What's that Sour Smell?

[LaFemmeNaturelle]

I've never had my hair smell sour...that's a bit weird.....but I used to go up to 4 weeks without washing my hair just because I was lazy. My mom would try to tell me to wash it cause it stinks then I would make her smell it because people were always in my hair and never complained... and she would admit that it didnt stink......I wash my hair weekly but if I have in french braids, my hair is not touchin water until those braids come out (usually about a month) or if its straight then I'll wash twice a month. Oh well! Folks better stay out my head if they're worried about how often I wash it.


ETA:Just realized that my hair does smell sour when I baggy or prepoo for a long period of time...so guess its because of the sweat and stuff.

 

[lovegymnasts]

I grew up washing my hair once a week. I just assumed everyone did until a few years ago when a co-worker told me that she did not wash her own hair. She said her hairdresser washed it when she styled and cut her hair every few months. I was shocked! I guess it was culture shock. I then started lurking on this board and saw other people saying the same thing. I guess we "live in our own worlds" and assume others have the same practices we do. I did.
I still can not imagine going longer than 2 weeks without washing my hair. I could imagine my mama getting ready to beat my behind if I did.

 

[lovelexi]

This is not so strange. Disgusting but not strange. I knew plenty of girls that only washed their braids when it time to get re-done. I was with a friend and caught a whiff of her hair. It smelled gross she later told me she hasn't been to the salon in 6 weeks meaning she hasn't washed her hair in 6 weeks. Now she is the cleanest most organized neat freak I know but that goes to show that the myths are still out there. Personally i always washed my hair every 6-10 days pre-hhj. Now it's every 3-4 days. never understood why people thought washing their hair "often" was bad.

 

[Brownie518]

I went out partying with my girlfriend and her cousin one evening and it ended up in a disaster. Her cousin had braids for 2 months and never washed her hair. She smelled so bad, we had to roll the windows down in the car. I met up with them at a salsa dance club and she danced with a Hispanic male who kept turning his head from her face. At the time, I couldn't figure out why he was doing that, until she sat down next to me. I was so embarrassed because I didn't want the guy to think I was dirty also. Later after I dropped her cousin home, I told my girlfriend to tell her cousin to wash her hair because it stinks. After that I make sure I don't go too long between washes because normally you can't tell how bad your hair smells.

Bringing back memories. I had a friend who used to get a jheri (sp?) curl and she and her mother wouldn't wash their hair for like 2 months. erplexed She used to make me gag. You don't even want to know what the buildup on her scalp looked like.

 

[silenttullip]

LMAOOOO she thinks the latter is true because.... IT IS! Or at least for me. I MUST wash my hair at least once a week BUT like right now I have braids in with my own hair and been washing twice a week it does make them frizz up and they even start trying to lock.
As for your hair falling out... If you don't know how to wash your hair or scrub harshly you can get some thinning or traction alopecia going on. But its not the washing that does it. It's like anything else all about technique. I would have told her "guns don't kill people, people kill people" anything can cause your hair drama used incorrectly

 

[My Friend]

This topic had me laughing hard lol, .......... smell sour? Was she really serious? She is actually really brave and open, to be telling a strange that..

We have a couple of classes together.

 

[Adaoba2012]

I think we all tend to think that everyone is like us on this hair board. I believed alot of crazy things that now seem really stupid to me. Like if you don't relax your hair every 6 weeks it will fall out or even that dirt makes you hair grow. We have to remember that not everyone has the same mentality as we do. We were once ignorant to healthy hair care and some people still are...and probably will stay that way. She needs someone to tell her wash them braids!

 

[iri9109]

did she have extensions? i rarely used to wash my hair with extensions because i thought they would frizz or unravel, but i didnt know any better. i only used to wash my relaxed hair once a month and slap more product on dirty hair and flat iron it like it was nothing smh...

but i had micros and kinky twists during my transition and they actually looked better after a co-wash. i also had a frohawk with the sides braided a couple of months ago and i cowashed everyday and the sides didnt frizz up too bad. i agree with shunemite, she's probably just uninformed/miseducated.

 

[Mz.MoMo5235]

I guess everyone else lived in hair utopia because that was pretty much standard operating procedure growing up. People would put some blue magic or something up there to help mask the smell. And yes, everyone bathed like a normal human being, everyone's acting like they never met well put-together women who were scared of 'sweating out' their styles

ok, i agree with this and several similar comments. we know how some folk think of hair...


but i still dont understand the sourness like i remember growing up and smelling my friends hair and thinking "eww, its smells" and usually it was a mix between sweat, blue magic, and dirt

BUT SOUR????? that's a new one for me my friend

 

[preciouslove0x]

Wow some of you ladies are extremely rude. I wonder if you guys say the same to friends and coworkers about other people....

When I joined this board, I had NO IDEA you could wash your hair more than once every two weeks. Many of my black friends only washed their hair once every three or four weeks (or even less). We just didn't KNOW any better. More people do this than you actually think. Many black people do not know ANYTHING about hair care. When myths are fed to you constantly from EVEN YOUR MOTHER, why believe else?

Ugh... I'm so frustrated with this post. So rude.

 

[mzteaze]

Me: Your braids are cute. How long have you had them?
Her: Thanks. I've had them in a couple months.
Me: Really? How often do you wash them?
Her: Girl, I rarely wash my hair with or without braids
Me: erplexed
Her: I only wash it when it starts to smell sour
Me:
Her: If you wash your natural hair too much it will fall out and if you wash your braids to often they will frizz up.

Ladies please share your thought process behind why she thinks this is true.

Its for the same reason that people believe in scratching their scalps, putting GREASE on it and are still only washing their hair every two weeks in any way, shape or form. We don't give up on long held viewpoints even if its wrong and there is a wealth of information available supporting why its wrong.

 

[mzteaze]

Ok, I can answer now ... took me a moment though. I would wash braids whenever it felt like it was getting dirty, all ladies know when your hair starts to feel icky. Same thing with braids or any other kind of extensions. Second, what is the sour smell? Is that her hair or her scalp wreaking of some kind of skin infection because she rarely washes?!

Yeast build up. Thats why some people get angry when they take out braids have don't have the growth they think they should have. Braids don't take way your maintenance needs.

 

[detroitdiva]

I have braids in now, and I wash them every week. I prevent frizz by keeping them well greased and tied up in a silk scarf.

 

[LaToya28]

I can relate. Pre-hhj I remember not washing my braids until they smelled sour. It was simply ignorance. I have kinky twists now for the first time since I started my hhj and I wash them once a week and it's killing me that I can't do a full wash. I know better, so I do better.

 

[laurend]

Wow some of you ladies are extremely rude. I wonder if you guys say the same to friends and coworkers about other people....

When I joined this board, I had NO IDEA you could wash your hair more than once every two weeks. Many of my black friends only washed their hair once every three or four weeks (or even less). We just didn't KNOW any better. More people do this than you actually think. Many black people do not know ANYTHING about hair care. When myths are fed to you constantly from EVEN YOUR MOTHER, why believe else?

Ugh... I'm so frustrated with this post. So rude.

I don't think we are being rude IMO. If you had been in the car with my friend you would have been upset too. IT SMELLED BAD to the point I had to roll down my window. I don't understand why her family didn't tell her about her hair. I would want my family members to tell me I'm offending people with my body odor than having me walking around embarrassing myself.

 

[LittleLuxe]

I don't know.

I'm all for being understanding and seeing things from other's pov but I feel like if you're going through life calmly accepting that parts of you will smell sour...yeah

I gotta draw the line there.

Fine don't wash it for 2 weeks, 3, 4...but like others have said your hair may not smell bad even if you don't wash for that long. But when you're PURPOSELY waiting to smell sour....blech.

Let's face it by the time you notice others have probably already smelled it and gagged. And what if it's like perfume? Where your nose stops noticing the scent after a while, it could take her longer and longer to smell her sour indicator. Blech again.

 

[mzteaze]

Let's face it by the time you notice others have probably already smelled it and gagged. And what if it's like perfume? Where your nose stops noticing the scent after a while, it could take her longer and longer to smell her sour indicator. Blech again.

Thats perfume OR FUNK (underarms or breath)....

That reminds me of this woman on the subway that FUNKED up an entire subway car. I unwittingly sat near her and had to spray Lysol on a piece of paper to survive the assault on my senses. She obviously wasn't bothered by her funk AT.ALL.

Then there are the people with the blue cloud breath....how can you NOT see the fact that your breath is singeing eyebrows and killing vegetation with each word? erplexed

Woosah [/end rant]

 

[StopMakingSense]

Thats perfume OR FUNK (underarms or breath)....

That reminds me of this woman on the subway that FUNKED up an entire subway car. I unwittingly sat near her and had to spray Lysol on a piece of paper to survive the assault on my senses. She obviously wasn't bothered by her funk AT.ALL.

Then there are the people with the blue cloud breath....how can you NOT see the fact that your breath is singeing eyebrows and killing vegetation with each word? erplexed

Woosah [/end rant]