Halloween is almost upon us. So I thought I’d share a scary hair story from my time in Japan.
As part of my dread fro maintenance I always pull my locks apart by hand to keep it from becoming one large mass. While I was doing this I felt something on my hand, and it wasn’t my hair because it was moving. I pulled my hand down to see what it was. Turns out there was a geji geji (google that if you’re brave) living in my hair. And right when I saw what it was, it was too late… It jumped on to my face and I almost broke every bone in my body falling out of my chair and freaking out.
Got a nightmare hair story? Feel free to share.
CN Says:
My scariest hair moment? The day I discovered that nearly every strand on my head had a white dot on it… at which point the hair would snap, crackle and pop off. That was horrifying. Damn heat damage.
DO NOT Google ‘geji geji’…still itching and scratching *shudders*.
My scariest hair moment? The day I discovered that nearly every strand on my head had a white dot on it… at which point the hair would snap, crackle and pop off. That was horrifying. Damn heat damage.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH, I HATE ALL CREEPY BUGS/INSECTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Dang, now I've started itching 🙁
I've found twigs and leaves in my hair immediately after cutting my mom's lawn (damn low hanging trees), but I just retooled my hair routine so every bout of lawn work was directly followed by a wash. Centipedes, though? Damn. And they travel in pairs? Damn damn. So that one I smashed last week might have a friend still chilling around my apartment? Damn damn damn.
I recently got kinky twist two and a half weeks ago and removed them yesterday due to me breaking out into a rash on my neck and my scalp being very irritated. *What a way to waste money =(* I did not change any of my normal routine or products so I knew it was the hair.
ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww! *runs and examines fro*
Re: the story of the wormy weave! ARE YOU KIDDING ME :-0?!?!?!
As funny as all these stories are cumulatively, the one thing I wish people would remember is that up under all that hair, whether it's growing out of your head, grew out of someone else's head, or was spun from a factory machine, you have skin. SKIN, people! And just as you wash the skin on your hands, face, feet, back, etc., the skin on your head needs to be cleaned, and that right regularly! Three to four weeks without water is pushing it in the cleanliness stakes; I cannot fathom anyone thinking it's even healthy, let alone proper weave maintenance, to go one-fourth or third of a year without washing their hair and scalp! Imagine, as gross as it is to even mention it, trying to go that long not washing certain scent-producing areas of our bodies that also tend to be hair-producing: NOT HAPPENING, NOT IF YOU/I CAN HELP IT, right?! So why do we think we can treat the skin of our heads that way?
But yes, I can see how the occasional creepy-crawly can fly/fall/crawl/otherwise get caught into our strands while we are walking outside or sleeping in an infested/outdoor area; that can happen to the cleanest of heads and manes. Thank God that so far the ones that have landed in my hair have been discovered by me or a helpful person nearby and sent on its way very quickly thereafter.
Perhaps the most horrible thing I can remember with my hair is having chicken pox as a little girl, sitting on a couch scratching my head because of the itching of the pox on my scalp and pulling my hair out by handfuls. The only reason I can think that my mama didn't stop me is because she was busy elsewhere in the house and didn't see me. But I remember doing it. I do remember, though, that pulling out my hair didn't hurt, so it was probably either a lot of shed hair that hadn't yet been combed out in the weekly hair session, or it was dry, or some combination of the two. I just wanted my head to stop itching :-(!
Yeah I googled it before scrolling down to your s/n…still shuddering and itching like a a meth head. My scariest moment as a natural? Washing my hair and having gobs of it come out in hand! Damn you heat damage! Damn you!
Why did i google it? why lol
That thing was disgusting, giving me the creeps and i'm itching.
Not even going there (with Google)…hopefully the thing just fell in as opposed to having been crashing in his hair for a few days.
I have to agree with those who say this is why it's not good to go without a good rinse (at the VERY least) every couple of weeks or so at minimum. And that includes locs…I had locs and NOTHING had a chance to settle down in there…
Thank God I heeded Nikki's advice. I'm from Martinique and I was freaking out everytime I saw a centipede (live in EU now and don't see any). My dad was like by the time you call me it can run and hide. Just kill it. Huhh really!!! That's one of the many reasons daddies are here for! lol Love my dad though!
I heard as well a story about a rasta man who died because of a nest of centipedes found in his locks. After what happened to Kenny I'm wondering if it was not actually true! But how can't you feel it moving on your scalp or something!!! OMG
As I started to really freak out reading all the comments above and was deciding to actually stop reading I came across Curly Q. I don't remember last time I laughed that much. My daughter is sleeping but I just couldn't keep it. You actually made me cry… And Bri, " I seriously wonder where the other half of that roach went. It probably got tangled in his dirty ass hair and just gave up and died. ugh" LMAO
Thanks Nikki for what you're doing regarding hair info but also entertaining us, giving us the opportunity to meet people although virtually and allowing us to remove the stress of daily life off our shoulders for a minute.
Christellebb1
The wise heed warnings … Alas I am not wise. I googled geji geji … I'm sure I'll be eternally creepied for my lack of wisdom. *shivers*
This actually happened when I was relaxed. Back when those butterfly clips were popular I happened to have two in that night. It was a summer night in KY and i was walking with my family and I felt something thunk against my head. I smacked at my head but didn't feel anything. Later when we made it in the house I felt something and thinking it was one of my clips that had moved I reached up to grab it. It was a freaking Cicada! I screamed and threw it to the floor and kept screaming lol. My aunt came in and smashed it with her shoe. I was nervous and kept checking my head for days behind that smh.
it's so funny i lived in okinawa japan for about 5 yr and i havent seen one of those bugs…smh
I remember I went to the bathroom and I leaned forward and a big black waterbug fell off my head, I screamed so loud and kept shaking like the thing was still on me.
I am trying to figure out how people can have all these various creatures living in their hair. I understand the weave, hiking, and forest stories; things fell in and didn't fall out, but the rest? I assume these are the 1x a month 'it works for me' hair washers? I guess it doesn't really work then….
MYLAH! I AM SHUDDERING OVER YOUR STORY. A LIZARD?!?!?!?!?!?!? ( I'm from S. Fla too)I would have died. Literally just died on the spot… Jesus come get me now. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Still chuckling over the wig fiasco….
Well I know my sister's friend had a similar story. He was this dude rockin some dreads and didn't really know how to take care of them and he had been wearing his hair like this for close to a year….So one we were just standing and talking and he casually just scratched his head a few times and then something fell on the floor. IT WAS HALF OF A COCKROACH. My sister and I were like "WTF JUST FELL OUT YOUR DAMN HEAD?" And he really tried to be all confused like "oh? how did that get in there? lol?" And my sister tried to explain that it's because his head was nasty as hell because he never washed it. I just sat there and looked at him like >_> I seriously wonder where the other half of that roach went. It probably got tangled in his dirty ass hair and just gave up and died. ugh.
Omg, Curly Q! That gives new meaning to having your wig snatched!
I am crying with laughter about the Easter Bunny too.
ok i googled and now i'm itchy. lol. kenny what the …? good lawd i would have never been the same if i found that creature anywhere near me –let alone my hair.
and you know when you tell folk NOT to DO something they gon' do it. i'm still itchy. lol
I've found some twigs and a dead bug in my fro the first time I went natural. Once when I was playing the Easter bunny wearing the giant head and all. I wasn't in the thing long like 5 to 10 min and I thought I felt some thing crawling on me. At first I thought it was sweat so I ignored it until i felt it moving side ways across my neck. I don't think the kids ever saw an Easter bunny move so fast. I didnt take the head off in front of them. didn't want the kids to freak. took the the head off and ants there were ants on me and in my hair. I made sure they didn't store the costume on the floor anymore.
thankful i already knew what geji geji is due to my japanese roommates. no need for google lol. once in a blue moon we have one of those running around our apartment. GROSS!
I googled geji geji. I should have heeded the warning. But I'm not even gone read yall comments today. It's late and babe is already asleep.
One time I went snorkeling in Jamaica with my loose afro. When I got out of the water and was running my hands through my hair I went to pull out a piece of debris that was stuck in it and found that it was a crab.
I remember this story from my Mom – nearly 40 years ago!
St. Louis, Missouri,Herzog School crossing guard at the corner. Mom's chatting with her and observes an insect crawl from the grommet on the lady's uniform cap.
"Oh! You have a bug on you, Mom says" Guard lady reaches at it, "Oh, that's just a lil' ligtnin' bug". Mom gives the side eye -______- cause we all know a roach when we see one!
AW HAYULL NAW! This is some BOOLSHYT! I was over here readin' and screamin'! And I'm a hypochondriac, too?! *scratching* Y'all got me ready to shave my head on general principle right now, but I think I'm just gonna go wash the hell outta my hair right now.
This does, however, remind me of a story:
My parents moved to Texas a few years ago. I'm a California girl, born and raised, and as such, I don't see insanely large bugs here often. Anyway, it's hot and sticky in TX, and my mom and I decide to go walk the dog at a crowded neighborhood park in the cool of the night. That night I was wearing a wig. I look up at the trees in the park we were had walked under and there were these HUGE balls of spiderweb suspended from each one– something BIG was moving in each ball. At the same moment, I coulda SWORN I felt something moving in my hair under the wig. Honnnnnnney, BUMP acting lady-like…. I snatched that wig off my head and started shaking the SHYT out of it! My mother looked at me as though I'd lost my mind. Hell, even the DOG stopped and turned to watch me freak out! And suddenly, everybody in the park was quiet and looking at me like I was nuts. Forget them… I didn't know anybody; I was flying back to CA. ALONE.
My mother STILL teases me about that night.
*digging for some bleach* Ugh. Wow. Damn.
Annnnnnnnd… I'm washing. Y'all carry on, 'cause now I'm intrigued by these stories.
Wow I thought black people couldn't get lice, that it only pertained to white people? learned something new. Glad to know that your kids are doing better.
scariest hair story ever for me was when my kids got lice from daycare. they had been swimming everyday and between the chlorine and washing the chlorine out it stripped the oils from their hair and made them prime targets for lice. and my kids have a LOT of hair. one fell out from my son's head onto the table. i looked in his hair and FREAKED THE EFF OUT. kids were crying, i was crying… smh lol. i got some clippers and shaved his head. but i couldn't do that to the girl. used the lice shampoo which stunk and didn't even work. finally just poured some acv over her head in the shower and they all just starting literally jumping and falling from her hair as i combed. then soaked her hair in olive oil, left it on all day under plastic bag to smother the remainders and lubricate the hair so i could go thru with this teeny tiny comb and remove the nits. had to do it 3 times before i was content they were gone smh. i'm traumatized and that was like 5yrs ago!
Some people need to lighten up.
Dear non-naturals,
It is not normal to have bugs in kinky hair. The experiences mentioned above are unique to their situation. We have no idea how often their hair is being washed, detangled, cared for, etc. Just like lice can occur when people are not practicing good hygiene and carefully caring for their hair, I guess people can obtain a spider's nest in their head as well.(wtf)
Anyway, I am just trying to not feed into the stereotype that natural hair is unkempt, dirty and has bugs in it…. smh..
This is their experience. I've never EVER had bugs in my hair.
this can't possibly be any type of ammunition for people to use because this can be all type of hair horror stories, permed, natural, colored, weaved etc etc…man my worst story to date is when I was at the doobie shop and they let a perm sit a little too long in my head. Man oh man my scalp burned…so many scabs too. When she went to spray the final olive oil sheen spray, I damn near screamed! SMDH…my scalp ever since then has not been the same and is extremely sensitive
I used to live in South Florida, where creatures abound. I had a weave in my extremely thick hair & I say that to point out that the cornrows were extra thick & I couldn't feel anything on my scalp.
Well I was fixing my hair for work one morning & I noticed a lick on the top of my head was sticking up. I smoothed it down with my hand & continued primping. I noticed the lick sprouted up again….confused, I smoothed it a second time.
A few seconds later, Alfalfa sprout was back. I grabbed a brush & as I raked it over the problematic "hair," a little black lizard/gecko/amphibious CREATURE fell in my sink. The level at which I screamed???!!!! If I hadn't had a weave, I'm sure I would've felt him crawl in there!
Ok, some of these stories are really nasty… People need to run water over their hair once in a while (worms?? *gag*). This is part of why I'm not espoused to preserving hair styles for eons, because then it motivates not washing hair for way too long. I can imagine hair getting buggy if you sleep in a place that is rife with bugs (very old house, open space in a very rural area), but you should be washing your hair out too regularly for them to take up residence. That's not right!
I agree with Anon at 6:01pm. This is a sign of poor hygiene- wash your hair boo! Gross.
OMG I wanna google it soooo bad lol…im being smart and not doing it tho cuz im already itching reading all yalls stories!!
I got my hair flat ironed at a salon so the stylist could trim it. There is now a section in the back,top left, and top right of my hair that refuses to curl back up. That was over 2 months ago. WTH? I'm not going to do that again.
I'm sorry,but if you got a bug living in your hair like it pays rent and utilities….you have poor hygiene. WASH or at least CO-WASH that stuff. Oil and protect your hair at night.It doesn't have to be a long, tedious routine.
Water rinsing after you have built up sweat and oil on your scalp is not enough homie. Your hair can't possibly smell good, or even neutral. Man this story was disgusting.
Okay, yall have got me cringing with your stories about live worms, ticks and the ugly looking geji geji in yall's hair! By the way Nikki, you only have to tell me once, I will NOT google the Geji Geji.
I big chopped in January, so I still have a twa and co-wash everyday, but before my hair was long enough to twist at night I would just sleep with it out on a satin pillow case. As I was washing my hair my finger passed over a large bump that hurt like hell. I suspect I was bitten by a spider which mean it was crawling around in my hair. Lot of spiders where I live. Now I twist and cover my hair every night.
I used to go running in the woods but I stopped after finding a tick on my dog. Later that night I'm on my laptop and what falls onto it??? A tick (I'm pretty sure it was in my fro but can't say for sure). And what does my ex-boyfriend find on his testicle the next day??? A tick. No lie people. My degree is entomology so I wasn't bothered that much just paranoid about any others being on my head.
IMO, discussions like this add fuel to the ignorance that many uninformed people already have about natural hair…that it's somehow unhygenic and difficult to keep clean. Whether the stories are fact or fiction, they're dangerous amunition in the hands of people who are already hating on natural hair. Even I'm starting to feel a bit paranoid about what might be lurking in my fro. I think I'll start washing my hair twice a week instead of once!
I.AM.NEVER.EVER.EVER.GOING.TO.JAPAN.WITH.A.FRO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (or without even.period!)
That creature is absolutely horrible! How I loathe creepy crawlies!! Thanks Nikki, now I have to go and spend the night at my sister's flat tonight!
I want my Mummy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Btw – flat protective styles from now on, just in case……………
Ummmmm YUCK!
Haha that live worms story is super bad. And I can't deal with any large bugs especially roaches. The crunch they make when you step on them makes me shudder..
A cousin of mine went to stay the summer in SC with her daddy's family and her mom did her hair in little plaits so they would not have to comb it but she told my cousin to wash her hair every week and after she went swimming,Well after she got home to LA, she saying her head was hurting so when my aunt to take her braids out she found…….ticks. the ticks have been there since the last time they went camping which i told her black people do not go camping and this why sleeping outside is not right! Anyway, they test her for Lyme diesese and she was negative but she was on meds for a spell . So to y'all i say check you head and happy Halloween.
Not really surprised there was a geji geji in his hair. He said in one of his posts that he likes to exercise and leaves his hair sweaty for days because it helps the shape of his hair. He also said he doesn't wash his hair, just pours water on it a couple times a month. Why wouldn't there be a geji geji in his hair?
DON'T GOOGLE IT! JESUS CHRIST
Oh my god, I thought the centipede was bad. But then reading further down and saw the post on the live worms in the girls weave in "Florida Evans" voice "Damn,Damn, Damn". How could she not feel those or even when she touched? or scratched her hair did any fall onto her or the bed at night. I would have freaked at any of those things happening. The only thing that has happened to me esp. when the nats are out and I have found 2 or 3 in my hair. Their bad in Ga, but I have a fear of those roaches that fly, and the grandfather spiders. yuck ..
Why did I google???? why do they have to look like that? Im staying in England.
Why? WHY did I google geji geji?!
eeewwwwwwww…………
that's it lol
Yup…that live worms story just made me throw up in my mouth…smh…
Luckily i have no such stories…THANK GOD
Live worms!
I'm now frantically searching my head.
I'm sitting at my desk going to town scratching my head and I did not google geji geji! Whew, these stories are workin' my scalp.
omg I YouTube it and I would have thoroughly freak out. I'm so creeped out just thinking about this story.
Ewww… I heed warnings —- will not google, will not google.
CN, I think it was an urban legend. It spread to Fla as well. I think growing up in Fla I may still have residual raid in my system from my mom spraying roaches that sometimes came in after a hard rain!!
Missy, no freakin' way with the live worms!!
Fortunately (as I knock on wood) I have no such personal horror stories.
Ugh I google it. I am so creeped out. I would have had a heart attack if something like that got on me!
Several years ago, I heard of a rasta who found some poisonous spiders shacking in his dreads. Holy cow, I would fuhreeaak!!!
My mom owned a salon years ago and one of her customers came in with a weave she had rocked for 3-4 months. It was her first time putting a weave and she did not know how to take care of it. Due to her lack of knowledge, the lady hadn't washed her hair the whole time. As the stylist removed her hair, live worms fell out. YES….LIVE WORMS!!!! My mom bleached the heck out of her equipment and threw out the towels used. It was so disgusting!!!!
LOL @ Jade. Girl, I'm scared of all bugs. But roaches and centipedes take the cake. I'll give us all cancer spraying every can of raid I can find. I hate bugs!
@ anon, I assumed it was because of the age of our house. But the day Mickey Mouse walks his ass in here is the day I pack it up and move.
Nikki,
I did not need to know they run in pairs. There is only one thing in this world that I am irrationally, over-the-top scared of, and that would be centipedes. You warned against googling it, but i did it anyway and now I am SERIOUSLY regretting it. I am glad I have no hair horror stories of Kenny's caliber.
Our house attracts these all the time (it's an old house) so I have grown used to them. At least they eat other critters 🙂 I'd rather these than mice.
^^^^ hahahahaha! ^^^^
Went hiking in the forest. Got lost. Cried and wandered for hours.
When I made it out, I decided to wash my hair a den of spiders and one long legged creature (I think it was a silverback…) and an acorn fell out. Totemo kowai…
I felt what I thought was a creature crawling on my neck and I slapped my neck so hard trying to knock what ever it was off only to discover it was my hair LOL… I not only felt silly but I rocked red welts on my neck for a few days
I googled it – smh at myself. I immediately said "Aw hell naw!" in my office, at work.
I had a Japanese beetle fall from my twist out bangs into my lunch salad. I was grossed out and pissed about my spoiled lunch. It was pretty in color, but still, it invaded my space!
fro to branch height! #dead
0_0 yes, I googled it….similar but not a scary bug; I found a lady bug in there one time on wash day…and truthfully I brushed up against that branch days prior. Now I duck tree branches like the plague (No REALLY almost leaning all the way over just in case I miscalculate fro to branch height. LOL)
Kenny's story reminds me of a tale I heard in middle school about the girl with the dookie braids… remember? They had been in too long, so long that a spider built a nest in there… then the eggs hatched and like ate a hole through her skull? Ask anyone in STL if they heard that story and I'm sure they'll say yes, lol. I'm guessing it's an urban legend… or some extreme over-exaggeration.
sorry Nikki, I googled it and all I can say is "you gotta be kidding!" what was that thing doing in her hair?
Ugh, I know it said DO NOT Google, but of course I did. *shudders* I'm regretting it now!
I walked in the kitchen yesterday and there was a centipede above the sink. I slowly backed out and found hubby. I googled them and it says they run in pairs… haven't found his accomplice yet. They're creeeepy!
Did I hear some where that they're good luck?
A centipede!! I hate those! Now I am itching.