Hair Habits You Think Are Healthy But Are Actually Causing Damage

Many common hair care habits marketed as "healthy" actually cause breakage, dullness, and buildup. Wide-tooth combs, protective ponytails, skipping heat entirely, and trusting multi-purpose products to protect from heat are among the biggest offenders.

"I do everything right and my hair still looks terrible." I can't count how many times I've heard this at The Warehouse Salon in DeLand. Someone will sit down in my chair and list off all the "healthy" things they're doing: air drying to avoid heat damage, using their wide-tooth comb to detangle, trusting their leave-in conditioner to protect from heat. And they can't figure out why their hair keeps getting worse.

Hey, I'm Jennifer, one of the stylists at The Warehouse Salon in DeLand. The problem is misinformation. So much of what gets shared as healthy hair advice is either outdated, incomplete, or just plain wrong. Let me walk you through the habits I see causing the most damage, and what to do instead.

The Ponytail Problem

Ponytails are often called a protective style. They're not. Wearing your hair in the exact same spot every single day puts constant stress on the same strands. Think about bending a bobby pin back and forth in the same place. Eventually it snaps. Your hair does the same thing.

A client from Deltona wore a high ponytail to work every day for years. She came in confused about why she was getting breakage and thinning right at the crown. The culprit was obvious: concentrated friction in one spot, day after day. We switched her to rotating ponytail heights (high one day, low the next, mid the third), gave her Slip silk scrunchies and Invisibobble spiral ties to replace her regular elastics, and had her start using Olaplex No. 3 Hair Perfector weekly to rebuild the damaged area. Three months later she texted me: "The breakage has stopped and I'm actually seeing baby hairs growing back at my crown. I can't believe a ponytail was doing all that damage." Simple fix, dramatic result.

The fix is simple. Rotate your ponytail height daily. High one day, low the next. Keep it loose. Use gentle ties like Slip silk scrunchies, Invisibobble spiral ties, or Kitsch satin scrunchies instead of regular elastics. This distributes the stress across different areas so no single spot takes all the damage.

Your "Heat Protectant" Might Not Actually Protect

This one frustrates me because the marketing is so misleading. Multi-purpose products love to slap "heat protection" on the label. Leave-in conditioners, styling creams, detanglers. They claim to protect from heat, so people trust them and put down their actual heat protectants.

Here's the truth: those claims are marketing. A leave-in conditioner with "heat protection" offers maybe partial coverage. It's like bringing an umbrella to a hurricane and wondering why you're soaking wet.

If you're using hot tools, you need a dedicated heat protectant designed specifically for that purpose. For blow dryers, use a blow-dry cream like Olaplex No. 6 Bond Smoother. For flat irons and curling irons, use a thermal spray like Revive PROTECT - Thermal Protector. Layer these products over your leave-in, not instead of it. Your leave-in conditions. Your heat protectant protects. They have different jobs.

Wide-Tooth Combs Are Not as Gentle as You Think

This myth has been around forever. Use a wide-tooth comb to detangle because it's gentle. Your grandmother probably told you this.

The problem is that combs are rigid. They don't bend. When a comb hits a knot, it doesn't glide through. It catches and yanks straight through, snapping tiny strands along the way. Over time, this causes noticeable thinning.

Think about trying to untangle a knotted necklace. If you just yank on it, the knot gets tighter and something might break. But if you gently work through it with your fingers, it loosens without damage.

Swap your comb for a detangling brush with flexible bristles. Wet Brush or Tangle Teezer are both excellent options. These brushes are designed to bend and move through your hair, separating strands and loosening knots instead of ripping through them. The difference in breakage is significant.

Your Dirty Tools Are Undoing Your Wash Day

When's the last time you cleaned your hairbrush? What about your flat iron? If you can't remember, this section is for you.

I had a client who couldn't understand why her hair got greasy within 24 hours of washing, even though her wash routine was perfect. Turns out, she hadn't cleaned her brush in months. It was caked with old product, oil, and dead skin. Every time she brushed her freshly washed hair, she was putting all that buildup right back into it.

Your tools need regular cleaning. Soak brushes in warm water with a little shampoo for about five minutes, then scrub with an old toothbrush. Rinse and air dry. For hot tools, dampen a cloth with hot water and wipe down the plates. Don't forget the handle, because residue transfers from your hand to the handle and back to your hair.

Air Drying Isn't Always Better

"I never use heat." I hear this constantly, usually said with pride. And I understand the logic. Heat is bad, so avoiding heat must be good.

But it's not that simple. Air drying leaves your hair cuticle rough and lifted. That rough surface looks dull instead of shiny, and it traps oil and buildup faster. Which means you end up washing more often, which strips your hair more.

Heat isn't the enemy. Uncontrolled heat is the enemy. Controlled heat actually smooths your cuticle flat, creating that shiny, silky look. The key is using proper protection and giving your hair at least three days between heat styling sessions.

In Florida's humidity, a good blowout with the right products can actually keep your hair cleaner and smoother for longer than air drying. The sealed cuticle resists the moisture in the air instead of absorbing it and frizzing out.

Product Order Matters More Than You Think

You can buy the best products on the market and still get mediocre results if you apply them in the wrong order. Products are designed to work in a specific sequence, and layering them incorrectly causes them to block each other out.

Here's the order that works:

1. Leave-in conditioner on towel-dried hair first. Olaplex No. 6 Bond Smoother. This is your foundation.
2. Styling product like a blow-dry cream. Olaplex No. 6 (can double as both leave-in and blow-dry cream). This protects from blow dryer heat and adds texture.
3. Blow dry to set your style.
4. Thermal spray on dry hair only if you're using a flat iron or curling iron. Revive PROTECT - Thermal Protector. Never apply this to wet hair.
5. Style with hot tools if desired.
6. Hair oil last, on dry styled hair, to add shine and tame flyaways. Moroccanoil Treatment Light or Olaplex No. 7 Bonding Oil.

The most common mistake I see is applying oil too early. Oil should be last because it's meant to polish and seal. If you put it on wet hair before blow drying, it just sits there blocking everything else.

Your Conditioner Isn't Actually Conditioning

Most people apply conditioner to dripping wet hair. It seems logical. Hair is wet, you add product, done.

But when your hair is completely saturated with water, there's no room for the conditioner to actually penetrate. It just slides right off with all that excess water. You're wasting product and not getting any of the benefits.

After shampooing, squeeze the water out of your hair with your hands. Don't twist or wring, just gently squeeze. Then apply conditioner from mid-lengths to ends, making sure you're coating every strand, not just the outer layer. This simple change makes your conditioner dramatically more effective.

Your Healthy Hair Habit Questions Answered

Is air drying really worse than blow drying?

It depends on your goals. Air drying leaves the cuticle rough, which creates a dull appearance and traps oil faster (meaning you wash more often, stripping hair more). Controlled blow drying with proper protection (Olaplex No. 6) smooths the cuticle, adds shine, and can actually keep your hair cleaner longer. The key is using the right heat protectant, giving hair 3+ days rest between heat sessions, and using proper technique.

How often should I clean my hair tools?

Clean your brushes every two to four weeks depending on how much product you use. Soak in warm water with shampoo for 5 minutes, scrub with an old toothbrush, rinse and air dry. Wipe down hot tools after every few uses, or whenever you notice buildup. We clean our tools between every client, and you should be doing the same level of maintenance at home.

Do I need different heat protectants for different tools?

Yes. Blow-dry creams (Olaplex No. 6) are formulated for the lower, distributed heat of a dryer. Thermal sprays are designed for the intense direct heat of flat irons and curling irons (300 to 450°F). Using the wrong type leaves you under-protected. Layer both if you're blow drying first, then using a flat iron or curling iron.

Why does my hair still look bad when I use expensive products?

Usually it's application order or technique, not the products themselves. Applying products in the wrong sequence causes them to block each other (oil before blow drying, thermal spray on wet hair, conditioner on soaking hair). Also, technique matters. A blowout without proper tension and nozzle direction won't seal the cuticle no matter how good your cream is. Product order: leave-in, blow-dry cream, blow dry, thermal spray, hot tools, oil.

How can I tell if my hair is damaged or just shedding normally?

Normal shedding: 50 to 100 hairs per day, with a small white bulb at the root, happens during brushing or washing. Damage/breakage: short pieces of varying lengths without the white bulb (meaning they broke mid-shaft, not shed from the root), happens throughout the day, leaves frizzy halo, concentrates in high-stress areas (ponytail spot, crown, ends). If you're seeing lots of short broken pieces, especially at the same spot, that's damage, not shedding.

Book Your Hair Analysis Appointment

Sometimes you need someone to look at your whole routine and figure out where it's going wrong. If you've been doing everything "right" and still not seeing results, let's talk through it.

Book an appointment at The Warehouse Salon, 1782 S Woodland Blvd, DeLand. Call (386) 873-6188 or schedule an appointment online. We'll figure out what's actually happening with your hair and get you on a routine that works.