new thread
I have thick blond hair about two or three inches past my shoulders. I work in a professional climate which requires me to put my hair back into a ponytail daily. I have been doing this for about three or four years now consistently during the week with my hair down on the weekends. Now for the million dollar question...will my hair begin to fall out in time because I have forcibly put it back so much for so long??? I know it's a stupid question but it had to be asked.
Also, does anyone have any recommendations for any products that will give my a hair a more straight look but give it a lot of bounce.
a nice braid?
Anyway, if you use a hair-friendly hair tie that doesn't pull
and tug at your hair (like a plain rubber band, for instance)
it shouldn't do much if any damage...
Also, do you avoid putting your hair into a tail when it is still wet or damp?
I grab the pull friendly tie and then will put my hair back with a wet/damp look. I think it gives a more defining style with a suit.
First, let's put the wet hair combing myth to bed. It is no more worse to brush/ comb wet hair than it is to do the same with dry hair.
Now...on to your original question. NO! Pulling your hair back will NOT make it fall out. Nor will wearing a hat. Nor will anything else except....listen up now....GENETICS!
You're fine. Don't worry about it. Keep doing what you're doing. You're cool.
Well I think a majority of us honestly know this but it's reassuring to hear a little common sense about this rehashed subject. I thought it was an absurd and asinine question but I had to ask it anyway.
Thanks!
Sure it is, for two reasons. First, the hair is softer and thus more pliable when wet. Second, there is more friction between the comb and the hair under certain conditions when the hair is wet. Note that I said, "under certain conditions". It is quite plain when the friction is greater -- the hair becomes more difficult to comb. If you are exerting more force on your hair, you are causing more damage.
I'm going to have to disagree with you again. Yanking your hair out will cause them to fall out, obviously. Somewhat less obvious, weaving tight cornrows or weaving in fake hair too tightly can cause hair to come out. But this is a direct pulling out of the hair, it is not an action that causes a hair to weaken, thereby encouraging hair loss.
Finally, malnutrition can cause hair loss, as can certain drugs, radiation, etc.
One thing that i've always considered to be the main risk of combing/brush when wet, is tangles. Hair can stretch a little bit when it's dry, but when wet, it's almost as it's at its maximum length due to the water. If you're combing it when dry, and you come accross a tangle, you will stop combing before you stretch the hair to breaking-point. When it's wet, it's already stretched, so if you come accross a tangle, you have to feel it quickly, or you'll just run your comb right through it, breaking your hair, before you realise...
Obviously the trick is to comb/brush your hair very slowly, and without excess force when it's wet, so that you'll notice any tangles before you force the comb/brush right through it. Since wet hair basically does exactly what you want it to, once you've combed through all the hair once, you don't have to be so cautious.
I don't really think this statement is true. My hair is very easy to comb when it's wet. I've been combing my hair wet for many years and have not experienced any damage from it. Nor have I known anyone else that has had problems from combing wet hair.
I know combing my hair when wet is a lot easier than when dry.
True, BUT...they will grow right back. If you pluck out a hair from your head, it will grow back. That's not the same as "hair loss", where hair goes and doesn't come back. BIG difference!
Again, the hair may be oulled out, but it will grow right back. There's a difference in temporary loss of a hair (yanking out a hair) and permament hair loss, as in balding.
And you have the people who believe pulling on the hair will make it grow faster, not fall out.
Very true.
OK, but you didn't say permanent hair loss, you said fall out, which is what I was responding to.
By the way, my hair has significantly more friction when wet than when dry. This probably is partly a function of water quality, since it is related to the surface tension of the water. The surface tension is what holds two wet hairs together. To comb through these hairs, you have to overcome the surface tension of the water and the adhesive force between the water and the hair.
So long as you don't pull back the hair really tight so as to tug at the roots (which is uncomfortable anyway) I don't think a ponytail will cause much harm.
Like others have said, good hairties also help to reduce damage.
"Scrunchies" (fabric covered elastics) work well, and are VERY comfortable to wear.