Experiencing Hair Loss? Ban your Brush!

You've all heard the old wives tale "One hundred strokes a daywill give you a healthy head of hair." Wrong! The truth? Theless you brush your hair, the healthier your hair will be! Now this doesn't mean that you should stop grooming yourselfaltogether! That isn't what we're implying at all. Just brushyour hair until you get it the way you want it, and then leaveit alone! Skip the hairspray, gel, and any products that containalcohol. Want to know a secret? Any product that containsalcohol will only dry out your hair and damage it further.You're probably wondering where the "100 strokes a day" mythstarted. Let's take you back to an earlier time. Say,1850...when people didn't shower on a daily basis. If theywashed their hair with soap three times a month, it was a lot.These people needed to brush their hair to remove excess oilsand dead skin. Have you ever gone without a shower for two daysand noticed how oily your hair looks? Imagine going three weekswithout bathing! Makes you appreciate being alive in 2006,doesn't it? Why brushing your hair excessively is bad: Your hair brushdamages your hair follicles when your brush your hairincessantly. This causes your hair cuticles to get rough andtangle into the other hairs. It promotes further damage to thesurrounding hair, and your hair follicles will eventually erode.As this happens-your hair weakens, breaks, and you mayeventually experience hair loss. You may think that brushing your hair is harmless, but a brushcan be your hair's worst enemy. It's best to use a comb on yourhair, especially if it's wet. With a comb, you're not as likelyto rush through the grooming process -- like you would if youused a brush. By brushing with a fervor, or 'rushing, ' you'relikely to yank strands of hair from your head and causesbreakage. Only use a brush if you absolutely must!You can use deep conditioners to and hair oils to moisturizehair and promote hair growth. Nevertheless, youshouldn't expect the products to 'fix' split ends. There's noremedy for curing split ends, except for cutting them off. Ifthe split ends are ignored, they will only travel further upyour hair causing more breakage. So if you notice split ends,have them removed by a beautician or barber right away.