women section 1- 11- 12 (health)

This is a topic of concern "beauty"! Yes, beauty is part of health! Beauty is directly related to the mental health of a person--your self-esteem, confidence, and general attitude. I am concerned with the great length Africa-American women will go to define their beauty. In this post, I want to address the impact that some beautification processes have on your physical health. I would like to look at the multitude of accessories that some women put on; the hair (weave), nails (hands and feet), make-up, eyelashes, contacts, the method of arching (eyebrows), etc.

The reason I bring this up is because of the rising cancer rates among Black women! I know that cancer rates are rising among many groups, but our concern today is with our Sisters. We want to love you when you are old and gray and beautiful!

Science has proven that the cause of cancer is directly related to one's lifestyle. The biggest culprit is stress! After stress your diet is the second leading cause of cancer. We may need to re-think what we are eating and how our meals are being prepared, (smile, that's another topic). Next we need to look at what we are doing to our bodies in relationship to the things we put in them and on them.

Before we really get into it, let's discuss the definition of beauty. Who is really defining what beauty is? People that don't even look like you! Some of them don't even like you but you let them define your beauty? Man-made beauty can never supersede the natural beauty that GOD has given you? If nothing else where is your spirituality (spiritual beauty)?  

Hair, is spiritual for black people. Rastafarian wear dread-locks for spiritual reasons, not for fashion! If you are perming your hair, then you are damaging the hair follicle for ever and it never--I repeat, never--returns to its natural state again. Anything that damages your hair permanently (thus the name "perm"), cannot be good for your hair. Have you ever read the label to know what ingredients are in perms? Most of the ingredients are considered to be toxic chemicals!

Let's talk about weaves; the sewing, taping and gluing of your God-given hair. What is in that glue? I could not find the ingredients in hair glue or hair glue remover, but I am pretty sure that they contain toxic chemicals as well. If you are purchasing synthetic hair instead of human hair, then I have a question for you. What is synthetic hair made of? In some cases it is horse hair! Come on Sisters! Is it really that serious that you have to put horse hair on your head?

I did some research on hair weave and discovered something that I consider to be VERY SERIOUS! Most synthetic hair is produced by utilizing two kanekalon fibers (two monomers), acrylonitrile and vinyl chloride. Acrylonitrile is not that bad. It is basically plant fibers. Vinyl chloride on the other hand is very bad! It is defined as being "highly toxic, flammable and carcinogenic". Carcinogenic means that it is known to cause cancer! Vinyl chloride is so toxic that it must be treated before being dump into waste water reservoirs. This stuff is so bad that it is not allowed to mix with the water from your toilet until after it has been properly treated. Yet, many of our Sisters don't think twice before putting it on their head!

Cheaper weave is made from polyester, which are oil compounds used to make plastic bottles, pianos, guitars, car components, boats, etc. Anything that looks like wood but is plastic is probably made from polyester. Like vinyl chloride,  polyester is very toxic, and therefore bad for you!

Let's move on to makeup. Most makeups, including facial creams and anti-aging creams, are bad for you! They are very, very toxic! They have mineral oil in them which is a byproduct of petroleum (oil). This is the same stuff you put in your car's engine and in the gas tank. The makeup industry misinforms you by stating that these petroleum products are not harmful in small doses. This is a true statement! However, the directions on the label instructs you to "apply daily" in order to get the best results. This means that you must use the product over a long period of time. Which makes their statement of "not harmful if used in small doses" an invalid statement. This is nothing more than a loophole for them to get you to buy and use their toxic product.

Last but not least, let's talk about your hands and feet (fingernails and toenails). Sisters love to go to the Chinese and Koreans in their communities to get their hands and feet done. Do you ever wonder why they wear masks? Do you ever wonder why they never offered you a mask even though they have one on? Well the reason is that the chemicals they are using are EXTREMELY TOXIC! If you continue to inhale them over a period of time, they can and will cause cancer. This is the reason why they have the masks on! Acrylics and acrylic byproducts are known to cause pulmonary edema (respiratory disorder), which can in turn lead to heart attacks! You are putting yourself at risk each time you get your nails done without some type of respiratory protection.

Sisters, we love your beauty but we want you to grow old as are wives, mothers, sisters, etc. We don't want you to be alive and in poor health. We want you to be alive, with good health, enjoying a high quality of life.

I usually do not ask for comments, but I am very interested to see what your thoughts are concerning this topic. Please research for yourself, and past it on to others. Have them read the blog and see what they think and feel about the topic?

Love, Peace and Unity