Funny/Bizarre/Nonsensical Hair Advice

[AnnaJamila]

Yesterday I was late to prayers (my bad) and hubby was coming so I blow fried my hair for the first time in about forever. (Used two types of protective serums and let it air dry as long as I could.) I don't generally do any kind of heat styling but as I was drying/frying my hair I remembered some advice a hairdresser gave me a really long time ago.

She said that blow drying was much healthier for hair than air drying because if the roots stayed wet too long your hair would start to mildew and rot. And then presumably fall out. Also it would weaken the cortex of the hair by being wet and the hair shaft would start to break and split. She said this was the reason most people had split ends because they let their hair stay wet too long. In the spirit of the "nicest/meanest hair comments" threads, I was wondering if anyone ever got any weird advice like this pertaining to hair? Sorry if there's already a thread for this topic- I haven't seen it and thought this one might be fun!

[LunaMoon]

Hi!
I can remember those ones:
1. You have to dye your hair otherwise it never will look good/all natural colors are ugly - from some hair stylist in Brazil.
2. If you don't brush (not talking about combing) your hair when is wet will look weird when is dry. - from my mom.
3. You have to eat a lot of pork fat everyday to have good hair, otherwise will never be shiny - from chinese co-workers when I was living in China.
I am sure there are more, but my mind sometimes just "delet" this kind of advise.
Regards!

[AnnaJamila]

Pork fat? . . . eew! Haha, I wonder why pork specifically?

[Svenja]

** Cut them or they won't grow - a classic.

** Sleep with your hair down otherwise the movement of the head at night weakens the roots and the hair falls out - my gran

[RitaPG]

I've heard the "the more you cut your hair, the faster it grows" countless times...
Also, because I have a little gray hair, some people think I have to dye it.
I've heard oil is bad for hair.
And that if I pluck one gray hair, seven other strands will grow/ turn gray.
My grandma used to say that when I'm on my period I shouldn't wash my hair... Yea right :rolleyes:

[Naphthylamine]

If you keep your hair long, all the vitamins/minerals etc will just go feed your hair rather than your body. -Yeah, if hair was alive!

Putting sunscreen on your hair will help lightening its colour. -I was naive enough to try that one

If you chop your hair too much, it won't grow for some time.

Your hair grows faster if you wash it everyday.

[Svenja]

3. You have to eat a lot of pork fat everyday to have good hair, otherwise will never be shiny - from chinese co-workers when I was living in China.

Well, that rules shine out for me then :rolleyes::D

Another one from my gran: Don't cut your hair when you are at "that time of the month" because it makes you ill.

[ooo]

She said that blow drying was much healthier for hair than air drying because if the roots stayed wet too long your hair would start to mildew and rot. And then presumably fall out. Also it would weaken the cortex of the hair by being wet and the hair shaft would start to break and split. She said this was the reason most people had split ends because they let their hair stay wet too long. In the spirit of the "nicest/meanest hair comments" threads, I was wondering if anyone ever got any weird advice like this pertaining to hair? Sorry if there's already a thread for this topic- I haven't seen it and thought this one might be fun!
That's too funny. I wonder, if these kind of hair dressers ever got any strange comments about that :hmm:

[spidermom]

I don't know if it's nonsense, but one of my hair stylists told me that my hair stayed wet an extraordinarily long time and that blow-drying would be less damage than leaving it wet so long.

It does take FOREVER to air dry, so maybe she had a point.

[RancheroTheBee]

If I wear hats, I'll go bald. Considering I have a buzzcut and my hair is so thick I can't get my fingers through it properly unless it's wet, I'm going to go with myth.

Another good one was that bleach is good for your scalp. Kills the bacteria, she said. She later cried to us that her hair was falling out because she was bleaching it so often. :|

[AnnaJamila]

Haha, these are funny! I'm glad I'm not the only one who heard that leaving hair wet too long was bad; I wonder if there's any basis for it! O_o

[Arctic_Mama]

That pulling splits apart increases hair volume :confused:

[Pyvsi]

Having your sweetheart play in your hair makes it grow healthy and strong.
(I kind of like that one :))

[elbow chic]

that flat-ironing your hair is healthier for your hair than air-drying. This one from my sil, who is sweet and has lovely hair... but how can that even be true?!

[RitaPG]

Having your sweetheart play in your hair makes it grow healthy and strong.
(I kind of like that one :))

Aww I kinda like that one too :o
And I wouldn't mind my sweetheart playing with my hair either ^^

[Alaia]

My mother once told me that my hair would get lighter if I shampooed it more and did not use conditioner. Hmmm....

As an aside, my sister's hair actually did grow mould because she left it wet for too long. But then, there's a difference between it being wet just while it air dries and being left in a ponytail (even while she washed it and completely wet it) for a month. The mouldy bit was inside the ponytail elastic.

And it didn't fall out. It just smelled horrible.

[Nae]

My Grandma thinks that conditioner is evil. She believes that conditioner is just a ploy by the shampoo manufacturers in order to sell more shampoo. See, she thinks that conditioner just "makes your hair dirty." That means you have to shampoo more often therefore they sell more shampoo.

Oh Grandma, you so crazy.;)

[homeschoolmama]

Oh my, I think I've heard most of these!

The one I still giggle about is my mom telling me that if I go vegetarian my hair will fall out in clumps. 6.5 years later my hair is HEALTHIER than it was when I ate meat so I'm guessing she might just be wrong about that one.

[pinkbunny]

My mother was a firm believer that children don't need conditioner (but she cut my hair short when I started school because she was sick of the tangling)

I knew a girl who saw hair as an excrement, so she kept her head shaved because it grossed her out. lol

[Hala]

Oh my, I think I've heard most of these!

The one I still giggle about is my mom telling me that if I go vegetarian my hair will fall out in clumps. 6.5 years later my hair is HEALTHIER than it was when I ate meat so I'm guessing she might just be wrong about that one.

This will NOT happen to most normal vegetarians. It will, however, happen to people with various types of amino acid conversion/malabsorption disorders, all of which are fairly rare but when added together are pretty common (I have one, and yes, veganism made me lose hair like I was on chemo, I was losing eyelashes, and I'm growing in a whole second hemline of baby hair from the Great Shed of Attempted Vegetarianism 2009).

But I hate when people act like this is normal, because it isn't. Maybe back in the day, they couldn't diagnose these disorders, and so randomly some vegetarians got really, really sick. Now, they can tell why that's happening--and it really bothers me when they don't bother to test for a real disorder but just assume vegetarianism makes everyone unhealthy.

(/rant off) Sorry! I'm a vegetarian in my heart and eat meat unwillingly, and I hate when people use me as an example of why vegetarianism doesn't "work," which my grandmother does.

[luxepiggy]

Can't forget the perennial favourite: "flatironing your hair will make it healthier" :suspect:

I've also heard "dyeing your hair will make it healther"

No, said the little piggy. No (*(oo)*)

[BlueMuse]

I've definitely heard the "cutting makes it grow". I've been told I should cut off a lot in order to make it healthier so it will grow better, but then I asked "what about when it gets back to where it was, won't it be in the same condition" and they didn't have any answer to that.

I've also heard the "wet hair is bad for you and you'll get sick if you go out in the winter with it wet". No, it'll freeze, and you should probably wear a hat, but I don't have more colds than the average person (less actually).

Also, yeah, wet hair won't mold (at least not in my climate). My hair is usually wet all day every day because I damp bun, and only dries out when I go to bed at night. Never had a problem, but I have been told "your hair will mold if you keep putting it up wet".

[AnnaJamila]

I've definitely heard the "cutting makes it grow". I've been told I should cut off a lot in order to make it healthier so it will grow better, but then I asked "what about when it gets back to where it was, won't it be in the same condition" and they didn't have any answer to that.

I've also heard the "wet hair is bad for you and you'll get sick if you go out in the winter with it wet". No, it'll freeze, and you should probably wear a hat, but I don't have more colds than the average person (less actually).

Also, yeah, wet hair won't mold (at least not in my climate). My hair is usually wet all day every day because I damp bun, and only dries out when I go to bed at night. Never had a problem, but I have been told "your hair will mold if you keep putting it up wet".

I think Arabs have this tattoed into their DNA! I cringe every time I see someone outside with wet hair (even in summer in a semi-tropical environment, which makes no sense) and the first thing anyone says when someone gets sick is "did you go out with wet hair?"

All those hairdryers are adding to global warming, lol.

[tanya222]

Having your sweetheart play in your hair makes it grow healthy and strong.
(I kind of like that one :))

Kinda cute but what about single people? Are we doomed to have unhealthy weak hair?

Also heard the one about if you pluck out a gray hair three will grow in its place. I've been plucking out the same gray hair in my part for years now, and it's still just one in that spot. By now if that was true I should have hundreds coming out of one follicle! LOL

[Cirafly24]

that flat-ironing your hair is healthier for your hair than air-drying. This one from my sil, who is sweet and has lovely hair... but how can that even be true?!

I've heard this one too! They said it "seals the moisture into the hair."

Hmm...actually it usually boils the moisture out of the hair! All I know is that when I was straightening my hair every day, I had massive breakage. Now, I don't heat style at all, and I have little to no breakage. Coincidence? I think not :)

[Toadstool]

That pulling splits apart increases hair volume :confused:

LOL Haha! I suppose technically it's true...:rolleyes:

[Toadstool]

Also heard the one about if you pluck out a gray hair three will grow in its place. I've been plucking out the same gray hair in my part for years now, and it's still just one in that spot. By now if that was true I should have hundreds coming out of one follicle! LOL

An above poster quoted seven whereas I was only told six. And you were told three. How many is it, damn it??!!

[Coan-Teen]

I've also heard plucking out a gray will cause three to grow in its place. My favorite is that I've been told numerous times by different people that my hair is too healthy and that a little damage is good for hair. No explanation on how, exactly, but it's been insisted upon.

[RitaPG]

I knew a girl who saw hair as an excrement, so she kept her head shaved because it grossed her out. lol

Now that you mentioned this, I have to wonder if there is some kind of hair phobia...

[RitaPG]

Also heard the one about if you pluck out a gray hair three will grow in its place. I've been plucking out the same gray hair in my part for years now, and it's still just one in that spot. By now if that was true I should have hundreds coming out of one follicle! LOL

In here they don't say 3 more grow in that spot, they say that if you pluck a gray hair, seven other strands around it will also turn white.

But wouldn't it be cool if that were trye? I'd have really thick hair by now :D

[elbow chic]

blech, the very thought of pulling a split apart makes me shudder.

yes, I think SIL's rationale was that it seals the moisture in, too. She had some kind of semi-plausible explanation. I think she just likes her hair flatironed, which is fine; I just don't buy that it's healthier.

[enfys]

I've also heard plucking out a gray will cause three to grow in its place. My favorite is that I've been told numerous times by different people that my hair is too healthy and that a little damage is good for hair. No explanation on how, exactly, but it's been insisted upon.

I think it's because the damage roughs up the cuticle so it styles more easily. Healthy healthy straight hair won't curl as well as slightly damaged hair. It's a "texture" thing.

I know people who process their hair just to damage it enough for their liking.

[Theobroma]

If you keep your hair long, all the vitamins/minerals etc will just go feed your hair rather than your body. -Yeah, if hair was alive!

Oh dear, I've heard that one too. I'm very fair-skinned and when I was twelve and had classic length hair the lady in the health food shop used to fuss at me: "You're so pale, you should cut your hair because it's stealing all the nutrients your body needs."

Yeah, right. :D

[baaaad_kitty]

Don't pluck a gray hair, 3 will grow in its place! LOL Glad it's not only here that people tell others that about hair.

Don't sleep with your hair wet, you'll go blind! Don't sleep with it wet, you'll get sick!

After you cut your hair, it will grow faster so you have to cut it all the time.

[pepperminttea]

"Wearing your hair up damages it."

If it means a lot of teasing, back-combing, hairspray, and snaggy hairtoys, perhaps. :rolleyes:

[selderon]

Here's one that has me puzzled: Why do stylists insist that a cold rinse makes for shinier hair because the cold water closes the cuticle... and then proceed to apply heat (blow dryer), expecting the hair to stay shiny? Wouldn't the heat of the dryer open the cuticle back up?

[firicia]

"Dying your hair with salon permanent colour actually gives your hair needed nutrients and makes it healthier so you can grow it longer easier. Also, make sure to come it to get your hair trimmed every 6 weeks otherwise you won't be able to grow it out."

p.s. whenever I got a "trim" form this person I usually lost 3+ inches. I tried growing my hair out for 2 years and never got anywhere... actually at some points I think I got further behind, lol.

[LunaMoon]

Pork fat? . . . eew! Haha, I wonder why pork specifically?
Hi AnnaJamila... Good question, haha it is weird...
Well I guess is because it is cheap so everybody can afford do have nice pieces of pork fat for dinner everyday?(blarg..).
I like to respect other cultures, but I am sure this was a very personal advice, not something that is a "part of chinese culture".

[AnnaJamila]

Hi AnnaJamila... Good question, haha it is weird...
Well I guess is because it is cheap so everybody can afford do have nice pieces of pork fat for dinner everyday?(blarg..).
I like to respect other cultures, but I am sure this was a very personal advice, not something that is a "part of chinese culture".

That's a good point; I wasn't trying to be rude or intolerant (I read back the "eew" and felt a little bad :o) it's just that pork is a super-dooper big nono for Muslims so whenever I hear about someone eating it I have a kind of gag reaction . . .

As for the grey hair I always heard "Pluck one and ten will come to the funeral"!

[brickworld13]

This thread is awesome! :cheese:

My granny always insisted that I dry my hair before going to bed because I was going to get sick. She still believes that and freaks out when I don't.

I don't remember who, but someone once told me that if you let hair get oily and gross that it helps keep away head lice. I was a pretty messy child who was always told to go wash this or that off. Seriously? HAHAHAHAHA It's better to just stay away from the other kids in school.

[AnnaJamila]

This thread is awesome! :cheese:

My granny always insisted that I dry my hair before going to bed because I was going to get sick. She still believes that and freaks out when I don't.

I don't remember who, but someone once told me that if you let hair get oily and gross that it helps keep away head lice. I was a pretty messy child who was always told to go wash this or that off. Seriously? HAHAHAHAHA It's better to just stay away from the other kids in school.

Yay! :cheese:

Haha, as for the head lice comment there is some basis to that. The greasier/dirtier your hair is the harder it is for lice to move around between follicles. They had an episode of As Told by Ginger where they talked about this, lol I REALLY miss that show; it was always my favorite until that whole Derek/Ginger lovy dovy thing happened.

[chopandchange]

"You're so pale, you should cut your hair because it's stealing all the nutrients your body needs."



Bwa ha ha!

How stupid!

This is funny.

[brickworld13]

Yay! :cheese:

Haha, as for the head lice comment there is some basis to that. The greasier/dirtier your hair is the harder it is for lice to move around between follicles. They had an episode of As Told by Ginger where they talked about this, lol I REALLY miss that show; it was always my favorite until that whole Derek/Ginger lovy dovy thing happened.

That's quite interesting. Makes sense too. I think I remember that episode. I haven't watched that show in almost ten years. I haven't had a TV for a long time. :p

I'm rather sour about the "advice" for head lice because I went to public school in a rural town with a bunch of evil, rotten, nasty monsters. I don't know who had a constant lice infestation, but I did come home with one on 3 or 4 occasions. My mother is not a patient woman and would rip out my hair because she was in such a bad mood about it. :( Around the age of 8 or 9, I learned to just put my hair up and keep to myself. It kept the other kids from pulling on my hair, and it kept me from getting lice, usually. After that the only culprit for lice was the badly engineered coat rack.

I remember hearing from some older ladies when I was younger that I should enjoy my long hair while I had it because after I hit 45, I was going to have to chop it off like everyone else. Silly old ladies. I can clearly see that hair will continue to grow as long as you eat a good diet and care for it.

[einna]

I read in a Norwegian online magasine that a "hair expert" reccomended blowdrying for hair health, because letting it air dry would cause it to dry out, like skin does when subjected to water over long periods of time.