Many people think that a healthy scalp means healthy hair. This is not true. This is one of the most common misconceptions about hair, and it is what will be our topic this time “Hair Myths“.
Each of our hairs grows for 2 to 7 years before falling out. Some external or internal factors (from our own body) can damage our hair, while the scalp remains healthy. This has little to do with hair damage.
So, how do you distinguish the real from the fake?
Everybody talks about hair.. the latest, the newest secret and our best friend’s best recommendation – how to grow hair faster, how to have better hair, how to have denser hair, how to avoid brittle hair…Everyone has their own theories and tricks to keep their hair healthy or grow it faster.
RegardElle brought you a list of Popular Hair Myths BUT also a long fun list about facts on hair you probably never heard about
Popular Hair Myths
*The following list was verified in hair research laboratories.
Myth #1 “It’s better to brush your hair when it’s wet”
When washing, water molecules get between the hydrogen bonds in the hair. This makes wet hair more stretchy than dry hair. This doesn’t matter, because these hydrogen bonds close up when drying. This also means that wet hair is 50% weaker than dry hair.
If you comb or brush it before drying, the force exerted on the hair increases, which also increases the likelihood of breakage. This is because wet hair stretches more than dry hair before breaking. Wet hair has a much higher coefficient of friction than dry hair. This is why it is much more difficult to comb/brush when wet.
Myth #2 “Finishing the rinse with cold water makes the hair shine”
This rumor is based on the premise that cold water closes the cuticle (surface) of the hair. However, hair is not alive, there are no active mechanisms (e.g. opening and closing of the cuticle) caused by hot or cold water.
When water penetrates the hair, the cuticle swells slightly. However, this phenomenon can be observed with both hot and cold water.
Myth #3 “The more you cut your hair, the faster it grows”
This is not true – hair grows at the root and the body is not able to recognize when it has been cut (shaving, plucking, or tweezing is another story…).
Cutting hair removes split ends, which helps with better orientation and healthier-looking hair. If you get your hair cut often, you’ll probably notice it growing back more quickly.
Myth #4 “If you pull out a white hair, it will grow back more”
Once a white hair starts to grow, then all the new hair coming out of the same follicle is bound to be white. If a hair is pulled out, the follicle will enter an anagen phase again (the first phase of hair growth) and produce a new white hair.
There is no evidence that pulling out a white hair will cause other hair follicles to start producing white hair.
Myth #5 “Brushing makes your hair better”
The mechanical action of brushing damages the hair, breaks the bonds in the cuticle, and weakens the hair over time.
Friction on the hair cuticle (surface) breaks small parts of the cuticle that come up due to other damage. This allows the strands to orient themselves better and the hair appears temporarily healthier.
However, brushing increasingly damages the hair and makes it less and less resistant to chemical, environmental, physical, and thermal aggressions.
