10 Bad Habits That Damage Your Natural Hair

You may have a good hair care regimen and awesome hair care products but still, have damage hair if you are doing something wrongly. In today’s post, I will be sharing 10 common bad habits that damage your natural hair.

Table of Contents

What is Damaged Hair?

Our hair shaft is made up of three layers. The innermost layer is the medulla, the middle layer is the cortex and the outermost layer is the cuticle. The cuticle is made up of flattened cells that overlap themselves to give the hair a shiny appearance. The cuticle protects the other layers of the hair. When hair becomes damaged from a couple of habits that will be mentioned below, the cuticle becomes raised and the hair becomes dry, dull, and brittle.

#1 Stress or Not Having Enough Sleep

Stress doesn’t do the body any good and neither does it to the hair. We may be familiar with the effects it has on our health but neglect to a large extent how it affects hair health. Stress causes large numbers of hair to go into a resting phase called Telogen Effluvium. As a result of this, within a few months, the affected hairs fall off when you do simple things such as combing or washing your hair.

#2 Combing Your Hair Wrongly

Something as simple as combing your hair can greatly impact your hair health if done incorrectly. Natural hair is dry and its core structure is made of kinks and coils, and this makes it delicate. Combing natural should never be done with a fine-tooth comb. Always detangle your hair with a wide-tooth comb and ensure you work your way up, starting at the ends up to your roots.

#3 Poor Diet

A balanced diet plays a major role in overall health and this reflects in your hair, skin, and nails. So endeavor to eat foods rich in Vitamin A, B, E, biotin, Vitamin B5, B6, and B12. When your hair is deficient in these nutrients you begin to experience thinning hair and hair breakage.

#4 Wearing Tight Hairstyles

Any hairstyle that pulls unnecessary tension on your scalp is not worth the trouble. Styles that are guilty of this are tight buns, top knots. A lot of times we damage our hair when protective styling. Common examples are the popular feed-in cornrows called “ghana braids” and tight box braids which cause too much tension to your edges ultimately resulting in a condition called Traction Alopecia

#5 Excessive Manipulation of Your Hair When Wet

Another common bad hair habit that damages your natural hair is over manipulating your hair when wet. Wet hair is very fragile and prone to breakage so it should be handled with a lot of care. Before you proceed to shampoo or co-wash your hair ensure it is properly detangled from roots to tips using a wide-tooth comb. This minimized the number of tangles that form when you wash your hair and hence reducing your detangling time. Always comb wet hair with an anti-tangle conditioner to minimize tangles and ease the process. when drying your hair after cleansing, gently wrap your hair with a cotton tee-shirt and allow it to absorb the excess water from your hair, rather than using a rough towel to dry your hair.’

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#6 Cleansing wrongly

This is a bad hair habit I see commonly even amongst people who are on a healthy hair journey – well that’s why it is called a hair journey because we learn as we go along on the journey. Shampoos are made to cleanse and rid the scalp of dirt, grime and product build-up and so should be applied to the scalp on wash days. You may be worried that your hair strands would not benefit from the cleansing process but not to worry, the lather as it runs off from the scalp would clean your hair in the process.

#7 Excessive Heat Styling

Yes, heating tools are needed to give our hair that slick and glamourous look but NO, it shouldn’t be done every week. Hairdryers and blow dryers cause our hair to dry faster than usual. This causes the hair to lose its internal moisture leaving it dry and brittle in the long run. Always aim to airdry your hair on wash days. If you must use a blowdryer, do ensure that it is set on cool air. Minimizes heat usage to about once to twice a month. When using heat styling tools, ensure you use heat protectant sprays and oils to minimize heat damage, and while at it, be sure to reduce the heat setting to medium heat so you avoid ‘frying’ your hair.

#8 Using Harsh Chemicals

A lot of chemicals we apply to our hair in order to achieve our desired look and style could cause a lot of damage to our hair. Chemicals like relaxers, bleach, dyes, and some harsh ingredients contained in shampoos and conditioners break down the chemical bonds in our hair and cause damage to the hair cuticle. This leaves the hair very fragile, prone to breakage, and frizzy. Use sulfate-free shampoos when you cleanse your scalp as sulfates have been shown to strip the hair of its essential nutrients leaving it dry, dull, and breakage-prone.

#9 Not Trimming Your Ends

I know this sounds counterintuitive but in order to have healthy ends that don’t break off then, you need to dust or trim your ends when needed. Trimming prevents dry split ends. it s also prevents splits that have formed from traveling up the shaft to cause midshaft breakage. You can trim your hair anywhere from every 3 months to 6months or do regular dusting of your ends to avoid a major trim.

#10 Not Protecting Your Hair at Night

This is a very important step if you want to prevent your hair from drying out and breaking off. At night protect your hair with a silk/satin bonnet. Another option is to sleep on a silk pillowcase. This prevents the drying out of your hair as a result of absorption by your cotton bedsheets. Protecting your hair at night also keeps your hair moisturized for longer.

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