Self-care wisdom has been passed down from generation to generation and we never really bother to question it. Not only do we have do's & don'ts coming from our parents, friends and pretty much all of society to sort through; companies also add to the confusion. Taking advantage of these wellness folklores by attempting to validate them through strategic marketing tactics. A serum that magically gets rid of split ends? I think not. But we'll get to that later.

Here's a reality check.

1. Hair products can cause acne

FACT If you tend to break out along your hairline, neck and alongside the sides of your face, hair products are most likely the culprit.

If hair products aren't applied carefully to only your hair and get on your skin, it'll clog your pores; causing inflammation and ultimately causing breakouts.

There several ingredients found in shampoo that can contribute to breakouts but it is different for everyone. What might affect one person, might not for another; rendering it as a game of trial and error.

How can you prevent getting acne from your hair products?

  • Shield your face with a towel when applying hair spray
  • If you applied a lot of product during the day, wash your hair before you go to sleep
  • Change your pillowcase often, every 2-3 days.
  • Apply your makeup before styling your hair as touching your face after using hair products will transfer the grime from your hands to your face.
  • Wash your face every night, not only to remove impurities, pollutants and makeup but as well as any hair product that might have accidentally transferred on to your face.

What ingredients cause breakouts?

Like I mentioned before, this is relative as different ingredients react differently for everyone. Nevertheless, I've listed the most common ingredients that are found in majority of hair products that are known to cause breakouts.

According to the article found on Naturally Curly the most common ingredients are -

  • Apricot Oil
  • Coconut Oil
  • Peach Kernel Oil
  • Palm Oil
  • Hemp seed oil
  • Sweet Almond Oil
  • Grape seed oil
  • Rosehip oil
  • Cocoa Butter
  • Shea Butter
  • Corn oil
  • Cottonseed oil
  • Meadow foam seed oil
  • Soybean oil
  • Wheat germ oil
  • Olive oil
  • Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride
  • Oleic Acid + its derivatives
  • Oleic Acid
  • Oleyl Alcohol
  • Decyl Oleate
  • Isodecyl Oleate
  • Sorbitan Oleate
  • Botanicals
  • Algae Extract
  • Carrageenan
  • Red Algae
  • Isopropyl Myristate
  • Isopropyl Palmitate
  • Isoparaffin C13-14
  • Isopropyl Linoleate
  • Isopropyl Lanolate
  • Myristyl Myristate
  • Myristyl propionate
  • Myreth 3 myristate
  • Butyl Stearate
  • Isostearyl isostearate
  • PPG 2 Myristyl propionate
  • Isocetyl stearate
  • Oleyl Alcohol
  • Isostearyl Alcohol
  • Octyl Dodecanol
  • Isocetyl Alcohol3
  • Cetearyl Alcohol and Ceteareth-20

2. Hair products do not expire.

FICTION Oh how you wish this were true. Hair products are not like a bottle of wine, they don't get better over time. Although it is usually not made explicitly evident, hair products unfortunately do expire after a few months. On the back or bottom of the product you will find a number accompanied by the letter M. That number is the approximate amount of months the product is good to use before it needs to be tossed out; also known as a Period After Opening mark.

If you can't find the period after opening indication, don't sweat it. If a hair product is no longer good to use you'll know from the funky smell it'll acquire from the build-up of bacteria. Another indication of spoilage is formula separation or clumpiness.

After how long do hair products expire?

A general rule of thumb: If you've had a product for 3 years or more, to the garbage it should go.

3. Wearing a hat will cause balding

FICTION Let's get the facts straight; balding is not a casualty of wearing a hat. This misconception was probably brought on by the fact that many bald individuals choose to wear a hat and people decided to relate one to the other.

The only way that wearing a hat would contribute to hair loss is if you wear your hat every single day, so tight that it creates a crease or indentation in your forehead and gives you a massive headache. According to Time magazine, wearing a hat this way would cause inflammation and tension; weakening the hair follicles. This would therefore contribute to hair damage and ultimately hair loss..

But who would ever willingly wear a hat like that anyway?

4. Plucking out white hair will cause more to grow

FICTION Plucking out a white hair will not cause a chain reaction of grey hairs to surface. However, that same grey hair you plucked out will end up growing again from the same hair follicle.

Even though plucking out a white hair will not summon ten more to grow, you still shouldn't do it. It can cause ingrowns, inflammation, scarring and contribute to the creation of bald spots.

Your best bet? Embrace the aging process & leave those pesky grey hairs alone. If they're really a bother, you could always dye them back to your original hair color.

5. Air drying is better than blow drying

FICTION Mind blown? Ya me too.

I always assumed that letting your hair air dry was evidently the better choice than using heat. The truth of the matter is that your hair is at its weakest state when it's wet so keeping it at that state for a long period of time is damaging.

What happens when you let your hair air dry?

Your hair will swell with moisture, the longer its wet the more it swells. This creates a lot of pressure, leading to breakage.

According to Marie-Claire magazine: "Naturally drying hair swells the cortex, as it is in contact with water for a longer period. Repeated swelling and slow drying of hair causes the cell membrane complex (the glue that holds the cuticle together) to crack, which damages the hair"

How should you dry your hair?

  • When drying your hair, your best bet is to air dry it until its no longer soaking wet.
  • Then dry your hair completely using a blow dryer on low heat while keeping the dryer at a good distance from your hair.
  • Using your dryer, blow a shot of cold air once your hair is dried to enhance shine.

6. Hair oils/serums can mend split ends

FICTION Split ends are no friend. Unfortunately, hair oils or serums are just a temporary fix, a band aid if you will.

Split ends occur when your hair is damaged either from heat, treatments, coloring etc... Once your hair is damaged, it's dead and cannot be repaired with a product. The only way to get rid of split ends for good is to pay a visit to your hairstylist and chop them all off.

How can you prevent split ends?

  • Don't comb through your hair when it is soaking wet & always use a wide tooth comb
  • Do not skimp on conditioner & focus on working it into the ends of your hair
  • Wash your hair when it starts to get oily, washing too often will strip your hair of its natural oils
  • Minimize how often you use heat on your hair
  • Stay away from bleaching
  • Use shampoos that are silicone free
  • Do a hair mask once a week to help hydrate your hair. We love the K. Therapy Bioargan mask by Lakme
  • Use a microfiber towel to dry your hair
  • Try not to tie your hair up too often
  • Seal the ends of your hair by rinsing it with cold water

7. You shouldn't use conditioner if you have a greasy hair

FICTION You should definitely never skimp on conditioner regardless of your hair type. The less moisture you provide your hair the more your scalp will feel like it has to produce; therefore making your hair even oilier than it was before.

I recommend starting with a lighter conditioner if you feel your hair is super oily. Once your hair balances itself, you can begin to integrate a more hydrating conditioner into your hair care routine.

A really great option to start with would be a leave in conditioning spray that slightly boosts hydration and gets rid of tangles like the LAK2 Rinse Free Conditioner.

8. Certain foods can make your hair grow

FACT The types of food you consume definitely have an effect on your hair. Certain foods contain an abundance of nutrients that help to induce hair growth and improve overall hair health.

According to healthline.com, you want to consume foods high in biotin, protein, vitamin A, vitamin B, vitamin C (helps with collagen production and iron absorption), vitamin E, omega-3, zinc

Which type of foods keep your hair healthy?

  • Spinach
  • Nuts
  • Fish (Salmon helps with shine)
  • Eggs
  • Sweet Potato
  • Avocado
  • Berries
  • Flax Seeds
  • Chickpeas, lentils, beans

9. Your hair changes every 7 years

FACT Ever wonder why during your younger years your hair might have been pin straight or super curly and as the years progressed the texture changed? Getting either more unruly or tamer? Hair most commonly gets tamer or as years progress.

Throughout your lifetime your hair goes through growth cycles; the most common timeframe being 4-7 years.

Hair growth is a cyclical process that consists of 3 phases.

Phase 1 Anagen: This is the phase where your hair is actively growing. New hair forms and pushes out the hair that has stopped growing. This is the phase that lasts from 4-7 years.

Phase 2 Catagen: At this stage hair growth ceases and lasts from 2-3 weeks.

Phase 3 Telogen: A 100 day phase, where your hair is at is rest point and has completely formed.

As you age, your hair will go through transformations from both this cyclical process and from styling it, using treatments and hair products.

10. Cutting your hair more often will make it grow faster or make your beard thicker?

FICTION sorry to break it to you my friends.

Cutting your hair unfortunately does not make it grow faster because hair grows from the top of your head (scalp) not from your ends. Although, cutting your hair will get rid of split ends, making your hair look fuller and healthier.

To all you beardless chaps, vigorously shaving your face will only aggravate your skin as opposed to thickening your hair.

Most think that when shaving your hair it'll grow back thicker and in abundance. According to beardaholic.com "shaving essentially reverts hair back to the anagen phase, or the growing phase." This is why people might think that their hair is growing back even thicker when in reality it is not.

Imagine that you’ve had a beard for a long time now, and you don’t notice its growth anymore because it has probably started to rest, then you decided to shave it all off.

https://beardoholic.com/does-shaving-make-facial-hair-grow-faster/

Now that some of the major misconceptions are cleared up, you're ready to win in any hair care folklore argument.