It might not seem like it, but hair health is essential for overall health. When your hair is healthy, it’s a good indicator that your body is receiving and processing the nutrients it needs. However, in your quest to have healthy-looking locks, there might be information and practices you were led to believe are helpful but aren’t. What’s worse is that some of these myths are not only ineffective—they might be downright bad for your hair.
If you’ve fallen for the misconceptions we listed below, don’t worry because you’re not alone. Plenty of people have also trimmed their hair every month, thinking that this frequency helps the hair grow faster. But by debunking these hair myths, you can stop believing in them and start healthier hair practices instead.
1. Cutting your hair frequently makes it grow faster
One of the most widely-believed myths about hair is how frequently trimming it facilitates faster growth. Maybe because the bottom of the strands are susceptible to damage and people think cutting off the damaged part can help the hair grow better? Who knows? However, there’s no truth to this. The science behind it is simple: hair growth happens from the follicles, the end attached to your scalp.
2. Wearing a wig or a hat can cause hair loss
Many people believe that donning hats and wigs cuts off blood circulation to the scalp, causing hair loss. But this is just an old wives’ tale. Hair loss results from many things like genetics, but not merely wearing accessories. So you can wear a hat or tape in some skin weft hair extensions anytime without needing to worry about going bald.
3. Stress results in gray hair
Plenty of people think that they get more gray hair strands when they’re stressed. However, scientists have already debunked this myth. According to Harvard Health Publishing, the “graying” of the hair simply means the strands are going through the natural cycle of death and regeneration. Because the follicles produce less color as they age, gray strands start to grow.
4. Plucking a strand of gray hair means more will replace it
Speaking of graying hair, another myth associated with this is how plucking one gray strand leads to two (or more) growing in its place. Again, this is simply an old wives’ tale. For one, only one strand can come from one follicle. And second, gray strands pop up as a part of aging, not because you’re plucking them.
5. You should brush your hair 100 times a day
Every girl who wished to have long, luscious locks believed that brushing the hair a hundred times a day results in healthier hair. Unfortunately, this is only a myth and a potentially damaging one at that. According to hair care experts, excessive hair brushing or combing, especially when your hair is wet, can damage your hair cuticles, resulting in breakage. Yikes! Better leave the combing for when your hair needs detangling or a little touching up.
Not every hair is created equal, which means what hair care might work for you might not work for others and vice versa. But the ones above are straight-up myths you should stop believing so you can reduce the risk of damaging your tresses.
