Hand In Hair (HIH) Syndrome is something a lot of new naturals do. It’s a habit easy to form. We want to play with our hair and feel it. Whether it’s our hair or extensions, it’s a fun habit. While this habit has no medical or scientific implication, it can cause damage to the hair.
You’re stressing your hair out. You are making it frizzy and that isn’t good. Messing with your hair excessively can lead to breakage also. Once you style your hair and your hair is dry, you shouldn’t constantly touch it after that. Here at Reina haircare, we’ve put this article together to help you deal with hand in hair syndrome.
There are several reasons why some women can’t stop touching their hair.
- You want to make sure your hair is perfect. You obsess about your hair being perfect and so you always mess with it.
- You made a recent change to your hair like a cut or texture change so you want to constantly touch to feel this new texture.
- You just love your hair so much that you want to play with it all day. It’s okay to love your hair but your hair doesn’t exactly feel loved when you play with it all the time.
- You’re just bored, stressed, nervous, or anxious. It happens to all of us. When you want to distract yourself, especially when in deep thoughts or anxious, you always want to play with something. Sadly this time your hair gets damaged.
It might seem like a form of self-love and you probably think you are doing great things when caressing and loving on your hair. But there are many negative effects of twisting, touching, patting, and styling your hair more than you need to. Here are some of them:
- The friction from twisting your coils will create split ends and fairy knots which you will need to cut out eventually.
- The tugging and touching of your hair will cause your hair to experience breakage and frizz, especially with styles that we like to keep frizz-free. Before you reach for the anti-frizz product, evaluate yourself to see if it’s you that is making your efforts counterproductive.
- Touching your hair all the time removes oil and essential hair products from your hair causing it to be dry.
- Products on your fingers from your hair touch other things. If you touch your face too that leads to breakouts, pimples, and blackheads.
Effective Ways To Deal With Hand In Hair Syndrome.
Wrap It Up.
When you are in the house and done with your day, wrap your hair up with a satin bonnet or scarf. Wearing a head wrap or scarf keeps your hair covered and prevents you from having access to it.
Wear A Protective Style.
Try giving your hair a break by putting in extensions, wearing braids, twists, etc. This not only protects the ends of your hair, but it keeps you from being able to run your fingers through your strands.
Updos Styling.
Updos are helpful because they can look bad with a slight tug on the wrong part of your hair. Knowing you will ruin your hairstyle would help mandate you to keep your fingers out! They also protect your ends since they are tucked away. A well-manicured updo in styles such as a bun or throwback roll updo would keep your fingers from wandering!
Find A New Habit.
Keep your hands busy doing other things. If you are one to play in your hair while talking on the phone or doing other hands-free things, try knitting or writing abstract things on a piece of paper. Manage the amount of time you play with your hair. Whenever you notice you’re doing it, stop and find something else to do.
Hand In Hair In A Positive Way.
You can also make use of your hands for your hair in a positive way. If you just absolutely have to have your hands in your hair, you could always try giving yourself a scalp massage. Dip your fingertips in the hair and scalp serum and get to rubbing. At least this way you will be stimulating your scalp.
Make A Conscious Decision To Stop.
Hold yourself accountable at all times and instruct people around you to be your discipline check. On occasions you play with your hair unconsciously, they will keep you in check.
Have you experienced hand-in hair syndrome? Share your experience with us in the comment section. Here is more information on all you need to know about hand in hair syndrome.
Written by Social Butterfly Haven for Reina HairCare.
