Girls have learned about hair from their mothers and grandmothers down through the ages. Fashion India has investigated some of these passed down bits of wisdom to separate the useful information from mythology. The following are tidbits that require some thinking before they are blindly believed.
Myth : A woman should brush her hair one hundred strokes everyday to keep it healthy and shiny.
Fact : Useful in its day. This was a useful practice in the time when there were not good conditioning agents for hair. The brushing served to distribute the natural oils throughout the length of the hair serving as a natural conditioner.
Now that most of us have hair that is color treated or permanent waved, this is not recommended because excessive brushing can break the hair or wear away the cuticle layer causing the ends to split.
Myth : Vinegar should be used as an after shampoo rinse for shine. This again was Useful in its day.
Fact : The acidity of both of these products helped to remove soap residue from the hair after washing. They left the hair shiny and squeaky-clean.
However, modern, detergent based, shampoo leaves no soap scum on the hair and, again, with the popularity of hair color and permanent waves, the use of a rinse with this amount of acidity is not recommended.
Myth : Train your hair by continually combing it in the same style.
Fact : Most hair experts will agree on the fact that research has found hair to be untrainable. New hair, growing in, is going to go it's own direction unless you use styling products, blow dryer, curling iron or other styling technique to redirect it. Once you shampoo the "set" out, you start again.
Myth : Going out in chilly weather with wet hair can make you sick. According to doctors, this is a Myth.
Fact : Colds and other viral illnesses are common occurrences and there is no evidence that anything other than exposure to a sick person is the cause.
Myth : Shaving your legs will cause heavier, darker hair growth. Total Myth.
Fact : Shaving will not make hair grow thicker or darker. We have a certain number of hairs growing on our bodies and this does not change by shaving. Change of color sometimes may occur, but is a natural process whether the hair has been shaved or not.
Myth : Cutting hair will make it grow faster. Again Myth.
Fact : The rate of growth, at the root, remains the same. Trimming the ends from the hair will help it to grow longer, but only because when split ends are allowed to remain, they will continue to split up higher, causing the hair to break off, thus shortening the hair.
While it is always wise to learn from our mothers and grandmothers, it is important take the time to ascertain whether this wisdom is something that has outlived its usefulness or is a myth that has been passed down through the ages.
