7 Hair-Brained Myths about Hair Care Debunked

As experienced salon professionals, hairstylists are well-acquainted with the myths that continue to circulate among clients. These myths often pass as “hair care facts,” despite stylists’ best efforts to provide guidance and achieve remarkable results with personalised treatments.

From the overuse of hair oils to the shampoo-skipping trend, we find ourselves confronted with a myriad of misconceptions on a daily basis. We debunk 7 of the most enduring hair care myths:

Myth 1: More Oil Makes Hair Grow Faster

Regular oiling doesn’t accelerate actual growth rates which are genetically predetermined. However, massaging scalps with oil may improve circulation benefitting follicle health to maximise your potential.

Be mindful that applying too much oil actually risks clogging pores and leaves hair limp. Stick to light oils like grapeseed or argan sparsely on mid lengths to avoid over greasiness.

Myth 2: Washing Hair Daily Is Bad

Unless you have chemically-treated or highly textured hair inherently drier, shampooing daily is fine for most hair types. The notion that shampoo strips vital oils likely stems from eras of harsher formulas. Many now leverage ultra gentle “cleanser” style shampoos without problematic sulphates anyway.

Myth 3: Towel Drying Hair Causes Breakage

While vigorously rubbing your hair with a terry cloth towel can lead to potential damage, using a gentle squeezing or light blotting technique with microfiber towels is a safe and efficient way to speed up the drying process without causing harm. As an additional precaution, you can also opt for silk wraps or t-shirt fabrics, which are gentler on your hair strands.

Myth 4: Grey Hair Lacks Pigmentation

It’s quite surprising that as hair turns grey or white with age, it still retains the ability to hold pigmentation but loses the essential enzymes that keep the colour vibrant. As we age, the enzymes necessary for maintaining colour diminish, causing the production of colour to fade. However, when you introduce tints, they bond effectively with the hair, enabling standard colour services to effectively conceal greys, just as they would with younger hair.

Myth 5: Frequent Trims Make Hair Grow Faster

Regular quarter inch trims won’t accelerate active growth speed but do minimise split ends, which cause thin appearance and breakage. Keeping ends neat retains volume, prevents further damage and allows longer time between cuts.

Myth 6: Brushing Thin Hair Makes It Fall Out

Moderate and gentle brushing offers circulation benefits to all hair types, including ageing and thinning hair. It helps distribute nourishing oils evenly from the roots to the tips. However, excessive brushing can harm fragile hair, leading to breakage and exacerbating hair loss. It’s advisable to use soft bristle brushes and avoid forcefully ripping through knots and tangles.

Myth 7: Going to Bed with Wet Hair Is Harmful

Sleeping with damp hair isn’t necessarily harmful unless your hair is tightly wrapped, which can restrict airflow. When hair is wet, it lacks the supportive lipids that make strands flexible and strong.

The potential risk comes from friction when you toss and turn in your sleep, which can theoretically break hair. To prevent this, consider braiding, gently blow-drying, or loosely tying back your hair.

Protect Your Livelihood with Salon Saver

Ensure your salon itself is protected from myths around business risks. Far too often, owners believe having basic liability coverage sufficiently protects salons. In reality, specialised hair salon insurance shields the full scope of threats facing hairdressers.

Salon Savers offers policies tailored to the unique risks and needs modern salons face so you can focus on clients. Our team has decades of expertise built specifically around hair and beauty businesses just like yours. Contact us today to find out more.

Dean Laming

Dean Laming is a Chartered Insurance Broker with more than 25 years insurance experience. Through various underwriting, operational and management roles, Dean has built up extensive knowledge of the hair and beauty sector and is now Managing Director of Salon Saver, part of the wider Henry Seymour Group.

All articles by Dean Laming