Woman Accidentally Discovers Hair Removal Cream In Hair Conditioner Her Friend Wanted Her To Use Before Birthday, Gets Blocked When She Confronts Her

It can be heartbreaking to learn that someone who you thought of as a friend actually has it out for you. They’re angry at you for some unknown reason, but instead of talking to you about it, they want to humiliate you and cause you genuine physical harm.

That’s exactly what happened to redditor u/UltraSecretAcc, who barely avoided chemical burns. She has been updating Reddit about an ongoing drama with one of her friends who had secretly put Nair, a hair removal product, into a conditioner she lent her, right before her birthday. Frightened, the young woman turned to her mother, friends as well as law enforcement for help. You’ll find the full story in the OP’s own words below.

According to WebMD, depilatory creams use chemicals to melt the hair, so there is a possibility of getting a chemical burn: “First-, second-, or third-degree burns can happen when hair removal cream is left on for an extended period of time. It’s most likely to happen in the groin area because the skin there is sensitive.”

You should only leave the cream on for the amount of time specified in the instructions. What’s more, you should only use it on the type of skin that the cream is designed for. If you feel any discomfort at all, take the cream off, and wash your skin with cold water. In some cases, you may need to seek medical help.

Depilatory creams have a very specific rotten egg smell that arises when it interacts with your hair.

Before you apply the cream to your entire body, do a so-called patch test. Put a small amount of cream on a patch of your skin and see how your body reacts to it. If it burns, rinse it off. And absolutely make sure that you don’t leave the cream on longer than you’re meant to.

If you find that your skin is a bit irritated after the hair removal procedure, add some moisturizing cream to the area afterward, but avoid using products that are scented.

If you ever find yourself in a situation where a friend or a relative is trying to cause you harm in incredibly sneaky or indirect ways, the straightforward approach would be to contact the person directly and have an honest conversation about what the heck is going on.

Try to stay firm but diplomatic—you need to figure out what’s happening and why. You don’t want the other person getting overly defensive, so try to avoid judging or accusing them (at least openly, yet). When you have some more information, you can act accordingly. For instance, they might want to get revenge against you for some imagined insult. You can clear things up if that’s the case. You find a compromise that works for both of you. And then you move on with your lives.

However… life rarely works out that way. Interacting with others is often chaotic and messy. Emotions spill over. People get lost in their motivations. And common sense seems to leave the room entirely. In some cases, there isn’t any rational reason why a pal of yours wants to make you lose your hair while you’re using conditioner.

They might just want to embarrass and hurt you for the sake of it. They might feel pleasure in causing others pain. Or they might have some serious mental health issues that they should work through with a therapist.

It can sometimes be hard to tell if someone is a real friend or merely just pretending to be one. The foundation for friendships is trust and mutual respect. Usually, your gut instinct is right whether someone is genuine or fake, but sometimes we like to give others the benefit of the doubt too much. We close our eyes to the truth.

Someone who gossips about you behind your back, ignores your pleas for help when you really need a hand, and isn’t there to celebrate your success with you probably isn’t a real friend. Fake friends also take advantage of you and don’t give back as much as they take from your relationship.

Moreover, if someone runs and hides at the first sign of trouble, leaving you to fend for themselves, they’re likely so-called fair-weather friends: glad to hang out when it’s all sunshine and rainbows, unwilling to make any sacrifices when the going gets tough.