Shaving
hair makes it grow back stronger
There are strong beliefs in many cultures that
shaving hair makes it grow stronger. Some communities traditionally
shave the heads of new born babies to “encourage” hair
growth. In reality, shaving does nothing to promote hair growth. Hair is dead,
cutting it cannot send a signal to the hair follicle in the skin to tell it
to grow faster or slower. There is, however, an illusion of improved hair growth
after shaving. The stubble that grows seems “strong” because it
is short and relatively inflexible compared to the long hair just removed. Research
studies have measured hair growth before and after shaving and shown that there
is no actual change in growth rates. The shaving of babies’ heads cuts
off the fine tips of new hair growth so what continues to grow is the thicker
part of the hair.
Baldness
is inherited from the mother's side of the family
At least on of the genes associated with susceptibility to pattern
baldness is located on the X chromosome. From this it seems some
have suggested that androgenetic alopecia is passed through the
mother’s side of the family from mother to child. However,
we know pattern baldness is due to multiple autosomal genes – most
of which still have not been defined. But it is clear from research
tracing pattern baldness through extended families that hair loss
can be inherited from either parent or from both parents. So,
baldness in a child cannot be predicted only from the mother's
lineage.
Brushing
your hair with 100 strokes a day is good for it
In past times regular brushing was important and, on balance,
was more beneficial than harmful. In times when shampoos had only
a limited cleaning ability and when conditioning agents were rudimentary
or non existent, brushing helped to remove dirt and dead skin
buildup. Brushing also helped to distribute the natural oils over
the length of the hair serving as a natural conditioner. Today
however, shampoos and conditioners do a much better job at cleaning
and maintaining hair in good condition. Brushing is needed to
keep hair looking smart, but excessive brushing as bad for hair.
Too much brushing or aggressive brush use damages the hair cuticle
and can lead to split ends and hair breakage.
Hair
can turn gray or white over night
Individual hair fibers do not turn white overnight. Hair receives
its color genetically and can only turn gray or white over very
long periods of time. However, there is a grain of truth in the
claim. In the condition alopecia areata, hair follicles are attacked
by inflammatory cells which then cause hair loss. There are some
documented cases where alopecia areata has developed in people
but the inflammatory cells only targeted hair follicles growing
pigmented hair fibers. Hair follicles growing white hair fiber
were ignored. So in these people, all their pigmented hair fell
out, but the white hair kept growing. So looking at the whole
scalp, it looked as though these peoples’ hair turned white
in a short space of time.
Hair
continues to grow after death
This is a popular belief but it is not true to any significant degree.
Hair follicles will grow for a day or two after death if the skin
stays humid, but the follicles won't grow for much long than that.
However, some people might think they see the hair grow for longer,
but it's an illusion. As the skin of a dead person dries out after
death it shrinks and pulls back from the hair fiber. This exposes
hair fiber that was previously inside the skin in the hair follicles.
So it looks like the hair is still growing, but actually it's not,
it is just that the skin is drying out.
Baldness
can be caused by sexual frustration
Stress can have an impact on hair growth. High levels of stress
or chronic stress can result in telogen effluvium. However,
there is no link proven between sexual activity, or a lack of
it, and hair loss. There is a possible association with hair
loss causing frustration through low self esteem, but this is
a psychological issue. |
