11 ways to damage your hair
We're all pretty brutal to our hair on a daily basis - heat styling, products, daily washing - but these could be the reason your hair looks dull, tired and lifeless, or keeps breaking. Is it time to change your hair regime......?
1) Hot showers
Hot water dehydrates strands
(just like skin), leading to dry, brittle hair that’s more prone to snap and fall out. Not only are you washing your hair’s protective oils down the drain, but the heat throws your scalp's pores into overdrive to keep up with oil production, which can damage the root and lead to additional shedding.
2) Using hot styling tools
Scorching temps damage the
proteins that make up your hair and its protective cuticle. Once the cuticle is damaged, the moisture balance is disrupted and your hair is more prone to breakage.
3) Crash dieting
Starving yourself forces the
body to direct its energy (the little it has) towards essential functions—like helping your heart and brain work—rather than making hair.
4) Mishandling wet hair
Our strands are never more fragile—and prone to breakage—than when they’re saturated with H2O, since the protective cuticle is slightly raised. Brushing or combing locks in the shower, then following with aggressive towel-drying, create the perfect storm for snapping it off.
5) Wearing tight hairstyles
If a tight ponytail or braid is your go-to,
beware: sporting these styles puts excessive tension on the hair follicles, damaging them and creating scars that destroy them permanently. This can lead to traction alopecia, a condition that permanently weakens the follicle and makes it impossible forhair to grow.
6) Using long-lasting hold styling products
If your hairspray or gel claim All-day Mega-hold, they’re actually making your locks harder to hold on to.
(images from alibaba.com)
7) Taking oral birth control pills
If you’re one of the many women who
are sensitive to hair shedding or thinning due to hormonal changes, the wrong oral birth control can weaken your hair.
8) Scratching your head
Itchy scalp (like that caused by seborrheic
dermatitis) may result in hairloss due to scratching-induced hair damage.
9) Soaking up the sun
Even if you’ve (wisely) given up tanning,
chances are your hair is still exposed to UV rays, which eat away at the strength and elasticity of yourhair.
10) Not washing hair often enough
Now that dry shampoo is a staple in most
of our beauty arsenals, it’s easier than ever to skip a few days between washing. Convenient? Yes. But not so great for your hair.
(image from stylenoted.com)
11) Taking certain medications
Certain medications (like statins,
anti-depressants, anti-anxiety agents, anti-hypertensive medications) or hormones (like thyroid replacement drugs) can cause hair loss.
Click here to request advice about looking after your hair.
References
Giglio K (2013) 11 Bad habits that make your hair thinner. (online at www.prevention.com) [Accessed 19/03/2017].
Hatfield H (2017) 8 Ways you're damaging your hair. (online at www.webmd.com) [Accessed 19/03/2017].