completely....now, I do know some black women who have naturally wavy hair, but very few with naturally straight hair unless they are of East Afrikan or Indian heritage....

I struggled with this issue myself because a few years ago I used to dye my hair and when I let it grow out I used to use a conditioner before twisting it.....what thing i began to notice how quickly this would have an effect on drying out my scalp so I discontinued applying any commercial products on my hair/scalp...except for water and shampoo...(which can be a problem as well)...

This is an interesting topic because the other day I was thinking about a friend of mine and how much more I was attracted to her when she used to wear her hair short...i was reminded of this watching an early film with Jada Pinkett when she used to weaaar her hair short and there is something about some of those figurines of queen Nefertiti with a bald head that have left an impression on me.....some women just naturally are more appealing to me with their hair short and natural because it accentuates their facial features....aand usually makes me focus on their EYES rather than their hair....and there is a lot of truth to the belief that the eyes are the way to one's soul...

I am always glad to see this topic, and it's raised from time-to-time. I used to believe that sisters who "relaxed" their hair were suffering from some sort of white woman's complex as a result of racism. That's a personal judgment I used to make that I eventually let go of and simply accepted it as a personal choice. I fervently believe though, that to be natural with your hair is a freeing experience as well as a much healthier one. There are so many more natural styles today that I understand why sisters would prefer the pressing and chemical straighteners. But that's just me....

Great topic....I hope it changes some people's minds in a positive way.

Queenie :spinstar:

I am always glad to see this topic, and it's raised from time-to-time. I used to believe that sisters who "relaxed" their hair were suffering from some sort of white woman's complex as a result of racism. That's a personal judgment I used to make that I eventually let go of and simply accepted it as a personal choice. I fervently believe though, that to be natural with your hair is a freeing experience as well as a much healthier one. There are so many more natural styles today that I understand why sisters would prefer the pressing and chemical straighteners. But that's just me....

Great topic....I hope it changes some people's minds in a positive way.

Queenie :spinstar:


Well...actually, whether for positive or negative reasons, the decision to relax is always a personal choice. However, I suppose a genuine way to determine the WHYs of an individual choice is to see what percentage of Black women would go WITHOUT those perms to reveal God/dess' hair for a given period of time. Sadly and consequently, due to our own experiences under the nonblack/white 'supremacy' regime, many of us are still ashamed of what we came here with and are ashamed to be ashamed so we hide behind "choice" to cover that fact. At any rate, I will say that the chemical attack issue is probably very valid. Given all the other bio-chemical attacks that have been hurled at us, it wouldn't be unusual.