Bad hair habits you’re trying to break?

[Handel'sWig]

Just thought this might be a fun thread. What are your current bad hair habits and are you actively trying to break them? What are you doing to help break them?

Mine: Aggressive detangling, especially wet. I’m an over-zealous detangler and I try to be gentle but sometimes I wind up being too rough. I detangle probably too much when conditioning. It’s going to be hard to break myself of it because my hair tangles a lot and I hate tangles. I got a wide tooth comb and I’m trying to work on detangling less and being gentler when I do. Today was wash day and I actually didn’t detangle too much so yay. :cheer:

To a lesser degree, a bad hair habit I have is over-oiling. I’m still in the experimental stage with oils but I tend to over estimate the amount I need and leave my hair oily. I’ve started counting the number of drops I use and that helps.

[floralgem]

Trying to not split or pull splits :( it became a nervous habit and it's hard to break.

[ArtOfNoot]

putting my hair up in a bun, then messing with it to the point it needs to be redone, rinse, lather, repeat

[lithostoic]

Leaving my hair down at night.

[Iyashikei]

Same as you. I detangle multiple times a day and I think I'm being too rough.

[JasminxCat]

Stop rubbing on my dry ends because they're dry and it bothers me enough to keep on rubbing on them thus making them drier, if that makes sense
Also trying to stop detangling and brushing my hair multiple times a day because I can't stand the natural wispies and fly aways
And to just accept the fact that my hair isn't perfect

[NicoleLionne]

Great idea for a thread!

My biggest bad habit is pulling on white dots. I should really either leave them alone or find my sharp hair scissors, but I just can't seem to stop myself.

[Jools69]

Being obsessive with the location and how straight my hair parting. I’ve had a side part for most of my life and having a double crown, I would during the day keep on changing its location with my fingers. It gave me lots of damage and flyaways on the top of my head. Now that I have middle part for the past couple of years, I’m obsessed with keeping it dead straight and exactly placed in the middle. Although I’ve more or less limited to checking it once a day (in the mornings or after washing my hair) and I use the tail end of a rat comb.

[Feral_]

Getting used to not wearing it loose. I used to love the feeling of my hair down - since it’s grown I realise it’s just not practical. That saddens me a bit. I think there’s been a thread on this - “what’s the point of long hair if it’s up all the time” type of thing :shrug:

[BuddhaBelle]

Doing a bun, and redoing it, and redoing it... I don't know why I can't just do it once and let it be, I'm always paranoid it'll fall out...

[Bugg]

Massaging my scalp absentmindedly... scalp massages are great just before showering etc, but I have a habit of doing it while I'm reading or watching tv, or anything really when my hands aren't busy. I already have pretty oily hair and this of course makes it even worse!

[Neorago]

Pulling the split ends.. yup. Must get scissors.

[Finda]

A bad hair habit I'm not ready to break yet: using scalding hot water.

[Bugg]

A bad hair habit I'm not ready to break yet: using scalding hot water.

Same! I can’t cope with lukewarm showers in winter..

[draysmir]

This is a good idea for a thread. I have a bad habit of braiding my hair without brushing it out... it takes an hour or more to detangle my hair if I do this for a few days straight. I also get more breakage when I let my hair get that tangled. I don't know why I do this to myself. :justy:

[Ylva]

I have some bad hair habits such as not wearing it up a lot (I prefer braids instead, more comfortable and more my style) and touching my hair a lot. The latter has much to do with my growing out virgin hair and I just love how it feels after years of non-virgin hair. However, I don't think I'm trying to break those habits. Right now, I feel like quitting bleaching is the best thing I could ever do to my hair and everything else feels so small in comparison. Maybe if I one day wake up and find that those things are hindering me from reaching a hair goal, I might reconsider stopping them, but until then, I'll just relax and enjoy my hair.

One thing I can mention here is treating my hair more gently when it's wet. Especially now that I'm working hard on using up subpar conditioners, I find myself quite frustrated dealing with tangly and non-slippy hair in the shower, and that sometimes results in breakage.


A bad hair habit I'm not ready to break yet: using scalding hot water.

This is one habit that I'll probably never need to break, because my heat tolerance is TERRIBLE. :laugh: I take such cool showers that everybody is shocked when they see where the temperature is set. I tend find other people's regular shower temperatures painful.

[Jane99]

Oh, I love a scalding hot shower.

A hair habit I would like to break is S&Ding too much. Maybe that will go into the “see what happens if I change this” because who knows, maybe S&Ding helps the overall condition and prevents tangles and more splits, but I think it actually just unevens my hair, slows growth, and then I look at all the crappy ends and get discouraged. So I want to limit to maybe only every 3 months or something like that. We’ll see.

[qnlizbeth]

I have a bad habit of smoothing my hair up near the roots, and sometimes I end up accidentally pulling out some of my more coarse baby hairs. I just need to stop touching it!

[Finda]

This is one habit that I'll probably never need to break, because my heat tolerance is TERRIBLE. :laugh: I take such cool showers that everybody is shocked when they see where the temperature is set. I tend find other people's regular shower temperatures painful.

I really admire people, who can cope with cold water. With me people start screaming from pain when they shower after me and don't check the temperature :lol:

I used to brush my hair when it was almost completely dry, now I brush as soon as the hair is out of the towel. I still can't decide if that's a bad habit or not. I don't notice an uptake in shed hair or breakage and brushed, my hair dries a lot sooner (like a couple of hours). I keep watching out for damage I guess;)

[tekla]

- Pulling split ends or white dots. A really, really bad habit that doesn't contribute to my growing goals
- Playing with hair

[Feral_]

I have some bad hair habits such as not wearing it up a lot (I prefer braids instead, more comfortable and more my style) and touching my hair a lot. The latter has much to do with my growing out virgin hair and I just love how it feels after years of non-virgin hair. However, I don't think I'm trying to break those habits. Right now, I feel like quitting bleaching is the best thing I could ever do to my hair and everything else feels so small in comparison. Maybe if I one day wake up and find that those things are hindering me from reaching a hair goal, I might reconsider stopping them, but until then, I'll just relax and enjoy my hair.

One thing I can mention here is treating my hair more gently when it's wet. Especially now that I'm working hard on using up subpar conditioners, I find myself quite frustrated dealing with tangly and non-slippy hair in the shower, and that sometimes results in breakage.


This is one habit that I'll probably never need to break, because my heat tolerance is TERRIBLE. :laugh: I take such cool showers that everybody is shocked when they see where the temperature is set. I tend find other people's regular shower temperatures painful.

I too prefer braids to buns - buns are neat when you need it out of the way and tidy, but the hair could be any length in that thing :hmm: Braids are more comfortable for me. And I’m with you on the heat tolerance - the thermostat on my shower gets moved down considerably from my SO’s temperature - I don’t know how he tolerates it! And I always end it on a cold setting, even in winter, I feel cleaner and more invigorated :lol:

[tekla]

This is one habit that I'll probably never need to break, because my heat tolerance is TERRIBLE. :laugh: I take such cool showers that everybody is shocked when they see where the temperature is set. I tend find other people's regular shower temperatures painful.


And I’m with you on the heat tolerance - the thermostat on my shower gets moved down considerably from my SO’s temperature - I don’t know how he tolerates it! And I always end it on a cold setting, even in winter, I feel cleaner and more invigorated :lol:

I'm with you on water temperature! I prefer warmish water and if I shower at someone else's house, I always need to move the thermostat down. Too warm feels uncomfortable and skin is dry as a desert afterwards.

[Tinyponies]

Hmm, how to describe. When I take my bun down, and when making a bun, I have a bad habit of getting my fingers ever so slightly caught in a bit of hair while smoothing it out/flicking it back, and I’m sure it breaks some. My hairs are so fine they’ll break if I look at them wrong, it’s nothing rough, but more clumsy and careless as I haven’t managed to alter that behaviour yet.

[maddie9]

I love this thread because it's comforting to know I'm not the only one who obsesses over finding/pulling white dots and splits in my hair :(

[AmeerahKhanNot]

Touching my hair....constantly....

[Galexialyn]

I confess, I am using flat iron, because I looove silky straight hair *crying*. I'm trying to use it as less as possible (approx. once/twice a month), of course I never do it on wet hair, and I'm always using heat protecting spray/oil.

[Dung Beetle]

Getting used to not wearing it loose. I used to love the feeling of my hair down - since it’s grown I realise it’s just not practical. That saddens me a bit. I think there’s been a thread on this - “what’s the point of long hair if it’s up all the time” type of thing :shrug:
Yes, my hair is down nearly all the time, and I'm not even trying to break the habit. What I need to do is stop thinking of growing it really long. I'd only be miserable.

[LemonadeCandy]

Touching my hair....constantly....

Me! Also hot water. And touching my scalp!

[FaeBroom]

I'm a rough detangler too, I have to learn to take the time to do my hair rather than rake through it 5 minutes before I leave the house. I gave up my other *super* bad habits, like heat and bleach, so beating my hair up with the brush and then throwing it up for the day is really the big one to tackle. I guess messy styling should be a bad habit to break too, sometimes I just leave my ends exposed and don't care, or I rock a messy bun without much thought to protecting my ends or creasing up my hair in odd places. At least the messy styles are done with no/low damage toys now!

[baanoo]

using those clear elastics on the ends of my braids (they're so perfectly tiny and I hate a bulky hair tie) and washing my hair in hot water.

full disclosure: I am really not putting my heart into changing these habits; I adore a hot shower and have no idea what would be a better-but-equally-subtle way to tie off my braids!

[maddie9]

using those clear elastics on the ends of my braids (they're so perfectly tiny and I hate a bulky hair tie) and washing my hair in hot water.

full disclosure: I am really not putting my heart into changing these habits; I adore a hot shower and have no idea what would be a better-but-equally-subtle way to tie off my braids!

I want to know if anyone has a good alternative to those clear elastics too! The ends of my hair are so thin and I've never found anything that holds better. I didn't even consider how damaging they are :(

[baanoo]

I want to know if anyone has a good alternative to those clear elastics too! The ends of my hair are so thin and I've never found anything that holds better. I didn't even consider how damaging they are :(

I prefer to braid allll the way down my hair so my ends are thin, too. I’m careful taking them out and, tbh, consider all ends ultimately sacrificial to an extent, but yes! Surely someone here is wiser than we are and can recommend something!

[Feral_]

I want to know if anyone has a good alternative to those clear elastics too! The ends of my hair are so thin and I've never found anything that holds better. I didn't even consider how damaging they are :(

For a braid I leave a substantial tassel and use a fishnet elastic. Those tiny clear elastics are too small in diameter to fit around my tassel, I think they would machete their way into my ends :(

[Hedwig]

I'm always playing with my hair, inspecting it for split ends/breakage, I tend to wash it too much using water that's too hot and get impatient during detangling it, so I often just rip it. How am I not bald??

[emilyogini]

I'll be honest here; my bad habit is comparing my head of hair to other heads of hair, and feeling low. I should really be more thankful for all the positive aspects of my own "mane."

[Dung Beetle]

Me too. It helps a little to recognize that my own hair is better than it has ever been. It's not as nice as some other people's, but it's my personal best! So far.

[Bugg]

I can absolutely relate to the comparison habit. It's something I struggle with in so many area's of life, not just with hair.

But it is said: Comparison is the thief of joy. :blossom:

[Finda]

using those clear elastics on the ends of my braids (they're so perfectly tiny and I hate a bulky hair tie) and washing my hair in hot water.

full disclosure: I am really not putting my heart into changing these habits; I adore a hot shower and have no idea what would be a better-but-equally-subtle way to tie off my braids!

I'm almost convinced these elastics do less damage than a reagular hair tie. At least it leaves less of a dent on my hair. My braids are very tapered and there is not much hair left to tie off, so they are my second choice after ribbon (which is protective but not subtle).

[baanoo]

I'm almost convinced these elastics do less damage than a reagular hair tie. At least it leaves less of a dent on my hair. My braids are very tapered and there is not much hair left to tie off, so they are my second choice after ribbon (which is protective but not subtle).

This is an excellent point.

[TechnoAngel]

Making my buns too tight, which is causing my scalp to get red and itchy.

[Siv]

I don't even consider hot showers a bad habit, heh

I should stop letting my pupper jump, chase and chew on my sleeping braid, but it's like the highlight of his day, he loves it so much, and I'm weak lol


I want to know if anyone has a good alternative to those clear elastics too! The ends of my hair are so thin and I've never found anything that holds better. I didn't even consider how damaging they are :(

I found some small elastics at the grocery store awhile ago, looked like these ones (https://www.amazon.com/Mini-Elastics-Small-Black-White/dp/B06X1B9KY6). Just like regular elastics but small.

[Eastbound&Down]

Using hair elastics. I just got some flexi-8s and plan to start using those as much as possible. As I get longer, I'll start using forks and sticks.

[maddie9]

I should stop letting my pupper jump, chase and chew on my sleeping braid, but it's like the highlight of his day, he loves it so much, and I'm weak lol

Lol, so relatable! Same thing with my cat. I can't even blame her for thinking my braid tassel's exclusive purpose is for her to play with. I let her get away with too much...

Thanks everyone for the small hair elastic recommendations. To be honest I also feel that the traditional hair elastics are more rough on the hair than the stretchy plastic ones, as long as you're careful while removing them. But this could just be because my hair is really smooth and slippery so they pull off very easily and don't snag. Probably would not be as advisable for anyone with more curly or textured hair.

[Kibrah]

I'll be honest here; my bad habit is comparing my head of hair to other heads of hair, and feeling low. I should really be more thankful for all the positive aspects of my own "mane."

I do this too. It's something I need to work on and love my hair for what it is and how much better it has gotten since I have started taking care of it.

The other bad habit I have is constantly messing with my hair. I out up, a little while later take it down, then try a different style. The back is fragile and snaps really easy, I need to put it up in the morning and leave it alone.

[FrayedFire]

There are softer versions of those little elastics, and if you pre-stretch them and don't wrap them too tightly, they're the least damaging thing I've found, just remove them carefully. And maybe leave a longer tassel?

I need to stop wearing my hair loose so often, I was doing so well, but now that I work from home, its been too easy, and I've definitely been sitting on it more! And I wear headphones, so that plus bun means more headaches.

[PeonyBlue]

I want to know if anyone has a good alternative to those clear elastics too! The ends of my hair are so thin and I've never found anything that holds better. I didn't even consider how damaging they are :(

I recently came across an excellent Morgan Donner video on just this topic. The way she braids the cords in before tying them off is a great idea.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dpT86z93Ec8

[Jools69]

Another bad habit I need to kick is pulling loose hairs that stick out at the end of the tassel on my plait. Sometimes it comes out smoothly, but sometimes it snags or is knotted to an ‘anchored’ strand, breaking that one too.

[FrayedFire]

I recently came across an excellent Morgan Donner video on just this topic. The way she braids the cords in before tying them off is a great idea.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dpT86z93Ec8

This is great! I've been wanting to try hair taping for ages, and these are way better methods - I love her "next day" style too, I've done that, but never with a ribbon, it will look so much nicer next time I do it.

I only wish she had showed a way to put up the single braid, too..

[Bugg]

Another bad habit I need to kick is pulling loose hairs that stick out at the end of the tassel on my plait. Sometimes it comes out smoothly, but sometimes it snags or is knotted to an ‘anchored’ strand, breaking that one too.

Aah I do this too, and in the shower while my hair is wet :s

[Arciela]

Another bad habit I need to kick is pulling loose hairs that stick out at the end of the tassel on my plait. Sometimes it comes out smoothly, but sometimes it snags or is knotted to an ‘anchored’ strand, breaking that one too.

I catch myself doing this far too much >< I need to stop but its so tempting!

[MusicalSpoons]

I recently came across an excellent Morgan Donner video on just this topic. The way she braids the cords in before tying them off is a great idea.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dpT86z93Ec8

Oh THANK YOU I've been wanting a visual of the short ribbon in the end of a braid to share for ages (even tried making my own, which was a total fail).

My own thoughts on subtle replacements for clear elastics would be maybe a strand of yarn or cord or something similar in the same colour as the hair, tied round like this. Not being satin, a simple knot would likely suffice.

[StrawberryGOLD]

Nice thread! My bad habits would be detangling wet hair, I absolutely can't wait til its dry as I fear the knots would be really bad and securing my sleep braid too tight.... how tight should elastics be and what else can be used?

[Feral_]

Oh THANK YOU I've been wanting a visual of the short ribbon in the end of a braid to share for ages (even tried making my own, which was a total fail).

My own thoughts on subtle replacements for clear elastics would be maybe a strand of yarn or cord or something similar in the same colour as the hair, tied round like this. Not being satin, a simple knot would likely suffice.

I was wondering if a length of soft suede thong would do the same for tying off ends. Not as fancy as ribbon, but might look nice :)

[Bri-Chan]

I wash my hair when I'm bored (always respecting at least 3 days) and not because it's dirty... I could wait at least one day if not two or three more.

[ccsdg]

Unnecessarily french/dutch braiding, especially my daughters' hair (I'm reasonably disciplined with my own). "I'm just going to get your hair out of the way" becomes some non-linear mysterious sigil splayed all over their head before completing the actual braid.

[maddie9]

I recently came across an excellent Morgan Donner video on just this topic. The way she braids the cords in before tying them off is a great idea.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dpT86z93Ec8

Ooh, this is so pretty! I love the idea of braiding in the loop of ribbon just at the end of the braid(s). It would also add a bit of thickness and (maybe) hold the shorter pieces that usually pop out of the braid a bit more securely. Thanks for posting, PeonyBlue :-)


I was wondering if a length of soft suede thong would do the same for tying off ends. Not as fancy as ribbon, but might look nice :)

I thought this might work as well! Definitely a good option if you're not going for the renaissance faire look on that particular day. More of a fantasy maiden vibe!

[baanoo]

I recently came across an excellent Morgan Donner video on just this topic. The way she braids the cords in before tying them off is a great idea.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dpT86z93Ec8

Peony, thank you so much!


Oh THANK YOU I've been wanting a visual of the short ribbon in the end of a braid to share for ages (even tried making my own, which was a total fail).

My own thoughts on subtle replacements for clear elastics would be maybe a strand of yarn or cord or something similar in the same colour as the hair, tied round like this. Not being satin, a simple knot would likely suffice.

Ah!!! :lightbulb:

[Finda]

I recently came across an excellent Morgan Donner video on just this topic. The way she braids the cords in before tying them off is a great idea.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dpT86z93Ec8

Such a cool video! Thanks so much :)

[Bright]

I recently came across an excellent Morgan Donner video on just this topic. The way she braids the cords in before tying them off is a great idea.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dpT86z93Ec8

Fantastic video, thank you so much for sharing it! I can't wait to try out these styles once my hair is long enough.

[Techmouse]

Leaving my hair down in a braid for days. Not only do I wind up with a major detangling job, but my ends get shredded in braids. The only safe style for me is some sort of bun, but I keep being lazy and just wearing my sleep braid.

[foreveryours]

Leaving my hair down in a braid for days. Not only do I wind up with a major detangling job, but my ends get shredded in braids. The only safe style for me is some sort of bun, but I keep being lazy and just wearing my sleep braid.

How does it tangle? :confused:

I'd like to leave mine in a braid forever but I don't for 2 main reasons - (1) I sweat so need to dry out my scalp beneath the braid else very bad things happen and (2) I can't sleep on bumps.

[Bat]

Over bleaching and trimming seem to be my cardinal sins, one of those days I'll learn lmao

[ExpectoPatronum]

I tend to throw my hair into a bun and tie with a scrunchie. My ends are definitely starting to wear from being in a scrunchie. I can easily change this habit by using one of my hair forks :lol:

[orchidia]

My worst habit is definitely rubbing my scalp throughout the day when I'm stressed. It helps alleviate tension, but it gets my hair so oily so quickly!

[Bugg]

My worst habit is definitely rubbing my scalp throughout the day when I'm stressed. It helps alleviate tension, but it gets my hair so oily so quickly!

Yep, same here