5 Myths You Need To Stop Believing In For Fabulous Hair

While we all may be guilty of often tying up our crowning glory into a messy bun during the quarantine, our hair needs some TLC too.

From hair masks to weekly oiling sessions, having great hair is all about knowing the texture and needs of your scalp. So, we spoke former investigative cosmetic journalist Paula Begoun, who is also the founder of Paula's Choice, to know about the common haircare myths.

Paula Begoun, founder of Paula's Choice

Here's what she has to say:

Myth: Expensive hair care products are better than inexpensive hair care products.

'The truth is that there are limited ingredients that can clean hair and condition hair, and you’ll find the exact same ones used in the expensive and inexpensive products alike. Just because one hair care product is pricier than another doesn’t mean it’s formulated with higher quality ingredients.'

Myth: Haircare products or hair treatments can repair damaged hair.

'Your hair is dead, and there is nothing you can use to rebuild or restructure it. What can happen when you use good conditioners, and styling products is that your damaged hair can temporarily look and feel smoother, softer, shinier, and healthier but none of that means your hair has been repaired. If you don't keep using the products every time you wash your hair, it will go back to looking and feeling damaged because nothing has been permanently changed.'

Myth: Natural hair dye products work as effectively as synthetic formulas.

'To really cover grey hair or change hair to a different colour, you’ll need synthetic ingredients. Henna is the only natural hair dye but henna can only impart an orangish to reddish colour on hair and doesn’t colour grey evenly.'

Myth: Brushing your hair frequently or 100 strokes a day is healthy for hair.

'Sadly, just the opposite is true. The more you manipulate your hair, the more damage you cause because the friction of brushing tears at the hair shaft’s protective cuticle layer and can eventually leave the hair broken and weak.'

Myth: Stress causes hair to turn grey.

'There isn’t a conclusive scientific proof that stress causes a change in hair colour. If that were true everyone would have grey hair including teenagers and college students who are always stressed. Actually, who in the world isn’t stressed, but not everyone has grey hair?!'

Myth: Frequently trimming hair helps it to grow faster.

'Hair grows from the scalp not from the bottom of the hair. And remember, hair is dead so there is no reaction from getting a trim other than that your hair looks neater.'