What's All This About Hair Myths?
You hear all kinds of things about hair, but many of those things happen to be hair myths. We'll straighten out a few in this article.
We've all got hair myths we know and love. Almost all of us have heard the one about how if you shave your hair (on your upper lip or head or legs or wherever) it'll grow in thicker and darker. Not that it works for grass or anything else, but maybe it'll work for hair, right?
Well, au contraire, mon frère. Your hair might change with age, illness, or hormonal shifts, but that's about it. Along with that pervasive myth about hair, we've got four others we'd like to split a few doctrinal hairs about. Join us, won't you?
Myth 1: Wearing caps causes baldness.
Really. If that's all it was, you'd think people would stop wearing caps, especially tight ones, right? No, this is just a hair myth, and one of the more common ones at that. While wearing hats can cause breakage and sometimes pull out a hair or two, and may even lead to split ends, it won't cause hair loss or even thinning.
Myth 2: Split ends are repairable.
Only in shampoo and conditioner commercials. In real life, split ends aren't going to magically heal themselves just because you put some goop on them. Hair's already dead tissue -- it can't heal itself any more than you can get the frayed cuffs on your favorite jeans to repair themselves.
So the idea you can repair split ends is just one of those horrid hair myths. As with those frayed cuffs, you'll have to cut off your split ends, or risk them getting worse. But with the proper care -- and, yes, the right goop -- you can keep the split ends from recurring. This is one of those "ounce of prevention" things.
Myth 3: Oh my goodness! I lost 100 hairs today -- that can't be normal!
Yes it is. Sorry. Whether they break or fall out by the roots, the average person is going to have to deal with losing 100 or more hairs every single day. Like your cat or dog, you're going to shed a little. That's just the way hair is. But don't worry; you probably have at least that many new hairs growing in.
Myth 4: Brushing your hair a lot is good for it.
Well, you should brush your hair a little to help distribute the natural oils and get rid of the tangles, and of course you'll need to groom it a bit, but don't overdo it. Too much brushing can cause breakage, not to mention those dreaded split ends. Fall for this hair myth, and you'll just end up hurting yourself.
