Hairstyles that are secretly damaging your hair

As women we worship at the altar of hair and spend most of our money on beauty, with hair topping the list in most cases. But we sometimes don’t realise that our pilgrimages to the hair salon are actually what is damaging to our crown. With autumn here and winter fast approaching, hair tends to be dry and brittle and needs extra care. What hairstyles should you avoid that are secretly damaging your hair without being aware?

According to celebrity hairstylist and professional hairdresser Khosi Mthembu, different people react differently to different hairstyles. “But at the core women dont take care of their hair themselves, they leave it to someone else. We give that power to someone else,” she says adding that, we must research the products we put and hairstyles we do on our hair. “Taking care of your hair should be like taking care of your teeth,” Khosi emphasises, adding that sometimes the hairstyle you do may damage your hair because of mounting reasons over the years. “It can be the medication you are using, genetics, the formation or growth of your hair or a combination-it is not clear cut.” Even so these are the hairstyle we should do with caution:

• Platinum blonde:

This hairstyle has taken off so fast and every second person is spotting it. A celebrity who is not shy to flirt with hairstyle now and again is 947 breakfast show Anele Mdoda. It looks great and on trend with short hair but there is a downside to this hairstyle- it can break your hair if not taken care of properly or if you repeatedly dye your hair.  Platinum blonde is different from colouring your hair and involves peroxiding your hair, which is harsh to hair and leaves your hair extremely dry- you need to go an experienced salon, who will help you take care of your hair through this high maintenance hairstyle. ” Fact is you stand to lose your hair because doing this hairstyle means you are strip the hair of its natural colour completely. If you are going to do something that strips your hair of the essential oil, your hair will fall immediately and you may suffer patches,” she warns explaining that you should stress extremely because on average we experience hair growth every two weeks, depending on individuals- of course.

• Ponytail and bantu knots

Contrary to what people think, a ponytail can be damaging to your hair. Although this is the staple that everyone runs to, it is important to thread with caution. You may not be aware that the pulling does extreme damage to your hair. As much as it makes sense to have your hair up in a ponytail, you are stressing your hair and need to let your hair loose sometimes and not in a ponytail. Most people tend to also apply styling gel to a ponytail to last longer but experts warn that you should apply styling gel for one day and wash your hair. Leaving it on damages your hair because it makes it dry. Bantu knots, as beautiful as they are, means pulling your hair and tying it, which can damage the strands of your hair.

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• Braids

Braids work wonderfully during the cold months but there is a misconception that tiny braids last long and therefore saving money. This couldn’t be further from the truth. The tinier your braids, the more they will break your hair. And as braids stay longer, your hair tangles so imagine the damage with small braids. Also people tend to be more relaxed when wearing braids and forget that they still have to base their scalp and moisturise the hair even though it is under braids.  Khosi says that sometimes, it may not be the braids that is breaking the hair but the fact that we have been plaiting for the longest of time without giving the hair a break.

• Wigs

We have become so accustomed to wigs. They have to the rescue of bad hair days. But because we have a rescue remedy in wigs, we tend to neglect our crown underneath the wig. Wigs can cause your hair to fall off if you don’t wear them the right way. Experts say that cornrows underneath your wig can save your hair from falling. Also, you cannot spot a wig everyday- your hair needs to breathe. Even if you put it on and off,

As much as we want to look beautiful, we should not do not do it at the cost of the health of our hair. “Our hair is genetically dry and is prone to fall sometimes, but we counter with oils and creams,” Khosi concludes

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