Hair And Fast Growth Myths

[RancheroTheBee]

I'm sure we've all rolled our eyes at the "Trim your hair to make it grow faster" myth. But what about other silly hair myths?

I was traipsing around the internet, looking for information on gelatin supplements. I wanted to see if they worked for anyone else, and it's surprisingly hard to find personal accounts of people saying, "Yeah, worked for me." Instead, I found a lot of question sites and advice forums spouting the weirdest hair growing myths I've ever heard. Here's some gems:


Hair grows 2 inches a month. (Maybe squiggyflop, but she's the exception rather than the rule, I'd say. By the way, this myth came from someone who claimed to be in cosmetology.)
Pantene/Mane N' Tail/some salon brand makes hair grow faster. (Well, maybe a really good shampoo/conditioner will help you go longer between trims, making it SEEM faster, but if you're trimming every 6-8 weeks, I think not.)
Gelatin supplements/jelly are bad for you. (:( But I love Jello.)
Birth control makes hair grow faster. (I've heard, and experienced, the opposite. But, oh well.)
A good flat iron is good for the hair. (I think NOT.)
Pre-natal vitamins can kill you. (O_O)
Hair growth is caused by sweating.Well, that's all, folks. What silly myth have you heard lately?

[BroknRechord]

My boyfriend likes to say he should be allowed to pull it more, that it will help make it grow. However, he's just teasing.

The worst advice I ever heard for hair was that trimming your split ends is bad for your hair, only a professional haircut will make the ends healthy again. Maybe if you're using nail clippers or your teeth? Sheesh.

[ericthegreat]

I think you listed them all Bee. We all know that frequent trimming doesn't make your hair grow faster. Actually its quite the opposite, if you trim too much or too frequently you could end up negating all future length and never get longer hair or actually go progressively shorter.

There are some anecdotal reports that using coconut oil constantly like millions of Indian and Indonesian women do actually does increase the thickness of their hair or maximize their full potential growth. So perhaps some natural foods may contain the nutrients essential for optimal growth.

[DragonLady]

Well...I'll pop in and say "Gelatin has worked for me."

[RancheroTheBee]

I think you listed them all Bee.

What about... diary makes your hair grow slower?

And I've heard tugging on your hair stimulates the scalp, but that just seems kind of uncomfortable to me. :p

[EdG]

I got the "trim your hair to make it grow faster" comment only yesterday. It's amazing how widespread that myth is. :rolleyes:

The context was a dinner with a local vegetarian group. Inevitably, I get asked about my hair. I don't mind the attention. :D
Ed

[RancheroTheBee]

Well...I'll pop in and say "Gelatin has worked for me."

It worked for me when I took it before, but I wanted to see if it works for anyone else. :) Gelatin is personally responsible for the growth spurt that got my hair into a full pony tail. I'm glad it worked for you, too!


I got the "trim your hair to make it grow faster" comment only yesterday. It's amazing how widespread that myth is. :rolleyes:

The context was a dinner with a local vegetarian group. Inevitably, I get asked about my hair. I don't mind the attention. :D
Ed

I've heard if from everyone from hair stylists to little old ladies. I think it's because some people get hair that's so damaged that it basically starts eating its way up the length, and so trimming makes it grow "better", and thus "faster".

[HeatherLarsen]

Mane and tail or rather horse shampoos/conditioners that contain "horsetail extract" DO in fact speed the process a bit from my own personal experience. Cutting your hair doesn't make it grow faster but look at it this way... Someone who has long hair with 5 inch ends that are in such bad shape (from previous bleaching, perms, relaxers etc.) that it splits and travels up the hair shaft would have a much more difficult time overall getting their hair to grow because of the state of health. I think the actual truth in that myth is that removing the damage from the hair allows the hair to become healthier sooner, which leads to faster growth.

[BroknRechord]

I think the trimming it make it faster myth stems from the damaged hair will continue damage (up the root or tangling) added with the appearance of faster growth and thicker hair from shaving. It is kinda silly though, to think that what is happening on your head is in any way affected by the ends of the hair. I bought that myth as a child, but didn't care, I wouldn't let anyone near my hair. (That is until Topanga got her hair cut on Boy Meets World, that was the turning point!)

[EdG]

I see. I don't do anything damaging to my hair and I don't get split ends. My ends are fragile from sun exposure and age. On occasion, one will break off cleanly. :)
Ed

[julya]

I just heard today in my bio class that hair and nails grow up to 20% faster durning a fever.

[aksown]

"You HAVE to use salon products. Grocery store stuff is not the same quality as salon products." This was told to me by a twenty-year veteran of the hairdressing industry when she found out I was attempting to go natural with my haircare. She also told me that salon shampoo will not strip all the natural oils out if the hair. Strange, but I thought that was the purpose of shampoo! :confused:

[krissykins]

I just heard today in my bio class that hair and nails grow up to 20% faster durning a fever.

Really? Did your class discuss why?

[Gothic Lolita]

I just heard today in my bio class that hair and nails grow up to 20% faster durning a fever.


That's interesting! But I thought when the ody fight something and therefore has fever, it would shut down all unnecessary things, like hair and nail growth. Or maybe then they grow faster because of the increasing body heat and activity of enzymes? Confusing, but interesting!

[ericthegreat]

Really now? I guess I'll go out to look for someone who is sick with a cold or flu. :gobblecheese:

[Heidi_234]

There's one for you:
Massaging Monistat into your scalp make it grow faster.

Just kidding! :p

My hairstylist told me that when the ends are damaged and splitting they weaken the hair and make it more grow slowly. Uh huh, yeah right. My hair got nerves running though the core. Uh huh, um humm...
I was also told that once I cut it short, I will never be able to grow it out again. I was a healthy 6 grader, of course I could grow it long again! :rolleyes:

[Cindi Eponabri]

My hair and fingernails both did grow faster and stronger when I was pregnant.

Other "myths" I've heard include that hair grows faster in the summer and braiding your hair will make it grow faster.

[Renbirde]

Other "myths" I've heard include that hair grows faster in the summer...
I've heard this too, along with 'hair grows faster when you're asleep.' How they'd go about measuring that amount of growth, I have no idea.


... braiding your hair will make it grow faster.
Sort of... it minimizes breakage from mechanical damage, rather like updos.

[fae]

Pre-natal vitamins will kill you?

Oy vey.

I don't have any hair myths that I can think of. But I do know that being preggers speeds up growth (and health).

Oh...I do have one....
Cutting during the waxing/full moon will increase growth. Cutting during the waning moon, of course, slows down growth.

Since I don't cut my hair a lot, I can't attest to this.

We will have to make a witchy poll.

[BroknRechord]

If that were true almost all the long hairs I know wouldn't be so! Sheesh.

[Tarja]

It worked for me when I took it before, but I wanted to see if it works for anyone else. :) Gelatin is personally responsible for the growth spurt that got my hair into a full pony tail. I'm glad it worked for you, too!



I've heard if from everyone from hair stylists to little old ladies. I think it's because some people get hair that's so damaged that it basically starts eating its way up the length, and so trimming makes it grow "better", and thus "faster".

how is gelatin used?:confused: I mean what kind of gelatin, you need to eat it? sorry for stupid question but it's the first time i hear it. And i am really interested in making my hair grow faster

[ericthegreat]

If the trimming away your splits myth were true, a good foot or more of my hair would have completely broken off and instead of being at butt length it would be say about APL.

[fae]

how is gelatin used?:confused: I mean what kind of gelatin, you need to eat it? sorry for stupid question but it's the first time i hear it. And i am really interested in making my hair grow faster

I was wondering the same thing.

I'm looking at the last 6-7 inches before I reach classic. Not that I expect like 4 inches of growth a month (I wish!) but if I could get it to a nice round 1" that would be nice.

Oh and this made me wonder, does anyone know if there is a scientific reason hair doesn't grow faster?

I should go google.

[HotRag]

"Cut your hair and it'll get thicker [more hairs], just like a lawn."

"Shaving your legs causes the hairs to get really coarse (and thick)."

[Chanterelle]

I'm sure we've all rolled our eyes at the "Trim your hair to make it grow faster" myth.
This isn't a silly for myth for me :)
I went from chin to APL in a year with trims every 3 months. APL to BSL took me over a year with just 1 trim.



Cutting during the waxing/full moon will increase growth. Cutting during the waning moon, of course, slows down growth.
I've heard this one too. Haven't noticed any difference but I do choose waxing moon for my trims. :)

[DragonLady]

how is gelatin used?:confused: I mean what kind of gelatin, you need to eat it? sorry for stupid question but it's the first time i hear it. And i am really interested in making my hair grow faster

Here's a link to my blog entry about the way I take it: http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/blog.php?b=45329

[Zindell]

One of the weirdest I've read lately:


"Any time a part of the human body becomes unbalanced (as in a cut). The body goes to work immediately to do what it can to balance that unbalanced part. So when you cut bangs or layers, your scalp quickly goes to work to even out your uneven or unbalanced lengths. Your scalp does this by simply reducing the nutrition to your longer lengths, and increasing the nutrition to the shorter lengths. Increasing the growth rate of the shorter lengths of hair, and reducing the growth rate of longer lengths. This condition can also lead to the thinning out of the longer lengths.

And this is why bangs and layers will lead to slower hair growth and hair loss. All one-length hair will grow faster and thicker than banged or layered hair for most people."

Source: http://*************/HCP/bangs.htm

[Heidi_234]

One of the weirdest I've read lately:
Source: http://*************/HCP/bangs.htm
Oh yeah this one! No wonder it remains mostly unheard of - hairstylists would want you to come for layers and bangs and then come back to maintain them.

[Aditi]

I agree it really is weird one.

[Cindi Eponabri]

"I've heard this too, along with 'hair grows faster when you're asleep.' How they'd go about measuring that amount of growth, I have no idea."

Well in that case, my hair should be to the floor and out the door...

[Tarja]

Here's a link to my blog entry about the way I take it: http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/blog.php?b=45329


Thank you, but when I enter on the link I receive this message



Tarja, you do not have permission to access this page. This could be due to one of several reasons


I suppose because I am new here

[Heidi_234]

I suppose because I am new here
Yes, just 14 more posts and you'll be able to see it.

[SeaShell]

I've heard some really outrageous ones....one at yahoo answers said eating bacon makes your hair grow "super fast." I heard standing on your head helps (if only I could do that) and wild growth hair oil. I have tried Mane and Tail and I like it, I'm not sure there's any extra growth though but gelatin seems to help.

[Fractalsofhair]

The only theory I can think of with hair growth and trimming is that damage does cause hair to break, resulting in a reduction in length. But if you have healthy hair, damage isn't that big of a deal. A good flat iron is less damaging than the most beat up one, but both are still EXTREMELY damaging.(It's only that in the better ones, you have more control over the temperature. And your hair is less likely to snag.) I suppose if you clogged your pores totally, hair would seem to grow less and you wouldn't be sweating. However, that seems like a recipe for ingrown hairs IMO. XD Those myths are funny. Though, the scalp massage you get at a hairdresser is likely to slightly help hair grow faster, I doubt that length would be noticeable.

[Heidi_234]

I've heard some really outrageous ones....one at yahoo answers said eating bacon makes your hair grow "super fast." I heard standing on your head helps (if only I could do that) and wild growth hair oil. I have tried Mane and Tail and I like it, I'm not sure there's any extra growth though but gelatin seems to help.
Well, about the standing on your head thing - I had a friend who tried to grow a long beard, and he complained that he even stands on his head to encourage growth while his buddy it growing stubs in half of a day.
The idea is that when you upside down all the blood flows to your head, and increased blood flow does encourages hair growth. On the other hand, I've read on some Yoga sites where people inquired whether the upside down poses help hair growth/fight hair loss and generally it was answered with a not really. I wanted to start a topic over this but I kept forgetting.

[florenonite]

Hair growth is caused by sweating.

Perhaps it's because sweating is often caused by physical activity, which causes increased blood flow, which in turn can increase growth.



The worst advice I ever heard for hair was that trimming your split ends is bad for your hair, only a professional haircut will make the ends healthy again. Maybe if you're using nail clippers or your teeth? Sheesh.

I can see this if people are just using any old pair of scissors to trim their splits, but hairdressers don't have magic, split-end-preventing scissors; any pair of sharp hair scissors will do.



Other "myths" I've heard include that hair grows faster in the summer

Mine does. 1" in the summer and up to 1/2" the rest of the year.

[heatherdazy]

A good flat iron is good for the hair. (I think NOT.)
Oh, please. I don't think there's a single person alive who believes this. Certainly a higher quality iron generally causes much less trauma than some POS from Walmart, but that's a completely different claim.

[RancheroTheBee]

I've heard some really outrageous ones....one at yahoo answers said eating bacon makes your hair grow "super fast." I heard standing on your head helps (if only I could do that) and wild growth hair oil. I have tried Mane and Tail and I like it, I'm not sure there's any extra growth though but gelatin seems to help.

:laugh: Bacon?! I'm sorry, but bacon just strikes me as a really silly food for some reason. I guess it has some grain of truth: keratin is protein, and getting more protein has a benefit to hair. But a lot of things contain protein; chicken, fish, tofu, eggs, bagels, milk, cheese, etc. Or something. Help me out here.

Same idea with the gelatin, by the way. It's a significant source of protein. I started taking it about a month or two ago in large doses, in capsule form. You can buy it as a supplement, or as DragonLady pointed out in her article, in the form of unflavored Knox gelatin packets. I was taking about 4-5 caps a day (the instructions said anywhere from 1-7, depending on what your stomach can handle) and it took me about a month to see a difference in my hair. I haven't seen any increase in thickness, but I did get a growth spurt of about half an inch (unheard of for me) and suddenly, my nails weren't breaking off all the time. I ran out, and I stopped taking them as an experiment to see if this was the magic pill that was helping my hair and nails so much, and low and behold, the second I stopped taking them, my hair stopped growing and my nails started splitting again.

It's probably preferable to simply eat a healthy amount of protein in your diet to see the same results; unfortunately, I have a large and exciting array of health issues, and sometimes eating is difficult for me. So, things like gelatin and multi-vits tide me over in times when I cannot eat as well as I should.

[RancheroTheBee]

Oh, please. I don't think there's a single person alive who believes this. Certainly a higher quality iron generally causes much less trauma than some POS from Walmart, but that's a completely different claim.

Oh, there's people who believe it. The idea that you can use benign neglect on your hair, rather than assaulting it with a chunk of steel too hot to make contact with your skin is weird to some people.

Look up hair growing tips on Yahoo-Answers, and most people will say, "use a heat protector while flat-ironing" instead of "don't heat style."

But yeah, when I found that gem, the person was actually claiming that Chi Irons will help your hair grow. :shrug:

[SeaShell]

Well, about the standing on your head thing - I had a friend who tried to grow a long beard, and he complained that he even stands on his head to encourage growth while his buddy it growing stubs in half of a day.
The idea is that when you upside down all the blood flows to your head, and increased blood flow does encourages hair growth. On the other hand, I've read on some Yoga sites where people inquired whether the upside down poses help hair growth/fight hair loss and generally it was answered with a not really. I wanted to start a topic over this but I kept forgetting.

that's interesting... I know increasing blood flow to the head is the reason people encourage scalp massage but I never thought standing on your head worked the same way! Now I'll have to learn how! :p

[julya]

That's interesting! But I thought when the ody fight something and therefore has fever, it would shut down all unnecessary things, like hair and nail growth. Or maybe then they grow faster because of the increasing body heat and activity of enzymes? Confusing, but interesting!

Yes, it had to do with increased metabolic rate caused by the higher temperature.

[ladylibra]

I've heard this too, along with 'hair grows faster when you're asleep.' How they'd go about measuring that amount of growth, I have no idea.

I dunno, but there might be a grain of truth in it. If I shave at night, I have a "5 o'clock shadow" in the morning (and I typically only get 6 hours of sleep). If I shave first thing in the morning, I don't have that shadow until at least 10 hours later.

Your body recuperates and rebuilds in its sleep... so it wouldn't surprise me that hair grows a bit faster.


Cutting during the waxing/full moon will increase growth. Cutting during the waning moon, of course, slows down growth.

Don't know if this is true, but grew up with it. Even now, I feel guilty if I don't do my trimming during a new moon or full moon. Yes, I usually check the calendar before doing so. :o

[redneckprincess]

my gelatin and prenatles are working just fine for me...but I have heard that shampooing your hair can stunt growth (hair growth)

[yogachic]

I've heard some really outrageous ones....one at yahoo answers said eating bacon makes your hair grow "super fast." I heard standing on your head helps (if only I could do that) and wild growth hair oil. I have tried Mane and Tail and I like it, I'm not sure there's any extra growth though but gelatin seems to help.

Lot's of bacon, it may make you put on the pounds, but not hair growth, I think. :)

[yogachic]

my gelatin and prenatles are working just fine for me...but I have heard that shampooing your hair can stunt growth (hair growth)

This one I know is a myth, because all my life I have washed my hair every other day and I went from shoulder to top of waist in 1.5 years. :confused:

[florenonite]

my gelatin and prenatles are working just fine for me...but I have heard that shampooing your hair can stunt growth (hair growth)

The only truth I can see in this is that if you're overshampooing your hair you might be drying it out, hence causing breakage and therefore it appears to grow more slowly.

[Kiraela]

"Salon products are better than grocery store items, but natural things like oil will damage your hair and it will all fall out and you will be BALD! So buy this shampoo for only 39.99 an ounce, you won't need conditioner, oil, or a comb ever again!" to be fair, this was told to me by someone who was a 20 year veteran of the marketing division of a pricey salong-products company.

"Flat irons won't damage your hair as much as leaving it natural will!" I did not know what to say to that....

[Flynn]

Birth control makes hair grow faster. (I've heard, and experienced, the opposite. But, oh well.)

I've heard both.... BC seems to be pretty unpredictable.





Pre-natal vitamins can kill you. (O_O)

Strictly it's possible. You can overdose on vitamins, particularly if there's metals in there.

Hmmm... what I've heard... O.o "dirty hair doesn't grow" so you have to wash your hair every two days was one I was told by someone's mother when I was smaller (I was refusing to let her wash my hair. I wasn't even meant to be using soap at that point because of my skin, let alone shampoo...) but that might have been made up on the spot, going by context...

[Jason]

I don't think it's a myth that hair grows faster during the summer. I've repeatedly noticed this on myself and others too.

[Rose J.]

We all know that frequent trimming doesn't make your hair grow faster. Actually its quite the opposite, if you trim too much or too frequently you could end up negating all future length and never get longer hair or actually go progressively shorter.



Wait...what? Is that a myth or is it supposed to be true? I'm confused. :confused:



Edit: Never mind. I read it for the tenth time and finally got it. I thought they meant trimming your hair could actually cause the growth to stop.

[kmoc123]

I THINK that staying away from SCISSORS make your hair grow faster...

[squiggyflop]

I'm sure we've all rolled our eyes at the "Trim your hair to make it grow faster" myth. But what about other silly hair myths?

I was traipsing around the internet, looking for information on gelatin supplements. I wanted to see if they worked for anyone else, and it's surprisingly hard to find personal accounts of people saying, "Yeah, worked for me." Instead, I found a lot of question sites and advice forums spouting the weirdest hair growing myths I've ever heard. Here's some gems:


Hair grows 2 inches a month. (Maybe squiggyflop, but she's the exception rather than the rule, I'd say. By the way, this myth came from someone who claimed to be in cosmetology.)Well, that's all, folks. What silly myth have you heard lately?
hehe well my hair doesnt grow that fast anymore.. that was before i started college.. plus i was taking vitamins..
oddly my hair always grew at least an inch a month when i would drink a gallon of milk a day..
now it grows at a very normal slow rate (stress+lack of sleep+no vitamins=slow growing hair)

lately i keep hearing people say that hair cut with a razor grows faster.. no idea why people think this..

i also heard that hair that is flat ironed every day grows twice as fast..

[Maud]

"if you cut your hair, air will get into the hair so it can grow faster" why do people really believe these weird things?

[RancheroTheBee]

"if you cut your hair, air will get into the hair so it can grow faster" why do people really believe these weird things?

*giggle* You're kidding? Did someone actually say that?

[EtherealOde]

My grandmother told me if I wanted long hair I needed to brush it for 100 stroked in each area of my head, morning and night.

I tried it for awhile and had more hair breakage than I had ever had in my life, even with coloring as I've gotten older. It seems less is more, when it comes to manipulating your hair, if you want to keep it!

[tina1025]

hmm interesting...I had fever on Thursday and finally went away on sunday but my hair has been shedding a lot for past 2-3 months. I dont think fever helped at all... :confused:
I just heard today in my bio class that hair and nails grow up to 20% faster durning a fever.

[tina1025]

Razon cut ruins your hair. Def doesnt help it grow faster....

[florenonite]

If anything, razor cuts make your hair grow more slowly, because they damage the ends which can cause breakage or necessitate more frequent trims (and if those trims are done with a razor ....)

[Copasetic]

I have heard that "clean" hair grows faster, so you should wash your hair multiple times a day.

[enfys]

I read all these and the only one I don't think I saw that I can remember is that layers make your hair lighter because it's shorter so it grows faster.

Also if you wear a hat your hair will thin. No mention of friction damage or anything. Your head gets warm in a hat so your hair thins to compensate.

So...this gelatin thing. Are Haribo good for me and my hair, because I think I just discovered my own secret!

[Kiraela]

Multiple times a day!? Wow. With as dry as my hair is on the bleached bits, I would be back to BsL from breakage within a month!

I was running a fever of around 100F for the past three days, and oddly, my hair does seem a little bit longer...

[florenonite]

I have heard that "clean" hair grows faster, so you should wash your hair multiple times a day.

This is based in fact, as excess sebum can cause decreased growth, I believe. However, washing it multiple times a day is ludicrous! Once a day I can understand if your hair does genuinely get greasy in 24 hours, but I can't see why anyone would need to wash it in the morning and again in the evening (well, maybe a teenager with oil production in overdrive who's going out in the evening and wants to look nice, but that wouldn't be every evening).

[Heidi_234]

This is based in fact, as excess sebum can cause decreased growth, I believe. However, washing it multiple times a day is ludicrous! Once a day I can understand if your hair does genuinely get greasy in 24 hours, but I can't see why anyone would need to wash it in the morning and again in the evening (well, maybe a teenager with oil production in overdrive who's going out in the evening and wants to look nice, but that wouldn't be every evening).
I doubt that excess sebum decreases growth. But generally unclean scalp can lead to fungi/bacteria and unhealthy scalp - and that might decrease growth rate and induce shedding.

[jera]

Well...I'll pop in and say "Gelatin has worked for me."

Does it really? :confused: I've frequently heard that and once used the gelatin powder for stronger fingernails.

I've also heard an organic raw food diet will speed growth. This summer, I'm putting that myth to the test as much as possible. I'll become healthier, it not hairier for sure. :rolleyes:

[florenonite]

I doubt that excess sebum decreases growth. But generally unclean scalp can lead to fungi/bacteria and unhealthy scalp - and that might decrease growth rate and induce shedding.

I think it can impair growth because it clogs the follicles. I think that's really excessive sebum, though.

[Bellalalala]

Hair definitely grows more during sleep as this is when the body does most of its passive construction/reconstruction work.

Strict dieting can lessen hair growth, especially if there is a lack of protein


As for myths, I have definitely been told that taking aspirin, wearing my motorcycle helmet, and not drinking any alcohol will slow hair growth!!!
People actually say these things to me! Come on people, I'm a frickin' scientist!

[Butterbuns]

I've heard some really outrageous ones....one at yahoo answers said eating bacon makes your hair grow "super fast." I heard standing on your head helps (if only I could do that) and wild growth hair oil. I have tried Mane and Tail and I like it, I'm not sure there's any extra growth though but gelatin seems to help.

Bacon? Really? If bacon actually made hair grow "super fast" mine would be well past my butt. Don't I wish XD

[Heidi_234]

I think it can impair growth because it clogs the follicles. I think that's really excessive sebum, though.
Clogged follicles don't grow new hairs as far as I understand. It can't clog if there's already a hair growing from it. Me thinks. :confused:

[HotRag]

Clogged follicles don't grow new hairs as far as I understand. It can't clog if there's already a hair growing from it. Me thinks. :confused:
Have you read about that?

When I have plucked hairs away from for example my leg (real terminal hair that is), it can become a infection with clogged pore. The hair starts to grow anyway, but can't get out so it become a @ inside of the follicle/pore.
Maybe they always are to bad to grow as they should, but one should not miss this if it happens on the head.

But then... We have more sebum and build up waxy sebum on scalp that we never have on legs ^_^ So maybe it is a totally different issue.

[hennaphile]

This is based in fact, as excess sebum can cause decreased growth, I believe. However, washing it multiple times a day is ludicrous! Once a day I can understand if your hair does genuinely get greasy in 24 hours, but I can't see why anyone would need to wash it in the morning and again in the evening (well, maybe a teenager with oil production in overdrive who's going out in the evening and wants to look nice, but that wouldn't be every evening).

I've done that a couple of times, but I have bad scalp issues :p

[82exoticbeauty]

The hair myth that I know of that if you have dandruff your hair grow slow! But to me it doesn't, I used to have dandruff before and didn't grow slow, it grew normal and fast!
Also when you wear a hat, you will lose more hair or thin out! :rolleyes:Umm . . . no way! I always wear those stylish hat (almost same to the hip hop ladies hat)! I wear them when I go out and I still don't have problem of that thinning hair out! It's still thick! I've been wearing hats since 2007 til now and don't have a problem! My mom says that when she sees me wearing a hat!:ohmy:, but I still love my mom and don't get mad when she says that:D

[jera]

"Shaving your legs causes the hairs to get really coarse (and thick)."

That's been the truth, not a myth on my legs. :o

[luckypenny]

The most wide spread hair growth myth I hear is that by cutting your hair it will make it grow faster (it doesn make any sensen at all!)

[Stephichan]

My sister started going gray a few years ago and someone told her that if she pulled it out, three more would grow in it's place :rolleyes:

[Renbirde]

"Shaving your legs causes the hairs to get really coarse (and thick)."
That's been the truth, not a myth on my legs. :o
When you shave, you cut off the tapered tip on the hair, so the hairs look thicker when they grow in. If you leave the hairs alone for a while, they'll hit terminal and regrow, so the hairs get their taper back and go back to being 'light.'

Or are your legs doing something else?

[florenonite]

That's been the truth, not a myth on my legs. :o

It's possible it just appears to be growing in coarser/thicker because the tip growing in is blunt. My hair is also dark but that could be (a) growing older; my head hair has got darker, too or (b) the fact that the hair doesn't get bleached by the sun because it's constantly being shaved off so the hairs that grow in are dark.

[LaurelSpring]

My sister started going gray a few years ago and someone told her that if she pulled it out, three more would grow in it's place :rolleyes:


I honestly did this once. A long time ago when I saw a gray hair in my bangs I pulled it out and darn it if 3 didnt grow where it was. Now that I have so many I could really get some thickness maybe...:doh:

[janiejones]

I was asked by a co-worker, "But being a vegetarian always makes a lot of your hair fall out, right?!?" (While scanning my head with a concerned look on her face)....absolutely not, if you're healthy about it. Not eating meat doesn't automatically make your hair exit your head.....

[gnome82]

Pre-natal vitamins can kill you. (O_O)

:spitting:

Oh so that's why I am feeling unwell lately :laugh:

[Rainbow2911]

I heard that you need to brush your hair upside down, either outside or with your head out of the window, so air can get to the roots and make it grow. I also remember being told as a child that you needed to have a special haircut to grow your hair long. Astonishingly it was the style my mother thought I should have...

[Suze2012]

I have been told by countless hair dressers that I need it cut ever 6-9 weeks to make it grow.
Back then I spent a fortune on getting it trimmed....and it kept getting shorter and shorter...how dumb was I?!

One 'very experienced' hairdresser who had been in the trade all her life told me that the best way to treat curly hair was never ever to condition it.............along with that she gave me shampoo that was the most drying stuff I had ever used...

The only real way to combat frizz is regular brushing....

Flat irons are good for your hair because they put nutrients into the hair shaft and make any products you use work better - much along the lines of hot oil treatments.

[Sterlyn]

I have been told by countless hair dressers that I need it cut ever 6-9 weeks to make it grow.
Back then I spent a fortune on getting it trimmed....and it kept getting shorter and shorter...how dumb was I?!

One 'very experienced' hairdresser who had been in the trade all her life told me that the best way to treat curly hair was never ever to condition it.............along with that she gave me shampoo that was the most drying stuff I had ever used...

The only real way to combat frizz is regular brushing....

Flat irons are good for your hair because they put nutrients into the hair shaft and make any products you use work better - much along the lines of hot oil treatments.

WOW, that is a serious bunch of BS on all 3 counts ;), kinda shocking what can be stated as fact by some professionals, good thing we know better.

[lydiajo]

I just heard today in my bio class that hair and nails grow up to 20% faster durning a fever.
That one may be true because your metabolism increases. However hopefully you don't have a fever for very long. LOL

[jacqueline101]

My favorite one is when you brush it tug on the ends. That will cause it to grow.

[Sharysa]

The only real way to combat frizz is regular brushing....

If by "combat" you mean "turn your hair into a stick-straight and limp mass" like how it was for me, then I suppose that's sort of true.

[mamaherrera]

My husband says he sees, not hears, that I have lots of pores that have 2-3 strands coming out of the same pore, anyone notice this on anyone's head?

[diddiedaisy]

I've heard this too, along with 'hair grows faster when you're asleep.' How they'd go about measuring that amount of growth, I have no idea.


Sort of... it minimizes breakage from mechanical damage, rather like updos.

I think my hair does grow when I'm asleep!!! After I had freshly dyed hair and ogling roots like a mad woman for growth, I went to bed one night with no root show and got up in the morning with 1mm show.

[Llama]

I think the "hair growing when you sleep" thing might be true. If I shave right before I go to bed, I have stubble when I wake up. Whether I slept 4 hours or 10 hours, I have stubble when I wake up. If I shave in the morning, I don't have stubble until the next morning.
Also, I slept constantly in highschool and had the longest hair I've ever had back then. But that could have also been attributed to teenage hormones or something.

[Emanuelle]

- hair will stop growing once it has split (uhh... hair growns from the scalp :P )
- split ends can totally be healed by our superior shampoos (no... once it has split hair can only be temporarily glued together, it will still be split)
- When using a good heat protectant a flat iron will not damage your hair at all (it will :P )

[EmmAutumn]

- "Every girl should own thinning scissors, use them every trim" - some youtube tutorial on trimming your own hair. Boy, if i did that i would have 3 hairs left in my longest layer.
- "Henna is more damaging than regular hair dye."
- "If you flat iron your hair every day you should skip 1 day every week, so your hair can rest and repair itself."
- "Only a professional hairdresser can cut hair properly"

[askan]

My mum said once when I was a kid:
"You can't grow healthy hair longer than your shoulders when your older than 20, it just gets scraggly".

Don't know if she actually meant it or believed it but it stuck with me!

[restless]

Oh Ive got one (not related to fast hair growth but to strange hair myths in general)!

I recently had a friend tell me that they had heard that if you keep your hair long for a long period of time, you will eventually lose hair and it´ll get really thin. The only way to keep hair thick is to always keep it short.

(no, not "thin" as in the ends are thin and scraggly due to wear and tear but that you´ll magically loose thickness all over the entire head somehow because the long hair is... idunno, heavy? The only way to avoid such a cruel fate is to cut it off apparently)

[Of the Fae]

"Henna will destroy your hair from the inside out"

Plus, I was once told that terminal length can also be around APL. No one in my family had really long hair (until recently, my niece has beautiful mid back length straight golden hair)
So I guess I believed that the girls with really really long hair I knew were great exceptions.

[TheArtOfGirl]

Trimming makes it grow healthier, not faster. I've never heard that it makes it faster, but I wouldn't be surprised if a game of ear tag was played and some got confused.

[~*~Aspen~*~]

Pre-natal vitamins will kill you?

Oy vey.

I don't have any hair myths that I can think of. But I do know that being preggers speeds up growth (and health).

Oh...I do have one....
Cutting during the waxing/full moon will increase growth. Cutting during the waning moon, of course, slows down growth.

Since I don't cut my hair a lot, I can't attest to this.

We will have to make a witchy poll.

Speeds up, then sheds.

Even with some of the best prenatals-

-not much, my hair started rapidly growing after my son.

Not with much estrogen assistance.




Trimming makes it grow healthier, not faster. I've never heard that it makes it faster, but I wouldn't be surprised if a game of ear tag was played and some got confused.

ChYeup!-
:cool:





"You HAVE to use salon products. Grocery store stuff is not the same quality as salon products." This was told to me by a twenty-year veteran of the hairdressing industry when she found out I was attempting to go natural with my haircare. She also told me that salon shampoo will not strip all the natural oils out if the hair. Strange, but I thought that was the purpose of shampoo! :confused:



HA!!

Now, that one could definitely irritate a scalp or two-




Hair Busters.


http://www.medadvocates.org/celebstew-/february/feb_1036.gif

[LadyCelestina]

^ :lol:

This one is actually from the Curly Girl book - Curly hair needs to have air let in,by cutting the ends frequently.Now,I had a feeling I have just enough "air in my hair" if I don't suffocate myself with it...

[bananahanna]

Oh Ive got one (not related to fast hair growth but to strange hair myths in general)!

I recently had a friend tell me that they had heard that if you keep your hair long for a long period of time, you will eventually lose hair and it´ll get really thin. The only way to keep hair thick is to always keep it short.

(no, not "thin" as in the ends are thin and scraggly due to wear and tear but that you´ll magically loose thickness all over the entire head somehow because the long hair is... idunno, heavy? The only way to avoid such a cruel fate is to cut it off apparently)

perhaps because the ends can tend to get thinner, (think fairy tale ends) due to shedding and the younger hairs not being "caught up" with the length.

[Ambystoma]

Years ago, I was having a really bad shed and mentioned it to my doctor and I swear, the conversation went like this:
:confused: me (with MBL hair - not that long at all really)
:wacko: her
:confused: blah blah shedding for a couple of months
:wacko: oh yeah it's because it's too long
:confused: uh...pardon
:wacko: yeah it's too long you see, and so the hairs are too heavy for your scalp and that's why they're falling out!
:confused: but I've had it this exact same length for years and the shedding has only been a problem for the last 8 weeks or so...
:wacko: yeah but now it's too heavy.

After that, I really didn't feel comfortable trusting someone with zero critical thinking skills to give me health advice about anything from that point on and changed doctors right away :laugh: (and it turns out the shed was due to accidentally getting too much vitamin A from fish oil capsules)

[Sagi1982]

With some medicaments your hair will grow much faster - I had 5 cm/2" growth in a month while taking huge doses of cortisone cause of a disk herniation.
I don't recommend taking it, but yes, you can grow hair 2" a month.

Birth control - we're talking about the oral contraceptive pill? Alright. As far as I know the pill's effect is similar to that of a pregnancy - some women report having wonderful hair during her pregnancy, others reports horrible hair and massive loss after birth. So that could work, too.

[MissBubble]

You have to trim every 2 months to grow faster
If you pull out a grey hair, you will have multiple at the same spot. Like Lernaean Hydra or something? I have found two greys in my life, one ten years ago and one two years ago. I pulled them out and I didnt turn grey overnight.
If you use henna, you are condemned never to use chemical dye again.

[~*~Aspen~*~]

Years ago, I was having a really bad shed and mentioned it to my doctor and I swear, the conversation went like this:
:confused: me (with MBL hair - not that long at all really)
:wacko: her
:confused: blah blah shedding for a couple of months
:wacko: oh yeah it's because it's too long
:confused: uh...pardon
:wacko: yeah it's too long you see, and so the hairs are too heavy for your scalp and that's why they're falling out!
:confused: but I've had it this exact same length for years and the shedding has only been a problem for the last 8 weeks or so...
:wacko: yeah but now it's too heavy.

After that, I really didn't feel comfortable trusting someone with zero critical thinking skills to give me health advice about anything from that point on and changed doctors right away :laugh: (and it turns out the shed was due to accidentally getting too much vitamin A from fish oil capsules)

That sucks.


I had something along the lines of at the end: Yeah, I just don't know what to tell you.

You get the idea I'm sure..

But yea, yours= funny:D

[~*~Aspen~*~]

My sister started going gray a few years ago and someone told her that if she pulled it out, three more would grow in it's place :rolleyes:


AW!! :soapbox:

[Michiru]

One of the weirdest I've read lately:

One of the weirdest I've read lately:

"Any time a part of the human body becomes unbalanced (as in a cut). The body goes to work immediately to do what it can to balance that unbalanced part. So when you cut bangs or layers, your scalp quickly goes to work to even out your uneven or unbalanced lengths. Your scalp does this by simply reducing the nutrition to your longer lengths, and increasing the nutrition to the shorter lengths. Increasing the growth rate of the shorter lengths of hair, and reducing the growth rate of longer lengths. This condition can also lead to the thinning out of the longer lengths.

And this is why bangs and layers will lead to slower hair growth and hair loss. All one-length hair will grow faster and thicker than banged or layered hair for most people."

Source: http://*************/HCP/bangs.htm

This is what they told me at Geroge Michael as to why I shouldn't have layers

[Michiru]

Just finish all 3 pages. Just have to say, wow, there are a lot of banned people on this page.

[&rea]

I didn't read all 104 posts. My apologies if someone has already posted this. I watched a video on Youtube that said you can gain 1 inch of hair growth per week if you do a scalp massage using any kind of oil (the video maker actually used cooking oil) then allow the oil to set for 30 minutes and wash out. I watched another one that said to always keep your hair in an extremely tight ponytail, as tight as you possibly can. The video maker said it's like forcing the hair to stretch out of the scalp. Eek!

[&rea]

I have another one! I had a stylist try to push some expensive hair products on me once. She was trying to sell me this biotin infused spray. She said that it would help to rebuild the cells in my hair and eventually heal of my split ends. Ha! I never went back.

[Stiria]

I got one. Not about growth but still.. My cousin ruined her hair using exstensions, and her hairdresser was trying to help her by selling her a miracle product she claimed would repair her split ends. Not make them easier to deal with, or temporary "glue" the splits together, but actually repair them. :doh: