As if hair care wasn’t hard enough, several myths have been propagated, making it even more difficult. Some of these myths have existed for ages and you have probably believed a few (or more than a few) and have worried often that you’re not getting the “Rapunzel” look you’ve been hoping for.
So what’s real and what isn’t?
We’ll be rescuing you from some of these myths so you’ll be free to grow a beautiful hair, just the way you want.
This is probably the most common fallacy and you’ve probably been a victim of this lie. It implies that trimming your hair often will make it grow even faster.
(Un)fortunately, there’s no proof or explanation for this. This myth probably stemmed from an observation that the hair of men seemed to grow back faster when cut. One problem though – hair grows from the scalp, not the tip, how does something at the tip affect the scalp? A light bulb should have flashed by now, right? Here’s what actually happens when you trim your hair – the ends that might have been split or frayed look much sharper and fuller, giving off the idea that it is growing better. It’s not that it grows, it just appears better than before as a result of the ends. It still is suggested that you trim your hair once in two months, but not to cause your hair to grow, to cause your hair to look neater.
The people who fall for this myth are adults who’re beginning to age and are uncomfortable or embarrassed by it. The story probably came from one parent convincing her child to not pluck off her grey hair. However, the things you notice will sometimes make you believe it’s true, just like the first myth.
The pluck-one-grey-grow-more-grey story is unreasonable considering only one strand can grow from a spot – not more than one. One goes off, JUST ONE replaces it!
Contrary to popular opinion, when you forcefully pull hair out, you could damage your scalp and prevent the growth of more hair! You don’t want to grow bald, grey is way better than bald, sister.
To avoid this, we suggest you don’t overdo it, you could pluck a strand or two here and there, but don’t do this so much, you’ll only end up damaging your scalp.
Simply take care of your hair like your normally would, grey or not. If you think about it, the grey hairs that sprout after you pluck one don’t do so because you plucked their brother, they do so because they’re meant to. You can get a dye, but no plucking.
The belief is that your scalp gets to breathe when your hair is down and your hair will grow faster because it’s flowing freely. Logical? Well, firstly, there are three hair growth phases : anagen, catagen and telogen phase. The hair starts growing at the anagen phase and it takes the longest, about six years. This growth phase ends at the telogen phase and eventually falls off after that. Keeping it up or letting it down has no effect on the hair whatsoever. You’d have more effect on each phase properly taking care of your hair by washing and combing than you would letting your hair down.
4.	Rinsing the Hair with cold water softens the hair and makes it grow faster.
What we do know rinsing the hair does is remove excess conditioner. Apart from this, the temperature of water you use on your hair has no effect on its length or texture in any way. The hair has no living cells that can react to temperature, so it is untrue that cold water will make your hair smooth and shiny. If you want your hair smooth and shiny, then what you should do is invest in a great conditioner and then rinse thoroughly.
Surprisingly and contrary to what you believe, your hair can get damaged from brushing too much . Chances are, your mum or grandma told you this to get you to brush your hair often when you were little, but this simply isn’t true.
No doubts, brushing your hair is an absolute necessity as it helps distribute the hair’s natural oil from the scalp to the hair shafts, preventing breakage. However, when you brush so much, same oils that should be distributed end up getting removed, leaving your hair overly frizzy and dry. When your hair is dry and lacks moisture, it is more prone to breakage.
All you need to do is brush your hair just enough to keep it healthy and keep it going. Although, “just enough “ is different for everyone, find one that you think is ideal for your hair and stick to it. You don’t have to feel like there’s a fixed amount you should brush your hair everyday, there isn’t.
Now that you know these myths, it should be easier to focus on the more important hair care facts. Lots of factors affect hair growth (not these myths), factors like genetics, feeding, hair care products and habits. Sometimes, the hair you think is growing really slowly might actually be growing fast and breaking faster. Learn to be patient and observant with your hair growth.
Also watch what products you use as some of them contain harmful chemicals that might do more harm than good. Organic products are way better, go for them if you can afford to, considering they can be quite expensive. Keep your hair protected from damage and minimize the chances of hair breakage as much as you can.
Taking special care to keep your hair in good health will boost hair growth a lot better than your favourite myth would have.