I have had really short hair over two decades now.. ever since i got out of my mom’s changool ( trap ) of the whole oiling, pleating regime… hahaha.. she better not be reading this.. my single brief to any stylist cutting my hair was that, it should be maintenance free since i hate any strand of hair in my eye, hate to waste time pinning it up, making it fall over shoulders the right way, tying it up, forget pleating, blow drying or fussing over it every precious morning for even 15mins… morning time is meant to sleep..not for dealing with hair issues. So i conveniently have had super short hair that lets me wash it everyday, just run my fingers through my hair to get it in order and get out of home exactly 10 mins. Brilliant, i say!!
But now, kunju’s hair is growing and it seemed unfair to ALWAYS cut it off..Also, i decided, i should not be lazy.. she would look so lovely in all those fancy hair pins and bands… Soo… i have been growing it and picked up loads of fancy rubber bands. It took me a while to actually move the rubber band smoothly around her handful of hair.. especially since she does not exactly sit in one place allowing me to do the tying job.. if only she had know how new her mom is to hair tying, i am sure she would have pitied and sat graciously for hours just to help her mom in the struggle of using a band and dealing with hair that’s more than 2 inch long. But now, with this piece from mad momma, i am just super disgusted!!! Next time i struggle with her rubber band, apart from dealing with the wrigglyness of it all, i will be deeply yoicked wondering if my baby is carrying a used condom over her precious crown.
I appreciate recycling and regularly do a lot of it myself…but hello??? this is so superbly being penny wise and pound foolish!! isn’t this also presenting their state of mind and their intellectual level. It horrifies me to think that almost all the stuff we use are generally china made. Toys, household materials, bags, hangers, all sorts of plastic, accessories..blah..blah..blah.. the list is endless. So where does one go from here? I can go about cutting open all her rubber bands like a lunatic, but then what about the other china made stuff that might have a couple of used condoms just chucked into the machine casually???? One could always want to think positively that maybe they are passing these used condoms through huge amount of anti bacterial cleansers /soaps etc.. but again, how can we trust the brains that were running so short of ideas that they HAD to used condoms.. condoms??? Phew!! I am livid.
Can we look the other way hoping THIS problem doesn’t exist?? Nooooo… then what??? This is not just me going crazy over a condom made into a rubber band, this is a question of hygiene, diseases, infections, health and our dear lives. Let’s all pls spread the word and at least be aware. If any one can present thoughts, ideas, or solutions, pls be my guest 
mad momma is mad. and you are getting there too… any knowledge of science will tell you tha the hair band is not a washed condom, but recycled rubber – effectively that means that it is melted – normally happens at high temperature and then mixed with other ingredients for the desired colour, consistency etc and trust me the condom – used or otherwise is disinfected / destroyed/ altered….There is nothing of that condom there to talk about hygine/ infection etc.. Just like water running through your taps…Lakes or reservoirs from where the water reaches your tap… Imagine a woman with ‘chums’ decides to wash herself in one of the reservoirs or just chucks her used sanitary pad in, when no one is watching… you drink that water.. disgusting is it.. Also remember that the water travels miles through old (rusted)/ new (chemical treated) pipelines for miles and anything can happen.. yet we drink water everyday and rarely do you see infection despite it being consumed more often / everyday than rubber bands.. same way a condom that is recycled is disgusting but equally safe because of the process…. Disgusting I know.. I though i should not compromise on the effect….
Mad? sure.. we take great pride in being mad… but blind?? I doubt it.. can you not see the picture where it is clearly shown how a condom is wrapped to make a hair band.. It’s a horrible concept… are you trying to tell me that you are ok with using cotton swabs for any injury even if it may have been used in a sanitary napkin or used to treat other patients earlier but now its clean cause it gone through hajaar chemical treatments?
If you do, then good for you.. i certainly wont stand it!!
You are just being paranoid… recycling a used condom even as a rubber band is just not done and is not a feasible process… Ofcourse, they might use process rejects and recycle them as bands which is ok
Come to think of it… this piece shows no sign of design, thought process or emotions!!!
It’s a shabby write and a huge let down…
I thought I must be honest with the feed back..
It definitely gives me great relief to think that they just MIGHT be rejects and not USED after all… as always, you reassure and calm me with your point of view and big hugs to you for that
ok, just spoke to a friend who did a research project on recycling – all the recycled plastic bags coming out of Dharavi? They use the plastic from used sanitary napkins, condoms and such like…great motivation to turn eco-warrior and start using cotton!!!
Kunju’s mom: U bet!!
@ ganesh – ya pa.. you are free to give me your honest feedback.. good, bad, ugly!! As much as i never claimed to a good writer, and hardly ever correct typo errors or grammatical mistakes… i take comfort in the fact that my writing comes straight from the heart. Just like that… What you see is what you get… It is never meant to be designed really and expresses what i truly feel. In this case, it was pure disgust and ire. I guess the post shows that
I’m majorly squicked at the used condom-rubber band thing, but if it is really processed and washed and sterilized – no problemo.
Recycling, like all things, needs a limit. But if hygiene is ensured, bring it on!
Can we ever say anything at all about what comes from Dharavi!!!!!!! Obviously they will not waste any time or money in subjecting the stuff thru a process of cleaning or sterilising.
But we should be talking of the product coming from an organised process
@sabz: wow – do you have insider information on both MM’s sanity as well as the Chinese rubber band manufacturers? do share.
that said – the information isnt something i dreamed up. it was simply one that i passed on in all good faith – reported by two reputed sources of daily news. the photographs are displayed on the post though if you wish to doubt them, you have every right to do so.
but all said and done – no amount of disagreement can be taken seriously if your argument begins with calling another mad – dont u think so?