I had a big tall mohawk in high school and have thick curly hair now.
As my mom always said, “It’s just hair, if you damage it you can shave your head and it will grow back” .
Backcombing, teasing hair like that is damaging yes, but hair is dead, it’s like the white part of fingernails. Unless you damage the actual root (like a bad burn to the scalp) it will always grow back.
There are hairstyles that can do damage to the follicles to the point they can’t grow hair anymore. It’s called traction alopecia, the thing that Will Smith’s wife has.
For what I understand, just general mechanical damage. Constantly pulling the hair damages the cells in the follicles, they don’t heal properly and so can’t produce hair anymore. Stuff like aggressive ponytails, pig tails, braids, extensions, wigs, tight hats, anything that pulls and pluck hair a lot over a very long time. Chemicals for dying hair make it worse. Waxing and plucking body hair does it too. Like, “Hair grows back” is fine and all when you are very young and healthy. But it is naive to think that years of abuse to any body part won’t harm it. Hair is not a magical thing that spurts from the head, our body is making it.
Constantly pulling the hair damages the cells in the follicles, they don’t heal properly and so can’t produce hair anymore. Waxing and plucking body hair does it too.
Can you remind the hair on my toes that this is how they’re supposed to respond after 30 years of relentless plucking?? 😭 Everywhere else on my body I zapped with lasers a decade ago, thank god no more unwanted body hair. except those damn toes
PSA from a massage therapist to all clients: Body grooming matters! Take care of yourself, whenever you step out into the world, be clean and well-groomed from head to toe.
I had a big tall mohawk in high school and have thick curly hair now.
As my mom always said, “It’s just hair, if you damage it you can shave your head and it will grow back” .
Backcombing, teasing hair like that is damaging yes, but hair is dead, it’s like the white part of fingernails. Unless you damage the actual root (like a bad burn to the scalp) it will always grow back.
There are hairstyles that can do damage to the follicles to the point they can’t grow hair anymore. It’s called traction alopecia, the thing that Will Smith’s wife has.
What are the causes?
For what I understand, just general mechanical damage. Constantly pulling the hair damages the cells in the follicles, they don’t heal properly and so can’t produce hair anymore. Stuff like aggressive ponytails, pig tails, braids, extensions, wigs, tight hats, anything that pulls and pluck hair a lot over a very long time. Chemicals for dying hair make it worse. Waxing and plucking body hair does it too. Like, “Hair grows back” is fine and all when you are very young and healthy. But it is naive to think that years of abuse to any body part won’t harm it. Hair is not a magical thing that spurts from the head, our body is making it.
Can you remind the hair on my toes that this is how they’re supposed to respond after 30 years of relentless plucking?? 😭 Everywhere else on my body I zapped with lasers a decade ago, thank god no more unwanted body hair. except those damn toes
Feet are Neanderthal, they don’t care about your Sapiens sensibilities.
PSA from a massage therapist to all clients: Body grooming matters! Take care of yourself, whenever you step out into the world, be clean and well-groomed from head to toe.