It's surprising how many myths about hair we believe. Or maybe it isn't, when you consider how important our hair is to us. We're willing to believe and try pretty much anything in the pursuit of lovely locks. But some of these ideas simply won't work and could even damage our hair. Here are some of the myths about hair that you shouldn't believe …
1 Changing Your Shampoo
One of the myths about hair is that your hair 'gets used' to the same brand, so you need to change the brand you use regularly. You don't. If a shampoo works for you, you can keep using it. Otherwise you'll end up with lots of shampoo bottles you don't like and never finish.
Frequently asked questions
2 Daily Washing
Only wash your hair every day if it really needs it. You could actually make your hair greasier through overly frequent washing. So you'll then get stuck in a cycle of washing it every day. Another common problem through excessive washing is that you do the opposite and strip the natural oils out of your hair. Stick to washing it every couple of days.
3 Going Grey
We've all heard the stories about people who experience a great shock and go grey overnight. But there doesn't seem to be any real evidence of that. The time when you start to go grey is largely down to genetic factors - look at your parents and how old they were when they started to go grey for an idea of when you're likely to follow.
4 Trimming
If you're trying to grow your hair, you may be tempted to have more frequent cuts to 'make your hair grow faster'. This doesn't happen. Hair grows at the rate it grows and you can't speed that up. Regular trims will remove split ends and avoid the need to have lots more chopped off because of damaged hair. But it won't speed up the rate at which your hair grows and turn you into Rapunzel.
5 Wet Hair
Have you heard the old tales that you shouldn't go out with wet hair as you'll catch cold? Don't worry if you're running late and have to leave the house when your hair isn't quite dry - you won't catch cold because of it. You'll only catch a cold through transmission of germs.
6 Lots of Lather
Shampoo manufacturers often advise that you shampoo twice. Well, of course they would - you'll use the bottle up twice as fast and have to buy more! A single lather is quite sufficient to clean your hair, and you don't need to lather endlessly. Just use one application, and make sure that you have rinsed all the shampoo out of your hair.
7 Cold Water Rinse
Brrr! A cold water rinse will certainly wake you up in the morning, but it won't do anything for your hair. It won't smooth your cuticles and make your hair shinier. You'll need conditioner for that, so condition after shampooing with a wash-out or leave-in conditioner, and spare yourself the cold-water treatment.
We all want our hair to look great, but that won't be achieved by believing stories like needing to brush your hair 100 times before bed (though hopefully that one's fallen out of fashion). What is the silliest idea you've heard about hair?
