Top 10 Hair Care Myths

You’d think that caring for your hair would be a simple task, one that you wouldn’t have to think about a lot. Surprisingly, though, that’s not the case. There are a lot of misconceptions and outright lies surrounding hair care, and if you’re going to have the shining, gorgeous locks you’ve always wanted, you need to be able to separate the truth from the lies. Read on to discover the top 10 hair care myths and to be on your way to a more beautiful head of hair!

1. Cutting Hair makes it Grow Faster: Even top stylists have spread this myth around for ages. They often tell their clients that if they cut their hair and keep it healthy, it will grow more quickly. While this is a nice idea and no doubt a profitable one for hairstylists, it’s a big, fat lie. Hair, regardless of whether you cut it or do anything else to it, only grows about a half inch per month. Trimming the ends will keep it looking healthy, but there’s really no need to cut it every 4 weeks.

2. Pluck out a Gray Hair, and You’ll Re-grow Two: This is another one of those myths that people spread like the gospel truth. In fact, we’d be willing to bet you heard this piece of advice from your mother, who probably heard it from her own mother. While you shouldn’t add in extra gray hairs, plucking is never a good idea. You can damage your hair and, with chronic plucking and pulling, could even cause your hair roots to become infected!

3. Wash and Rinse Your Hair in Cold Water for Shinier Strands: This beauty myth has been printed in so many fashion magazines that just about every American girl has taken to shivering in the shower at one time or another. Sure, your electric bill might go down if you stand under a stream of icy-cold water, but your hair isn’t going to be affected one way or the other.

4. Off-the-shelf Products Work Just as Well as Salon Brands: Sure, we’d all like to believe that we can march into the drugstore and come out with high quality hair care and styling products that will make us look like we just left the salon. That’s simply not the truth though. Think about it—have you ever been able to get that salon look at home? We know your answer is no, because those store-bought products just don’t contain the same ingredients. Many salon brands include healthy conditioners and Keratin, which is essential for strong and beautiful.

5. Smoking has no Effect on Hair Health: It shouldn’t come as a surprise that smoking is harmful to your hair—it’s harmful to basically everything else in the body. According to research, smokers are four times more likely to have gray hair. Plus, they experience hair loss more often and more quickly than their non-smoking peers. And to top it off, their hair smells like an ashtray!

6. Wearing a Hat Causes Baldness: No one knows quite how this rumor got started, but it’s scared plenty of men right on out of their baseball caps. Don’t live in fear any longer guys. There is absolutely no evidence that hat-wearing contributes to hair loss. Of course, bald men are more likely to wear hats, so maybe how this myth came about!

7. Eggs, Mayo, and Beer Make Awesome Conditioners: We’d be willing to bet that, at one point or another, you’ve cracked an egg over your head or slathered your tresses in mayo like a turkey sandwich. While people have come up with lots of crazy conditioning ideas, they’re mostly bogus! These products won’t do anything special—except make your hair stink!

8. Too Much Washing is Bad for the Hair: Some people have oily hair and need a wash every day. Others can get by with just a couple of washes a week. It’s not how often you wash that’s good or bad for your hair; it’s the shampoo you use. So, choose a quality one and shampoo to your heart (and your head’s) content.

9. Prenatal Vitamins Equal Healthier, Thicker Hair: Many non-mommies-to-be have started used prenatal vitamins in an effort to have longer, thicker, more beautiful hair. While there’s nothing wrong with using these vitamins, especially if you’re trying to get pregnant, they won’t play a role in how your hair looks. However, important vitamins and minerals will help promote healthy hair, so look to your diet to make sure you are getting plenty of iron and vitamins A, B and E.

10. Brush 100 Times a la Marcia Brady: The image of Marcia Brady in front of her mirror, brushing her hair 100 times for shine and beauty, is forever ingrained in America’s collective consciousness. Unfortunately, that image is a fraud. Too much brushing can actually cause breakage and damage to the hair.

This article was penned by Karl Stockton for the team at firsttoknow.com. Click here to view their health and beauty section.

Further Reading

• How easy is it to have healthy hair?
• Information on Hair Loss and How Shampooing Can be Helpful for Treating it?
• Latest Hollywood Secret: Hair Botox Treatments?
• Tips to Growing Your Hair Long
• Easy Care for Longer Hair
• How to Get Manageable Silky Hair? Try Biosilk Hair Therapy Range
• Some Home Remedies and Treatments against Hair Loss