Old wives tales have been around for centuries. They are superstitions or traditional beliefs that are regarded as truths but many have been proven to be wrong. They were a part of our oral tradition passed down from our grandmothers to our moms and to us, so as such many have survived.
The old wives tales surrounding hair a particularly hard to get rid of because they are transferred from generation to generation so much so that everyone has heard them all, and well… we believe them.
Another fact is that some of these tales are strictly for black folks for black women. Oh yes, you and I both know it because they may deal directly with our kinky* and coily hair. Now, not all the ones listed deal with strictly us but they ones that do need to go away, and fast. There is at least one in there I will never get my mother to let go of and I mean never!
For example squeaky clean hair means NO oil but that is for straight-haired women and not for coily, curly or kinky* haired women. Shampooing your hair until it squeaks strips the hair shafts of necessary oils* and many naturals have done away with shampoo altogether or at the very least use shampoo without the harsh sulfates.
You will catch a cold if you go out with wet hair
This is an old wives tale that has been widely believed forever or at least it seems so and yes, this is the one my mother will never let go of. I am here to tell you that this is false but if your mother or even if you believed this one to be true you are in good company. A survey done found that 40% of mothers said they believed sending their kids out in the cold weather with a wet head would get them sick.
This Old Wives Tale is heavily associated with other Old Wives Tales around the common cold. Ones like, feed a cold, starve a fever (false) or skip dairy when sick (no medical proof and research shows this may be a placebo effect). It makes sense or at least it MADE sense at one time but once we find out otherwise these falsehoods need to die.
In a nutshell, going outside in the dead of winter or anytime for that matter with a wet head will give you a chill but not a cold. Colds are caused by viruses unless you are so cold that you get hypothermia, which could also make you susceptible to an infection, wet hair will not increase your vulnerability to a cold.
I live in Colorado and although we have pleasant weather most of the time, winters can be brutal. I am the wash and go queen year round so yes, I have gone out with a wet head almost everyday of the year. I also do not wear a hat unless it is under 20 degrees and I have yet to get a cold because of it.
Lmbo! I just called my Grandmother about the wet hair wives tale and she isn’t budging on it at all. We had a good laugh about it.
I’m telling you…my mother won’t budge on it either! Thanks for sharing.
Lol! Your welcome!
Im a nurse, and medically I know its not true. But I still will not go out with a wet head because my grandmother told me so. Lol
Ah, yeah you can get sick if you go out with a wet head. Especially if you don’t dress well. It has nothing to do with old wives tales.
Interesting article and I agree with what is said regarding the hair. However I wanted to comment on what was mentioned in regards to not drinking dairy when sick. I would say that in the case of sickness that results in vomiting, skipping the dairy may be wise for some.
My mom had mentioned that to me when my daughter was sick once. She said an old nurse told her that when she was younger. I never thought much of it, until years later when researching milk allergy. Found out that there is such a thing as a milk allergy that can come about as a result of drinking milk too soon after episodes of vomiting. It said something about the lining of the GI tract getting damaged by the acid and the milk protein can cause an allergic response (can’t remember the exact details). It caught my attention because it had actually happened to me few years before and I finally realized I wasn’t just strange.
What happened was, I never had a problem with dairy, caught the flue and had episodes of vomiting, flue seem to have left but not the vomiting. Actually it got worst. I started vomiting blood especially after ice-cream or my favorite comforting dairy drink and had other symptoms like excessive bloating, muscle weakness etc. Nothing helped, medication prescribed did absolutely nothing. Finally after weeks, my mum in desperation said may be I should stop drinking milk…I was well in 2 days flat when I did stop. After a few months, my milk crave drove me to goats milk which I had read was less likely to cause an allergy. It went down well and about a year later I was drinking whatever dairy I wanted again. I thought the whole thing strange until I read the information I mentioned above.
(I am tempted to delete such a long comment, unrelated to hair care but who knows, it might just help someone else. So please forgive me ; )