Here at Anne Veck Oxford we are all about the hair! Your hair! Some of us have been working in the industry for a long time now, and over the years we have noticed quite a few recurring questions, fuelled by some strange hair myths, and we thought we would debunk them for you!
As a little intro, let’s start by saying that on average we have 120,000 hairs on our head (blondes a little more, red heads a little less). Hair is a confusing fibre because it is both dead and alive at the same time, this is why it creates so many questions. The hair we see is dead, but it is beautiful and strong (unlike basically all other dead things). A full head of hair is strong enough to carry an elephant and stretch to 5 times its length). And the hair under the scalp is of course alive…
On average hair grows about 1/1.5cm per month and grows in a cycle of 7 years (good thing its cyclical, otherwise every 7 years we would all be completely bald for a while lol).
Our hair, as well as being our best fashion accessory, is also vital: it protects our brain and is a very accurate barometer of our overall health (if your hair thins, or changes or something, it is almost always a sign of something else health wise you might not otherwise notice)
So, without further ado, lets begin the debunking!
Myth number 1:
Cutting hair makes it grow faster!
FALSE
Cutting hair keeps it healthy. You remove the split ends, so it does not break, and this give the impression it grows faster!
Myth number 2:
Shock/stress/trauma can turn your hair grey.
TRUE
But not overnight. As mentioned in the intro, hair grows in cycles, so the trauma will turn the hair currently under your scalp grey, and then you need to wait for that growth cycle to begin to see it!
Myth number 3:
Pull out a grey hair, and 10 will grow back in its place!
FALSE
I mean first off, your hair follicle is big enough to fit one folic, maybe two, not ten! But pulling hair out is bad, it will damage the follicle and make it harder for the hair to grow back at all, causing hair thinning (bad for the hair on our head, but this is why waxing is popular for our intimates).
Myth number 4:
Brushing my hair 100 strokes a day is good for it!
FALSE
This will cause hair erosion! Too much vigour and repetition will just pull your hair out, scratch the scalp, and do much more damage than good! Only brush what you need to get rid of knots!
Myth number 5:
Blond hair will go green in the swimming pool.
TRUE
This is true for non natural blonds. The chlorine reacts with the products used to lighten the hair, oxidizing, causing the hair to go a khaki green!
Myth number 5:
Colouring hair will make it fall out.
FALSE
False false false! Colouring hair, which means going a darker shade, is adding to what is already there, and does not damage to your hair and will not cause it to fall out. However bleaching, for highlights for example, is stripping natural colour away from your existing hair strand, making the hair weaker, this can cause breaking if not done professionally, and if the chemicals are abused, which can be mistaken for hair falling out. To avoid this, the best thing is to get some good treatments. Your hair is a bit like a vintage car, take good care of it and it can last your whole life, mistreat it and it will fall apart.
Myth number 6:
Shampoo is bad your hair, you should only use conditioner and let it self clean.
FALSE
So this is oddly something I keep hearing. Hair does not self clean! It is an extension of your body, subject to the elements, sweat etc… you would not stop showering your body and expect it to self clean, and it is exactly the same for you hair!
Shampoo is used to cleanse the scalp as well as the hair, loosen dirt and debris from both of these areas. If you imagine the hair strand as having scales, the shampoo opens the scales to really get in deep and clean. The conditioner is designed to close those scales, and hydrate… so you can’t use only this.
I hope you found my Q&A informative, any other questions don’t hesitate to send them to us in instagram, we love to hear from you.
Have a great day
xxx
Dirty French Girl
www.dirtyfrenchgirl.com
