Over the years many myths or misconceptions have formed around the topic of hair. Some are obvious and humorous where others require a bit of research and thought. I have come across many and have divided them into 8 categories:
Part 1: Hair Growth
Part 2: Split Ends and Brushing/Combing
Part 3: Baldness/Hairloss and Gray Hair
Part 4: Texture, Dandruff, and Scalp Problems
Part 5: Short Hair and Coloring Your Hair
Part 6: Thin/Thinning Hair and Summer Hair
Part 7: Hair Products
Part 8: Shampooing and Misc.
Hair Products
After using the same shampoo for a long time, it is no longer effective.
Shampoo is a soap that washes and cleanses,it doesn't perform miracles. If your hair does not have a nice clean shine to it, you may have a build up of hair product on your hair. Regular shampoo cannot strip this off. It also cannot add highlights or texture. Shampoo is meant to wash out dirt, oil, and dry skin. If you are not satisfied with you hair, switching the brand of shampoo you use probably will not solve the problem.
Shampoo that you buy from a salon is the same as what you buy from a drug store.
Unfortunately, what you pay for is what you get. Drug store shampoos are made with lower quality ingredients and have a lot of waxes put in as fillers. Salon shampoos have higher quality, more expensive ingredients and therefore do a better job. Using drug store products for an extended period of time can give you quite a build up problem. Keep an eye on it.
Natural products are free of chemicals.
If you are concerned and are wanting to use organic hair products, be sure to read the labels. Even though you buy shampoo at a health food store, it could still be made with chemical such as SLS. Look at the ingredients before purchasing.
You need a different shampoo for oily than for dry hair.
You can purchase shampoos for oily, normal, and dry hair. If you would have a sample of each of these and test them with Nitrazine paper, you would see that shampoos for oily hair have a higher pH than shampoos for dry hair. Regular use of high pH shampoo will cause damage to the hair shaft over time. If you have oily hair, shampoo regularly to keep it under control with a lower pH shampoo.
The more lather you get from your shampoo, the better quality it is.
Not so. You can purchase a cheap drug store shampoo with lots of wax fillers that has ingredients added to increase the amount of foam you get when you wash your hair. More foam does not mean better quality.
Men and women should use different hair products specifically designed for them.
Men and women do have different characteristics when it comes to thinning or balding patterns in their hair. These differences are determined by genetic makeup and hormones, not which hair product is used. Both male and female hair need to be kept clean to be healthy and they don't need different products or procedures to do the job.
