5 Horrible Things That Happen When You Constantly Manipulate Your Hair Chasing Perfection

All my ladies with HIYHS (Hands In Your Hair Sydrome), where you at? Yes, we all love to flaunt our beautiful locks up and down the street (adding a hair flip for dramatics).

Have you ever considered how much damage you are doing when you are constantly manipulating your hair? Probably, not the first thing on your mind as you are chasing perfection, but it should be! Think about it, your hair grows more when your hands are not in it.

Breakage

The number one culprit for damage is breakage. When you are in your hair 24/7/365 you are just asking for those strands to snap left and right.

Breakage in itself is the leading reason why many women think their hair can’t grow. You may think you are being extremely careful and babying those ends of yours, but trust me when I say that less is more!

Leave your hair alone and let it get accustomed to the updo you just put up this morning. You don’t have to let your hair down for a night out on the town with the girls. You are still fabulous.

Product Build Up

Another thing many of us don’t take into account when we become hair obsessed is the amount of products we use. With lots of manipulation comes lots of product to follow.

Yes clarifying will solve this issue, but how often do you do this? Those baby hairs that won’t lay how you want them to are drowning in edge control.

Save them! The saying goes, too much of a good thing is not that great is very true. I’ll admit I love my natural oils* and conditioner as my hair tends to suck up moisture like nobody’s business, but that does not mean I have to smother my hair in product to achieve the results I want. This is a big NO NO!

Style Fails

If you think the first two were no brainers, think about this one. We have all been in the boat of seeing a style so gorgeous we just had to try it ourselves, right?

You bought all the products that were featured in the video in hopes that your hair would come out looking the same way. The way of what seemed to be perfection.

After your first attempt, it may or may not look exactly as pictured. Those of us who don’t have such great luck replicating styles may often find ourselves wondering what the heck happened.

One of two things will happen. We decide a style is simply not for us or if you are feeling a bit more ambitious, you look for ways to tweak the method.

As you go about finding more ways to make a style work for you, you find yourself in the two categories listed above. All to achieve just one hairstyle! Save your time and your money honey*!

Moisture/Protein Loss

All the manipulation you are doing to your hair trying to achieve a perfect style, whether it be a wash n go, twist out, or flat ironing your natural hair, you are taking away the moisture that your hair so desperately needs.

Not only is your hair now feeling dry but you have also weakened the protein bonds that keep your hair looking and feeling healthy.

It may not be apparent at first, but over time you will notice a difference. This is a key point in why establishing a regimen to keep your protein and moisture balance in check is so crucial.

Personally it is one of the hardest parts of being on a hair journey. I can never get the combination just right, but I hate to make things harder for myself. Hence, why I am a die-hard protective style fan. Keep things simple.

Inability to Know What Your Hair Really Needs

Perhaps the most horrible thing when chasing hair perfection is, you slow your ability to learn about your hair. You try this product and that product.

Braid out on Monday, bun on Tuesday, wash n go on Wednesday, flat iron* on Thursday, Flat twist on friday, and a sew in for Saturday and Sunday.

Ladies, we cannot be this dramatic with our hair. When we do this we are ignoring what it really needs and are unable to see the progress we are striving for.

Sometimes our hair just needs to breathe! Let it get use to a style or stick to the products that actually work for your hair instead of conducting a science experiment every time you read or see something on the internet.

I always say this, but  LISTEN TO YOUR HAIR! Perfection in your eyes may be a completely different story than what your hair has in mind.

Although perfection is what most of us strive for, we must remember: “Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.” Perception is everything, but keep in mind what you are risking.

Manipulation of your hair is inevitable, but you can limit the damage you cause. Don’t set your standard of being perfect according to someone else’s standards, only YOU can set that bar based on your own beauty. Where ever that bar may be, remember perfection comes at a cost, are you willing to pay for it?