6 Destructive Habits That Cause Hair Loss for Women

Whether you are finding too many strands of hair in the shower drain or whether you are actually seeing visible thinning, losing hair is always stressful and despairing. While some hair loss is caused by hormonal changes, medical conditions, or genetics, some hair loss is simply caused by adhering to bad habits. When you style your hair, choose a new color, or attack tangles too harshly, you might be creating, or contributing to, the hair loss you’ve been experiencing. By taking a look at your habits and by eliminating those ones that are damaging, you can help to maintain your thick, glowing hair, so that you stop finding so many stray hairs in your brush and in your shower.

6 Destructive Habits That Cause Hair Loss for Women

Severe Hairstyling

Buns, braids, and ponytails are convenient, but if you make them too severe or pull your hair too tightly, you can lose strands every day. “Traction alopecia” is gradual hair loss that results from prolonged tension, usually caused by styling that is straining on your hair. If you begin to notice a lot of short, fine hairs along your hairline, it could be a sign of traction alopecia. The longer strands that once covered these new arrivals have been ripped away or have fallen from the severity of your hairstyling. By making sure you are not pulling the hair around your hairline too tightly, you can help to eliminate this type of hair loss.

Using Clips and Extensions

Even though they give you extra fullness and length, clip-in extensions can easily cause your hair to break. While this isn’t true alopecia, because the hair is not falling out, the breakage caused by clip-in extensions still causes your hair to thin. By avoiding extensions entirely or, at least, by not using them long-term, you can help to avoid breakage. As a rule, never sleep with extensions in your hair, as you might unconsciously cause damage to your hair when you move in your sleep.

Not Checking Potential Side Effects

Some prescription medications, over-the-counter medications, and vitamin treatments, can contribute to hair loss. There are numerous types of medications known to cause thinning hair, including birth control, blood pressure, and cholesterol pills. Antidepressant and acne medications can also cause hair thinning. If you are experiencing hair loss or thinning, examining the labels on all the medications you regularly take could reveal the culprit. You can also check with your doctor to make certain that your prescription medication isn’t to blame for your hair loss.

Too Much Heat Styling

Your hair dryer, curling iron, and other hot tools may make your hair look stunning at first, but these heat-styling tools can damage your hair, especially with prolonged usage. Too much use of heat-styling tools thins individual hair shafts and makes hair prone to breakage. While you’d notice overcooked hair right away, you might not notice the gradual damage and breakage that builds up over time from long-term use of heat-styling tools.

Hot tools don’t cause actual hair loss from the scalp because they don’t cause individual hairs to actually fall out. However, the breakage that they create can cause your hair to appear thin and sparse. Opting for cooler settings, or even opting to air-dry your hair, will help to prevent damage. If you must style your hair with a hot tool, use protective hair products and select the lowest heat setting that works.

Attacking Tangles Too Aggressively

Using a fine tooth comb may work quickly, but ripping at tangles with a comb that is too fine or small can cause damage. Breakage at the site of a tangle is common when you comb too vigorously. A wide tooth comb will help detangle your hair without causing breakage. It may take a little longer to comb your hair this way, particularly if your hair is prone to tangling, but the extra time it takes is beneficial, so that your hair remains full and undamaged.

Not Receiving Enough Vitamins and Nutrients

The food you eat impacts more than just your energy level and waistline. It also affects your hair. Not eating enough protein, or not ingesting the proper amount of vitamins and minerals, can contribute to hair loss. Taking a multivitamin and eating a well-balanced diet are necessary for the health of your hair — for supporting and strengthening it.

Too Many Chemicals

Dying your hair frequently or drastically changing the color of your hair can cause damage and lead to breakage. Make changes slowly, if possible, to avoid the damage that arises from over-processing. To be safe, if you want to drastically change your hair color, say, from a very dark shade to a very light one, use professional stylists. They can help you achieve the look you want by minimizing the damage.

Small changes in the way you care for and style your hair, along with small changes in your diet, can halt hair loss and can give you that thick, full hair you’ve been dreaming of.

Our Healthy Hair Day Bundle includes everything you need to quench and nourish dry and damaged hair!