Hair Injury

"Suffer for Fashion."

We've all heard that phrase before. And although I have always prided myself in being a low maintenance woman from the standpoint of my appearance, I think I may have been deluding myself all these years. Because I stand here before you today with a Hair Injury.

Went to get my hair done. I fluxtuate between getting it dyed and then not getting it dyed for long stretches of time, until my natural ash brown comes in with strands of gray, a stark, skunk-like contrast to the reddish brown every hair color seems to turn on me. When I was RVing around the country and couldn't care less about my appearance - which is different from low maintanance - I hardly even noticed the motley mess on my head.

But whenever I'm around other people in a professional setting, I suddenly get paranoid that I look frumpy and unprofessional with my long hair and old color job. Oh, I also pride myself in not giving a damn what other people think, but I think that, too, is a sad delusion.

So what do I do to feel better? I go get my hair dyed. Of course, I had a perfect excuse. I was asked to participate in a photo shoot for the new marketing campaign for Alaska Public Television, and the shots were going to be very close up - face and head. That kind of scrutiny warrants new hair color, right?

Well, I went to a highly recommended place and explained what I needed. Then the hair dresser began applying the dye.

It burned.

"It's burning," I said.

"What?!" she asked, not as if she was horrified that it was burning me but she seemed shocked that the word 'burn' was being used in the salon.

"Burning. It's burning my scalp."

"Do you mean burning burning or tingling?"

I had to think a moment. Was this a scalp tingle or a burn?

"Burning," I said tentatively because suddenly I was doubting what I was feeling because she seemed to be so surprised by it. Hadn't hair dye ever burned anyone's scalp before?

"This has never happened before," she said, then offered to wash the dye out. Of course, she also mentioned that it hadn't been in long enough to process so we "wouldn't get the color we want."

Was I being a wimp? Was I being hysterical? I mean, this is a hair salon for God's sake. I'm sure they don't go around burning heads.

I decided to wait it out, burning scalp and all. I held my breath, let it out slowly, closed my eyes, rolled my eyes back into my head, praying the burning would dissipate. It didn't.

"It really is burning," I said again. She brought the owner over to discuss.

"This has probably happened before but it's like, one in a million. I don't personally know anyone it has ever happened to," she said, then she asked "Do you mean burning burning or tingling? I know it definitely tingles when it goes on."

"No, this is burning. This has happened once before," I explained, and told the story of the most highly recommended hairdresser in Laramie Wyoming and how the dye there burned my scalp as well. "My scalp skin was peeling off in big pieces for a week after," I told them.

They looked at one another, reiterated that the color hadn't set yet, but they left it up to me.

I was embarrassed. The last time my scalp was burning from the hair dye, the hair dresser in Wyoming dismissed it and said "Oh, that's how it is supposed to feel," and I felt like an idiot.

This time, my hair dresser's eyes grew more concerned as she watched me wring my hands until they were white with tension and my eyes fluttered and rolled as I tried to endure the pain in the most quiet, least obvious manner.

"Let's rinse it off," she said, and I obediently followed her to the sink. The moment the water hit my scalp, I felt instant, blessed relief. Of course, then she used a shampoo that she said was excellent because it "makes your scalp tingle." It burned, but I knew this whole painful ordeal would be over soon.

My hair turned out great. Lighter than we had discussed but with subtle and natural highlights. I was pleased and decided to put the Burning Scalp Incident behind me.

But two days later, I have scabs across my scalp. Lots of them. I can run my fingers through my hair and across my scalp and feel crusty bumps of dried, healing flesh. My hair still looks great, but I have Scab Head.

I want to go back to the salon and have the hair dresser run her fingers over my scabs to feel them, to show her that I wasn't exaggerating when I said the dye was burning me. But then I think "What good is that going to do?" What will I gain by forcing them to look at my scabs? And whose fault was this? My own because I tried to wait it out and didn't insist that they rinse my scalp immediately? Theirs for not rinsing immediately regardless of my hesitations?

I have to take responsibility for any injuries sustained during a vanity moment. I wanted a more even hair color and got injured in the process. I think it is a risk we all take when we go against what Mother Nature intended for us and pump and primp our bodies with chemicals. At some point, something is bound to backfire on us, and then we literally Suffer for Fashion.

So today, I'm a Fashion Martyr.

Comments

[Kat]

If you grow your own herbs, and happen to grow peppermint (if not buy some fresh)...boil some water, crush the leaves and make a tea, let it step for about ten minutes. I use a french coffee press for this. Remove the peppermint leaves. Let the elixir cool. Then poor the peppermint oil onto your scalp and massage in. Peppermint is a natural and quite remarkable healer. It is also great for sunburns!

[katie]

I am experiencing exactly the same thing - from not being taken seriously when I said it burned... and now with the scabs. When do the scabs go away??

[aliza/babyfruit]

Give it 2 weeks. The scabs start flaking off and look like dandruff on steroids so watch out - not pretty. I personally wouldn't try peppermint - that is what they put on me after and it burned like hell. Vitamin E was my elixir - applying straight to the scalp with my fingertips. Sure, you have greasy looking hair, but much more soothing.

[Susan]

I have had this happen to me before in the past when I tinted my hair but Today was the worst ever. My hair color was a deep red all over w/ some copper highlights in the front well I decided to go blonde cause well a lot of people were convincing me that it would look better and all.. which I have had blonde hair before but i figured why not lets go for it. Well they started with decolorization bleach stuff and applied it wow right when they applied the product to my hair i think as well to my scalp..NO NO it had started to really burn and they had only done a few strands. They didnt understand but the instructor told me to go get rinsed out so they rinsed me out. Now i have spots in my hair and a bright orange scalp.. owww. They repeated the process four .. yes four times and it was painful.. i was singing to my self to try to cover up the pain .. didn't really work. After the decolor it hadn't come up still so they put powder bleach on it and pain once more.. yes the cool water and conditioner was nice but I was in horrible pain. At this time I have been doing this for about six hours. Finally they put a toner in and applied volume to blend the hair color cause it was uneven and ugly. After there last step for the day i got to see what my hair turned out to look like.. ok .. grey/white blonde on the roots, strawberry blonde on the sides of my head.. hair. and in the back where my hair is shorter is orange. My head is pounding and bleeding and just in pure pain and my hair is now brittle and dry and I was wondering if my hair is going to fall out because of the damage done to my hair and scalp or if it is ok to try to fix my color tomorrow while at school? I dont want my hair to fall out but i really want my hair to be one even nice color u know. What should i do cause I am scared and in pain. Thanks .. susan

[aliza at babyfruit]

Sounds like your hairdressers were masochists - criminal, really. I'd go somewhere else and get treatment. Also check out an herbal store for remedies or even go to a doctor. You may need to get a cut to even things out and a nice gentle color that is low in ammonia.

[backfirebrooke12]

hi my name is brooke and i'm 16. i just want you to know that i am so glad that i read your hair injury story, just to know that i'm not the only one that this has happened to. two days ago i dyed my hair blonde and now my hair is how you described yours, covered in scabbing and in pain and i went throught the same ordeal as you. i thought i was just being wimpy when i asked them to please rinse this stuff out because it hurt so horribly, so i stuck it out gritted my teeth as i felt the burning and pain tingle throughout my whole body. and at first i most certainly blamed them for what happened to me. so i called them and they made up excuses and actually blamed it on the small amount of sunburn that i came in to the salon with before i got my hair dyed. although now thanks to your story, i do see and completely agree with your view of the whole situation, you cant blame anyone else but you self for wanting to change the original beauty of your original self. so now i'm just going to pray for the pain and scabbing of my entire head to go away. and that hopefully i can find something to help in the process of healing.

[Dianne MacTavish]

If your doctor will go to bat
for your injurys you probably are going to get money if you go to:
injuryboard.com

[Voffblaxill]

Good site
Good luck the web designer.

[Term papers]

You was embarrassed. The last time Your scalp was burning from the hair dye, the hair dresser in Wyoming dismissed it and said, that's how it is supposed to feel, and You felt like an idiot.

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Oh, I also pride myself in not giving a damn what other people think, but I think that, too, is a sad delusion.

[buy propecia]

Reminds me of when I was young, a friend decided that she didn't want her bangs anymore. So she carefully trimmed them off at the hairline.

[Maternity nursing clothing]

i've never had my hair styled, ever since in my life...well, i still feel satisfied, and happy...thankful for what God has given me.

hey, i'm not saying those who have their hair styled are not satisfied, ok?

just my own point for self.

[Maternity nursing clothing]

in addition to that, i love seeing other's have different hair styles.

[Lose Weight Healthily]

My hair color was a deep red all over w/ some copper highlights in the front well I decided to go blonde cause well a lot of people were convincing me that it would look better and all.. which I have had blonde hair before but i figured why not lets go for it. Well they started with decolorization bleach stuff and applied it wow right when they applied the product to my hair i think as well to my scalp..NO NO it had started to really burn and they had only done a few strands. They didnt understand but the instructor told me to go get rinsed out so they rinsed me out. Now i have spots in my hair and a bright orange scalp.. owww. They repeated the process four .. yes four times and it was painful.. i was singing to my self to try to cover up the pain .. didn't really work. After the decolor it hadn't come up still so they put powder bleach on it and pain once more.. yes the cool water and conditioner was nice but I was in horrible pain. At this time I have been doing this for about six hours. Finally they put a toner in and applied volume to blend the hair color cause it was uneven and ugly.

[Paul]

Don't worry what people think.

[pregnancy timeline]

I really want to die my hair but have to wait until the end of my pregnancy :(