Believe it or not, many people have mistaken hair myths as hair growth hacks. This misbelief can be rooted in having minimal scientific knowledge about hair growth. Here are some of the strangest hair myths ever you need to debunk.
Washing the conditioner away with cold water keeps your mane moisturized.
Using cold water to wash your face is a popular skincare step, but don’t include your hair. A hair growth conditioner is a moisturizing agent that locks in moisture. Applying this hair product also keeps your strands smooth and frizz-free. However, using cold water for rinsing the lathered hair conditioner can trap too much moisture and make your hair look lifeless. Cleaning your hair with cold water can also decrease capillary activities underneath the scalp, thereby inhibiting good blood circulation.
What’s the best way to wash your hair? Use both lukewarm and cold water. Rinse your locks with warm water to open the pores and get rid of excess oils and dirt. After shampooing your hair, lather a generous amount of your hair growth conditioner. Then, rinse it with cool water. Don’t expose your hair to cold water for a long time to prevent locking in excess moisture.
Brushing your hair for a hundred times lengthens your hair.
Stroking your hair with a natural bristle brush is not a myth. This habit helps to distribute the natural oils from your scalp down to the ends of your strands. The stroking sensation also massages your scalp, which makes you feel relaxed. Most importantly, brushing your hair stimulates proper blood circulation, thereby promoting healthy hair follicle growth.
However, a hundred strokes can be entirely too much drama for your hair. It can make your hair look thinner. Brushing your hair a hundred times can tug the strands away, causing your scalp to lose more hair.
Healthy tip: Don’t overdo it. Just brush your hair regularly, and hair growth will never go wrong.
Sleeping with wet hair can cause blindness.
Just before closing your eyes, you hear your mother’s voice, nagging you not to fall asleep while your hair is wet. Stand up for yourself and debunk this tale-old myth. Sleeping with wet hair doesn’t cause blindness. Instead, your hair becomes damaged.
When your hair is wet, it becomes vulnerable to physical damage and causes strand breakage. The outer layer of your strands becomes brittle. But if you are too sleepy to wait for your hair to dry, blow-dry your locks immediately. You can also use silky pillowcases to prevent your hair from rough abrasions. Never leave your wet hair tied to avoid losing more hair strands than usual.
If you pluck grey hair strands at night, you will gain more of them.
This myth makes no sense. Your hair turns grey for different reasons. Plucking one grey strand will only allow another grey strand to grow from the same follicle. However, the adjacent non-white hair strands will remain the same.
What are the causes of greying hair? As we get older, our hair pigments also age and deteriorate. Your hair’s melanin becomes depleted, thereby losing its color.
Greying of hair is hereditary, and anyone of any age can experience this hair phenomenon. Thus, removing those aging strands will not increase their number. However, it is still recommended to avoid plucking them to avoid damaging your hair follicles.
Your hair keeps growing even after you die.
Your hair is not immortal. When you die, all your body cells also die with you — including your hair. However, your hair’s death also takes some time. Some cells, like those found in your mane, require little oxygen. Thus they die slower than the rest. However, they don’t grow anymore once you pass away.
Let’s Debunk.
Not all hair care grooming techniques are reliable and effective. Let’s Debunk, and research first before trying these hair hacks to avoid hampering your hair growth.
