HAIR MYTHS AND TRUTHS

Cutting your hair frequently makes it grow faster

Hair growth occurs at the roots, not at the ends, so cutting the ends doesn’t affect the follicles that help the hair’s growth. But it does eliminate the dry/split ends which cause pulling/physical damage to the hair because they are like fish hooks. Getting a trim every 8-12 weeks help keep those split ends away, your hair still get longer but feel better in between and appear fuller.

Shampooing damages your hair

How often we cleanse our hair should depend on our hair type, lifestyle. If it’s oily at the roots, wash it. If not, wait another day or two until it feel greasy again. Make sure you use professional products that purchased in salons or beauty supplies (if your hair is important to you and you care enough). Not washing enough can even lead to buildup of dead cells, product resudue, oil – can cause inflammation.

Stress cause gray hair

If so, we’d be all gray by highschool already! Graying is determined mostly by genetics and aging. As we age, our body naturally produce less melanin (the molecules responsible for our hair’s color), when there is no color pigment, the hair come in gray. Stress does speed up aging and fallout process but there is no strong scientific evidence that it causes our hair to turn gray. Why stress over it?

Plucking gray hair makes it grow back more

Again, gray hairs are determined by genetics and aging. They come when it’s time, despite you pluck them or not. Plucking just make them grow back short and sticking up. Too much plucking can lead to thinning and scalp damage. Just let mother nature do her thing (or maybe your hairstylist)

Air dry is better than blow dry

Not always. Long and processed hair keep a lot of water, means it’ll take long time to air dry, it can swell up and put pressure on the protein that keep our hair intact, potentially causing more damage than heat styling. Plus that wet hair is more stretchy and easier to break, especially if you sleep with it or tie it up. Best bet? Dry it with medium/low heat setting, hold the blowdryer 6-10 inches away and move it continously to avoid heat at one spot for too long.

Conditioner makes hair greasy

Greasy hair is not caused by conditioning your hair, it’s naturally caused by too much sebum being produced from the tissues of the scalp. If your hair is naturally greasy, use clarify shampoo and still can use conditioner on middles and ends (to smooth it out and easy to comb).

More brushing, healthier hair

True that brushing hair can help distribute the natural oils, detangle and reduce pulling. But too much and aggressive brush can create friction, cause more frizz and lead to breakage over time. Brush gently, start from the bottom, work your way up to the root slowly.

Change shampoo sometimes because it stop working

Shampoo comes down to personal preference and the hair’s current state. Volumizing shampoo contains proteins for extra volume, some have oils to hydrate the hair, some have stronger cleansing power for oily hair. Switch when your priority change. Otherwise, they work the same as they always have.

Dead hair can be fixed

Sad truth is, once the hair’s integrity is compromised, there’s no way to make it like new again. We have to prevent them in the first place by getting it trim regularly, do proper home care/styling, learn about some mistakes that can damage your hair by asking the experts. Once the hair is damaged, the only way is to cut it off and start fresh. Hair grows.

Can’t color your hair when you’re pregnant

If there is any risk, it’s inhaling the ammonia, not it being absorbed into the scalp. But the levels of ammonia are so low that it’s not a problem, especially when most salons hair industrial strength ventilation.

Even though some color lines claim that they are ammonia-free (just another way of marketing), still contain certain alkaline ingredients, which are closely related to ammonia (or else what will open the hair cuticle for the color to come in?). Keep in mind that when using ammonia-free products, you’re like ly to experience results that are less optimal than their ammonia-based counterparts.

Greasy hair don’t need more oil

Just don’t you apply oil to the scalp. Oils actually can add shine and control frizz. Professional oils can penetrate the hair’s cuticle and make it healthier. Every hair can use some type of oil. Keep in mind that most of them are heat-activated product, means you have to use blow dryer after applying it or else it won’t work as it should.