How damaging is teasing?

[Hornet]

Ive started teasing to make my ponytail thicker. Ive heard its damaging but if its only occasional how bad can it be?

[Rainbouu]

I think it mainly depends on how tough your hair is, how careful you are when teasing, and how you get it down afterwards. I used to tease my entire head daily, using a lot of pomade and hairspray to lock it in, but I did so very carefully. You kind of learn how to not create knots. Then I would use a ton of detangler and conditioner when I took it down.

I guess the bottom line is, yes it is a risky hair habit to have, most people probably cause damage while teasing through carelessness, or their hair is simply too fragile to tolerate it. You'll definitely see an increase in shedding if you do it a lot. However you might be able to minimize the actual damage if your very careful, or as you said, only do it rarely.

[embee]

I suspect the teasing itself is not all that damaging - it's the combing it out afterwards that causes issues - tangles and breakage. Pay attention to your comb and hairbrush when you've finished un-teasing it, see what comes out. Listen for breakage.

[foreveryours]

Like scaling a fish. How damaging is that?

[ETJ CURLS]

I suspect the teasing itself is not all that damaging - it's the combing it out afterwards that causes issues - tangles and breakage. Pay attention to your comb and hairbrush when you've finished un-teasing it, see what comes out. Listen for breakage.

I feel the same. It's why I stopped regularly using an afro pick; my hair became so tangled that breakage was inevitable. I only use it on special occasions now, when I'm mentally prepared to work through the snarls afterward.

[spidermom]

Like scaling a fish. How damaging is that?

This. The action of teasing is against the natural lay of the cuticle, which is like scales. Disrupting the cuticle is going to cause weak areas on the hair.

[Fiorentina]

Like scaling a fish. How damaging is that?

I had to laugh out loud, foreveryours
Regards
Fiorentina

[Chasemi]

Teasing, in itself, is making knots in the hair. I would never allow someone to tease my hair again - I don't think there's a way to do it without any damage. I agree with some of the posters above, you're bringing a brush directly against the cuticle, which lays like rooftop tiles. The cuticle is what protects your hair, and by breaking pieces of the cuticle, you're leaving your hair very vulnerable to damage. If you're looking for ways to make your ponytail look thicker, there's products similar to a bump-it that go INSIDE the center of the base of the pony for added fullness

[GordonMurphella]

Well, imho there's a reason it's also called (or was, I'm old) ratting.

Foreveryours and Spidermom are correct.

[luxurioushair]

Look at any scene girl and even some e-girls LOL.
Their hair looks shredded. SHREDDED.