Can someone define "DAMAGING??"

[Solitude]

What does the term damaging mean to you? All answers are welcome.

I'm starting to think that some of the misunderstandings about heat usage, etc. are because we all think of "damaging" as something different. I read things like, "_________ is damaging, even if you don't notice." or "_______________ damaged my hair." or "I want to repair this damage." Sometimes, I'm not really sure what this means. For example, a relaxer breaks down the bonds in the hair. I consider this to be "softening/ relaxing" of the bonds in the hair," but some might consider the "breaking of bonds" to be damaging, which makes sense.

So....how do YOU define damage? And what have YOU had the most problems with as far as damage goes?

The poll is posted!

 

[Neith]

Everything is damaging

I only use the phrase "damaged hair" when there is a problem with the health of the hair. If it it frizzy, dry or breaking, it is damaged.

Relaxers, hair color, heated appliances, manipulation, basic day to day life all damage the hair to varying degrees. Everyone has a little "damage" because no one on this planet has perfect hair in the same condition it grew out of their scalps if you want to take it literally, but I save the phrase for when people have a real problem with their hair.

You can be bleached, relaxed, blowdried AND flatironed for all I care... if your hair is moisturized, strong and not breaking, you have healthy hair in my book.

As far as damage goes, I've had problems with all of the above Not anymore though.

 

[chebaby]

i think a lot of people just use the work damaging just becuse the hair didnt like it. to me damaging means that you used something and it may take weeks to get your hair back to normal. or you may have to cut the hair afterwards.

 

[Solitude]

Everything is damaging

I only use the phrase "damaged hair" when there is a problem with the health of the hair. If it it frizzy, dry or breaking, it is damaged.

Relaxers, hair color, heated appliances, manipulation, basic day to day life all damage the hair to varying degrees. Everyone has a little "damage" because no one on this planet has perfect hair in the same condition it grew out of their scalps if you want to take it literally, but I save the phrase for when people have a real problem with their hair.

You can be bleached, relaxed, blowdried AND flatironed for all I care... if your hair is moisturized, strong and not breaking, you have healthy hair in my book.

As far as damage goes, I've had problems with all of the above Not anymore though.

Good points! I didn't even think of dry, frizzy, fried-out, etc. I've had my share of issues with most of the above as well.

 

[msa]

I consider relaxed, dyed, and heat stretched hair to be damaged. It may not be damaged beyond repair (especially the in the case of heat)...but anything that causes the hair to not be able to revert to it's original state is damaging, IMO.

I need to think about the other ones though. Hmmm...

 

[Solitude]

Really thought I'd get more responses since we talk about damage a lot! Looking forward to more responses....thanks again to the ladies who already posted.

 

[mxdchiq86]

IMO, damaging is anything that breaks the hair or splits the ends.. basically anything that would effect growth.

 

[bellecheveux]

I voted for Combination. If the structure of your hair is weak, then you get breakage, split hair, split ends, and even thinning. Shedding is pretty much normal to me.

 

[Solitude]

So many views....so few votes... goodnight

 

[fluffylocks]

A damaging product or procedure IMO is something that drys the hair, weakens it, and can cause split ends and breakage.

I think almost everything can damage hair... hot water, strong wind, combs, brushes, hair assceries, handling hair to much, relaxers, shampoos, heat ect.

But, I dont think anyones hair is 100% perfect, and that while some hair may be healthier than others, your hair is pretty healthy if its not dry, splitting, and breaking abnormally.

I've seen overuse/misusing of things (like chemicals and heat) that destroy hair, but most things that are damaging people know how to build a regimen around it to keep their hair healthy as it can be.


ETA--The thing gives me most damage is heat....

 

[Poohbear]

IMO...

Hair that is weak, breaking, and split is damaged hair. Anything can damage the hair: chemicals, heat, water, air, fake hair, rough/excessive combing and brushing, etc. But some of these things can damage some hair while some of these things may not damage someone else's hair. For instance, heat: it may damage Jennifer's hair, but it doesn't cause damage to Jessica's hair.

Frizzy, dry, shedding, and uneven hair are not characteristics of damaged hair. Those are natural things that can happen to someone's hair. You can use products to combat frizziness and dryness. You can get a nice cut to even out your hair length.

Thinning and balding depends on the cause. If it's natural causes or hereditary (i.e. receding hairline), then it's not damaged. If it's caused by chemicals, fake hair, or follicle damage, then it's damaged.

 

[Extremus]

all of the above

 

[Solitude]

A damaging product or procedure IMO is something that drys the hair, weakens it, and can cause split ends and breakage.

I think almost everything can damage hair... hot water, strong wind, combs, brushes, hair assceries, handling hair to much, relaxers, shampoos, heat ect.

But, I dont think anyones hair is 100% perfect, and that while some hair may be healthier than others, your hair is pretty healthy if its not dry, splitting, and breaking abnormally.

I've seen overuse/misusing of things (like chemicals and heat) that destroy hair, but most things that are damaging people know how to build a regimen around it to keep their hair healthy as it can be.


ETA--The thing gives me most damage is heat....

Thanks! Abusing direct heat is what brought me to LHCF. And I mean when I woke up in the morning, I went straight to plug in that curling iron! erplexed

I treat my hair so gently now, that I can't believe some of the things I used to do to my hair besides using heat like tight ponytails, drying hair gel- I shudder to think about it.

 

[Solitude]

I consider relaxed, dyed, and heat stretched hair to be damaged. It may not be damaged beyond repair (especially the in the case of heat)...but anything that causes the hair to not be able to revert to it's original state is damaging, IMO.

I need to think about the other ones though. Hmmm...

That makes sense. Not to disagree at all, but this made me think about people like myself who are relaxed as a permanent hairstyle. This kind of means that my hair has been "damaged" for 11 or 12 years, since I got my first relaxer.

thank goodness my mom wasn't heat-crazy, or I would have been bald! She kept me in a lot of protective styling even after I was relaxed & I am finally getting back to those good practices.

 

[Muse]

IMO...

Hair that is weak, breaking, and split is damaged hair. Anything can damage the hair: chemicals, heat, water, air, fake hair, rough/excessive combing and brushing, etc. But some of these things can damage some hair while some of these things may not damage someone else's hair. For instance, heat: it may damage Jennifer's hair, but it doesn't cause damage to Jessica's hair.

Frizzy, dry, shedding, and uneven hair are not characteristics of damaged hair. Those are natural things that can happen to someone's hair. You can use products to combat frizziness and dryness. You can get a nice cut to even out your hair length.

Thinning and balding depends on the cause. If it's natural causes or hereditary (i.e. receding hairline), then it's not damaged. If it's caused by chemicals, fake hair, or follicle damage, then it's damaged.

Yeah I was gonna say the bolded. I don't think frizzy dry hair means it's damaged. There are plenty of people who never use relaxers, heat,etc. only natural(or no) poos and con, they have no slpits or breakage that still suffer from dry frizzy hair. Does that mean their hair is damaged? Or that they just need to find a good moisturizer?

Now splits, breaking weak hair is damage.

 

[JustKiya]

To me, damage is anything that changes the structure of the hair from what it was fresh out of the root, so I'm in the group that considers life as damage, when it comes to hair.
It's one of the reasons baby hair tends to be so pretty - it's the only time your hair is literally totally undamaged - once you're out the womb, it's all fair game.

With that said, obviously, I think heat is damaging, relaxing is damaging, combing your hair with seamed combs is damaging, color is damaging, some hair accessories are damaging, clothing is damaging, etc, etc, etc.

Each item creates different levels of damage, and that damage gradually accumulates (as the hair itself gets thinner and weaker because its structure is being slowly destroyed) and then it hits its breaking point, and either breaks off, or splits.

All hair is mildly damaged, in some form or another, and in my mind, growing long hair, at it's root, is about avoiding damage to your hair, so that it takes years for the 'natural' accumulative damage to destroy your hair to the point at which it breaks off. In the best scenario, the amount of time it takes for the damage to accumulate to a point where your hair breaks off is longer than your growing phase - so a hair starts from the root, grows for it's preset amount of time, and sheds - all before being damaged/stressed enough to split or break.

I've dealt with damage from color, mostly. When I was relaxed, my hair was definitely damaged, both from the relaxer and the heat that I was using.

 

[Neith]

IMO...

Hair that is weak, breaking, and split is damaged hair. Anything can damage the hair: chemicals, heat, water, air, fake hair, rough/excessive combing and brushing, etc. But some of these things can damage some hair while some of these things may not damage someone else's hair. For instance, heat: it may damage Jennifer's hair, but it doesn't cause damage to Jessica's hair.

Frizzy, dry, shedding, and uneven hair are not characteristics of damaged hair. Those are natural things that can happen to someone's hair. You can use products to combat frizziness and dryness. You can get a nice cut to even out your hair length.

Thinning and balding depends on the cause. If it's natural causes or hereditary (i.e. receding hairline), then it's not damaged. If it's caused by chemicals, fake hair, or follicle damage, then it's damaged.

I disagree.


I feel that when it comes to frizz and dryness that it could go either way.

Someone may just have healthy, but frizzy and dry hair and be able to fix it with a good deep conditioning and leave in.

However, those "symptoms" are often present because the hair is unhealthy.

Dryness leads to frizz AND splits. Dryness and frizz alone on healthy hair... no big deal if you get it taken care of. Dryness and frizz can lead to unhealthy hair (imagine the damage done by combing through a head of dried out, frizzed out hair daily or trying to heat style, relax, color or perm already dry hair and not fix the dryness problem) AND can totally wreck already damaged hair (someone gets a relaxer and never conditions or moisturizes, what's most likely going to happen because of the dryness?)


I also think that heat is damaging for everyone. It doesn't give everyone the same amount of damage, but of course putting hundreds of degrees of heat on hair is going to do some damage. Whether it's mild or not depends on the person and their technique.


As for shedding, balding and thinning... again, it can be a result of damage, but if it is naturally occuring I don't see it strictly as hair damage, I see it as an overall health issue.

 

[Carrie A]

I think you can have frizz and the hair not be damaged. Especially with natural hair. I've seen plenty of accept your frizz threads on natural care hair sites. Everything else yes.

 

[vkb247]

I voted other "other" because I do not think of damage in terms of what the end result is (breaking, split ends, etc.) I think of it in terms of what causes that to happen. Heat, relaxers, air, dryness, etc. These are just some damage causing things.

ITA with justkiya

 

[Solitude]

I voted other "other" because I do not think of damage in terms of what the end result is (breaking, split ends, etc.) I think of it in terms of what causes that to happen. Heat, relaxers, air, dryness, etc. These are just some damage causing things.

ITA with justkiya

But what are these things causing? What is damage?

For example, if I get "heat damage" what has happened to my hair?

 

[AlliCat]

Damage: When hair is falling out of your head (excessive shedding or breakage) due to chemicals, heat, or physical reasons like stress or certain hairstyles.

 

[mzteaze]

I think hair is damaged when it is chemically/heat damaged to the point of breakage, splits or falling out of the follicle. Also mechanical stress like overly tight braiding, weaves or bonds will damage hair as well.