For as long as we can remember, we want to have perfect hair. More lustrous, longer, shinier, smoother, curlier. And the list goes on. That\’s where the string of myths about our hair that swarm over the Internet begins, from cutting it on a full moon to make it grow faster to washing it with baking soda to avoid grease. Do you want to know once and for all what is true and what is an ingenious invention about our mane? Take note, today we break the myths thanks to what we learned at L’Oréal Hair Summit.
Truth or myth: cutting your hair to make it grow faster
Hair grows from the root, so nothing we do at the ends will promote hair growth. We can cut it to rejuvenate it because the split ends give a very spoiled look. But always bearing in mind that we will not gain in centimetres.
Truth or myth: Cutting your hair with a full moon makes it regenerate and grow much faster.
The same thing that we said before happens with the idea that cutting your hair on a full moon will accelerate its growth. The movement of the planets has very little in common with our mane. It will always grow at the same speed, regardless of the cut, the time of year or the position of the stars.
Truth or myth: if you tear off a grey hair you will get seven
Each of our hairs is unique and totally independent, as is its follicle. That’s why, if you pull out a single grey only you will get another new grey in a couple of months.
Truth or myth: people with oily hair should wash their hairless.
Totally false! In fact, people with excess sebum on the scalp should do the opposite. Wash it every day with a special shampoo for that problem. That’s the best (and only) way to eliminate the massive production of hair fat.
Truth or myth: long hair falls out a lot more
The hair is firmly attached to the follicle of the scalp, so it requires a lot of force to be pulled out. Thus, it is true that long hair falls out more, but it is not because of its weight. It is because it is older and more damaged, so it becomes fragile.
Truth or myth: there are products that promote hair growth
The average growth rate of manes in Europe is 1 centimetre per month. For the moment, and no matter how revolutionary the treatment, there is no product that can alter this speed. Work is in progress, but this requires research at the cellular level and will take some time. Let’s not complain! If we multiply that centimetre by the 150,000 hairs we have on our heads, we can say that every year we grow 10 kilometres of hair on our heads.
Truth or myth: wet hair is weaker
This is absolutely true. When the hair gets wet it expands up to 30% of its size, in length and width. That’s why it looks longer when combed out of the shower. However, being so open gives it the keratin that covers it and promotes the scaling of the hair’s surface and thus makes it easier to break.