15 Hair Care Myths - The Truth and The Lies

Everyone has a favourite myth about hair care – and we usuallynever let the truth get in the way of a good legend! Thisarticle examines some of the most widely known - and the realitybehind the myths.1. Excessive washing of hair causes hair loss/dryness.FALSE: Frequency of washing doesn’t harm hair. Wash it as oftenas you like, although the recommendation is three times a week.The right shampoo for your hair type and texture will actuallyadd moisture, body and beauty to your hair.2. More shampoo = cleaner hair.FALSE: Don’t waste your shampoo! A dollop of shampoo, about thesize of a quarter is usually enough for long hair. Very longhair may take a little more.3. Conditioner helps repair split ends.FALSE: No conditioner can "repair" damaged hair. What it can dois smooth down the cuticle and make hair seem in bettercondition. A good conditioner can also prevent damage fromoccurring in the first place.4. Blow-drying produces hair loss.FALSE: Blow-drying can damage, burn or dry hair, which can causeit to fall, but the hair will grow back immediately. This is notpermanent hair loss.5. Sleeping with wet hair causes scalp fungus.FALSE: Scalp or fungal diseases can’t be caught from sleepingwith wet scalps. Scalp infections require prior involvement withinfected sources such as humans, tainted hair care tools oranimals. Scalp fungus (tinea capitis) mainly affects children,whose immune systems make them more susceptible to skininfections.6. To get your hair to grow, brush 100 strokes each day.FALSE: Brushing that much can damage the hair cuticle. NOTrecommended! Actually, your hair reacts better to a comb than abrush. Brushing it will only lead to split ends and hairbreakage.7. Sharing combs and brushes can spread scalp diseases.TRUE: Lice and other parasites can be transported from scalp toscalp through the sharing of combs, brushes and other hair caretools.8. Cutting hair makes it grow faster and/or thicker.FALSE: This common misconception comes from the fact that hairis thicker at the base than it is at the tip, so shorter hairappears thicker at first. Cutting your hair does not affect itsnormal biologically determined growth rate or overall texture.Thin, limp or fine hair will not ever grow thicker in responseto a haircut. Plump up your hair by using volume enhancing haircare products, experimenting with a hair fattening blunt cut orgetting a texturizing perm or color treatment.9. Color treatment causes hair loss.FALSE: Most hair coloring products contain chemicals that can doserious harm to the hair itself if not properly used, but itwont instigate hair loss.10. Salon products are identical to drugstore products.FALSE: Although there are exceptions, salon products generallycontain higher quality, more expensive ingredients that aredesigned to consistently provide more intensive cleansing,moisturizing and conditioning results. The quality ingredientsfound in salon products are not usually found in drugstorebrands. If in doubt – read the labels.11. Long sun exposure favors hair loss.FALSE: Your hair acts as a shield against the sun. Hair lossappears at the follicle level and so the sun would have topenetrate at this depth to do any damage.12. Diet is related to hair loss.TRUE: it's important to eat right in order to be generallyhealthy. However, no individual food has been proven to bebeneficial or detrimental to hair.13. Stress causes hair loss.TRUE: Severe stress (e.g. surgery or a death in the family), canshut down hair production, causing temporary hairloss (alopeciaareata). The scalp usually recuperates, though, and hair growsback14. Wearing tight braids, ponytails or buns causes baldness.TRUE: Traction alopecia is a very real hair loss condition thatis quite common amongst older African American women. It resultsfrom wearing tight ponytails, cornrows or buns over an extendedperiod of time. Over time, hair breakage or loss as the resultof tight, stressed styles, can become permanent. Avoid thispotential problem by opting for looser styles that minimizescalp tension.15. Smoking causes gray hair.TRUE: According to J. G. Mosley of the Leigh Infirmary inLancashire, England in an article in Science News (January 11,1997) smokers are four times more likely to have gray hair thannon-smokers. Even worse, smoking has been conclusively linked toaccelerated hair loss.SUMMARYHeard another myth about hair? Do your research – ask an expert!This doesn’t include your grandmother, best friend or localbarmaid. Instead, talk to an experienced hairdresser or atrichologist. Always get the real facts before you act on anyhair myths – you owe it to your hair.(With thanks to Daniel Mcullough and Karen M. Shelton)