Hair Myths Demystified
April Fool’s Day has long since passed, but we thought of this blog around the idea of dispelling any foolish rumors and myths about hair. Here are the top hair myths that we’ve been debunking most recently in the salon.
Myth #1: Cutting your hair more frequently will help it grow faster. Grow faster? Not the case, after all your hair grows out of your head so why would trimming the ends make it grow faster? It’s a bit of an optical illusion! When your hair goes too long without a trim, the ends become more wispy, thin, and spit. When this happens, and if you have extra long hair for example, you ends could be right above your elbow, but they are so thin compared to the rest of your hair that the weight line looks like it’s ending about an inch or two higher. When you get a trim it evens out all those wispy ends and creates a stronger line at the end of your hair, which can actually make it look longer in some cases! We recommend a trim every 4-6 weeks if you want to maintain your current style and length, or every 8-12 if you’re growing it out.
Myth #2: All hair grows at the same rate. This one is good for our post-baby clients! Not all your hair grows at the same rate. Every single hair on your head is either in a growing, resting, or falling out stage, which is why we can stand to loose an average of 100 hairs a day without going bald! It’s also why if you go months without a haircut it will lose it’s shape. Also, for our clients who are 3-6 months post-baby delivery, know that those little hairs around your hairline are not breakage, but are new hairs growing in, because during pregnancy, hair stops falling out as it normally would, and instead stays in the growing or resting phase, until after your bundle of joy arrives, and then all the resting hairs that should have fallen out during pregnancy, all come out in a matter of a few weeks! You’re not balding, we promise!
Myth #3: Comb your hair from top to bottom. Coming your hair from top to bottom, or roots to ends, will make it even harder to de-tangle, and create more friction on the hair strands which could lead to breakage, especially on wet hair. Comb your hair from ends up, and we don’t mean in some weird reverse way. You’ll still be combing in the downward motion, but start with the last few inches of your hair, as you detangle those keep working in sections up your head until you reach the top and everything is tangle-free!
Myth #4: Stress will make your hair fall out. This one is actually true! High levels of stress can cause breakouts and other ailments including hair loss, although it generally isn’t enough to be noticeable on your scalp (no bald patches) and it will usually start growing back within a few weeks if your stress level goes down. If you continue to experience hair loss, even after reduced stress, you may consider looking at your diet, any new medications or hormonal changes as possible culprits.
Myth #5: With the right products you can mend split ends. Unfortunately once the hair has split it’s split! There aren’t any products that will mend your hair back together, however there are lots of products you can use to help prevent the split before it happens! We recommend Pearatin Fortifying Repairative Serum or Loma Organics Fortifying Repairative Tonic.
Have a hair myth you’ve always wondered about? Email us your question and we can give you a professional’s opinion, to debunk any “rumors” you may hear floating about. 🙂