Can Wearing Ponytails Damage My Hair?

It is possible. Wearing tight ponytails on a regular basis where the hair is pulled back causing tension on the hairline can result in hair loss. Unfortunately, hair loss brought about in this manner could be permanent. Typically, this type of damage only occurs where this style of ponytail is worn frequently and for long periods of time such as months or years.
 

Nevertheless, the ponytail is a hair style that has withstood the test of time. Due to the ease of creating the style and its ability to transcend from casual to formal in appearance, ponytails have remained popular throughout history and across cultures. A major consideration to wearing a ponytail without causing damage to your hair is in the device used to secure it. For example, rubber bands may be difficult to remove and often become entangled in the hair when trying to pull them off. Better options include pony barrettes, Blax bands and Bungee cords, all of which are specifically designed for the pony style.

For me, the ponytail is a great solution for the occasional “bad hair” days that we all have from time to time. The key is to make sure that you pull your hair back loosely without putting too much tension on your hairline and that you secure it with something that is not going to cause breakage when removing it from your hair. Also, if you have little girls, be sure not to pull their hair into ponytails or plaits that are too tight and cause too much tension. This could cause permanent hair loss along their hairline.

If the proper care is taken, ponytails are an easy, do-it-yourself, inexpensive style that can be worn without causing any damage to your hair.

Do Prenatal Vitamins Really Increase Hair Growth?

This question has been the source of much debate. The medical community is not totally convinced that prenatal vitamins alone are the source of increased hair growth during pregnancy. This is because not all pregnant women who take prenatal vitamins experience this positive result with their hair.

But, we do know that prenatal vitamins contain large amounts of nutrients including iron, zinc and folic acid which provide nourishment to the cells in the scalp. So it is possible that many pregnant women experience hair growth because during this time they are taking in a sufficient amount of these nutrients.

If your typical daily diet consists of unprocessed foods, fruits, a colorful variety of vegetables, whole grains, lentils, and plenty of water, then you will likely have sufficient vitamins and minerals needed for growth and health of your hair.

Tips to Keep Dry Hair Moisturized

Dry, brittle, breaking hair can be characteristic of a number of problems with your hair. The most common reason most hair breaks is that it lacks moisture. Since the ends of the hair are the oldest hair on your head, they need more moisture than the hair at the scalp.

To eliminate dryness you want to use products that penetrate the hair shaft because not only is the surface of the hair dry but the innermost part of the hair is also dry. Products like petroleum and mineral oil are a dead giveaway that they are not penetrating your hair because after you apply them, anything that touches your hair gets stained by these products. This is a sign that moisture is not getting where it needs to be.

So there are a couple of tips that you should follow when you consider moisturizers for your hair:

• First, water is moisture and should be the first ingredient in a good hair moisturizer.
• In addition to moisture, our hair needs lubrication. Since oils lubricate, they should be second after water in a good moisturizer. Neither of these oils should be petroleum or mineral oil because they sit on top of the hair and do not penetrate the hair shaft.
• Finally, start at the ends of the hair then work your way up.

Moisture is a key component in stopping the hair from breaking.

Will Trimming My Ends Make My Hair Grow?

The answer to this question is “no.” The idea that trimming the ends of our hair will help it to grow is a long-held misconception. I cover this topic in more detail in my book, Ultra Black Hair Growth II. Trimming the hair is a maintenance step for appearance purposes only. Trimming can even out split ends, making your hair look neater, but it has nothing to do with making it grow faster or longer. As I state in my book, however, there are other steps that you can take to minimize or even eliminate split ends such as avoiding brushing, excessive heat and over-processing.

Along these lines you may have probably also heard that trimming helps avoid the ends from splitting all the way up to your scalp. Hair that is badly damaged by split ends is more likely to break off long before splitting all the way back to the hair shaft on the scalp. In this situation, trimming the ends will be of little help anyway. Moreover, I must say that in my many years of research in black hair, I have never seen a hair that was split from one end to the other.

Hair grows from the scalp, not from the ends. When we trim the ends of our hair, it has absolutely no affect on the hair that grows out of our scalp. Remember too that once the hair pushes through the scalp, it is dead. Common sense tells us that there is no way that cutting the ends can send a signal through the hair to the scalp to grow more hair. So I suggest that you not be so quick to cut off the ends of your hair. After all when you cut off the ends, you are simply exposing a new end, only shorter. Without the proper maintenance and care, these new ends will become frizzy and split like the old ones. I suggest that instead of frequent trimming of your ends, you learn to properly maintain them so that they can add to the length and beauty of your hair instead of distracting from it.