The 5 biggest hair myths

[snopes]

Originally Posted by Wild Redhead

The reason a cold water rinse can make hair appear shinier/healthier is because your hair has an outer layer called a 'cuticle'. It lays like shingles on a roof. Heat causes it to open, cool causes it to lay flat/closed, laying flat is a smoother look which in turn is shinier.

http://www.washingtonian.com/article...ping/1961.html

Myth: Rinse your hair in cold water to prevent frizz.

False. The only thing you can get from rinsing your hair in cold water is a chill. Cold water does make the hair cuticle contract for a second, but as soon as your body temperature returns to normal, so will your hair. While this may prevent a little frizz, the benefit may not be worth it.

[Xia]

Originally Posted by Seaboe Muffinchucker

Same here. Plus, I only wash my hair 3 times a week and I use the least amount of shampoo possible.

Yep, that helps too although I've found the thing that fades my purple dye the most is sunlight. If I can keep out of the sun and/or use hair sunscreen it fades much more slowly.

[mags]

I experienced new shampoos working better initially long before I heard about it, so I highly doubt it is "seeing what I expect to see."

While I don't know whether you have long hair or not, I would suspect it may be more noticeable in longer hair, because there would be more length and more time for buildup to occur. Any weighing down due to contaminants will be more obvious on 12 inches of hair than 1 1/2. I personally also have baby-fine hair which is easily weighed down either by oils or shampoo buildup.

[Wild Redhead]

Originally Posted by Esprise Me

That makes no sense whatsoever. Cut your hair to prevent it from breaking? Why don't I smash my windshield while I'm at it so it doesn't crack the next time a semi kicks up some gravel onto my car?

They are called "split ends" because the end of the strand of hair splits. Those splits travel as far up the hair shaft as they can. The longer you leave them the further up the hair shaft it goes. That portion of the shaft that is split can no longer retain moisture and becomes very dry and brittle and breaks off. It is usually not a 'clean' break which means that strand will continue to split. Cutting off the split ends is considered preventive maintenance to keep hair in good condition.

[Wild Redhead]

Originally Posted by snopes

http://www.washingtonian.com/article...ping/1961.html

Myth: Rinse your hair in cold water to prevent frizz.

False. The only thing you can get from rinsing your hair in cold water is a chill. Cold water does make the hair cuticle contract for a second, but as soon as your body temperature returns to normal, so will your hair. While this may prevent a little frizz, the benefit may not be worth it.

Please note the part I bolded in your quote. It simply reinforces what I said except I left out the word "little". Pesonally I don't not think the benefit would be worth it. I hate cold water on my head.

[snopes]

Originally Posted by Wild Redhead

Please note the part I bolded in your quote. It simply reinforces what I said except I left out the word "little".

No, you left out the whole part that the effect doesn't really last for more than a few minutes, so it's completely negligible.

[Esprise Me]

That makes sense, mags.

Originally Posted by Wild Redhead

They are called "split ends" because the end of the strand of hair splits.

Yes, I managed to deduce that myself, thanks. However, as you must surely be aware, ends are not the only places where hair can be damaged. I tend to get a lot of breakage around the nape of my neck, where I put my hair into a clip. Sometimes I'll see a hair that looks perfectly fine at the end, but is bent at a sharp angle in the middle of the shaft. Trimming the ends of my hair isn't going to do much about the breakage that occurs almost a foot closer to the scalp.

Those splits travel as far up the hair shaft as they can. The longer you leave them the further up the hair shaft it goes.

I keep hearing that, but I think if it were true, I'd be able to find a hair somewhere on my head that had a really long split end. I usually go 4-6 months between haircuts, and because my hair is long and takes a fair amount of abuse, I tend to get a lot of split ends. Sometimes when I'm mulling over a problem I'll go through and break off individual pieces of damaged hair; it's a gross compulsion that I try not to indulge when anyone's watching. I have never, ever seen a hair with a frayed end of more than about half a centimeter.

That portion of the shaft that is split can no longer retain moisture and becomes very dry and brittle and breaks off.

Hair is dead. It does not contain water.

It is usually not a 'clean' break which means that strand will continue to split. Cutting off the split ends is considered preventive maintenance to keep hair in good condition.

Also, split ends don't just occur at the ends of the very longest hairs. I've had split ends on the shorter hairs, too, which means that unless my stylist plans to trim each hair individually, a trim won't do much to stop these traveling split ends.

[geminilee]

I wish someone would debunk the idea that you can ruin your hair permanently (short of burning or disfiguring the hair folicles). They always seem concerned that mine will never grow back right.

[Wild Redhead]

Originally Posted by snopes

No, you left out the whole part that the effect doesn't really last for more than a few minutes, so it's completely negligible.

Actually I didn't leave anything out of your quote. The part where Kierans says it only lasts a second but then contradicts himself to say it does reduce frizz slightly but may not be worth it was all in there. Of course Kierans, as the owner operator of a salon that makes oodles of money selling people hair product, has nothing to gain from discouraging people to do something that is absolutely free. [Gerard Kierans, owner of Easel Hair Studio in Georgetown]

Originally Posted by Esprise Me

Yes, I managed to deduce that myself, thanks. However, as you must surely be aware, ends are not the only places where hair can be damaged.

Of course I'm aware of that but since we were talking about split ends and not other damage I didn't see a need to go into it.

Originally Posted by Esprise Me

I tend to get a lot of breakage around the nape of my neck, where I put my hair into a clip. Sometimes I'll see a hair that looks perfectly fine at the end, but is bent at a sharp angle in the middle of the shaft. Trimming the ends of my hair isn't going to do much about the breakage that occurs almost a foot closer to the scalp.

If I was getting that kind of damage from a clip I would throw that clip away and use a scrunchy.

Originally Posted by Esprise Me

I keep hearing that, but I think if it were true, I'd be able to find a hair somewhere on my head that had a really long split end. I usually go 4-6 months between haircuts, and because my hair is long and takes a fair amount of abuse, I tend to get a lot of split ends.

Have you checked all 100,000 hairs on your head? If not maybe that is why you haven't found one. Look, I am not saying it always happens to everyone with hair but it does happen. Normally what I find on clients is a split half way up a hair shaft where one side of the split off hair was only about a 1/4" long and the other half of the shaft was regular length but very weak.
If you got your hair trimmed more than every 4-6 months you may not find as many split ends... but then again you may. It is not a guarantee but it does help.

Originally Posted by Esprise Me

Hair is dead. It does not contain water.

I never said it does. I said it contains moisture. Natural oils contribute alot to how your hair looks. Using a good quality conditioner can help too by depositing oils throughout your hair.

Originally Posted by Esprise Me

Also, split ends don't just occur at the ends of the very longest hairs. I've had split ends on the shorter hairs, too, which means that unless my stylist plans to trim each hair individually, a trim won't do much to stop these traveling split ends.

Split ends can occur on any length hair you have. It can occur on your newest growth or your oldest. There are a lot of factors. What it boils down to is if you take good care of your hair. Never brush it when it is wet, just take time to comb it out patiently. Cut off the dry ends on a regular basis and you have a better chance of having healthier looking hair than if you abuse it and don't take care of it at all.

[Blatherskite]

Originally Posted by Esprise Me

I have never, ever seen a hair with a frayed end of more than about half a centimeter.

When I used to have much more dry, damaged hair, I would sometimes find splits that went up to about 2cm long. But the split ends would be more fragile because the hair was split into two finer segments, so it's understandable that they would usually break off before you could end up with an incredibly long fork of split hair.

I would also get hairs that formed comb-like splits quite a long way up - a single strand of hair with several short splits branching out along one side. I have no idea what those kinds of split ends are about, but they were interesting to look at under my pocket microscope.

[DevilBunny]

No matter how frequently you shampoo, your scalp produces the same amount of oil

If that's true, how come my hair went from being so dry it only needed washing once a week - occasionally once a fortnight - to looking greasy after two days, shortly after I took up thrice-weekly swimming (and therefore hair-washing)?

[Garnet Jello]

Originally Posted by Wild Redhead

Never brush it when it is wet, just take time to comb it out patiently.

Any time I don't brush my hair after my shower, my hair ends up in the most dreadfully knotted mess. My hair is probably around two and a half feet long, so the less knots, the better IMHO. I'm one of those sorts who can't be bothered to do anything to my hair other than brush my hair when I wake up. I'm lucky to have healthy and thick hair, or else it would probably look terrible.

I've been thinking about getting my hair cut into a symmetrical bob of some sort. I'm getting tired of all of this hair and having random strangers play with it.

[DevilBunny]

I finger-comb my hair after showering to get the tangles out, and then brush it properly when it's dry. It seems to end up with more volume and curl that way.

[Lainie]

Originally Posted by Garnet Jello

Any time I don't brush my hair after my shower, my hair ends up in the most dreadfully knotted mess.

Even if you comb it?

I've been thinking about getting my hair cut into a symmetrical bob of some sort. I'm getting tired of all of this hair and having random strangers play with it.

You're allowed to tell them not to.

[Garnet Jello]

Originally Posted by Lainie

Even if you comb it?

Ah, no, it's fine if I comb it. I guess I misunderstood and thought that she meant not to do anything to it prior to drying it.

You're allowed to tell them not to.

Oh, I definitely tell them to stop touching it, but they keep touching it until I get really short and blunt with them. Even having people attempt to touch it get tiresome considering that it happens so frequently.