Bad Hair Habits

by Cinya Burton
Published Nov 13, 2011

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We all fidget with our hair—pushing strands out of our face, twirling sections around our fingers, or picking at split ends. Although these—often subconscious—actions are fairly common, some can cause serious damage to your tresses. To find out the biggest mane mistakes, we chatted with Elizabeth Cunnane-Phillips, a trichologist at the Philip Kingsley Trichology Clinic in New York City.

Is twirling your hair bad for it?

“The longer the hair is, the more the habit of fiddling with it seems to prevail. Physical handling of the hair makes it dirtier and oilier, and creates a duller appearance. Not to mention, constantly playing with your strands also creates wear and tear on the hair, causing fragile ends to break. In some cases, this habit can lead to a condition called trichotillomania. This is when twiddling gradually reaches the pulling stage, whereby the hairs are repeatedly pulled out one by one, eventually causing a thin or bald patch that can cover quite a large area.”

What can be done to prevent this?

“I suggest you get something else in your hands. Keeping a worry ball at your desk helps fidgeting hands stay busy.”

Can constantly wearing a ponytail damage the hair?

“Wearing your hair in a tight ponytail can cause traction alopecia, which is physical trauma around the hairline. This is because repeated pulling of the hair follicles creates scaring, and eventually these damaged follicles will stop producing. If your scalp feels sore or if you have a headache, take your hair down immediately. Even with looser styles, be sure to use soft cloth elastics. Metal will always cut into hair and create breakage at the point of contact.”

What about plucking white hairs or split ends?

“The old wives tale of ‘If you pluck one gray hair, 10 more will grow in its place’ is not true. One time is okay. However, continued plucking of these hairs is very damaging to the follicle area. What you are doing is releasing the hair prematurely by yanking it out, which is harmful to the skin tissue where follicles exist. Although tricky, it is much better to carefully go in and cut out the one strand. This is the same with split ends—ripping at them causes more breakage. The only solution is a trim.”

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Nov 29, 2012

Jessica Z.

Thank you for sharing Kayli:) I recently(well within the last 9 months maybe) switched from biting my nails to pulling my hair, both being partly due to stress&nerves. However, now that I don't bite my nails and only do this to my hair, it has become SO bad. It is literally almost becoming an obsession. I used to have the prettiest hair too, & now I have a big bald spot on the side of my head that I try to hide by pulling my hair back into a bun or w/e, but it still doesn't hide it fully. Anyways, I guess it was really inspiring to see someone so comfortable sharing about it, specially cuz I am for whatever reason so so so embarrassed by it.(well in my real life, I don't mind talking about it online,obviously) maybe it's because the ppl around me get pissed off at me for doing it and not being able to stop:/ thanks again!

Nov 16, 2011

Bonnie L.

Whew! Luckily I don't do any of these. have almost waist-length hair and I have this habit of constantly cutting my split ends. I even have a pair of scissors in my car, and I even carrry a tiny pair in my bags. -.- Obsessive? Maybe. But at least it saves me a trip to the salon!

Nov 15, 2011

Danielle V.

I will never be able to stop twirling my hair haha

Nov 14, 2011

Gloria Y.

A friend of mine has trichotillomania caused by stressed. It's a really sad condition since it's irreversible.

Nov 14, 2011

Ashley M.

I pick at my split ends alot...oh no!

Nov 14, 2011

Sarah H.

constantly twirling my hair, it would probably grow better if i stopped.

Nov 14, 2011

Allison G.

Wow... I don't do any of this..shockingly

Nov 14, 2011

Sarah L.

I'm constantly twirling my hair, guess I need a stress ball I need to stop!

Nov 13, 2011

Kaci W.

My sister is CONSTANTLY wearing her hair in a ponytail. Literally, she has her hair up 24/7! I've tried explaining to her that wearing her hair up so much isn't really good for her hair, but she refuses to listen to me. Even our hairdresser has told her, and she refuses to listen to even her. Maybe if she actually reads this she'll understand. I mean, she's trying to grow her hair out, too! And, according to the article, "wearing your hair in a tight ponytail can cause traction alopecia ... this is because repeated pulling of the hair follicles creates scaring, and eventually these damaged follicles will stop producing".