A Watchwoman's Warning: What's Really in Our Braiding Hair
Sometimes loving our temples means facing uncomfortable truths
Listen, me and box braids have had a great relationship my entire life. We started rocking together back in kindergarten, like a lot of little Black girls do. So, trust me when I tell you this isn't exactly the conversation, I wanted to have with y'all today. But I'm going to honor my assignment as a scribe and I'm going to make sure this is documented for the kingdom, because that's my job.
This title is very fitting for this post because literally, a fellow watchwoman in the body of Christ blessed us all by sending me this video as a warning to the women in the body of Christ. When it comes to the braiding hair that we love to use some of them may not be as safe as we thought.
I appreciate the warning of any watchman in the body of Christ because I know it's for my protection and safety. It is literally one of the ways that God, as a father, keeps me safe as his daughter—how often would he have gathered us together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings.
However, my flesh—which loves the things of beauty and fashion like any other one of the girlies— is disappointed.
I watched the video, and now a Consumer Reports investigation is revealing some seriously disturbing stuff about synthetic braiding hair that we need to talk about. They tested 10 popular brands and found cancer-causing chemicals in 100% of the samples. Every. Single. One.
Three products tested positive for benzene—a carcinogen so dangerous that even laboratories try to avoid using it. Lead contaminated 90% of the products, and there's no safe level of lead exposure. None.
Here's where it gets worse. When we dip that synthetic hair in hot water during installation—you know, standard practice—it releases volatile organic compounds that can mess with our eyes, throat, and lungs. We're talking concerning levels of toxic exposure over time.
Of the brands they contacted, only two responded. Sensationelle and Magic Fingers both said their products are safe and disagreed with the testing. But the evidence speaks for itself.
Scripture reminds us that our bodies are temples, and we're called to be wise as serpents about what we allow near us. The Hebrew word nakar means "to recognize" or "to discern"—and right now, we need that discernment more than ever when it comes to what we're putting in our hair.
If you use synthetic braids, check for recalls, read those labels, and limit how long you wear them. If you've had reactions, talk to your doctor and consider reporting it to the FDA.
This investigation highlights something deeper—there's a serious gap in safety oversight for products that we, as Black women and our children, use regularly. We deserve better protection than what we're getting.
Drop a comment and let me know what you think about all this.
OMG!!! I literally did a room about this. It was a consumer report about this that came out a while back girl yes !!! it’s not just braiding. Hair is weaves in general which means it includes wigs. I already threw away my human hair. I know I’m gonna have to throw away my synthetic wig, girl. I don’t even know what I’m about to look like in the streets🤣🤣🤣, but it’s a blessing in disguise because to be honest, a lot of of us have not learned how to take care of our own hair.
I also saw a recent video about a woman saying that you can go to hell for wearing wigs and enhancements and at first I was like that’s crazy but we do idolize these things and on top of that the human hair that gets sacrificed to idols we are literally coming into covenant with those idols so it actually makes a lot of sense! I think God is really trying to pull us out of this because I feel like I keep getting confirmation on all sides.