With so much misinformation out there, it can be easy to develop beauty habits that you think are beneficial…but that are actually causing problems for your appearance. Be it your skin, your hair, or anything else, you don’t want to end up making mistakes that cause long-term damage, so read on as HerStyler debunks some of the biggest beauty myths that you need to stop believing.
The Myth: Product Packaging Doesn’t Matter
Let’s start with a myth that many people believe because it seems like common sense: beauty product packaging doesn’t matter. What you need to pay attention to is what’s in that packaging. Ignore what the packaging looks like because this has no impact on the quality of the product within.
The Truth
What many people don’t realize is that product packaging performs a few different functions. Yes, it’s designed in a way that helps it to stand out on a shelf, but it isn’t solely a marketing tool.
Instead, packaging also keeps beauty products safe from damage and degradation, not only up until the time of purchase but after that too. While it’s true that your focus should be on the product itself, you also need to keep in mind that packaging can affect the quality of a beauty product.
Let’s use serums as an example. Whether we’re talking about face serums or hair serums, these beauty products usually contain pretty potent ingredients. The last thing that you want is for your serum to not work properly because its packaging has failed it in some way. Ideally, your serum should come with a pump dispenser, as well as opaque packaging if it contains any active ingredients. This prevents both oxygen and light from causing the ingredients in that serum to deteriorate.
Beauty product packaging should also allow for easy usability. The last thing that you want to be dealing with is your new beauty product leaking or being frustrating to open.
So, when it comes down to it, packaging does matter. It can significantly affect the quality of the product within, so pay attention to what beauty products are housed in before you make a purchase.
The Myth: The More You Wash Your Hair and Skin, the Healthier They’ll Be
It goes without saying that you need to keep your hair and skin clean if you want both to be healthy. This has, however, led to the misconception that the more you clean your hair and skin, the better. It’s easy to see how this connection has been made but, unfortunately, it’s only going to do you more harm than good.
The Truth
Yes, cleanliness is good. However, there’s such a thing as over-cleansing, and this applies to both your skin and your hair.
Each time you wash your hair or your skin, you remove the sebum that coats the surface of both. This is important because allowing that sebum to build up will only cause your skin/hair to end up overly greasy. This then leads to clogged pores/hair follicles and a whole host of other problems.
While that may be the case, the sebum that’s produced by your skin/scalp has a purpose. It provides natural moisture and lubrication while also serving as a protective barrier between the environment and your skin/hair. You need it to be there – you just don’t need too much of it!
This is why over-cleansing is detrimental. You’ll constantly be removing that sebum, preventing it from serving its purpose. Both your skin and hair will only end up dry and damaged.
So, when it comes to your skin, cleanse twice a day and no more. With your hair, this depends on your hair type. If possible, avoid washing it daily. Try stretching it out to every other day if daily hair-washing is your current routine. Meanwhile, if your hair is dry or damaged, you’ll need to wash it even less frequently than that. The sebum that your scalp produces will help your hair feel stronger much sooner.
The Myth: Air-Drying is Better for Your Hair Than Blow-Drying
Another myth that’s often perpetuated is that air-drying your hair is a much safer option than blow-drying. After all, excessive heat is bad for your hair. However, this is exactly what you’d be subjecting your locks to if you blow dry them. Meanwhile, allow your hair to air-dry naturally and you won’t have to worry about causing heat damage…right?
The Truth
There’s no denying that high levels of heat can quickly damage your hair. That’s why, at HerStyler, many of our heated styling tools come with an adjustable temperature dial and other features that prevent the appearance of heat damage.
There’s also no getting away from the fact that minimizing your use of heat will help to keep your strands feeling healthier. However, there’s an exception to that generalization…
When your hair is wet, your strands swell up. This puts pressure on the proteins that give your strands their strength while also leaving your hair more susceptible to damage. Wet hair is much more fragile than dry hair, and allowing it to remain wet for an extended period of time can actually cause more harm than the surface damage that’s done when blow drying.
A recent study confirmed this, showing that the best way to avoid the appearance of damage is to allow your hair to partially air-dry before finishing the job with a blow-dryer to minimize how long your strands remain wet and swollen.
Of course, there’s a certain technique to use when blow-drying to ensure that you don’t cause unnecessary damage. Keep your blow dryer about 15cm away from your hair and move it around continuously. This prevents certain areas of your hair from receiving too much heat, enabling you to dry your hair in the safest possible way.
The Myth: Hair Serums Can Repair Split Ends
Split ends are never fun to deal with. Not only are those frayed ends a sign of damage, but they’ll give your hair a much duller and frizzier finish. Allow them to fester and those splits will only travel up your hair shaft. This will cause even more of your lengths to fray. This is why so many people are desperate to believe that split ends can easily be repaired with the right hair serum. Unfortunately, this isn’t the case…
The Truth
Split ends occur when the ends of your hair undergo damage. This causes them to split into two or more sections. These splits are essentially breaks in your strands, meaning that in order for a hair serum to repair them, it would need to be able to fuse those splits back together.
When it comes down to it, no product can repair split ends, even if you use the very best hair serum around. There is simply no way to reattach those strands together. If you want to get rid of split ends, your only option is to have them trimmed off. Ideally, this should be done every six weeks or so to prevent any splits from getting out of control.
With that said, the right hair serum can be a temporary solution when it comes to hiding the look of split ends. A product like the HerStyler Advanced Argan Oil Hair Serum will provide an intense dose of moisture. This will give those dry ends the hydration that they need to not look so dull and frizzy for a while. For the best results, apply it to your split ends while your hair is damp. This is when your hair is most permeable. This will allow the serum to work to the best of its abilities.
The Myth: You Should Brush Your Hair With 100 Strokes Per Day
The beauty myth of needing to brush your hair with 100 strokes per day is one that has been passed down through generations. Many believe that it originated during Victorian times, when lice was a big problem and women often spent a long time brushing these out of their hair. This misconception leads people to believe that brushing their hair this much helps to encourage healthy hair, along with hair growth.
The Truth
Once again, this is another myth that’s only doing more harm than good for your hair. Yes, your hair needs to be regularly brushed in order to keep it tangle-free while also ensuring that the oils produced by your scalp are evenly distributed through your mane.
However, brushing your hair 100 times is definitely not needed. In fact, over-brushing your locks can lead to a number of problems. For starters, the friction that you’ll cause by brushing your hair this often can lead to split ends, cuticle damage, and more. It can also increase hair loss while irritating the scalp. This is especially the case if you’re quite vigorous with your strands when you brush them.
What should you do instead? Stop counting how many strokes you’re doing when you brush your hair! By all means, brush your hair regularly, but you should only be doing this when it’s needed. Once you’ve removed any tangles, stop brushing rather than continuing on in an attempt to reach your goal of 100 strokes.
If you find that 100 strokes are needed in order to properly remove your tangles, this could be a sign that it’s time to invest in a new hairbrush. Look for one that’s designed to cope with tangles, such as the HerStyler Detangler Hair Brush. Its smooth and flexible bristles will work through any knots with ease, without placing tension on your roots. With a brush like this, you definitely won’t need 100 strokes to get your hair into prime shape.
Summary
When it comes to your beauty routine, it always pays to do some extra research to make sure that the habits you’re developing are healthy ones. If any of the above myths are ones that you’ve previously believed, it’s time to change your ways, even if you’ve been following those habits for years. Make the necessary adjustments to your routine and you’ll soon find that the results that you achieve from your efforts become all the more impressive.
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