The Top 5 Hair Care Myths
Hi everyone,
There are so many widely accepted notions about beauty out there, but not all of them are true. And sometimes it can be tough to separate fact from fiction. So today I’m exposing some popular beauty myths about hair. Check them out and let me know which ones surprise you!
1. Lather, rinse, repeat. This myth has been around for a long time. By now you know that washing your hair twice in a single shower is a bad idea. But did you know that washing your hair twice a day or even once a day is also a beauty blunder? Washing hair too frequently strips it of its natural oils, which are essential for shiny, healthy hair.
2. Trim hair to make it grow faster. I have a feeling this one was dreamed up by a hairdresser looking to make a little extra money. Hair grows from the root and each strand is a thread of dead protein. Cutting the ends of hair has no effect on what’s going on at the root. That said, don’t ditch haircuts all together. Trimming away straggly ends will make any hairstyle appear fuller.
3. Brush 100 strokes a day for shiny hair. Whoever came up with this one must have had a lot of time on their hands! Abiding by this myth will actually do more harm than good. Gentle brushing is great because it distributes your hair’s natural oils down to the dry ends and stimulates circulation to the scalp, but excessive brushing can lead to breakage.
4. Shaving makes hair grow back darker and thicker. The truth is shaving doesn’t actually alter the color or thickness of the hair. When hair grows back after shaving what you see is the blunt cut of the hair from its base where it is widest. So it may appear darker or thicker compared to the start of a new hair that grows back after waxing or plucking.
5. Eating Jello will make hair grow faster. This last one seems pretty crazy. Have any of you heard this myth before? In case you’ve heard it, you can rest assured that research has been conducted and studies show that there is no evidence to link eating Jello to hair growth. A healthy diet is an important factor in healthy hair, skin and nails though, so skip the green Jello and opt for green vegetables instead.
BONUS: Spilt ends will travel. Here’s one hair care myth that’s actually true! Uncut split ends will continue to split up the length of the hair. If left untouched, over time ends can tear multiple times. So your splits ends could end up with split ends!
Do you know of any other beauty myths? Share the beauty beliefs that you’ve found to be untrue in the comments section!
<3 Mish
Photo Source: Smart Girl Tips, Real Simple, Top Style, Food Good Laundry Bad, Health News, Dan Graham Photography
Source: StyleList
36 comments
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i heard that if you always use the same shampoo, eventually it will stop working and that steam makes your hair grow faster? Is that true? -
Here's an old myth I discussed with my hair dresser. Plucking out one gray hair will make 5 more grow in it's place. I may be 20 but I heard this myth for a long time, and the truth is if plucking grays would make more grow a lot of younger people would be gray by now. What plucking your hair actually does is stunt the growth of your hair, while other times it can alter the growth pattern, making it more resistant to hair dyes. So plucking grays won't make more grow, it will just make them more resistant to dyes. -
I feel like number four is true. When I used to shave, my hair used to be really thick when before it wasn't. I stopped and started waxing/epilady and my hair is thin like before. That's just me, I guess. Shaving is not for me. :)
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I made the bad decision of going blonde for about 8-9 months. (I have dark brown hair naturally.) And when I decided to go back and dyed it dark the sun kept bleaching my hair back to a blonde tone. After dyeing it 3 times over a time periode of 6-7 months I gave up and decided to just let it grow out. It's been 1 ½ year (2 years since I stopped bleaching it) and I still have a two coloured hair, top part dark brown and then the lower you go the lighter it gets and the ends are blonde.
I just wonder if you have any tip for helping the hair to grow faster or just to make it healthier since the bleaching left it quite dry and damaged? (Besides cutting a large part of it off, had shoulder-short hair ones and I hated it. Not doing that again.)
Thanks for any answer to this :) -
I wash my hair every single day honey and believe me my hair still super shiny and beautiful ;)
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Well, its individual how the hair responds to schampoo and conditioner etc.
So what Michelle says about not washing your hair every day doesn't have to include EVERYONE.
I wash my hair with the no-poo method. I only use conditioner, and the method is all about moisturizing your hair and scalp. Google it! :)
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Michelle, does it really matter what type of brush I use on my hair? I was told some are made to give your hair a boost of shine. I was also told that certain ones are easier on the hair and thus protecting it from any damage brushing can cause. these may be silly questions but I am very curious. :) -
I disagree with a couple of these. The point of cutting your hair regularly to grow it is precisely (as you explain later) to get rid of split ends because they travel. No, obviously cutting hair at the ends won't make the roots grow faster, but it helps keep hair healthy so you don't need to get major haircuts due to damage. Also, I wash my hair daily and it's super glossy. Washing a "normal", non-curly hair type daily is fine. -
well about shaving mine grow a lot more and often two or three in the same point._.
mh I wash my hair one day yes and one no... sometimes I feel that they're not dirty but at the root is formed dandruff so if I dON't wash them i feel uncomfortable. -
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Omg Michelle thank you so much for posting this! I'm a hairdresser and I'm always hearing people talk about those myths. Especially the myth that shaving makes the hair grow back darker and thicker. Those are some of my pet peeves.
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one myth is also that in the end of the shower you should wash your hair with cold water to close the cuticles of the hair.. Not true! It has no effect on the hair.
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Since my mother is a hair dresser, she is always telling me great tips on hair. So concerning the cutting your hair myth, cutting your hair doesn't make your hair grow faster. It is actually the blood flow increasing to your scalp from when your hair dresser washes your hair. Because they are "messaging" your head it causes more blood flow to your scalp to stimulate hair growth.
And as for your it being bad for your hair to wash it everyday, it really just depends on your hair type. If you have very dry hair than yes you may want to only wash your hair every other day. But if you have oily hair you may want to wash your hair every day to keep it from getting too oily. -
The second myth is actually true! It's true because of what you said at the bottom about split ends. The real reason it causes your hair to grow faster is because if you do not cut your split ends they can split all the way up to your root, damaging the hair follicle, which can actually slow down the growth process. I know personally for me that when I wait longer to cut my hair it looks dull and it doesn't grow as quickly. But when I cut it frequently like every 6-8 weeks or so it grows like crazy! -
Trimming your hair while it may not cause your hair to grow faster what it does do is prevent split ends. Split ends will continue to fray which in turn causes frizziness, dull hair and breakage. But you're absolutely right, trimming your hair will not cause your hair to grow faster since that's all based on your DNA as well as the season - hair grows faster in the summer, slower in the winter.
The reason why it was thought that 100 brush strokes per day helped the hair was because it was done in a time when there people weren't washing their hair daily or even weekly so the only way to clean the hair was to brush the hair. The advantage to brushing your hair multiple times is not only to help distribute the natural oils but also to stimulate the scalp which in turn provides oxygen to the hair roots. 100 strokes in modern day is excessive but definitely make sure to brush your scalp to stimulate the blood supply in your scalp.
As for Jello... the belief in eating Jello is based on the fact that gelatin is made from collagen. Consuming collagen is thought to boost one's own body making it which in turn helps to keep a woman's skin looking youthful. Keep in mind that there are so many pills on the market aims for beautiful skin, nails and hair... some of which contain or boast to contain collagen.
Beauty myth: Wearing nail polish on a daily basis ruins your nails because your nails can't breath. This myth has been around lately but there is absolutely no truth in the matter. Nails are made of DEAD cells much like your hair. The nail bed itself is fed oxygen by your blood circulation. Any ridges on the nail or a thinning nail or flexible nail are a sign of a health problem (or damage from implements) not from the nail polish. -
Jello (no matter the color) will not make your hair grow faster, but the ingredient gelatin (comes from cow hooves etc) does. It also strengthens your nails and improves your skin. However, if you have a terrible diet then it wont make a noticeable difference. It's basically just proteins, so anything related would also work.
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There's nothing that will make your hair grow faster, such things does not exist, but there are ways to stimulate hair growth and that is heat(like warm summer heat, not blow dryer heat) and then regular massages of the scalp to stimulate the blood circulations.. But in general our hair and nails grow faster when the air is hot and humid :)
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This is interesting, I didn't even realise some of these things... call me naive but I believed in some of these myths... def not the jelly one though- haha -
Myths I keep hearing and absolutely hate it:
Wet hair can give you a cold.
Washing hair on top of the head will get rid of dirt faster.
Crossing legs causes spider veins.
"Safe tans."
Brushing/flossing teeth after every meal.
Price of a beauty product is an overall explanation of the product itself.-
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What about brushing and flossing your teeth after every meal? I thought that was a good thing? -
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I know! There have actually been studies on Jello and its relation to hair growth - so crazy!
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All these comments are right-- I remember when I was little, I wanted longer hair and the only way my mom could get me to get a haircut was to tell me it made my hair grow faster. I was smart back then, and figured out that that made no sense pretty quickly, though.
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I don't know myths, other than what you posted, but I know some facts:
March is when hair grows the most.
When you're outside more, like in the summer, your hair grows faster
If you take prenatal vitamins, there's something in those vitamins vs regular that increases your hair's growth and makes your hair stronger.
Just random little facts.
<3 -
1 & 2 are 100% TRUE! Lather. Rinse. Repeat. = Yes! The 1st shampoo lasagna dirt & oil, the 2nd shampoo washes it away. You will see you're shampoo lathers much more that 2nd tune to. But don't wash your hair everyday, even if you have oily hair. Use a dry shampoo & only shampoo every other day or skip more days if you can.
2- trimming your hair makes it grow faster - TRUE! As stated in the bonus tip, split end travel up the hair shaft. Simply "dusting" your ends, barely trimming anything, will prevent your split ends from traveling up the hair shaft. Therefore trimming is necessary & does make the hair grow faster because it prevents split ends & breakage.-
However, preventing split ends and breakage isn't necessarily going to make your hair grow faster.
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All great mythbusters! I think the thing with trimming hair to make it grow faster came about because if you get regular trims, you're getting rid of any splits that have (or will start to) form, which would be causing breakage from the length of your hair. So your hair will seem as though its growing faster, when in fact its just not breaking as much.
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