Old wive's tales about hair

[llewtrah]

According to my hairdresser:

If you pluck out grey hairs, 2 will grow back in its place.

If women pluck out whisker hairs, they will grow back thicker.

Personally, I reckon that these are more to do with being aware of those hairs and their regrowth. I don't see that a hair follicle will suddenly produce 2 grey hairs after one has been plucked - otherwise we'd have a sure for balding! My beauty therapist youngest sister says the exact opposite about plucking/waxing whisker hairs - they eventually grow back more weakly. My feeling is that the stubble of a regrowing whisker feels harder due to being shorter and less flexible (certainly that's my experience - I am very aware of the regrowth, but can't afford a permanent solution such as electrolysis).

According to my great gran (according to my mother):

You should not wash your hair while menstruating or you'll get ill.

What is the rationale for this belief?

[mags]

I don't remember where I heard it, but the rationale behind the "2 will grow in its place" does seem to have a little bit of scientific fact. Supposedly, for every hair that is growing, its follicle is sending out signals that suppress the growth of hair in 10 or so surrounding follicles. When the hair is plucked, if the follicle is damaged, it ceases the suppression, and allows other(s) of the follicles to begin growing. This is supposedly why it takes so long for waxing to affect the thickness of the returning hairs, and why electrolysis must be done multiple times. Even when a follicle is killed, there are multiple dormant follicles waiting to take its place. I'm not certain how hairs "decide" to go grey, but it seems to me that once the process is happening on your head, any new follicular growth is more likely to be grey.

I think the "no washing hair while menstruating" probably is due to the immune system being slightly weakened during your period. You'd be more likely to "catch a chill" with a wet head, thus more likely to get sick.

[llewtrah]

Originally Posted by mags

I think the "no washing hair while menstruating" probably is due to the immune system being slightly weakened during your period. You'd be more likely to "catch a chill" with a wet head, thus more likely to get sick.

But that is also an old wive's tale! Getting chilled and catching a chill are different things. A chill (or cold) is a viral infection spread by coughs and sneezes. I caught something on TV about this the other night - it suggested that the fact you often feel chilly in the early stages of a cold (before you get the head cold symptoms) led our ancestors to assume colds were the result of chilling rather than the chilly feeling being and early symptom of infection.

[mags]

Yeah, I know it's a wives' tale as well, that's why I put it in quotes. They were smart enough to notice you're more likely to become ill during your period, though, and tried to avoid the other things they thought made you more succeptible.

[rosa who else]

Eat the bread crusts so you'll have curly hair. (Why? The earth goddess -- of whatever culture -- will bless you with the beauty of curls.)

Take all your hair cuttings with you after leaving the hairdresser's, otherwise a witch will get them and be able to cast a spell on you. (An effective spell needs a personal relic to focus on.)

Your hair will turn white overnight from shock. (It doesn't.)

I know I'll think of more as soon as I post this.

[mags]

If you don't trim your hair regularly, it won't grow as fast. (Split ends breakage, maybe?)

If you shave off your eyebrows, they might never grow back! (I wish this worked on my upper lip and nether regions)

[llewtrah]

Originally Posted by mags

If you don't trim your hair regularly, it won't grow as fast. (Split ends breakage, maybe?)

If you shave off your eyebrows, they might never grow back! (I wish this worked on my upper lip and nether regions)

I grew up in an age when it was practice was to pluck eyebrows ruthlessly. Now it is fasionable to have quite dense eyebrows and I have almost none!

[Cervus]

Originally Posted by llewtrah

Now it is fasionable to have quite dense eyebrows

It is?

[Hyper Squirrel]

Originally Posted by rosa who else

Eat the bread crusts so you'll have curly hair.

I love bread, and yet my hair is still flat. Am I doing something wrong?

[llewtrah]

Originally Posted by Cervus

It is?

Apparently so. Billie Piper has dense dark brows as so several other actresses and singers. Mine are thin, pale lines that are invisible without shading. At least I don't draw fake brows on half way up my forehead as the fashion used to be!

[llewtrah]

Originally Posted by Hyper Squirrel

I love bread, and yet my hair is still flat. Am I doing something wrong?

Well I got told taht eating all my porridge would put hairs on my chest. Chest hair may look good on a guy, but I hate the thick, long black hairs around my nipples.

[Artemis]

Originally Posted by Cervus

It is?

According to no less an authority than the New York Times.

[rosa who else]

I have always wondered why men don't wax monthly instead of shaving daily. I know it hurts, but the complexion results are lovely.

I noticed this since a salesman at Tiffany's in San Francisco had a much better complexion than I did and I know it wasn't just makeup. Odd that a girly-girl like me would be intimidated by a man with a peaches and cream complexion.

[Artemis]

I've heard that the reason why men don't is because men's facial hair is too coarse to remove via waxing.

[rosa who else]

... but if the roots get yanked, it won't grow back, right?

About the fashion for thick eyebrows when you ain't got much there: Be sure you put a lot of face lotion or foundation OVER your eyebrows. Then, using a stiff, narrow brush, use eyeshadow powder to shape the brows. Instant success -- thick or thin, whatever you wanted. Be careful with the eyeshadow -- you'd be surprised how dark some of the lighter-looking shadows go on. Check out shadow collections -- like Cover Girl's -- for related tones. I have some that look like pale colors that have made nifty dark brows (I be brunette). If you make a shaping mistake, use a fingertip to wipe it off. If it looks too dense, use an old toothbrush to brush it down to a manageable shade.

Originally Posted by llewtrah

Now it is fasionable to have quite dense eyebrows...

Hooray! I'm fashionable!

[Hyper Squirrel]

Originally Posted by llewtrah

Well I got told taht eating all my porridge would put hairs on my chest. Chest hair may look good on a guy, but I hate the thick, long black hairs around my nipples.

*burns eyeballs*

[llewtrah]

Originally Posted by Hyper Squirrel

*burns eyeballs*

According to a male friend, it's a good job I never had babies and shaved those hairs off in order to breast feed as the baby would have gotten beard rash after feeding .

Nipple hair in women is not uncommon. I pluck, but they seem to reappear and grow at an incredible rate and go from nothing to over an inch long in no time at all.

Perhaps I shouldn't have eaten all my porridge, all my greens and all my crusts.

[FloridaGirl]

Originally Posted by mags

If you don't trim your hair regularly, it won't grow as fast. (Split ends breakage, maybe?)

Yes. When your hair gets a split end, the split enlarges itself quite quickly, causing breakage. Keeping it trimmed solves this problem. At least my stylist tell me this. She is the mother of a very good friend of mine and gives me a very discounted rate for my hair cuts, so I highly doubt she's lying to make money. Also, my best friend waited about a year to get her hair cut. She wanted it to grow out. Well, by the time she had all the breakage cut off, it was shorter than when she started out. She tried again, this time getting regular trims, and she got a good amount of growth.

What about the myth "Washing your hair every night will make it fall out"?

[Artemis]

If the myth about washing your hair every night were true, I'd have no more hair. Anywhere.

But I guess back when that one was being bandied about, bathing in general wasn't too popular.