We’ve all heard plenty of hair practices before, but one of the strangest we’ve heard is that pulling hair makes it grow faster. Apparently, some women even see it as the secret to having long hair. Have you heard of that practice before? Is it really nothing but an old wives’ tale? 

In today’s ZALA mythbusters, we’ll explore the answer to the question: does pulling your hair make it grow faster?

History of pulling hair

If we are to believe forums and threads around the internet, then pulling hair has been a practice in several parts of the world for quite some time now. 

One forum post alleged that it was her friend from India who shared the tip with her, saying that hair pulling is good for blood circulation on the scalp. 

Another claims that she saw the tip from a book called Super Hair Savers, written by a woman named Oleda Baker. Baker was a model and author back in the 1960s who also founded Oleda, a beauty company. The book claimed that pulling on hair strengthens it and promotes additional hair growth. 

Another post says that ‘tugging’ on hair gently is a form a scalp massage that helps hair grow faster and longer, although it did warn against pulling hair too roughly.

The truth behind pulling hair

The truth is, pulling hair for faster hair growth is a rather controversial topic, mainly because it’s hard to determine exactly what people mean when they say ‘pulling hair’.

If the term merely refers to gentle tugs, especially when done to hair close to the scalp, then it might be classified under a type of scalp massage. This is indeed helpful when it comes to scalp health. Scalp massages can help improve blood circulation on the scalp and also to stimulate the hair follicles, encouraging healthy hair growth in the process.

However, if the practice requires you to pull hard enough to actually pull the strands out of your scalp, then it’s a huge no-no. Pulling hair to that extent can lead to bald patches and even hair loss, or alopecia. Too much force can damage your hair follicles, impeding their job to grow hair. This often happens to people who suffer from trichotillomania, which makes up roughly 2%-5% of the US population. The results are the same with normal hair pulling although people who suffer from trich, as it’s commonly called, also have a tendency to swallow their pulled hair.

Effects of pulling hair

In a nutshell, pulling hair gently can:

• act like a good scalp massage
• improve blood circulation
• help stimulate hair follicles
• encourage healthy hair growth

On the other hand, pulling hair too roughly or pulling hair out can:

• cause bald patches
• lead to partial or total hair loss

Does pulling your hair make it grow faster?

In a way, it can be said that yes, pulling your hair in the context of a scalp massage does help encourage hair growth, therefore making hair grow ‘faster’. However, it’s important to note that yanking your hair or pulling strands out can lead to major problems, including hair loss. So keep this in mind if you want to try this method out.

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Grey hairs can be quite a hassle, that we know for sure. However, it’s also true that not everything we read about grey hair is 100% true.

In fact, here are some myths about grey hair that you should probably think twice about!

Your lifestyle has nothing to do with grey hair

For people in their younger years, it’s not uncommon to imagine them partying, going out with friends, and maybe even indulging in a few vices here and there. After all, YOLO, right?

Indeed, you only live once, which is probably why you should start taking care of your health more. Contrary to some beliefs, your lifestyle has a lot to do with how your body turns out as you grow older. Smoked like a fish when you were younger? Partied harder than any of your peers? Drank to your heart’s content more times than you can remember? Probably not a surprise that you’ve got a few grey hairs, then. 

Sure, there’s nothing wrong with trying out a few darts in your youth, but as with everything, stay on the safe, and moderate, side.

Your diet doesn’t affect grey hair

You are what you eat, or so they say. Uh-oh, worried now?

Early greying of hair is sometimes attributed to poor diet and nutrition. Some of the common nutrients that are said to be lacking from people experiencing early greying are biotin, vitamin B, and folic acid. These all contribute to beautiful, youthful hair, so without them, your hair may suffer. You might want to be more conscious of what you put in your body from now on.

Plucking grey hair is bad

You’ve probably heard this before: don’t pluck your grey hair, or two will grow in its place! Honestly, we don’t know how many times we’ve heard a variation of that from our friends and family. It’s a scary thought, right? Are grey hairs like hydras that grow more the more we try to cut them down?

Actually, not really. There’s no scientific study that says that plucking grey hair will cause more grey hair. However, that’s not to say that plucking grey hair is good! The truth is, plucking any time of hair is not recommended, since the action of plucking can weaken your hair follicles and cause more harm than good. 

Stress causes grey hair

Now, this is something we’ve heard time and time again. Don’t ever stress yourself out, unless you want to get grey hair at a young age. If you’re unlucky, you may even get a full head of pure white hair early! Yikes!

Here’s the thing: it’s not exactly true. While constant stress can contribute to early aging, which includes early greying, it only happens over a relatively long period of time. Sure, too much stress could mean the difference between having grey hair at 40 instead of 50. But just because you had a stressful day of work, you don’t have to worry about seeing grey hairs pop up next week. It simply doesn’t happen that way.

Have you previously fallen for any of these grey hair myths? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below!

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It’s not uncommon to hear suggestions saying that you should use cold water and not hot water to wash your hair. In fact, we do it all the time here at ZALA. But the question is, why is that? Why should we use cold water instead of hot water?

In today’s ZALA Mythbusters, we’ll explore the answer to the question: is cold water good for hair?

The myth: cold water is good for hair

According to salon stylists and hair blogs–including the one you’re reading right now–using cold water is better for your hair because of all its positive effects on your strands.

In comparison, lukewarm water isn’t harmful but you don’t get to reap the benefits of cold water. Meanwhile, hot water can negatively affect your hair, so it should be avoided at all times.

How does hot water harm my hair?

How exactly does hot water harm your hair? To answer this question, you must first understand the anatomy of each hair strand. Every single hair shaft has what we call a cuticle. This cuticle can open and close depending on the temperature of your water in the shower. 

Hot water opens these cuticles, while cold water closes them. If you use hot water, your cuticles will be left open, which means the moisture from your conditioner and other hair products won’t be locked in. This effectively dries your hair out and can even cause frizziness.

Cold water effects on hair

Cold water has better effects on hair than regular lukewarm water.

• Cleans thoroughly. Cold water can rid your hair of all excess buildup and oil without drying out your strands.
• Seals in moisture. Since cold water can close your cuticles, it can help seal in moisture from all your hair products, especially your conditioner.
• Prevents oily hair. Cold water can also close the pores on your scalp, which helps control sebum.
• Makes hair shinier and smoother. Closed cuticles look smoother than open cuticles, which means your hair will look shinier and smoother.

Is cold water good for hair?

Simply put, yes, cold water has lots of benefits for your hair. One helpful trick is to use warm water at the start of your bath, and then only use cold water to rinse your hair after applying the conditioner. Not only does it help you lock extra moisture in, it also helps you not feel too cold during your bath!

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We’ve said it here time and time again: bad lifestyle habits like drinking and smoking can negatively harm your health as well as your hair.

But how exactly does it happen? On today’s ZALA Mythbusters, we’ll answer in detail the question: can smoking harm hair?

The myth: smoking harms hair

Even the most staunch supporters of smoking would probably know that smoking does have a lot of negatives. Aside from the obvious medical issues like lung damage and throat damage, smoking is also said to have a slew of other effects, even to our hair.

One of the most common myths that you will hear is that smoking can cause early hair loss, especially in men. Apparently, smoking a lot in your younger years will cause your hair to gradually become thinner until one day, most of it is already gone.

That’s how the myth goes. But is it really a myth, or can smoking really harm hair?

How smoking affects our body

We could make an entire list of how smoking can negatively affect your body.

Heart diseases are some of the most common ailments that affect smokers, outside of the possibility of terminal illnesses like cancer. That’s because smoking leads to thicker arteries, restricting blood flow and therefore increasing the risks of getting a heart attack.

Smoking is also a common cause of asthma, colds, coughs, and wheezing. Smoking tends to damage the lungs and throat, causing those effects. Smokers also have an 84% chance of dying of lung cancer and an 83% chance of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease .

How smoking affects hair

So, we already know how smoking affects our bodies. How does smoking affect hair in particular? One study conducted in 2007 reported that smokers actually experience a higher rate of hair loss compared to non-smokers.

There are two main reasons for this. One, cigarettes contain a lot of toxins, such as nicotine, arsenic, and cyanide. Over time, these toxins can damage the hair follicles, therefore affecting how they function. Since hair follicles are responsible for growing healthy strands, if they’re damaged, then you’ll certainly notice a decrease in hair count.

Two, since cigarettes can restrict blood flow, that means that blood won’t circulate properly on your scalp either. This effectively lessens the necessary nutrients that your hair will receive, which will eventually cause it to thin and eventually fall out.

In men, smoking is especially bad because smoking actually increases DHT, an androgen that reduces the size of hair follicles. Men who smoke will experience receding hairlines and baldness much earlier than men who don’t smoke.

Can smoking harm hair?

There’s no doubt about it, smoking harms hair. More than that, in fact. Smoking harms our entire body. It doesn’t even have any good benefits that could save it from all these negative effects. Smoking cigarettes is basically like voluntarily inhaling poison into your body. If you love your hair, and your health, it’s time to ditch the cigs once and for all.

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