'Scab' hair-transitioning

[x0h_bother]

Hello, I recently encountered a new term, 'scab hair.'
What I believe it to be is a line of demarcation between damaged hair and regrowth. Damaged hair can be by bleach, dye, relaxers, texturizers, perms, or heat damage. The new growth does not act the same as the damage, and each section combs differently. Combing through the line of demarcation results in a snag. The idea is to grow out until there is no more damage.
I recently quit flat ironing (once every so often now) about a year ago after two years of daily use. I am wondering if this is happening to me. Lately I have had terrible snags I never got before. They are not at the bottom, but near the top- middle of my head. What do you all think? And has this happened to you?

[Kathie]

I have ~10 inches of damaged hair on the bottom half, this hair was bleached blond and ironed twice a week. My non-damaged roots are around 6 inches long. I don’t get combing snags at the "scab" line but I do notice tangles in the shower from where the damaged hair starts.

[Sundial]

I have issues with that too but my damage was mainly from perming/straightening/bleaching/high heat. The lower half of my hair had a tendency to tangle and needs to be handled differently from the upper half (virgin hair).

What I have realized in my case is that tangles mainly occurred from two sources: bent hair ends that keep snagging the other hair strands, and lint/dust causing tangles. To keep out the first, I have been ruthlessly S&Ding every single bent strand and the former is no longer an issue. As for lint, I just try to comb through my hair gently and when I encounter a tangle that seems to be caused by a lint, I try picking that out first before untangling the rest of the strands. I have also tried reducing oiling to the night just before a wash so as not to attract too much lint/dust.

I'm not sure if your situation is the same as mine though. It might also help to use a heavier conditioner on the lower half/more damaged parts and baby it more. S&D and a microtrim also helps :flower:

[lacefrost]

As far as I know scab hair is the hair that grows out once you stop putting chemicals on your scalp, not from heat damage. But your hair probably is behaving differently because of heat damage. Your new hair is all healthy and happy and the heat damaged hair is weaker and probably a slightly different texture. So while it may not necessarily be scab hair, I think you're right in that each kind of hair wants to be handled differently. I found that when I was growing out my perm (chemical straightener) and the curly hair was coming it, it was a pain in the butt! At least at first and then I figured out what worked best for both hairs. In my case it was detangling in sections, tips to roots, while my hair was wet/damp/conditioner soaked.

[x0h_bother]

As far as I know scab hair is the hair that grows out once you stop putting chemicals on your scalp, not from heat damage. But your hair probably is behaving differently because of heat damage. Your new hair is all healthy and happy and the heat damaged hair is weaker and probably a slightly different texture. So while it may not necessarily be scab hair, I think you're right in that each kind of hair wants to be handled differently. I found that when I was growing out my perm (chemical straightener) and the curly hair was coming it, it was a pain in the butt! At least at first and then I figured out what worked best for both hairs. In my case it was detangling in sections, tips to roots, while my hair was wet/damp/conditioner soaked.
I got my information from this website http://www.tightlycurly.com/answerbank/ that says this about Scab hair and heat damage:
"If you are experiencing a tight mat of hair at your scalp when you are trying to grow out very damaged hair, such as hair from a relaxer or any other chemical damage, you might have "scab" hair. (Flat irons can damage hair to the point it acts like it has a chemical on it. Flat irons don't mess around. In fact, one girl that I demonstrated how I would do my hair on the Growing It Out (http://www.tightlycurly.com/GrowItOut.aspx) page had lost her curl due to flat irons alone)..."
"...Once more of my natural hair grew in, the mat moved down until my hair was long enough that I could cut it off. I've heard people refer to it as "scab" hair, and I think that's a great way of looking at it: like your hair was hurt with the chemicals, and now it's healing, and soon it is all better and happy, and then you'll start to see your curls coming in. So the "scab" is the area where the new growth and the damaged hair are attached to each other, and is not what your real hair will be like. Your real hair will follow the scab hair, just like brand new skin is beneath a scab where you were hurt...."