Candles are NOT a Long Hair's friend...

[Nicole.Amina]

I've been gone from the boards for a while, but what brought me back was an incident that happened last night that made me think of a link I saw on the boards a looooong while back.

I work in a restuarant as a hostess. A table asked me to take a picture of them. I couldn't get them all in the picture so I leaned back slightly, not realizing that my short stature and my waist-length (WHILE CURLY! tailbone when straight) hair was dangerously close to the candle on the table behind me.

When I straightened up, someone started screaming and my back started to feel hot and I realized my hair was, in fact, on fire. For the second time in my life. A customer's quick reaction put the fire out without any harm to my body or clothes. My hair was another story.

After stinking the entire dining room and bar/lounge with the stench of burning hair, I ran to the bathroom and started pulling out chunks of hair. Thinking I'll just get a haircut in the morning, I tied it up and laughed off the situation because it could have went a LOT worse and I was just glad I wasn't burned. I went home, snipped off a curl or two that looked singed, shampooed and conditioned, pulled out a few more curls in the shower, gelled my hair and went to sleep with it wet. In the morning I woke up, scrunched out the gel and.... my hair looked fine. The ends aren't any different than usual, the texture hasn't changed. My hair simply looks like I got a haircut. At work today, everyone who was working the night before thought I had gone to the hair salon before work and gotten it professionally cut.

Which brings me back to the link about getting a haircut by fire that was posted many moons ago on LHC. Not that I would ever, ever, EVER deliberately set my hair on fire, the whole situation just made me think of the video and reminded me of LHC.

I posted before and after pictures in my album. They were taken with an iPhone but I'll take and upload better pictures when I get a chance. I went from waist to just short of BSL in a matter of seconds. Two years worth of growth! But... I keep telling myself it's only hair and it'll grow back :rolleyes:

[MeganE]

I've been gone from the boards for a while, but what brought me back was an incident that happened last night that made me think of a link I saw on the boards a looooong while back.

I work in a restuarant as a hostess. A table asked me to take a picture of them. I couldn't get them all in the picture so I leaned back slightly, not realizing that my short stature and my waist-length (WHILE CURLY! tailbone when straight) hair was dangerously close to the candle on the table behind me.

When I straightened up, someone started screaming and my back started to feel hot and I realized my hair was, in fact, on fire. For the second time in my life. A customer's quick reaction put the fire out without any harm to my body or clothes. My hair was another story.

After stinking the entire dining room and bar/lounge with the stench of burning hair, I ran to the bathroom and started pulling out chunks of hair. Thinking I'll just get a haircut in the morning, I tied it up and laughed off the situation because it could have went a LOT worse and I was just glad I wasn't burned. I went home, snipped off a curl or two that looked singed, shampooed and conditioned, pulled out a few more curls in the shower, gelled my hair and went to sleep with it wet. In the morning I woke up, scrunched out the gel and.... my hair looked fine. The ends aren't any different than usual, the texture hasn't changed. My hair simply looks like I got a haircut. At work today, everyone who was working the night before thought I had gone to the hair salon before work and gotten it professionally cut.

Which brings me back to the link about getting a haircut by fire that was posted many moons ago on LHC. Not that I would ever, ever, EVER deliberately set my hair on fire, the whole situation just made me think of the video and reminded me of LHC.

I posted before and after pictures in my album. They were taken with an iPhone but I'll take and upload better pictures when I get a chance. I went from waist to just short of BSL in a matter of seconds. Two years worth of growth! But... I keep telling myself it's only hair and it'll grow back :rolleyes:

What did you mean when you said you ran to the bathroom and started pulling out chunks of hair?

[Nicole.Amina]

What did you mean when you said you ran to the bathroom and started pulling out chunks of hair?

The ends had melted together. When I pulled at the ends they just came off in chunks. I hope that makes better sense...

[Jezerellica]

Oh hun, bummer. Yes! It will grow back! I'm so glad you were not hurt. Thank goodness for that persons observance and quick thinking! Who knew candles could be such a danger to long hair. I keep my candles high enough, I've never thought of it. Thanks for sharing your story and good luck growing!!

[MeganE]

The ends had melted together. When I pulled at the ends they just came off in chunks. I hope that makes better sense...

Yep I got it now. I'm sorry you lost so much length as you did, but I'm really glad you're okay!

I have wondered if fire can seal the end of the hair shaft, making it less prone to splits. You'll have to let us know if you find your hair splitting less than usual! :)

[Diamondbell]

Oh no! That' really sad that this happened. But I am glad too that you are not hurt :) Have to watch out for candles, door-handles and chairs!

[irisheyes]

So sorry this happened to you! Thankfully you were not seriously injured.

[clarinette]

This has happened to a coworker of mine 10 years ago....she had beautiful hip lenght hair, and yes, we had candles on the bar top. Who puts candles in a place full of drunk people anyway? She came back the next day with a pixie, everybody mourned her hair for a while.....
Sorry it happened to you!!

[Ishje]

I am glad you are ok! this sort of accidents are alway's scary.

[Azhtabak]

Oh no, that's horrible :( At least it wasn't even worse :(

What are you going to do with it now? Are you going to resume growing it out as it is, or have it trimmed to try and take off the damage?

[Curly Hermione]

Don't worry, you reached waist length before (nice going by the way, it can be tough for us curlys to get length!), you can do it again, hang in there!:)

[Alaia]

Phew! I was envisioning so much worse when I saw the title of this thread.

It sucks to lose the length but at least YOU are okay! Hair grows.

[Cawoline]

It happened to a friend of mine, I imagine it was very scary when you realised that your hair was on fire...I think that you were very brave to laugh about it !
I also know girls that trim their hair with a candle, but they are very careful and twist their hair a lot in order to keep the air out of the hair.

And as everybody is saying, it will grow back :)

[Automne]

Sorry it happened to you! Your hair is still very beautiful.

[newbeginning]

Thank goodness you're okay.

[chahuahuas]

I went home, snipped off a curl or two that looked singed, shampooed and conditioned, pulled out a few more curls in the shower, gelled my hair and went to sleep with it wet. In the morning I woke up, scrunched out the gel and.... my hair looked fine. The ends aren't any different than usual, the texture hasn't changed. My hair simply looks like I got a haircut. At work today, everyone who was working the night before thought I had gone to the hair salon before work and gotten it professionally cut.
....
I went from waist to just short of BSL in a matter of seconds. Two years worth of growth! But... I keep telling myself it's only hair and it'll grow back :rolleyes:


When you said you simply snipped off "a curl or two," I was thinking 'Awesome!! Minimal damage." I didn't realize how strong your curl pattern was, because wow. A curl or two in this case seems to make a huge difference in length. :(

I'm sorry you lost so many years worth of growth, but of course we're all glad you're okay!

[Nightdragon]

So glad you are all right! I've singed a few ends before on candles but nothing like that! Thank goodness you're ok!

[summergirl]

OH you poor thing. You have a great attitude about it though, and yes it was only your hair.

I can relate... a couple Christmas holidays ago I was clearing off the table. I had not put out the candles yet as desert was coming. I was lifting the turkey tray and the tendrils I have left down in front to flame my face caught on fire. I did not realize until I was halfway to the kitchen with a huge tray of turkey!

I dropped it and ran to the first source of water... dunked my head in the toilet. Thankfully just cleaned for guests- but still really gross. It was just a reflex reaction though, and I still think the right one.

I lost a roughly u shaped, palm size from the front of my head, my eyebrows and had 2nd degree burns on the lot. It was a not so fun holiday, besides the huge mess that dropped turkey platter made.

Flash forward to now- it appears that I have layers and actually looks kind of nice in my slightly wavy blonde hair. No visible scarring to my face either (though to me the skin up there feels thicker somehow), blessed natural miracle skin care products. I am grateful every day that it was NOT worse- I am a nurse and have seen the very serious extent and consequences of bad burns.

I seem to have lost my love of candle lit baths and scented candles though.. actually candles in general. Go figure!

So yes everyone- hair CAN BE a hazard so wair it securely up and all back if you are doing to be around any moving machinery, equipment, chemicals or fire!

[DecafJane]

Oh no! I'm really glad that your skin and scalp weren't burnt - you can still grow it out, as you said. Sorry for the lost length.

[heidi w.]

I am well aware of the pickles my hair can get me into.

IN a way, while the OP isn't hurt, this is also no laughing matter. Being aware of hair safety is VERY important, and a little-discussed subject on the boards.

We all tend to focus on the beauty of such hair, and not on the perils.

I wear my hair up when cooking cause even turning can cause a waft of the gas burners, or a couple of strands hitting the interior of a hot oven's inner door.

I even trained my dog to "go to bed" when I cook. I want no accidents because I tripped over the dog.

Fans can be a problem, and you have to be very careful.
Chairs can be problematic, office roller chairs.
Mowing the lawn...there's a blower aspect and a motor.
Working on cars.
Even seatbelts are problematic, and I always think about getting in an accident and somehow wrapped up in my hair (such as around my neck and it being pulled or caught in some way that I can't reach it to loosen it).

Wind is a problem.
I have a workplace that is a manufacturing setting with huge industrial sized fans blowing in work areas of machinery. I wouldn't dream of going in there with hair down.

Candles can be a problem.
Putting the groceries away and hair splayed on the floor, I can even step on my own hair and stumble (which I have).

Wear it up to be safe.

My mother taught me this lesson visually with a really stupid move on her part. She was a potter at the time and was grinding down on a machine grinder (the other half of which was a wire wisk) the bottom of a pot. She had her hair down and the blowing from that fast spinning flailed her hair about and a few strands led to being twined about the other half, the wisk part, and her whole head of hair was wrapped around within seconds. She screamed and my Grandpa jumped out and ran out to the garage and switched the machine off, but not before her face had just about hit the wisk grinder part!

He had told her a million times to put her hair up. She ignored him. She nearly paid with her life and her scalped head.

I've had my hair wrapped around roller wheels of office chairs, stuck in file cabinets and yanked, around doorknobs and handles....wear it up.

Besides the healthiest hair is hair that is benignly neglected and not in need of repeated detangling and smoothing of hair with the hands, and out of weather and such.

heidi w.

[FluffSpider]

I'm really happy it wasn't worse-don't worry, it'll grow back in no time!You have gorgeous hair!

I once read about this trimming technique which 'sealed' the end of the hair, thus preventing splits and/or delaying them. It involved 'hot' scissors-scissors purposefully heated up so that they'll seal the end. Did you just try a new trimming technique, missy?:p
Keep an eye on it-it may split less. If it does, let us know!

[Arrow]

I'm so glad you're alright and not badly hurt.

On the other hand, losing all that growth must have been upsetting, but you know it'll grow back :0) I hope you're feeling okay.

Arrow
>----->

[whitestiletto]

Im so sorry! Sounds like you are taking it better than I would have. I just looked at your album and I am sure your hair is still an object of envy, even shortened.

[ttverdy]

Oh no! That's something I'd never even thought of...

[Lostsoule77]

I'm so sorry this happened, but at least it was only your hair and not your skin. Plus your hair sitll looks gorgeous! I always try to be careful around candles, but mistakes always happen. This is a good warning to keep hair up. :)

[Mesmerise]

Wow! So glad it wasn't worse for you and you didn't lose more of your hair!

This is a GREAT reminder to be careful around candles. I've had two candle "incidents" in the past year (mostly because my DD9 loves candles...)

The first happened just after Christmas. We had three christmas candles on the table (they were little tea light candles in small jars) not even very dangerous looking. Well the fluffy cat jumped on the table and before we could stop her SAT on one of the candles! Fortunately her fluffy butt snuffed out the candle...but not before she singed her fur!! She moved VERY fast and I had to chase her to make sure she wasn't on fire!!

The other incident happened a couple of weeks ago. I had a candle shaped like a lamp. It was one of those ones where the wax is in a glass bowl, and it had this "lampshade" made of glass on top. Well my DD lit it, and promptly forgot about it (it was on the kitchen table)... in fact she'd said something to me about the candle and I'd forgotten too.

Now, this was a candle that I'd consider pretty "safe" as it has no naked flame. BUT we went out... and when we got home I smelled this burned smell. It turned out that the candle had somehow heated the glass bowl enough that the glass BROKE! There was melted wax all over the table, the candle was fortunately snuffed...but there was a hole burned in the tablecloth and a burn mark on the wooden table beneath. This candle was also REALLY CLOSE to a pile of paper. We are SO LUCKY that this candle didn't cause a LOT more damage! If the paper had lit, and the candle hadn't somehow been snuffed out before it could light anything else... well we could have had a house fire! It still freaks me out now when I think about it!

So ladies and gents, be VERY CAREFUL with candles, not just for your beautiful hair!!

[Kyla]

That sounds really sucky. :( I'm glad you weren't physically hurt though!

[paintedhorse]

oh my gosh! im glad you are ok! im very clumsy .. i fall down alot... this just reminded me of how extra careful i need to be around candles