In the effort to take better care of our hair, many of us follow tried and true rules and tips. Of course many of these have been carried down from generation to generation and somewhere along the way, some of the information gets a bit exaggerated or are even completely made up. This can make it difficult to know if you’re doing right by your hair or not. When this happens, it’s time to tell apart fact from fiction.

You may have heard of the hair care tip to brush your hair 100 strokes each night before bed. The reasoning behind this is that each stroke stimulates the hair follicle, making it grow stronger, longer, and faster. While it is true that brushing stimulates the hair follicle, as well as the scalp, excessive brushing daily can actually do more harm than good. Each stroke pulls a few hairs out each time so doing this movement 100 times each day can wear the wear down and weaken the existing strands. Only brush your hair while styling or do so before bed but do not use 100 stokes. 3-4 is more than enough.

Some people believe that only shampooing your hair is enough and you don’t necessarily need conditioner. This is fiction. Conditioning the hair is very important to helping your tresses stay healthy. Shampoo only contains enough ingredients to allow it to cleanse your hair, not moisturize, so it is essential to have a good conditioner handy as well as a good quality shampoo. Or you can opt for a two-in-one type of product.

If you currently follow the hair care belief that a good lather is the right sign that your shampoo is working, then you’ll want to change that belief. The lather is basically done for special effects and is not an indictor of how well or how poorly your current shampoo is working. Many think that piling on the shampoo will get their hair and scalp cleaner but in reality, you only need a drop the size of a quarter to properly handle your hair and scalp.

Probably one of the most debatable hair care tips is the notion that it is bad to wash your hair everyday. This is somewhat true but only if you aren’t using good quality hair products. Your hair type will determine whether you should wash your hair daily or every other day. Those with dry or coarse hair types should stick to washing every other day, while oily hair types can indulge in a daily washing, as long as they are using products with gentle formulas and moisturizing properties. If you want to wash your hair everyday, make sure you are using products that don’t contain harsh ingredients or formulas, or items that end up stripping your hair of its natural oils.

Dealing with gray hairs? Some people turn to plucking out unsightly gray strands but one hair care tip warns that for every gray hair plucked, 2-3 new gray hairs will grow in its place. This is nothing but fiction. However, it is not a good hair care habit to pluck gray hairs. Doing so can put you at risk of scarring the scalp or getting an infection. If your gray hairs are that bad, you may want to look into hair dye to cover them up instead of plucking.

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