Black Women, Warning to Stop Using Hair Relaxers, Linked to Fibroids [VIDEO]

Black Women, Warning to Stop Using Hair Relaxers, Linked to Fibroids [VIDEO]

There's some startling news coming from a new study in the American Journal of Epidemiology. The study says hair relaxers are linked to uterine fibroids and to young girls early as puberty.

When we think about this, it really brings to light why black women need to embrace the ever growing culture of going natural with their hair. We have always felt relaxers caused issues for our type of hair but who would have known that fibroids was a huge problem because of hair relaxers.

The study continues to state that:

Scientists followed more than 23,000 pre-menopausal Black American women from 1997 to 2009 and found that the two- to three-times higher rate of fibroids among black women may be linked to chemical exposure through scalp lesions and burns resulting from relaxers. Women who got their first menstrual period before the age of 10 were also more likely to have uterine fibroids, and early menstruation may result from hair products black girls are using, according to a separate study published in the Annals of Epidemiology last summer.

This may be a result to black mothers who grew tired of combing their young girls' hair and put relaxers on their heads as young as 4 years old. We have heard of cases like this. The study goes on to state:

Three hundred African American, African Caribbean, Hispanic, and White women in New York City were studied. The women’s first menstrual period varied anywhere from age 8 to age 19, but African Americans, who were more likely to use straightening and relaxers hair oils, also reached menarche earlier than other racial/ethnic groups. So far, there is only an association rather than a cause and effect relationship between relaxers, fibroid tumors, and puberty.

Here are some true and important facts about fibroids

Fibroids are tumors that grow in the uterus. They are benign, which means they are not cancerous, and are made up of muscle fibers. Fibroids can be as small as a pea and can grow as large as a melon. It is estimated that 20-50% of women have, or will have, fibroids at some time in their lives. They are rare in women under the age of 20, most common in women in their 30s and 40s, and tend to shrink after the menopause.

According to US studies, fibroids occur up to nine times more often in black women than in white women, and tend to appear earlier. The reason for this is unclear. Also women who are overweight may be more likely to have fibroids. This is thought to be due to higher levels of estrogen in heavier women.

This is so important that black women take heed to the information here about fibroids and black girls and women. We pray that more black women take in consideration that going natural really is the best way. Take a lesson from a story from our friends at Hicktown Press that was pretty eye opening for many of us.

Watch video below:

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10 Steps For African Americans to Dominate Beauty Supply Store

10 Steps For African Americans to Dominate Beauty Supply Store

Originally posted in April 2010:

For too many years, Asians have dominated beauty supply stores and they have become multimillionaires.  For some odd reason, black people pay millions of dollars, annually to Asian owned beauty supply stores and do not own any of them.  African Americans have successfully dominated the entertainment and athletic industries, but they lack confidence when it comes to owning beauty supply store businesses.  In the 21st century, there needs to be a change and it must occur very soon.  

Many African American entrepreneurs have made the usual excuse that companies will not invest into there stores, but that is very untrue, because African Americans are manufacturers of the majority of black products, these days: Bronner Brothers, African Pride, Africa's Best, African Wonders, Dudley, Miracle Hair and the list goes on here.  Therefore, if African American entrepreneurs can make black hair care products or become a licensed beautician, they can easily own beauty supply stores, it is all in the state of mind, it absolutely has nothing to do with race; although, a black entrepreneur may endure hardships of racism during the process of opening up a store.

Read more at AT2W

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What Fruits and Vegetables to Eat for Healthy Hair

What Fruits and Vegetables to Eat for Healthy Hair

Livestrong.com and other sources know the importance of eating a healthy diet can grow a healthy head of hair. None of us want to have to result to wigs, weaves other harmful things that will damage our hair for life. If you love your hair, then let's start eating right so our hair can show us how much it appreciates the good food we feed it.

Below is a list of fruits, vegetables and supplements to start taking to give your hair the nutrients it needs to regrow and grow our hair. Enjoy!

Fish

Take your daily supplement of fish oils, but also add a lot of fish on your diet.  Just when you want to enjoy beef or chicken, begin thinking about your hair.  Salmon is the best type of fish to eat, because it has a lot of omega-3 fatty acids in it.   You get a lot of vitamin B-12 and iron.   Omega-fatty acids are also known to help keep your scalp clean and it helps it to avoid dryness.   You do not want your pores to be clogged with grease, but it also does not need to be overly dry, so always make sure omega-fatty acids is in your diet.   Flaxseed oil is also good for your daily diet, you can find it in supplements or ground at Walmart, next to the Fish Oils.  When you take vitamin supplements, please follow the advised servings on the back of the bottle. Always remember, fish gives you a good amount of protein.

Beans

You should be eating a lot of beans.   Really all types of beans have a lot of protein in them.  However, we encourage you to eat legumes like red kidney, black, beans and lentils, which will give you a great source of biotin, zinc and iron.  You need a lot of biotin, because it stops your hair from being brittle.

Dark Green Vegetables

Remember, we mentioned in our previous article, whenever you cook your collard or mustard greens, make sure you drink a lot of the juice, because that is where your vitamins are.  However, it is so much better to eat fresh vegetables, which have all of the vitamins and minerals in the leaves, especially if they were freshly grown out of the grown (don't for get to rise them).   Dark green vegetables retain a lot of calcium and iron; however, if you specifically eat the types like broccoli and spinach you get all of the other vitamins like A and C that will help restore your follicles.

Carrots

If you eat a lot of carrots on a daily basis, you will grow your hair fast.  Make a habit of eating carrots or even drinking carrot juice. They are not only good for your eyes, but they give you a lot of vitamin A, which keeps your scalp healthy.

Whole Grains

If you eat fortified whole grain cereals for breakfast, it will give your hair a lot of B vitamins, iron and zinc.   Whole Grain foods gives you a good source of fiber and that is not only good for your hair, but also your nails.

Fruit

You need a lot of niacin and vitamin B-3 in order for your blood to flow and circulate, which will grow your hair, so you need to eat fruit like boysenberries, mango, nectarines, peaches.  In order for your red cells to supply oxygen to your hair follicles, you need vitamin B-6, which is stored in fruits like bananas, dates, grapes, guavas, lychees, mangoes, passion fruits, pineapples, pomegranates and watermelons.  Please read further on this @ livestrong.com. 

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Black Hair Care for the Summer Heat- 6 Tips to Surviving Til The End of the Season

Black Hair Care for the Summer Heat- 6 Tips to Surviving Til The End of the Season

1. Before you enter a pool, lake, ocean, or any body of water, drench your hair with water and apply a coat of conditioner to the hair. This water/conditioner mixture will fill up the gaps in hair shaft and act as a barrier from the chlorinated water. Follow up with a little club soda; it makes for a good post-pool rinse. Wear a swim cap as often as possible. Although most people hate wearing them for many reasons – uncomfortable, unattractive, or it never stays on, etc. – using a cap, that securely protects the hair, is always the best option.

2. If there is a time to be extra gentle with your hair, it is now. Treat your hair like a fine silk blouse. Purchase a gentle hydrating shampoo. ALWAYS follow up with a rich conditioner. Shampoo gently – massage a small amount of shampoo into scalp, rinse well. Use a quality conditioner with moisturizing ingredients to deep condition your hair on a weekly basis during the summer. Look for ingredients such as wheat germ, jojoba oil, coconut oil, silk amino acids, etc.

3. Over-shampooing and under-conditioning is a common culprit to dry and frizzy hair – especially in the summer months. Shampooing more than 1x a week is not recommended. On “shampoo-less” days, simply do a conditioning rinse – rinse your hair to remove styling products (this is when using the right products that are water soluble come in). Apply an ample amount of your favorite conditioner, comb through, rinse, and proceed with styling. Doing so will pump much needed moisture back into your hair without stripping away essential nutrients, rinse away unnecessary dirt and oil, and give it a fresh, clean start.

Read more and the remaining three tips HERE

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“A Beautiful Disaster”Short Film Embraces Natural Hair

 “A Beautiful Disaster” Short Film Embraces Natural Hair 

Let's take heed to this poem and short film on natural hair choices over weaved hair. We think this is inspirational and necessary information:

A short film and poem I wrote to highlight the struggles that many black women face when it comes to embracing our natural hair texture and the repercussions of living in a society that often places nappy and unattractive in the same category. For a lot of black women our natural hair texture has been something we’ve learned to disassociate ourselves with from childhood and therefore we lack self esteem and confidence when it comes to being beautiful naturally. I have also noticed that there are a lot of black women who are intolerant to seeing a black man with a woman of another race. I don’t think race should matter when it comes to a relationship, as long as it is based on love and not based on the societal pressure to look a certain way and therefore produce offsprings that fit into that stereotype of “beauty”. If black women continue to associate beauty with eliminating our natural hair texture and making our eyes and skin color lighter, we cannot then criticize a black man for preferring to date a woman who NATURALLY has straight silky hair, light eyes and light skin. We are only reinforcing and agreeing with the ideology that there is only one type of beauty– one that doesn’t include us. Beauty comes in all shapes, sizes, colors AND hair textures. I hope that more black women take the initiative to understand the importance of embracing our natural beauty instead of depending on a celeb to dictate to us what’s hot and what’s not. Afro hair is beautiful and so is any other hair texture that is taken care of and every woman regardless of her race should strive to embrace and feel comfortable in her own skin. Please feel free to LIKE this video, LOVE it, SHARE it and watch it whenever you want some hairspiration. Source

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How Black Women Can Grow Long Natural Hair With Supplements

Photo: Beauty By Design

How Black Women Can Grow
  Long Natural Hair With Supplements

I am a witness to taking nutritional supplements daily will make all of the difference in your overall well being and your hair. I've mentioned before that I have been taking several nutritional supplements for over 15 years now. I never saw a difference in my health on a daily basis but when I would go to the doctor and not hear of one health issue, I knew the supplements were a lifetime effort. So, even though I never felt a difference in my health, I was maintaining it by taking vitamins and herbs. I even slowed down the aging process as well. Now, that I liked!

This only means that if we take certain ones for our hair, we can grow health hair as well. Take a look at the video below of what can help you grow long and health natural hair!

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Black Women: Growing Healthy Long Hair

Black Women: Growing Healthy Long Hair 

If anyone told you it is not possible, either they have succumbed to the stereotypes or they just haven't seen any real proof of it. Well, I'm here to tell you that growing naturally long hair is possible. My hair is nearly shoulder length but this is not long in my opinion. Long hair, as I see or want, would be at least half way down my back. I don't have long hair but I believe that I can achieve it. And if you want it, you can too! There are some great examples out there that I will explore and post here.

For now, let's get inspired by the video below:

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Black Women's Hair Can Grow Back Even If its Thinning with One Old Trick

Black Women's Hair Can Grow Back Even If its Thinning with One Old Trick

It's an age old remedy that many of us black women have put aside. Many black women have either abandoned brushing their hair or they just think it went out of style. This is not true but it does have to be done in perspective and with care.

If you have thinning hair around your hair line, you can grow the hair back easily. Even if you are literally bald (hot spots) in some areas of your scalp, brushing will help grow back the hair. We know it sounds odd to brush where no more hair exists but trust us; brushing even hot spots will stimulate new hair growth. 

By buying a very soft hair brush from your local beauty supply store, you can brush those areas daily. A soft hair brush will be gentle enough to not damage the thinning parts but strong enough to stimulate new hair growth. 

By brushing those areas a few times a day with several strokes, you will start to see new hair growth in as little as 3 weeks. But you must do so with care. Do not brush roughly or harshly. Do so gently so you will not cause damage to your skin too. Make sure to use a moisturizer or hair mayonnaise on your hair before brushing. If you brush your dry hair, it will most likely get thinner and fall out. Try Organics Hair Mayonnaise from your local beauty supply store. It's the best one to use and cost efficient. 

Remember... as black women, we have to be very careful with our hair. Also, reduce your stress levels by relaxing, laughing and exercising so your hair will grow back as well.

This still works but you have to believe and care enough for your hair to do something about those thinning areas around your hairline and in your scalp.

So, let's go back to basics and start brushing those thin areas.

 

Source: RLH

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MTV Casts Black Women Going Natural Hair Transformation

MTV Casts  Black Women Going Natural Hair Transformation

MTV is looking for black women who are in the process of wearing their hair natural.

How are you struggling with your hair? Do you feel natural hair would let you embrace your true self, and you want to go for the “big chop?”

They are looking to follow someone who is ready to cut their hair and follow them on their journey as they transition into their natural hair.

If you appear to be between the ages of 15 -28 and would like us to document your transition to natural hair, email us at casting@lintonmedia.com and tell us about your story. Please include your name, location, phone number and recent photos of yourself.

Source

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Welcome to Blaq Natural Hair Blog!

Photo: Beautiful Brown Girls

Hello and welcome to my Blaq Natural Hair blog.  I am starting this blog because I am beginning my own natural hair journey. I have tried a few times in the past and was unsuccessful. I was unsuccessful for many reasons:

• I didn't know how to take care of it
• I found my hair breaking off more than usual
• I didn't know how to style it
• I wasn't happy with it even though I knew it was better for my hair

Essentially, I was very eager to go natural but didn't have enough information about how to care for my hair and feel good wearing it out.

Ultimately, I want thick, long, healthy natural hair. I have been taking nutritional supplements for over 15 years. I am in my 40's and in perfect health according to my doctor's reports. I've never had any major health issues and that is why putting a relaxer on my hair every 3 months started bothering me. A relaxer or perm isn't very healthy nor natural so I had one thing I needed to change and it was my hair.

So, now that you know why I am serious about going natural now and for good, this is why I started this blog. I will be exploring natural hair care products and methods, natural hairstyles for black women and anything that will help me grow the healthiest head of hair I can.

I hope you will enjoy my journey in learning about natural hair and all of the natural products out their that many black women are using to maintain their God given natural hair.

I am happy and proud to finally take control of my hair and be totally natural in all I do from the inside out.

Come join me for the ride.

-T. Marie

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