What's All This About Hair Myths? Part II
There are so many more hair myths out there that a single article just can't cover them all. That's why we're presenting Hair Myths Part II.
We humans are so worried about our hair that we've invented all kinds of hair myths, some of which sound more reasonable than others. Aside from the fact that what we're all angsting about is a mass of dead tissue related to fingernails anyway, most of the myths aren't even true.
If you're flaking out about your hair, then chill. The truth is, while there are things you can do to keep your hair in good shape, most of what we worry about is just so much hot air. Here are four more interesting myths about hair that just aren't true.
Myth 5: Horrors! Dandruff is contagious!
We're happy to say that this is just one of those infamous hair myths, though not for the reason you might think. While many scalp-borne infections and parasites are indeed contagious (ringworm and lice are particularly egregious examples) the critters that cause dandruff are already residing on your head.
Before you get up in arms, realize that everyone has them -- they're just a type of yeast called Malassezia that commonly lives on human skin. In susceptible people, their metabolic byproducts cause skin cells in the scalp to clump into larger, oilier flakes than they do in most people. That's all dandruff is.
Myth 6: A person's hair can turn white overnight, given enough stress.
Nah, this particular hair myth is true only in fiction. No matter what anyone says, your hair's not going to grow more than about a half-inch a month, so there's no way your old hair could fall out and you could grow a full head of white hair overnight, no matter how stressed out you are.
That said, there is one effective way to turn your hair white overnight. Bleach it.
Myth 7: You shouldn't wash your hair every day, or it'll get too dried out.
Hair myth alert! All washing your hair every day will do is get it really clean, assuming you use the right shampoo and take it easy with conditioners and other treatments. You may get excessive dryness if, say, you use shampoo formulated for oily hair when you have dry hair, but otherwise you should be okay.
What really dries out your hair is excessive blow-drying. Even so, you should be fine even if you blow-dry your hair every day, as long as you limit the heat and exposure time.
Myth 8: You can get scalp fungus if you go to bed with wet hair.
Nope. You can't get any diseases, fungal or otherwise, just by going to bed with wet hair. Nor will it make you any likelier to get a cold; either you've caught the cold virus or you haven't. While you might end up with a severe case of bedhead, the idea that critters will take root in a wet scalp is just another one of many hair myths.
