hot water, hair health

Is Hot Water Bad For Your Hair?

When it comes to taking care of your hair, you have to be pretty responsible. Because your hair has a huge impact on your look and your personality. The temperature of the water you wash your hair with has a huge effect on the health of your hair.

And this is where questions like, is hot water bad for your hair? Or why is hot water bad for your hair? Enter the picture. 

There have been many debates on questions like, what is the right water temperature to wash your hair? Before we dive deep into such questions, let's look at the accurate way to wash your hair.

Cold water or hot water, if you don't know the right way to wash your hair, you won't have a very pleasing hair day.

Table of Contents

What Is The Right Way To Wash Your Hair?

Some people are lucky enough to have genetically healthy hair, while others have to put in a lot of work and money to have thick, shiny, and luxurious hair. 

According to research, 40% of men start losing their hair by the age of 35, while 80% of men lose their hair completely by the time they are 60-70 years old. This rate of hair loss doesn't get any better when it comes to women because 50% of women start losing their hair in old age. 

The way you wash your hair has a huge impact on the health of your hair. The following is a list of tips you can use daily to have healthy, thick, and hydrated hair. 

  • You must wash your hair thoroughly. 
  •  Rather than washing your hair every day, wash your hair 3 or 4 times a week to have a healthy and hydrated scalp.
  • It is very important to relax your hair after a long shower, so don't forget to use a conditioner. 
  • Never take hair issues like hair fall for granted. They may not seem a big deal at first, but if not controlled in time, it can be quite a catastrophe. 

What Is The Effect Of Water Temperature On Your Hair?

You can find many debates on the internet saying hot water is bad for your hair or cold water is bad for your hair. In reality, there are pros and cons to both hot and cold water. To find the answer to the question, is showering with hot water bad for your hair? Let's dive deeper into the pros and cons of hot and cold water so you can conclude a fair answer while keeping all the facts in mind. 

RELATED ARTICLE: Is salt water good for hair growth?

Effects Of Cold Water On Your Hair

Many people believe that cold water is better and much more beneficial for your scalp and your hair. Even though some of that statement is right, there are also some disadvantages of cold water. 

Let's examine the pros and cons of taking a shower with cold water:

Advantages Of Cold Water

  1. The reason why most people believe that cold water keeps your hair healthy is that cold temperature water protects your natural hair oils, leaving your hair surprisingly manageable. 
  2. Another advantage of cold water is that it closes the hair cuticles, which results in the hair preserving all its moisture, leaving you with shiny and hydrated hair. 
  3. The cold water helps your scalp remain dirt-free by closing the pores on your scalp. As a result of which, your scalp is much less likely to get dirty or oily for a longer period. 

Disadvantages Of Cold Water

  1. As has been mentioned above, cold water closes your hair cuticles which can also result in a decreased volume of your hair. 
  2. Even though cold water preserves your natural oils, sometimes it fails to get the job done of cleaning your hair and scalp completely. 
  3. Cold water is proved to be quite disturbing, especially in winter; most people avoid washing their hair with cold water. 

Effects Of Hot Water On Your Hair

Before getting into the pros and cons of hot water, let's get something clear. Hot water does not mess with the interior protein of your hair. Many people say that hot water can intensely damage your hair. 

The following is a list of pros and cons of hot water that will answer the question, is hot water bad for your hair?

Advantages Of Hot Water

  1. Hot water leaves more texture and volume in your hair because it does not close your hair cuticles, leaving your hair with a healthier and thick look. 
  2. Even though cold water fails to clean your hair thoroughly, hot water cleans all the dirt in your hair and your pores. Hot water dissolves all the dirt and leaves your scalp completely smooth and dirt-free.
  3. This advantage of hot water is not known by many people, but it improves the blood flow to the follicles on your scalp. So if you are on any medications for your hair or scalp, they will work more effectively. 

Disadvantages Of Hot Water 

  1. Natural oil is found in your hair, known as Sebum. Hot water is bad for your hair because it washes off all the natural oils found in your hair, leaving your hair extremely dry and sometimes brittle. 
  2. Hot water is bad for your hair because it leaves your scalp extremely dry and itchy resulting in dandruff. 
  3. Extremely hot water can damage your hair roots, resulting in weakened roots, which make your hair frizzy, and increases the risk of your turning gray sooner. 

Ending Note

When it comes to the question, is showering with hot water bad for your hair? The answer is yes. But in some cases, cold water isn't of much help either, as both of them have equal pros and cons.

So your best option in this situation is lukewarm water. It is cold enough not to damage your hair and hot enough to clean your scalp thoroughly.

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