Prepare yourself, ladies, I’m about to debunk some of the most common hair myths that you’ve likely heard and might even believe. There are some pretty far out hair care tips out there and while some of them truly work, some won’t do much of anything to help the health of your hair. I don’t know where or how these hair myths start, but we’re going to put a stop to them today! Before you pick up that hair tool you’re going to want to read up on these common hair myths so you don’t get caught up in the hair hype.
I’ve never been one of those people who were always on top of their hair cut schedule. So it’s kind of a relief to know that frequent trims helping your hair grow is one of the more common hair myths. I’m all for trimming off dead ends and having a stylish cut, but frequently trimming your hair in order to get it to grow never made much sense to me. Getting trimmed is important to keeping your hair healthy, but unfortunately it won’t help you on your mission to grow your hair out. Hair pro Jenny Cho of Suave Professionals says that hair grows about a ½ inch every month on average, irrespective of whether you trim it or not, so every 8-12 weeks is sufficient to keep hair looking good.
I used to believe that I had to switch shampoo and conditioner on occasion in order to prevent my hair from getting used to using the same products. Boy, was I wrong. It turns out that if you like a specific hair care product and it works well for you, there’s no reason not to continue using it. Most times when our hair doesn’t seem to be behaving as well as it used to, residue and build-up are to blame. Wash your hair with a clarifying shampoo every couple of weeks to help get rid of build-up and your hair should be back to its normal self in no time.
I try to avoid doing too much to my hair while it’s wet to begin with since it’s at its weakest state, but there are times we need to run a comb through there. Whenever you detangle wet hair, make certain you use a wide-toothed comb and start combing your hair from the bottom-not the top. Starting from the ends and working your way up will put less stress on your tresses and prevent pressure and breakage.
This next hair myth might not be as common as the others, but it’s still something to keep in mind. No matter what type of hair you are born with, there is no guarantee that you’ll live out the rest of your life with the same hair texture. According to board certified dermatologist Joel Schlessinger, MD, hair goes through various stages caused by medications, stress, age and hormones, so your once coarse hair can later be fine or your waves can eventually become straight.
I started seeing some grey hairs in my late 20s and even my hairdresser at the time blamed it on stress. Turns out that there isn’t any hard evidence that links stress to grey hair and it could much more likely link to other factors, such as genetics or even certain illnesses. So while there is no conclusive evidence that points to stress as a contributing factor to hair turning grey, stress can cause a variety of other symptoms so it’s worth it to keep it in check!
What could be more awful than finding a grey hair? Waking up to find two more grey hairs as a result of plucking it out! Well, we can relax knowing that plucking grey hairs won’t cause more to grow back. Plucking out a hair of any color causes the hair follicle to reproduce a hair, not 2 or 3. Most hair experts will warn against plucking out greys since it can irritate your scalp or even cause a bald spot with continued plucking.
There are tons of hair care products out there that promise to mend or get rid of split ends, but it’s simply not true. Once your ends split, there’s not really any going back. The best way to get rid of split ends is to get a trim and use a good conditioner to keep hair hydrated. There are products that can help make split ends and damage less noticeable, but the best way to get rid of dead ends is to cut them off.
If you’ve ever believed any of these or some of the many other popular hair myths floating around, you’re not alone. I too hear these “facts” from various sources and follow them as hair care is serious business for me! What other hair myths have you heard?
Sources: stylelist.com, womansday.com, oprah.com, elle.com, goodhousekeeping.com, cnn.com