ETHNIC HAIR: GETTING TO
THE ROOT AND TRUTH OF THE MATTER
By: India Holloway
indiashealthyliving@yahoo.com
www.indiashealthyliving.com

Can the Ethnic or African American women’s hair endure anything?  Or is it a myth? There is a myth that ethnic or African American hair can tolerate anything whether you twist it, weave it, lye it, cut it, curl it, fry it, braid it, glue it, wig it, or dye it.  But African American women not knowing exactly where the source of weakness comes from, they continue using chemicals on their hair under the guise of kinky, weak, fine, thin, coarse, strong, dry, oily, normal, etc.  However more and more women are starting to recognize the different damaging affects to the hair, and are going natural, whatever form of natural is for them. 

TOXIC CHEMICALS AND POLLUTIONS are in our environment.  The fact is, the dangers of toxins in our environment have major affects on our internal health, and these same toxins can only have a negative effect on the hair follicles as well.

Let’s start with the toxins used on the hair that affect the entire body.  Traditional Hair dyes are only the industrial solvents hydrogen peroxide used to lift existing color out of the hair and Ammonia used to change the hair’s pH and open the hair shaft to allow dye to penetrate. All hair dyes have them. Both peroxide and ammonia can also be used as household cleaners and when used as such, read the instructions, you are warned not to breathe it, do wear gloves when using it, and, by all means, don't get it on your skin. Yet when they're in hair dye you pour it into your brain! For goodness sake, you may as well drink it. That is what the hair follicles are doing.  The dye gets into your blood stream and is exposed to every cell in your body.

African American hair has special needs and there are great products that will assist you to have the finest, healthiest hair possible. But it seems we are swimming in a sea of toxic chemicals doing major damage, not just to our hair but also the internal immune system. The human body is designed to rid itself of waste.  However, the waste or toxic build-up accumulates much faster than the body can eliminate.  

Hair Special Needs:

1. Moisturize – choose of shampoos should include chamomile and lemon verbena use a simple sprits’ of pH 4.5 to 5.5 water combined with living oils drops.
2. Condition – products should contain Shea butter and avocado cream oil.
3. Cleansing – if you know your hair choose you products to suit you.

Avoid chemicals in your hair and scalp.

Toxins are absorbed into our bodies from:

1. The air we breathe
2. Foods we eat
3. Clothes we wear

What we put in our bodies is absorbed into our blood stream.  The body in turn will process these materials or chemicals and discard what it cannot use. You can only imagine what that accumulation of toxins is doing to your body especially to the weakest parts. The weakest parts, after years of over processing, may just be your hair.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), reports that an estimated 85,000 different chemicals are registered for use in the US and many of these many chemicals are NEVER tested for impact on human health let alone human hair. 

Hair dye and the relation to rheumatoid arthritis is just one of the many issues suffered from toxins. Women who dye their hair for 20 years or more have almost double the risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis, say Swedish researchers. However, the cause of the increased risk is unclear. The team at Linkoping University Sweden, suspect that chemicals in hair dyes somehow damage the immune system, triggering the onset of rheumatoid arthritis.

There are many more side affects that you can check by using your computer search engine. You can search the affects of hair dye as it relates to your glands and bladder cancer to name a few.

According to the AACC, toxicity (or the build up of toxins in the body) is determined by:

1. Toxicant (kind of chemical),
2. Amount (how much),
3. Duration (how long the exposure) and
4. What combinations, (How many different chemicals) 

Dr. Andrew Jones, Senior Medical Advisor of the Women’s Health Institute of Texas - a research and investigative facility dealing with woman’s’ illnesses. Quotes “I constantly stress the need for proper nutrition and healthy, holistic living. This is especially important in the “modern” environment we now live in – an environment filled with toxins, chemical residues, and rogue hormones – a virtual cornucopia of health damaging substances. 

The bottom line is that a healthier life style will result in healthier hair.  

Source:
www.biof.com/hairfaq.asp?redirect=yes
www.answers.com/topic/hair-dye-
http://abunchofgreens.blogspot.com/2008/01/22-hair-dye-chemicals-banned-in-eu-and.html
www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/90078.php
www.newscientist.com/article/dn1306-hair-dye-linked-to-rheumatoid-arthritis.html