In today’s world of beauty trends and influencer culture, hair has become a way to show who you are by continuously styling, straightening, colouring, or pulling it back. But many don’t know that hair and scalp damage are increasing, even though the images and ponytails look great.
Here are hair trends that are hurting your scalp without you knowing it, and what you can do to fix the damage.
Heat styling: Curlers, straighteners & blow dryers
Using high-heat tools every day can make your hair weaker; they dry out the scalp and make your hair more likely to break. The heat from these tools takes away the natural oils, which makes your hair lose its flexibility and develop split ends. It can even induce traction alopecia, which is hair loss from too much stress over time.
The solution can be using cooler modes of the dryer, keep the dryer 15 cm away from the hair, keep moving to different sections of hair. Reduce the frequency of use of other heat styling devices.
Chemical treatments: Colours, relaxers & keratin smoothing
Chemical treatments change the structure of your hair, whether they are used to straighten, colour, or de-frizz it. Repeated exposure can hurt the hair cuticle and scalp, making them dry, itchy, and inflamed. In extreme circumstances, it can even cause hair to start thinning permanently or allergic reactions.
Instead, choose treatments that don’t include ammonia, or have low toxicity. Reduce the use of chemical services and then do deep conditioning and scalp nutrition routines.
Tight hairstyles: Buns, braids & ponytails
Tightly pulled-back styles or ponytails may look sleek, but they put too much tension on hair follicles. This can lead to traction alopecia, a kind of hair loss that occurs at the hairline and borders and is most common in women who wear tight updos or braids often.
Change your hairstyles often, staying away from stress, and letting your scalp breathe. To keep your hair from breaking, use silk scrunchies or clips instead of elastic bands.
How to fix the damage to your scalp
Scalp health: Use a mild, pH-balanced shampoo.
Nutrition and hydration: A diet high in biotin, zinc, iron, and omega-3 fatty acids helps hair grow from the inside out.
Get professional help: If your scalp itches, turns red, or you lose too much hair, you should see a doctor. A dermatologist can tell you if you have a fungal infection, dermatitis, or early-stage alopecia.
PRP or mesotherapy: Platelet-rich plasma therapy or nutrient-rich scalp injections done in a clinic may help bring back hair follicles that have been damaged.
— Dr Sooriya S, consultant, Dermatology, SRM Global Hospitals, Chennai