The quest to have a great and beautiful hair is paved with bad habits and wrong decisions that can make your efforts fall on the ground with your strands attached to them. At the base of these wrongdoings are more often than not hair myths that continue to prosper and to be passed down between generations.
10 common hair myths that are ruining your hair
If you want your hair to grow longer but to remain strong, shiny and beautiful, the first step is to get these common hair myths debunked. They can either harm your hair or make you waste your valuable time for nothing.
Myth: Brushing your hair frequently will make it stronger
Truth: Brushing helps to distribute the natural oils through the hair strands and the soft pulling can even stimulate the blood flow on the follicles, but you should only do it when you need it.
Overbrushing can create friction and frizz, which eventually can lead to hair breakage.
Myth: You need to keep switching shampoos for them to be effective
Truth: If you found a new brand or product you like, go ahead and make the switch but it’s a matter of personal preference. The shampoo will not lose efficiency with time nor will your hair get used to it.
You might notice an improvement after switching shampoos but only because they have different nutrients and are complementing necessities you didn’t know your hair had until then.
Myth: Trimming makes your hair grow faster
Truth: Your hair grows out of your scalp. Trimming the tips won’t do anything to promote hair growth and it will not affect the follicles.
This myth stems from the fact that hair tips become weaker and thinner as time goes by. Therefore, cutting them makes the hair look fuller and more voluminous, which might create the perception that it is growing faster.
Myth: Dying your hair will make it weaker
Truth: Bleaching your hair will definitely harm your locks. Dyeing? It depends on the products you use, their ingredients and if it is done properly or not.
Some dyes can certainly dry your hair and injure the strands or even the scalp. However, there are also soft formulas that are hair-friendly. Darker colors can even create the appearance of a fuller and longer hair.
Myth: Air-drying is better than blow-drying
Truth: Exposing your hair to high temperatures, such those of a blow dryer, can overdry it and even burn the strands. However, air-drying is not perfect either.
The hair takes longer to dry if it’s left to do it naturally. This means that the strands and the follicles will remain in a moist environment for long which can weaken them and even promote infections.
The best solution is to use a mix of both methods. Just use a blow-dryer set for room temperature or cold to dry the hair faster without having to expose it to heat.
Myth: Dirty hair grows faster
Truth: You might be refraining from washing your hair regularly to avoid stripping it from its natural oils and thus keep it nourished to grow faster. While this is a valuable reason, it is not how hair works.
The hair grows out of the scalp, so that’s where your heart should be. The fact that your locks look stronger and more nourished doesn’t mean anything for the follicles, it only reduces the chances of breakage.
If you don’t wash your hair frequently enough, the grease and dirt that accumulates can block the follicles and the pores, restraining growth and increasing the risk of infections.
Myth: You should wash your hair every other day
Truth: You should wash your hair whenever you need to. Each individual is different and there isn’t one single rule that applies to everyone.
If you feel and see your roots greasy, then it’s time to wash your locks. Depending on the person, this can mean washing your hair every day or once a week.
If there is no grease or dirt, then skip the washing or you might dry out your hair and leave it unprotected. Your roots are your guide.
Myth: If you have dandruff, you should wash your hair less
Truth: People tend to associate dandruff with a dry scalp since the skin is flaking. Nevertheless, oily skins are the ones more at risk.
Dandruff is the natural reaction of the body to fight a type of yeast infection that thrives in oily environments. Washing your hair more often with a suitable product can thus help to fight the infection while removing the conditions for the yeast to flourish.
Myth: Washing the hair frequently with shampoo can lead to shedding
Truth: Not washing your hair frequently enough can lead to shedding, shampooing has nothing to do with it.
Harsh shampoos and products can damage the hair and cause breakage, but they have no correlation with hair loss. You see more hair coming out of your head while showering because the water and the shampoo loosen the strands. That hair was going to fall down anyway and it was already loose.
Myth: You can’t use oils on an oily hair
Truth: You can and you should as some are precious sources of nutrients that help you restore the shine, elasticity and softness to your hair. They can also reduce frizz.
The trick is in where you apply the oils. If your hair it’s oily, it means your scalp is oily, so you should apply the nutritive oils only from the middles of the strands towards the tips. Stay away from the scalp.
Understand why these are myths
These myths keep prospering mostly because people don’t understand how hair growths. There is a lot of talk about the scalp and the follicles and nutrients, etc.; buzzwords that don’t mean anything unless you understand the basic process behind it.
Grey hair, for instance, is also prone to these myths since it is a common worry for everybody. A famous myth is that if you pluck one gray hair, two will come out in its place. Anyone with a basic understanding of follicles knows that this is impossible and unrelated to the fact that the hair is gray or not.
The more knowledgeable you are, the fewer chances you have of being conned or tricked into doing something that is actually harmful when your intent is to improve your well-being.
