As a stylist, I’ve heard a wide range of bizarre assumptions and misinformation surrounding all things hair. While no question is a bad question, I feel we have to backtrack and nip a lot of these myths in the bud. Read on to separate fact from fiction in the world of hair care.
“All blondes should be using purple shampoo.”
Okay, I have a decent sized bone to pick with purple shampoo. While I think this is a great product that many people can benefit from, its misuse is rampant. Purple shampoo is a maintenance product marketed toward brassy blondes. The purple pigment will actually neutralize the yellow of your blonde, making you appear ashier. If your problem is anything other than yellow, purple shampoo is not for you. Now, because these shampoos are actually pigmented and serve the purpose of penetrating the hair cuticle, they can be pretty aggressive. If you use a purple shampoo too soon (before your toner actually has run its course and faded out) you could actually be doing more harm than good. The purple shampoo can remove the existing toner in an effort to really get in there. Aside from the risk of pre-mature purple shampoo use, the products are ultimately drying. Limit purple shampoo use to once a week, at the very least two weeks after your appointment.
“You can never use too much Olaplex.”
For chemically serviced hair bond-building products such as Olaplex can do amazing things for the condition of the hair strand. Unfortunately, this product is not the be all and end all of blonde maintenance. While I don’t mean to single out a specific company, Olaplex has become a household name for clients more so than any other line of its nature. Olaplex serves an important purpose of repairing internal broken bonds and strengthening the structure of the hair from the inside out. While the product itself won’t damage your hair, it is often not targeting the actual problem at hand. Olaplex is not adding moisture to the hair, so there is a reason you don’t necessarily feel soft and shiny after its use. While it is not specifically a protein treatment, too much Olaplex can over proteinize your hair in a way very similar to that of overusing keratin based products, making it feel brittle and more prone to breakage. It’s important to talk with your stylists about the appropriate frequency of use for reparative products in order to find the routine that is best for your specific hair concerns.
“It is best to color hair that is slightly dirty, as the natural oils will protect the strand.”
This one actually makes my blood run a little hot. This myth is so common, I’m pretty sure our mothers and grandmothers have it engrained in their minds as well. Clean hair colors better, meaning better coverage and better longevity. Having too much build up on the hair can actually really hinder the chemical process, resulting in sub-par coverage and an overall dullness. The color at that point not only has to lift your hair’s cuticle to get into gear, but eat through your natural oils (gross…). Please come to your appointments with dry, clean hair. That being said, I don’t want you to think you have to shampoo the morning of your appointment in order to have clean hair...but please, no more than second day hair the day of your chemical service.
“My hair pulls a lot warmer than others.”
No. Stop it. I’m going to smile and nod and I’m going to be calling you a ding dong in my head...or if I know you well enough, to your face. Just kidding, a good hair stylist will educate you without belittling you or calling you names (eye roll). Inside every hair cuticle is the underlying pigment that makes up your natural color. Everyone’s underlying pigment ranges from red for brunettes to some form of orange or yellow for even the brightest of natural blondes. Pulling warm refers to the color that lightener lifts your hair to --the raw color before toning to your desired shade. What I’m saying is, we all “pull warm.”
“Cutting your hair will make it grow faster!”
While I wish this was true, it really is not. Cutting your ends will have no effect on the actual speed of your hair growth; however, there is some truth to this statement. When your ends start to split up the hair strand, your length gets wispy and see-through. Cutting off straggly ends may actually make your hair look longer, and will ensure the splits don’t continue to travel up the hair shaft. So, will it make your hair grow faster? No. Will it make your hair grow more purposefully and noticeably? Yes!
“Don’t pull your grays out, more will show up in its place!”
I have no time for these scare tactics...and I am turning 27 this year so I mean I legitimately have no more time for these games. If you pluck a gray hair, the only gray hair that you will see come back is from the same hair follicle. There is only one hair that is able to grow per follicle, so the neighboring hairs will really be unaffected by the trauma of ripping your gray strand out by the root. If more gray hairs show up this, unfortunately, means those surrounding follicles were on their way to canities as well. Actually, I often recommend those that only see a few sporadic grays DO pluck them out if they cannot bear to see them. This way you may avoid diving into the world of maintaining oxidative permanent root retouches for a bit longer. I particularly suggest this for those that don’t like to see warmth in their hair, but that is another story…
Did you find this article helpful? I can only hope this helped you take away some new information on some popular misunderstandings. Use the knowledge you’ve gained from this piece as a power for good, and make your friends feel really silly when they try to spout out any of the aforementioned fallacies in your presence.
Did I miss one of your most concerning hair myths? Leave a comment with any misinformation you wish to have explained further.
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