Haircare habit to avoid that causes ‘lasting damage’, claims expert

Brushing your hair is very important. However, the time and way most comb through their hair puts too much stress on their strands.

While there is great relief in brushing out all the knots in your hair, experts are warning that detangling wet hair could “cause more harm than good”.

The advice comes as Absolute Collagen has noticed that the hashtag #hairbreakagetips on TikTok has had two million views over the last 12 months. While searches for “why is my hair snapping” have increased significantly in the last month alone.

So for those who are brushing their post-hairwash routine, they might want to rethink, as Darcy Laceby, co-founder of Absolute Collagen has shared how it could be “damaging” your hair.

She explained: “While it may be tempting to use a heavy hand to detangle your hair, especially after washing it in the shower, you may be causing lasting damage.

“Many people don’t realise that when your hair is wet it is at its most fragile and it is more prone to snapping or splitting.”

So, those who have been brushing their hair when wet may be experiencing hair breakage.

Hair is made of protein and also craves protein to stay healthy, therefore Darcy recommends using collagen supplements.

Collagen supplements include protein and the essential amino acids that “positively impact hair growth” and overall condition.

She claimed that Absolute Collagen’s recent clinical trial found that 60 per cent of people reported less hair breakage after 12 weeks of taking the liquid collagen supplements.

For those who do find themselves having to brush their hair when it is wet, they need to make sure they are not tugging down on the strands as that will result in “tearing” the delicate and already vulnerable strands.

Darcy suggested: “To help protect your hair, use a brush with flexible bristles that will gently glide through your hair without snapping strands and ultimately save you from split ends.”

Start brushing at the ends of the hair and work yourself up to the root to ensure fewer knots are being pulled through the length of your hair.

If you brush your hair from top to bottom, you push all of the tangles to the ends, where your hair is most fragile and prone to breakage.

For those who don’t own a wide-tooth comb, a great technique to use is to spread your spread fingers to gently comb through your hair whilst conditioning your hair in the shower.