Habits that cause hair damage

In our never-ending quest for luscious hair, we often experiment with things that cause extensive damage to our hair. Often, we overlook the fragility of damaged hair, and continue to go about our routines that cause harm to one's hair leaving them looking frizzy and unhealthy.

Rayed Merchant Director Marketing (Global) & Head Brand Procurement, SSIZ International said, "While hereditary hair loss is beyond our control, preventing stress-induced shedding is much easier said than done. However, some habits and mistakes can make hair-loss issues worse. A lot of people consider excessive hair loss as a natural sign of ageing. Although this is accurate to a certain degree, there are actually a number of habits in our day-to-day life that cause hair loss as well."

Irregular diet

Our hair is composed of a strong protein known as keratin. In order to maintain optimal hair health, it's crucial that one consumes a balanced diet that consists of a variety of proteins, vitamins, and nutrients that help promote hair growth.

Skipping meals causes an intake of insufficient nutrients and this unhealthy habit can affect our hair and overall health. When you starve yourself, it forces the body to divert all its remaining energy towards essential functions like helping your heart and brain function rather than making hair.

Problems that are not easily detected in your health, show on your hair first. So, while we may feel healthy, we may find our hair suddenly looking dull or shedding excessively. Now, this is something that shouldn't be ignored. In order to have healthy hair, it is important to eat foods that are rich in proteins like lentil, fish, eggs, meat etc. that help in maintaining your strands as the hair is essentially made up of protein.

Hot showers

A hot steaming shower is what we all crave for at the end of a long tiring day. While nobody can deny the stress busting powers of a hot shower, they might just be the reason for your bathroom drains being clogged.

Studies show that hot water dehydrates your hair strands leading to dry, brittle hair, making it more likely to snap and fall out. Taking hot showers also wash out the natural oils present in your scalp, stripping it of all nourishment which makes it produce more of the oils which in turn only causes more shedding.

Mishandling your hair

Wet hair is prone to more breakage. It is also more fragile than dry hair as the protective cuticle in wet hair is slightly raised. Brushing or combing your wet locks, then following with aggressive towel-drying, can create the ideal environment for excessive shedding.

If a tight ponytail or braid is what you love, beware: Carrying out these styles puts excessive amounts of tension on the hair follicles, damaging them. Loosen up! When you pull your hair back in a pony or braid remember to keep it soft—if it's pulling on your skin, it might be way too tight. Try wearing your hair down whenever possible. For example, while rolling around on a pillow when you sleep, can create a ton of friction.

Mental stress

We all know that mental health has a drastic impact on our bodily health as well. Our hair follicles are surrounded by a network of nerve cells. Any unfavourable chemical activity in the nervous system might send unwanted signals to the hair follicles. A good night's sleep is also key in causing hair loss. Mental stress can lead to sleep deprivation in many which in turn can lead to hair loss. It is important you try and lead a stress-free life if a luscious mane with full hair is what you desire.

Pulling out grey strands

As you get older, you might notice a few grey strands here and there. Though some people start noticing them as early as their late teens or early 20s. While pulling out grey strands is very common for a lot of people who are conscious about them; it's also a huge blunder that one can commit.

If a tight ponytail is considered to be harmful to your hair follicles, one can only imagine what pro-actively pulling out strands would do to your scalp. Avoid pulling out your grey stands no matter how badly your mind says otherwise. It could lead to a ton of bald patches on your head. You're much better off using a colour treatment on your hair rather than pulling out greys.