Neither hair nor there

[infinite monkey]

5 biggest hair myths!

When I was younger and had a few gray hairs, people would say "Oh no, don't pull them out 3 more will grow in its place!" Um, if that were true no one would ever have to be bald.

Of course, that's ridiculous, but I think the myths in this article drag on, there is almost no argument against the idea that, say, cutting your hair makes it grow faster, or that you should switch shampoos, etc.

Hair today, gone tomorrow!

http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/13/living...?iref=obinsite

[Sundae]

My Mum's home hairdresser still believes that cutting hair (dead cells) encourages it to grow.

But she's cheap and I do need a haircut...

[Stormieweather]

I didn't read the article, but cutting hair doesn't make it actually grow faster, it just makes it seem that way since the ends don't break off and make it seem shorter than it would if cut regularly.

[monster]

yup, that's what the article said.

[Clodfobble]

Myth #3: A cold-water rinse makes your hair shinier.

Hairstylists love to spread this gospel. Their rationale: The icy water will make the cuticle of your hair close so it's flat (and light-reflective), not ruffled (and dull-looking). Your hair, however, contains no living cells -- it doesn't react to cold (or hot) water, says chemist Mort Westman.

I disagree with this one. A metal ball isn't made of living cells, either, but it certainly expands and contracts with temperature changes. The myth could still be false, depending on the contractibility of hair cells. But you can't say it's because hair cells aren't living.

[monster]

I thought that, clod, but then if the hair contracted as it got colder, the follicles would expand. Think about a hole in the metal ball. Or at least in a metal plate. This principle is used a lot in ceramics -you need to make items -e.g. light switch plates- larger than you want them, but the holes should be smaller, because the clay contracts as it dries and pulls away from the edges -including the edges of all holes.

[Clodfobble]

Yeah, but in this case it's not the follicle we care about, it's those layered cells all along the length of the hair shaft. Maybe contracting would just make the serrations smaller, though, rather than changing the angle.

[monster]

hm, yes, I see.
This site claims that acidity closes the cuticles:

http://www.longhairdontcare.net/long...cle-truth.html

I can't see why that would work either....

....like I care. My hair's an inch at the longest point.

[Clodfobble]

Yeah, I figure if you want shine there are a million products you could use. Cold rinses are for people who don't like to maintain a survivable core body temp.