Is Teasing Bad For Your Hair?

Is Teasing Bad For Your Hair?

Everyone’s been teasing their hair since the 80s’ - you, your mum, your gran and possibly even your great-gran… but why? Isn’t it damaging? Aren’t there safer ways to add volume to our hair these days? Keep reading as we break down if teasing is actually bad for your hair…

Teasing, also known as backcombing, became the go-to method to add texture and volume to your hair back in the 80s’ and yet, we’re still using this technique. It’s tried and tested - we know it works.

But do we know the damage it is doing to our hair? Are we ready to outgrow this technique?

At Stranded Hair Group, we know how precious your hair is. We don’t want our customers to have to resort to needing our products because of hair damage or loss - we want you to choose Stranded because our products make you feel confident, no matter what your hair looks like.

We write blogs, just like this one, so that you can be educated about caring for your hair and know how to make the best decisions to look after it. You should know what is safe and isn’t safe, before ever doing anything to your luscious locks.

In this blog, you will learn how teasing can damage your hair, how to prevent teasing damage and alternatives to teasing, along with other related FAQs. By the end, you will have the knowledge on how to volumize your hair safely, without subjecting it to more risk of damage.

• Does teasing damage your hair?
• Can you tease your hair without damaging it?
• Is it ok to tease your hair every day?
• Is it better to tease your hair wet or dry?
• Should you brush teased hair?
• Alternatives to hair teasing: how to get volume without teasing

Does teasing damage your hair?

The truth is, teasing can damage your hair.

Even if you follow best practices, there is still a risk that your hair will be damaged because of it. As found by Pantene, when you tease or backcomb your hair, you’re risking stripping the cuticle cells from the hair fibre. This results in split ends and breakage. You also risk hair loss by breaking the hair at the root if you tease too vigorously.

Can you tease your hair without damaging it?

Technically, yes - you can tease your hair without damaging it.

If you religiously follow a gentle method to tease or backcomb your hair, you are less likely to damage it. However, it is never without risk.

Follow this routine for the least risk of damage:

• Start with clean and dry hair, which is tangle, product and oil free. No time to wash your hair or get oily instantly? Spray on a little dry shampoo, such as MONDAY Haircare Original Dry Shampoo 200ml.
• Take a small sliced section of your hair, typically at the crown, and pull it taut with a little tension.
• From mid-section to root, gently and slowly push the hair upwards with your comb or teasing brush around 3 times (or until you see your desired result).
• Repeat until you have teased the whole area that you needed to.
• Gently comb over your teased area with the teasing brush or another soft bristle hair brush.
• Spray on a flexible hold hairspray to secure the teased section’s volume and texture. We recommend VO5 Flexible Hold Hairspray 400ml.

To learn more tips and tricks on how to safely tease your hair for different results, read our blog ‘How To Use A Teasing Brush’.

Is it ok to tease your hair every day?

No, you shouldn’t tease your hair every day.

As with any hairstyle, whether that’s ponytails, curls or teasing, you should always ensure to give your hair a break. Heat, tension, teasing, products… they all can have lasting, damaging effects on the hair. And when you repeat these styles, you’re increasing the risk of damage.

If you’re looking for daily volume, switch it up and try different products or methods to imitate the same result - or find styles that compliment your natural lack of volume.

Is it better to tease your hair wet or dry?

You should NEVER tease your hair when it is wet.

You should always tease your hair when it is bone dry. Teasing wet hair will almost definitely damage it, as hair is extremely fragile when it is wet and delicately prone to breakage. Also, you are not going to get your desired result from teasing wet hair - you’ll just cause a tangled, damaged mess.

Should you brush teased hair?

Yes and no; it’s complicated.

You should not aggressively brush over teased hair, in an attempt to smooth it, or aggressively brush out teased hair.

If you want to smooth the volumized look, you should use a soft-bristled brush to delicately go over the teased area. If you want to brush out the teased area, you should do so gently, starting from the bottom upwards in tiny sections using a small comb or detangling brush.

Alternatives to hair teasing: how to get volume without teasing

You don’t have to tease or backcomb your hair to get volume. Different hairstyles and products can create the same effect, without risking damaging your hair. Just remember to always use a heat protectant if working with hot tools!

Volumizing hairstyles:

• Bouncy blowdry
• Salon waves
• Curls
• Flicked out ends
• Messy buns

Did you know that all of these hairstyles could be enhanced, for guaranteed volume, with our high-quality clip-in extensions? Click each hairstyle to be directed to the matching Stranded product!

Volumizing hair care products:

• Shampoo and Conditioner - MONDAY Haircare Volume 800ml Bundle
• Blowdry spray - Kevin Murphy Anti Gravity Spray 150ml
• Volumizing mousse - Color Wow Xtra Large Bombshell Volumiser 50ml
• Texturising spray - OUAI Texturizing Hair Spray 40g
• Flexible hold hairspray - VO5 Flexible Hold Hairspray 400ml
• Volumizing dry shampoo - Batiste Dry Shampoo & Volume 200ml
• Volume powder - got2b Powder'ful Volumizing Hair Styling Powder 10g

Some of these products can work fantastically on their own, whereas others work great in conjunction with each other or with heated tools. Always read the instructions and ingredients.

Your next steps to voluminous hair

You came to this blog keen to learn everything you could about the risks associated with teasing or backcombing your hair.

Since reading, you can have learnt that teasing can significantly damage your hair, but there are ways to try to limit damage or avoid it altogether (by using alternative methods). You have also learnt that brushing your teased hair or trying to tease your hair wet will put you at further (almost guaranteed) risk of hair damage.

But what now?

Here at Stranded, we know that our hair extensions aren’t the only thing we create that makes our customers feel confident. Having the knowledge to care for their hair, prevent damage and make the best decisions for it doesn’t just make them feel confident - it gives them autonomy and control!

That’s why we write blogs - just like this one!

If you found this blog helpful, why not read more of our hair care blogs, over on the Stranded Blog?

These include:

• ‘How To Use a Teasing Brush’
• ‘What Is The Best Sun Protection For Your Hair?’
• ‘How Often Should You Wash Your Hair?: Your Ultimate Guide to Hair Washing’
• ‘Why Am I Shedding So Much Hair?’

Want to avoid teasing from here on out?

Clip-in hair extensions are a great way to add instant volume, as well as length and style, without the high risk of damaging your hair.

Stranded Hair Group has a wide range of clip-in, ponytail and bun extensions, with a huge variety in length, weight and texture!

Our favourites for instant volume are clickable under ‘Alternatives to hair teasing: how to get volume without teasing’.

Did you know that we also offer free expert colour-matching? With up to 33 multidimensional shades to choose from, let us do the work for you, in finding your ideal match!