Why protective hairstyles don’t help with growth

Bleached blonde hair, daring razor cuts and elaborate hairpieces have become a mainstay of what we can expect during the festive season. But as Dezemba hairstyles colour up the streets, so do the misunderstood concepts behind creative hairstyles that are meant to help grow hair while still helping people look good.

This has been the misconception with protective hairstyles, which refers to plaits that allow the hair to grow, thanks to being in one form, and allow oils to access the hair a lot quicker.

“There is no such thing as protective hairstyles,” says trichologist Hlengi Hans Ngidi. “If you think about the plastic fibre we manipulate our hair with, that fibre is already dry. It’s been chemically processed, and we are attaching it to our hair. Our hair is a particular shape, and when you twist and shape it with the gels we use and the tension it gets, protective hairstyles become dangerous,” she says.

While these can help with avoiding fidgeting with your hair, Ngidi says these types of hairstyles only contribute to 1cm of hair growth in a month. Keeping them for a prolonged time or using unsafe methods “will not grow the hair”.

A popular style that has gone beyond a favourite for the festive season is waves. While not “hectic” to the hair, Ngidi says they are safe as long as one avoids using alcohol-free products, as they dry out the hair. She says most men’s hairstyles are generally safe outside of hormone imbalances that can affect hair, dreadlocks that can create tension through traction and bleached hair that can break the hair.

With many pursuing platinum makeovers or summer shades of blue, pink or blonde, there is the risk of putting hair through a lot of breakage due to it being inherently unhealthy for hair. With the amount of oxidants the colour often holds, it can eventually break the amino acids that produce protein in hair, which makes hair a lot weaker.

“That is why people with bleached or colour-treated hair tend to become snappy. If they overuse it, it can become plastic-like and can contain random patches,” she says. “If you have chemically processed hair, treatments should be your friend. You should do a reconstructive treatment at least once a month.”