For years, women in the African American community have been relaxing their hair. It’s been a common practice for so many reasons, one of the most popular ones being that they make styling easier.
With few advantages, hair relaxers also come with many disadvantages. It might work for you for a short period, but in the long run, it can cause more harm than good. It may ease styling and make your hair look more sleek and professional, but the disadvantages must be addressed. That is why you need to ditch hair relaxers as soon as possible.
We understand this would be a massive change for you, and without the complete information, you would be much more skeptical about making this significant change in your lifestyle. So, here are six reasons why you need to ditch hair relaxers for good.
1. Potential health risks
Your first and foremost priority should always be your health; when something is a potential health risk, it is better to distance yourself from it. That is why this is the first reason you should ditch hair relaxers.
Recently, many women have come forward and filed the hair relaxer lawsuit against several cosmetic giants. Hair relaxer products of many such major brands contain harmful chemicals like EDCs, phthalates, and paraben. These chemicals are known for causing DNA damage and also increase the risk of breast, prostate, testicular, endometrial, and uterine cancer.
Hair relaxer lawsuits are often carried out by women who have faced many health and monetary losses due to the continuous use of hair relaxers. So, to avoid any such calamity, it is better to avoid using a hair relaxer immediately.
2. Burning or tingling sensation on the scalp
For healthy hair growth, the health of the scalp is vital. The constant use of hair relaxers can harm the health of your scalp. As mentioned above, toxic chemicals in hair relaxers can cause inflammation on your scalp. A burning or tingling sensation on your scalp is a sign of inflammation.
If your scalp is feeling itchy and sensitive, then it is time for you to distance yourself from hair relaxers. If ignored, this can lead to much bigger problems.
3. Hair loss and hair thinning
You may love your silky straight hair after relaxing, but with the regular use of a hair relaxer, you might start losing them. Hair relaxers can cause hair loss, Alopecia, and thinning of hair. Cicatricial Alopecia, caused by inflammation, is a common condition in afro hair. It is more than common in people who have been using hair relaxers for years.
The constant use of hair relaxers and pressure on hair can cause inflammation, damaging the top part of your hair follicles. With time, starting with hair thinning, this can lead to complete hair loss. So, it is better to transition from hair relaxers to a safer choice for hair straightening.
4. Hair Dryness
One of the most common effects of using hair relaxers is hair dryness. It breaks down the disulfide bonds in the hair. This change weakens the hair with time, making it difficult for the hair to hold moisture. Thus, it leads to severe dryness in hair.
If you often relax your hair, it faces issues like hair dryness. It shouldn’t take you long to conclude the reasons behind it. That is why, for healthier hair, you should stop using hair relaxers for straightening your hair.
5. Increased hair breakage
Loss of elasticity in hair is another significant disadvantage you will encounter with hair relaxers. During this time, relaxing your hair will lead to more damage and brittle hair. On the other hand, using permanent hair extensions can help you transform your hair without adding harmful chemicals to your hair and scalp.
If you face issues like hair breakage, you must stop using hair relaxers. They are a huge factor in the deteriorating health of your hair. Therefore, hair relaxers should be avoided if you already have weak and damaged hair.
6. Regular coloring of hair
People who like to color their hair regularly should refrain from using hair relaxers. Two kinds of chemicals are not suitable for your hair’s health. Relaxing your hair makes them weaker, and adding permanent hair colors would cause more damage.
So if you like using colors and lighters and hair relaxers, you must stop with either one for the sake of your hair’s health. They can not withstand the continuous chemical effect. They will eventually start showing signs of damage.
Conclusion
There are not one but six significant reasons to ditch hair relaxers. They may seem like an easy solution and styling option at first, but with time, hair relaxers can cause much damage to your hair, like hair loss, thinning, dryness, inflammation in the scalp, etc. So, either look for harmful ingredients listed on the bottle or avoid using them entirely to improve your hair.
