Soft and silky, dry and frizzy or straightened and coloured, your hair completes you. But what if you don’t know what’s right for your mane? Should you oil your locks or shampoo regularly? Is henna a good conditioner? You must have heard all this and much more. But are these statements really true?
We decided to ask some experts and bust some common hair myths for you:
Myth 1: Oil makes your hair softer
According to hair stylist Shaguna Khatri, applying oil on your hair shaft regularly doesn’t help. “A good balanced diet, drinking loads of water and regular exercise helps to maintain hair. What you eat directly affects it.”
Ideally, you should heat the oil, dab cotton wool in it, apply it on the scalp and massage it. This regimen increases the blood circulation and should be followed once in 15 days. Hair expert Sylvia Chen says, “You should oil your hair one or two hours before shampooing. Never apply oil and step outside. It attracts the dirt and grime and leads to an itchy scalp.”
Myth 2: Using a conditioner leads to hair fall
According to Sylvia, we lose almost 80-100 strands of hair everyday. “When you shampoo, your locks end up getting in a knot. But a conditioner detangles your hair. Your locks undergo three cycles of hair growth. Only one percent is in the last phase. These are dead strands and tend to fall off.”
Of course, if you have a serious hair fall problem you might want to take the help of a tried and tested products like Dove Hair Fall Therapy system which consists of shampoo, conditioner, treatment mask and combing serum. They provide gentle care especially while rinsing and also nourishment and extra protection to hair, reducing hair fall.
Myth 3: If you cut your hair regularly, it will grow longer
Khatri suggests trimming your hair every three months to get rid of split ends. “This is important because the roots are closer to the scalp and therefore get more nourishment. But the ends get least nourishment, so they need to be trimmed regularly.”
Chen explains that you also need to trim your locks as with time, the lower portion of your hair becomes tapered. “This happens because there are three cycles of hair growth. Each shaft is undergoing a different cycle. As a result, your hair looks thin. When you trim your locks, they become uniform.”
Myth 4: Using a styling product before blow drying can damage your mane
Sylvia says, “On the contrary, one should always use styling products before blow drying as it protects the hair from thermal heat (the heat that is produced by the blow dryer).
If you are already facing problems of damaged hair like split ends, use a good shampoo and conditioner regularly to counter it. Dove Intense Damage Therapy shampoo and conditioner not only cleanses, but also penetrates the finest lines to repair and replenish hair. You could also follow it up with Dove’s repair leave-on and treatment mask to shield and protect your hair and leave it revitalised.
Myth 5: Henna is a good conditioner
Khatri says henna is basically a veg dye that coats the hair shaft and prevents it from breathing. You should avoid using it if you have dry, frizzy hair as it makes the hair drier and more brittle.
Instead, you should use a good conditioner like Dove’s Daily Shine shampoo and conditioner, a hair cream, mask or a leave-in conditioner depending on your hair type. “A conditioner softens, moisturises your locks and seals the cuticles,” says Chen.
Myth 6: You should shampoo and blow dry your hair everyday
Chen says, “Your hair is the weakest when it is wet. It is prone to breakage.” Ideally you should wash your mane after every three days as healthy hair grows out of a clean scalp.”
You should avoid blow drying on a daily basis as it strips your locks of the natural moisture and dehydrates them.
If you have noticed loss of moisture and dryness in your hair lately, try the Dove Dry Therapy shampoo and conditioner. The cleansing and moisturising action replenishes even the driest tips through its advanced moisturising serum, that’s made up of millions of micro particles.
Myth 7: Oiling your hair before shampooing will reduce dandruffKhatri says this damages the hair. “When you apply oil, you need more shampoo to rinse it off. This dries the scalp and leads to more dandruff.”
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