As the weather gets hotter, we all want easy ways to keep our hair out of our faces.
However, we want to ensure that what we’re doing now doesn’t cause a lot of damage to our hair down the line.
Here’s Why Headbands Can be Good for You:
Headbands aren’t inherently bad for you, and they can help if you have to have your hair pulled back tightly a lot of the time. If headbands are regularly cleaned, aren’t too tight, and are made of soft materials, they can help prevent receding hairlines caused by traction alopecia.
Do Headbands Make Your Forehead Look Bigger?
Wearing a headband can be a great way to keep the hair out of your face.
If you place a headband on your forehead and push it back, you can accentuate the look of your forehead. This would have a similar effect as if you pulled your hair back into a ponytail or bun and if you consistently style your hair backward off of your face.
A headband is a great tool if you’re hoping to create the illusion of a larger forehead.
But if you overuse the headband, you can make your forehead bigger by causing damage to your hairline.
Can Headbands Thin Your Hair?
If you wear headbands all the time, they can damage your hair.
Especially if you’re wearing headbands that are too tight, you can put a lot of strain on the roots of your hair. Doing this day in and day out can lead to traction alopecia.
Consistent tight headbands can cause your hair to break at the roots. You can permanently damage your hair follicles, which means that hair will no longer grow from these follicles.
That can lead to thinning of the hair over time.
Headbands can be especially damaging to those with curly hair since having the headband sitting on your hair can disrupt the curl pattern and lead to increased breakage.
Can Headbands Protect Your Hair?
While you need to use caution when wearing headbands, they can be a great tool to help protect your hair.
If you wear a headband at night, you can prevent the buildup of sweat and oils in your hair. This can help keep your hair looking better longer, so you don’t have to wash it as frequently.
If your job requires you to have your hair pulled tightly back, such as in the military, food service, or factory work, using a headband when you’re off of work can give your scalp time to relax while keeping your hair out of your face.
Spa headbands can also help prevent breakouts at the hairline by creating a physical barrier between the hair and the products.
Headbands can also prevent facial creams and products from getting into your hair while washing your face or putting on your makeup. They can also help stop you from touching your hair throughout the day, preventing breakage and keeping some of the oils from your hands out of your forehead.
Can You Prevent Hairline Recession?
It depends on what is causing your receding hairline in the first place.
While the exact cause isn’t known with scientific certainty, there seems to be some genetic component to hair loss or a receding hairline. If that’s the genetic card you’ve been dealt, you can try to take precautions to help keep your hair healthy.
Balanced diets, regular exercise, and low-stress levels can help mitigate the impacts of genetic hair loss.
However, having as many hairstyles in your arsenal as possible can prevent traction alopecia. Using headbands, wearing your hair loose, not creating overly tight buns, and not chemically treating your hair can help keep your hair strong and healthy for as long as possible.
If you notice that you’re having a lot of hair breakage or have to wear hairstyles that put you at risk for traction alopecia, you can take steps to reverse or prevent the damage.
Luckily, traction alopecia is reversible if you don’t continue with the behaviors to the point where they damage those hair follicles.
Do Headbands Mostly Help or Harm Your Hair?
The damage caused to hair by headbands has more to do with your habits around headbands than the headbands themselves.
Like hair ties, hair dryers, and hair dyes, headbands are tools you can use to style and protect your hair.
That being said, some types of headbands are more likely to damage your hair if you wear them a lot.
Tight Headbands
One of the great things about headband fashion is that you can transform many different materials into headbands.
When you DIY a headband out of a scarf or a bandana, you may have to cinch it down pretty tightly to get it to stay in place. That will add pressure to the roots of your hair, especially if you place the knot at the top of your head instead of the back.
Elasticated headbands can also be too tight, especially when they’re new. Not only can they damage your hair, but they can also cause tension headaches or even sores on your scalp.
Thin Headbands
A thin headband will create more localized tension, damaging hair at that spot.
Imagine carrying your textbooks in a drawstring bag vs. carrying them in a regular backpack with wider straps. It’s much less comfortable to carry the drawstring bag.
The same theory holds true for thin headbands over thick ones. If you can, choose a wider headband.
This is true whether you’re opting for a cloth headband or one that has made of plastic. Either way, you’re looking for a headband to disperse the pressure over a larger area.
Headbands With Non-Slip Coatings
While no one wants to have their headbands constantly sliding around on their heads, sometimes the coatings that add grip to a headband snag on hair and make it break.
They can also stick to hair and pull hair out when you go to take them off.