Forums:
Has anyone done any chemical hair treatments - straightening / perms - while in treatment w/ Matia? If so, has it caused you any pain and/or setbacks in progress?
Also curious if any of you did these prior to getting ill? If so, do you think they may have contributed to/triggered your IC? And do you think they caused you to lose hair?
In my case, I did Liscio straightening for 8 years with no problems, during which time I had mild IC. (Liscio is different from the many other Japanese straighteners -- it's considered the gold standard & is the gentlest on hair, plus I went to the same good & experienced person.)
Around my second-to-last time doing Liscio, I started getting a variety of what we now know as signs of impending illness, but also my hair suddenly changed to oily and flat esp at the roots, I started losing some hair, and my hair seemed straighter as the regrowth grew out. [Maybe the Liscio contributed to my IC breakdown, BUT there were other soooo many other physical & emotional factors going on then too.] My last Liscio treatment was 4 days before I had my IC breakdown. [Again, maybe it contributed, BUT I also went to the dentist 1.5 wks before, and had sex the night before which caused the major bladder infection that created my severe IC situation.]
So as you can see, I'm confused as to how big a deal it was & would be to get it done again. It is heavy chemicals (though in miniscule ppm amounts that tests purportedly show is much lower than would cause adverse effects). It's only 2x/year (4 hrs exposure each) and it's applied 1/2 in from the scalp.
And please to those who are very well-meaning who will say 'just go natural,' I appreciate your sentiments but that is not an option for me now. I don't feel comfortable like that, and this treatment has taken my looks (and I was no 10 to begin with!) in many other ways, most prominently my skin which I can't hide, so my hair is all the more important to me. My natural hair is not attractive and looks esp ridiculous now half wavy/kinky and half straight from only half of it grown out so far.
sorry this got so long. ahhhh, women and their hair.
hair
Lisa, I understand the hair dilema. Have you shared your concerns with Matia? I was able to highlight my hair 1/2 inch from my scalp using foils. I am sure that it would be better to wear my hair naturally. My hair is my last vice :o) Another idea is to try the Caruso steam rollers. The jumbo size looks like you had your hair professionally blow dried and curled with a round brush. They don't damage your hair. Amazon carries several of them. The rollers come in a ton of sizes from jumbo to petite. If you are happy with a basic set, Sally's sells them with an optional extended warranty. Otherwise, the Amazon sets should be fine if you use distilled water. I have super flat, thin hair and they work great. A lot of movie stars use them because the body/curl lasts all day. Somewhere I read that the star of "Confessions of a Shopaholic" used them to style her hair for the movie. You can get that great LA hair without the chemicals. If only I could find a natural way to lighten my hair LOL.
the last vice
Hi Sharon,
Yes, my hair is my last vice too - like how you put it. Thanks for the Caruso rollers idea. Haven't heard of them. Are they just for giving body or can you put wet hair in them & they'll straighten hair completely? I really appreciate the tip.
Lisa
The basic set is for medium curls. The jumbo set is supposed to be for big curls and/or body. It probably depends on the length of your hair. I used the basic set for years and am ordering the jumbo set this week. My hair is long. I will let you know how it goes.P.S. The steam rollers are used on dry hair. The warm steam sets the style. I think there is a utube video on how to use them.
Steam Rollers
I have been trying the steam rollers for the last month and have not had a ton of success. The older model created great curls that would last for days. The new model doesn't make good curls. I used the huge rollers to create body but still needed to curl the ends. I am going to start wearing my hair straight.
Alight Lisa, I know you live
Alight Lisa,
I know you live in what I like to refer to as the fantastic plastic world of LA. While it's all wonderful at times it puts false reality into peoples heads on what the should and shouldn't look like. WAKE UP LADY I have seen your pictures and you ARE BEAUTIFUL so STFU about how your not a 10 to begin with. NOW pardon my french for that and on to reality. We have all had to make changes and are appearences may not be what they were pre IC. The reason you don't know what kicked your IC in is because it's never one thing. Lucky for you LA is dry and esp right now so get a bad ass hair strightner and just strighten it. Now I have to tell you the first time in treatment after a while I began to show up at Matia's office with very curly hair. I have the chunky curls and it's extreamly hard to deal with esp now that I am in FL where the humidy runs like the river damn. Matia told me that it was a sign that I was getting healtier when my hair no longer would alow me to strigten it it was so curly. I just couldn not fight it so I found myself a mod curly cut and wow really everyone including me loves it. You can't expect to get healty and fight who you really are and who you really are is beautiful. I know you don't want to hear any of this. My opion is yes there terrible even if there not touching your scalp your still getting the effects of the chems. I have tried to find all the chems listed but I am having a hard time doing so thus far I will crack the code. one of them is Vanillin is an aldehyde and when heated has the same vapors as formaldehyde. I have read that this process is not very smelly but I would still wonder is it really worth it? I would request the MSDS sheet from your stylist so that you can really make this choice properly. Know what your really putting in your hair. research what is listed.
Just a note
(Nicole, I say this w/ complete love & appreciation for your response -- please understand that those pictures were pre-IC and w/ fake (straightened) hair. I do not look like this now. My natural hair is unruly and sticks straight out on the sides, defying gravity hah. Since getting ill my face is covered in huge whiteheads & pimples I can't hide and resultant deep red scars that aren't going away despite Matia's strong natural scar products. I am completely polka dotted. All over. I never go out w/o heavy makeup now. The one time I did just to Matia's to show her how bad it was, I walked in and she just stopped and said "Wow." And Matia is not convinced there is anything natural I can use to get rid of the scars even once I get better as lasers are no-no. And I'm not just feeling this b/c I live in LA, I live outside the main city where people are more plain; I'm saying this b/c as a woman my face is getting disfigured, my husband isn't attracted to me and I'd like to feel not even pretty just normal and not 'disfigured'......So this is a big deal for me, be it superficial or not, and is partly why I'd like to at least find a hair solution.)
Lisa I sent you an emial <3
Lisa I sent you an emial <3
rollers
Ugh. My hair is disgusting now too! I'm excited to try out these rollers!!
Honestly-I'm a big proponent of doing the best you can. If you need straight hair--you need it, and twice a year--me personally I would do it. We live such abstemious lifestyles--a bit of normalcy won't kill us.
I would also get those scars removed post treatment too with lasers--I mean someone on here got botox and it messed her up for awhile, but not forever.
And btw--if your husband is not attracted to you, perhaps he's an ass--what's the point of having one that is ACTUALLY going to say that. Not supportive!
Lisa, knowing me, I would go
Lisa, knowing me, I would go ahead it do it, ...and then pay the price :(. Every time i do something like that (highligts in the salon with all these awefull chemicals) it would heart me for weeks afterwards. And every time I swear to myself that I will never, ever do anything like that again, several months passes by, and I forget and repeat it. I mean, I am sure you understand what you are facing if you go, but if the thought of hating yourself in the mirror scares you more (oh, believe me, I know the feeling, that is why I do these things in the first place), I'd say, go for it!But I have to say that these days I am much more careful (second time around in treatment finally taught me something), I actually even had my husband do my highlights in our bathroom, with Naturetint color and for someone, who is not a hairdresser, he did an excellent job :).
Natasha
How did you do your highlights?I am a dirty blonde and have always highlighted my hair and have been different shades of over all color. So not being able to get my hair done is something that I havent lived with yet because I dont want to give it up. It actually never hurts my bladder, go figure.But, I HATE when mt hair is one solid color, I like the contrast that highlights give, not to mention the added thickness because my hair is so thin. This is why I have neglected to try the naturetint.So my question is, how did you do the blonde highlights yourself? What tools/color did you use?Thanks so much for any insight.xo
Lovemyangels,
I used no tools at all, no foil, nothing like that, just put gloves on and grabbed a strand of hair, in the front only where I could see. My husband did the same in the back. Needless to say we were approximating a LOT :) and used 2 different blond shades of Naturtint. My hair is curly, so the imperfections were not noticable at all. But my hair dresser said she can do my highlights next time with Naturtint, whatever shade I bring with me. I am sure many salons would agree to do the same for you. I just LOVE Naturtint, their colors are so vibrant and there are so many of them to choose from!
Naturtint
My best friend uses 10N and has the most amazing blond hair (think Jessica Simpson LOL). Her natural hair color is probably dark blond. I think 9N would be pretty too. My hair dresser said she was open to highlighting my hair with them. She suggested doing one foil of each in the back of my head first to make sure I like the colors. Another idea is to pick three shades to test. If one shade is a dud, you would still have two other shades to use.
blond
How does it work if there's no bleach? I'd like to try some, my hair is looking quite ghastly these days--but I'd like to go lighter.
Xandra:
There is actually hydrogen peroxide in it! But I guess it is in minimal quantities that work with other stuff. I remember Matia says it is always how things are combined in the formulation that matters. I would definitely check with her before using it, because even though it is on List 2, she always asks me to wait a bit if I am in the middle of a flare.
Hair color
Natasha, What color of Nutritint did you use? I have light ashe brown hairiand it tends to turn red when I try to highlight it blond. My hari dresser said she would be willing to try it. Did you use one color or two?
Sharon, I use 7C or 8C
Sharon, I use 7C or 8C permanent color, which is red. Naturtint has SOOOO many great ones and I notices that they hold much better than the ones in the salon. My hair is dirty blonde and shoulder length, I usually buy 2 boxes of the same color. http://www.vitacost.com/productResults.aspx?ss=1&Ntk=products&Ntt=naturetintI think they are the cheapest on this website.I would run it by Matia first, but she OK'd for me, and I never had any problems, even though some ingredients might scare you off.I also noticed that when I am a redhead, I can get away with minimum or no makeup at all, since it gives me a very bright look anyway.
natasha / researchnerd
Natasha & researchnerd, I really appreciate your words of support & understanding what a *big* deal it is, even if it shouldn't be. I'm still deciding... will probably try later next year? when my body's hopefully even stronger and I've got more guts to do it.
Natasha - were you getting the salon highlighting done while in treatment? If so, as you progressed in treatment did you notice the highlighting caused less and less pain for you?
Lisa, I actually now remeber
Lisa, I actually now remeber that I only did it twice. After the first time the flare was terrible and lasted for more than a month. Shoul've taught me something, right? :).Then I did it again after about 6 months and I remember that it wasn't that bad, but still enough for me to switch to natural colors at home.But don't forget, as you progress, your skin will clear up, your hair may even change it's texture, you will start having much more good hair days. You WILL feel beautiful and start getting compliments on your complexion and fresh look, I can guarantee it! At least all these things started happening to me and I know, from reading here, to many others. At 39, even though I am not fully recovered yet, I still feel better about my looks than I EVER did!So, 6 months from now this hair treatment may not be as crucial to you as it is now, but if it still is, you will make a decision THEN.
FYI
I tried the medium sized, steam rollers and had my first good hair day in a long time. I tried wearing it straight this weak but my hair is really damaged from using a curling iron. I might try it straight again when it is a little healthier.
Thanks Natasha
I pray for that skin day to come (how fabulous for you that you're looking better than ever, a sure sign of healing within!). Problem for me is with every new pimple, and there are multiples each day, they leave dark red scars (and I don't touch/pick at them!) and after 1 year+ of this I'm covered with spots/bumps everywhere on my face that actually look like pimples/rash. That's why I don't blame my husband, he's just being honest, my face really is quite brutal looking, I mean it's hard for me to look at myself in the mirror. (Thank god for makeup!, that helps some.)
I just hope I don't have to live with this forever...Matia says no lasers or other strong treatments and nothing she gives me helps, hopefully later on I can have some options. I know it could be so much worse, I could be burned or missing a limb or whatever, but I still really feel disfigured b/c it's my face of all things & what everyone looks at. Anyway, thanks for letting me vent again.
Lisa, I am one of those
Lisa, I am one of those people who is always having a hard time looking at the bright side of things, so I was never able to count my blessings when I was feeling terrible inside out. I don't know how to do it when you are sitting inside a suffering/struggling body. But what I did learn is to think about my body is being "under construction", when nobody cares about the facade. So while this "construction/rebuilding" is going on, laser, highlights, etc. is not allowed, but when you are "back in business" you will consider your options. This way of thinking helped me at least put things in perspective somewhat.I know exactly what you are describing, I had those outbreaks too, on my chin only, still so terrible, that I was embarassed to go outside, and it was going on for a while. I can't notice any scars these days at all after a couple of years, but if I did, I would run to the dermatologist the moment I was allowed. And if you have to, you will too!