Long Hairs Be Careful!

[Crumpet]

The other night I smelled that distinctive smell we all fear: burning hair

I immediately felt my bun...it was safe. While doing so a woman next to me was also checking her hair. We laughed at our paranoia. We asked the woman behind the bar what the smell was a bit later.

Burning hair.

A woman upstairs had caught her long hair on fire in one of the candles on the table. She lost a lot of hair (apparently). :demon:

I still feel terrible for her. And I thought I'd remind all of us to be careful with our hair, especially around candles and gas stoves!

Grow on, lovely ladies and gents!

[jt623]

I keep a few strands from my dead best friend, and I occasionally burn them for a purpose. It is over your head?

[Micayla47]

Thanks for the reminder Crumpet. I rarely wear my hair down because it's always getting caught in something!

[Kayto]

One time my friend wanted to burn the tag off of the inside of my shirt for some reason. I felt tugging on my shirt and I told her to get off of me. She caught my hair on fire and I started crying. I don't know what she was thinking when she did this, but I lost some hair because of it. I literally bawled my eyes out, got in the shower to get rid of the smell. that was so scary to me, and I was beyond mad at her. I still kinda have a hard time getting over it.

[GrowingOut]

One time my friend wanted to burn the tag off of the inside of my shirt for some reason. I felt tugging on my shirt and I told her to get off of me. She caught my hair on fire and I started crying. I don't know what she was thinking when she did this, but I lost some hair because of it. I literally bawled my eyes out, got in the shower to get rid of the smell. that was so scary to me, and I was beyond mad at her. I still kinda have a hard time getting over it.

Offense to your friend, because that was really @#$%ing stupid. (I'm not missing a No at the front, that was horrible idea.)

[Kayto]

I wanted to swear in that post when I wrote it but I feel bad being rude. It was really, really #$%$#ing stupid. I agree with you. I am afraid of fire now, not that I wasn't before.

[Stormynights]

Years ago I had an accident involving a turkey and one of those flimsy foil pans. Long story short, it looked like a ball of fire came out of the oven and hit me in the face. My glasses were immediately blackened so I couldn't see a thing. I was holding the turkey and I needed help setting it down because I couldn't see. My husband started slapping me in the head. I thought he lost his mind. He had never hit me before and here I was holding a hot turkey and desperate for help but all I got from him was rapid slaps to my head. When I finally got the turkey set down I ripped off my glasses and asked what the blank blank was wrong with him. I had after all saved the turkey. He just said, but your hair. He was trying to put out my hair. Needless to say my hair was short after that for a while.

[Kat]

Offense to your friend, because that was really @#$%ing stupid. (I'm not missing a No at the front, that was horrible idea.)

I'll say. Often these "someone's hair caught on fire" stories end with "and they suffered severe burns to their head, face, and neck." Especially since you don't know what flammable products (hairspray, oil) someone may have used on their hair that could make it worse.

[Kaelee]

This thread is scaring me.

I almost never wear my hair down, especially not in places with candles. If I do wear it down and there are candles around, I'm usually clutching it with one hand to keep it from going anywhere!

[Rushli]

I dont go many places with candles and now that I diffuse essential oils around the house, we dont burn candles. (we have a 3yo, 2yo and 3mo so candles were always up out of the way anyway.) A few days ago I was making flowers for my hair and was sealing fabric ends with a candle and I was super paranoid.

[Crumpet]

This thread is scaring me.

I almost never wear my hair down, especially not in places with candles. If I do wear it down and there are candles around, I'm usually clutching it with one hand to keep it from going anywhere!

Yeah, I felt bad starting a 'scary' thread, but the experience was a good reminder to me that we should all be careful and bun up around flames and I thought I'd pass that on to you all. Apologies for the grimness of the thread...

[Frida]

I'm a bit paranoid when it comes to fire and hair. Once when I was in the lab I almost set my hair on fire with a Bunsen burner. Right at the scalp too. I was concentrating on something else and just didn't notice how close the flame was until I felt the warmth against my forehead! I was so incredibly relieved that it didn't actually catch! I feel so sorry for that poor woman :(

[Ambystoma]

Oh yeah it's a fear of mine too - my ex boyfriend once caught one of his locs in a candle flame and after seeing how quickly it went up (he only lost the one loc though and no burns thank goodness) I've never gone near a stove or open fire with my hair down again! shudder:

[ReneeG]

So scary!!! Everything in this thread is scary!

I did this over the holidays actually... My mother in law lit a candle and placed it on the counter while my back was turned, and when I turned around and was stacking dishes from the table onto the counter I leaned right over it and my braid fell in!!! I smelled the burning hair immediately and put it out, so I was super lucky to have only singed the very ends of my braid. It was terrifying!! My MIL has had short hair her whole life and didnt get why I was so upset by catching my hair on fire... but it was horrifying even if the damage was pretty minimal. Needless to say, it had to go up into a bun because the smell was awful. Luckily, I had a trim scheduled the next day anyways and any singed ends went away with just the trim, no chunks missing or anything.

[Lostsoule77]

I'm frequently around burning candles, in my own home and elsewhere. I'm always super careful and hold my hair with one hand, if it's down. I'm scared something like this will happen though. Makes me feel real bad for that woman.

[tlover]

In a way I'm glad that I'm a Little bit to old to be in the Swedish Lucia train. I meen I do love the tradition but a part of that tradition is hair that is down near alot of Candles.
example
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51M4N6vB6VM

I know that it happent that some Girls get their hair couth on fire or faint (I was Close to fainting once) I Think out teacher was Close with buckets of water and blankets all of our lucia trains.

[stachelbeere]

tlover when I was a child I read this book about a exiled jewish girl with beautiful, thick, black hair who ended up in Sweden during WW2. And during that festivity a girl, who didn't like her, and was walking behind her singed her hair off...??? After that she cut her hair in a bob - but it was also partly because she wanted to.

Even if the candles don't burn your hair, what about the wax that is dripping down...? :shudder:

[HazelBug]

On a brighter note, a friend who desperately wanted to cut her hair off and I came up with a plan. We basically told her parents that she caught her hair on fire so it "had" to be cut. We saved some of the hair that we cut and burnt it so that the burnt hair smell would be on my friend. She was so happy for her haircut that day! And her parents only got upset at her clumsiness.

[tlover]

tlover when I was a child I read this book about a exiled jewish girl with beautiful, thick, black hair who ended up in Sweden during WW2. And during that festivity a girl, who didn't like her, and was walking behind her singed her hair off...??? After that she cut her hair in a bob - but it was also partly because she wanted to.

Even if the candles don't burn your hair, what about the wax that is dripping down...? :shudder:
they are actually Candles that have holes in them so that the wax won't be dripping down, not all use them (they are more expensive) but all make some cardboard "wax protection". But well you can't get them 100% so when the wax get to your hand you just smile and continue singing.

As I understand the most common way of getting burned is either by others (who might be more concern about their own hair) or if you faint.

[christiansummer]

When I was a kid, I was on a camping trip with my family and my demented little brother thought it would be hysterical to sneak up behind me and stick a flaming marshmallow in my long hair. It was the first time I remember smelling burning hair. I ended up losing less hair than I had feared, but it was enough to put me in tears.

[bunzfan]

I think this post shows why the victorians and edwardians always wore their hair up.. Back in the day when it was trendy to use gel and hairspray for big eighties hair someone put a cigarette to my hair for fun I lost all the hair down one side I'll never forget that.

[MissBubble]

That's good to remember. I burn candles at home very often and I keep in mind to have my hair away.

You can never know what might happen with your hair... A friend of mine lost her BSL ponytail the other day. :uhh:
She works at a school for kids 4-5. She accompanies them home with the school bus. She was seating at the front seat as always and as the back of the seats are low, her ponytail was behind it. The kid that was sitting there had a pair of scissors with her. You can imagine what happened... Half of the ponytail was cut.
My friend is at chin length now and she had no problem, she said that the kid was a cute girl that liked her hair and wanted to take and glue them to her own head... :rolleyes:

[T-Red]

Some years ago I had a gas fireplace that blew up on me when I lit it. I had a shaved head back then, but beards and eyebrows burn really fast too, so you know. Also burned off arm hair several times lighting brush piles. I switched to diesel from gasoline for my firestarter, and haven't had the 'woosh' experience since. But yea, everybody be careful. Hair burns fast and stinky, and grows back s l o w l y !

[ReneeG]

Some years ago I had a gas fireplace that blew up on me when I lit it. I had a shaved head back then, but beards and eyebrows burn really fast too, so you know. Also burned off arm hair several times lighting brush piles. I switched to diesel from gasoline for my firestarter, and haven't had the 'woosh' experience since. But yea, everybody be careful. Hair burns fast and stinky, and grows back s l o w l y !

Thats horrible! My dad had a similar experience though. He's a gunsmith and dropped some black powder on the garage floor one day and thought he had swept it all up. Well lo and behold a couple weeks later he was using a blowtorch and a spark fell and found some of that black powder that he had missed and POOF! He was missing the eyebrow, mustache, front of his hair, and the hair on his arm, all on one side. It took a long time to grow them all back and he had to shave off the other half of his huge bushy mustache so he wouldnt look like half of a walrus.

[ReneeG]

Some years ago I had a gas fireplace that blew up on me when I lit it. I had a shaved head back then, but beards and eyebrows burn really fast too, so you know. Also burned off arm hair several times lighting brush piles. I switched to diesel from gasoline for my firestarter, and haven't had the 'woosh' experience since. But yea, everybody be careful. Hair burns fast and stinky, and grows back s l o w l y !

Thats horrible! My dad had a similar experience though. He's a gunsmith and dropped some black powder on the garage floor one day and thought he had swept it all up. Well lo and behold a couple weeks later he was using a blowtorch and a spark fell and found some of that black powder that he had missed and POOF! He was missing the eyebrow, mustache, front of his hair, and the hair on his arm, all on one side. It took a long time to grow them all back and he had to shave off the other half of his huge bushy mustache so he wouldnt look like half of a walrus.

[elea]

hair ok, it grows back
now scalp... ouch!
hat on when fire juggling *;OD

[chen bao jun]

I burnt some hair off once at a gas stove, I was about five.
I am appalled at how many people, including mature people (mother-in-law) either see no problem with accidentally burning someone's hair off or with actually setting it on fire. This is worse even than than an unwanted haircut as you could be maimed, disfigured or killed from the fire. Where are people's brains?

[gossamer]

I caught a section of my hair on fire when leaning over a candle about a decade ago... I saw small flames flickering up the length, which was about classic then, and instinctually ran my closed fist down them and put it out. It could have been a disaster if I hadn't moved so quickly, and I don't know what told me that what I did was the right thing to do, but I'm so thankful for it.

Be careful, friends!

[Wisteria]

The second time I went to Mexico my mother, sister, and I slept in the same room it had no electricity so we burned a candle on the dresser. The ends of a few strands caught fire but my mom caught it before it could do real damage. I didn't even care, I was so nonchalant about my hair back then. Now I would so be freaking out.

My sister's teacher almost caught face-full of fire when he was young, he was spared... mostly, his eyebrows were never the same after that though. He's very fair, so it's hardly noticeable, but they're wispy and sparse.