baldroomie

by Kim Martin
(Lexington, North Carolina)

As a college freshman, I was told that I could get a girl on the hall to relax my hair for ten dollars before homecoming weekend. She was supposed to be great.

She put a BANTU super strength relaxer in and my head was on fire. As she rinsed it out, with my head over the tub in the hall bathroom of the dorm, I could feel my forehead burning up. When my head came up out of the tub, I could feel a coolness on my forehead. My roommate and the girl that was perming my hair, had their mouths wide open.

I asked what was wrong and they said, oh, hell your head and my roommate said, oh hell, your hair. I looked in the mirror and all of the skin was off the center of my forehead and my hair was gone about a quarter piece of it above the burn on my forhead. I screamed.

I COULD SEE THE WHITE WHERE THERE WAS ONCE SKIN.

I knew that I had some serious burns and my hair was gone. I had to go to Kroger's grocery store for burn ointment immediately and the next day to a salon for a conditioning treatment and haircut(bangs) to cover the burn and the bald spot. Of course, I cursed everyone out that told me this girl was so good and my roommate nicknamed me baldroomie. That wasn't funny, but I have never trusted anyone, but a licensed beautician since then.