5 Things That Are Damaging Your Hair

We all use our hair dryers without a second thought more or less every day, in most people’s cases.

Our hair gives us part of our identity and our hair dryers help us achieve that.We know the advantages of using the hair dryer: fast drying, perfectly styled hair from the security of our own bedrooms. Cold weather, dry air and harsh winds can wreck havoc on hair, particularly if you have dry hair to begin with. While you can't control the weather, there are some things you may be doing that cause damage.

* Frequent Washing

Yes, washing your hair is damaging. Even just getting hair wet can lead to more breakage! When hair becomes wet, the shaft swells, resulting in hair that is more elastic and easier to break. In addition, shampoos can sometimes work too well, removing the oils your hair naturally produces resulting in hair that looks dull and dry.

* Brushing Wet Hair

As previously mentioned, wet hair is more susceptible to damage than dry hair. Wet hair is more elastic and more likely to break. Even brushing dry hair excessively is damaging since brushes and combs can snap or break hair.

* Towel Drying

Yep, towels can damage your hair. Have I mentioned that wet hair is more susceptible to damage? Even rubbing hair with a towel can rough up the cuticle (outer layer of the hair), causing it to look frizzy or fluffy and potentially lead to more breakage.

* Blow Drying

No surprise here, heat causes damage. Blow drying causes a "flash drying" effect that not only removes the surface moisture but also removes water that is bound to the hair, which is called water of hydration. The effect of this flash drying is that the cuticles become dry, rigid and brittle. When the hair flexes, the pressure causes the cuticles to crack. Combing hair with this degree of cuticle cracking causes significant breakage.

* Irons

These type of appliances can damage your hair in a different way than blow dryers. Ironing hair can cause two different types of damage, depending on whether the hair is ironed dry or wet. Ironing dry hair causes cracking along the edges of the cuticles, which can lead to chipping. Ironing wet hair causes the moisture to burst out in little steam explosions. This causes a bubbling and buckling of the cuticle that appear as tiny hair blisters under magnification. Both types of damage can lead to breakage and split ends.