When it comes to our hair, we all know that using too much heat and not enough heat protectant can cause damage to it, leaving hair looking dull, sizzled, and lifeless.
But it turns out it's not just tools like straighteners and curling tongs that can cause nasty breakage and split ends.
According to an expert, using the wrong hair tie or hair band can actually 'break' the hair and cause problems for you.
Susie Hammond, a trichologist at the Philip Kingsley Clinic in London, has been sharing her expert advice with The Mirror and has revealed how your everyday ponytail or messy bun could actually be bad for your hair.
She explained that avoiding and preventing hair breakage all comes down to practicing good hair care.
"Always use heat protection when you blow dry to prevent further damage, treat your hair kindly with good hair brushes and if you are wearing your hair up use a gentle band such as a scrunchie. Nothing with tight elastic or too many joins in it as these can cut through the hair shaft," Susie said.
"You want a nice gentle elastic or scrunchie and be sure to avoid any harsh styling.
"If you're particularly worried about breakage you can also take a protein supplement to help put a bit of strength and quality back into the growing hair."
However if your hair has already suffered a lot of breakages, there's only one thing you can do, claims the expert - go for regular trims.
"We can't repair broken bonds in the hair, but we can prevent split ends from traveling further up the hair shaft, there are products and hair masks that can prevent it from getting worse, but you can't fix it," she explains.
"The only way of fixing damage on the hair is to have regular trims.
"When you have a trim all the hairs on your scalp are at different stages in the hair cycle and one trim won't catch all of them so you do need regular trims to catch the shorter ones as they grow."
For those looking to grow their hair Susie recently shared that certain foods can help make a difference and while some can be good for growth, there are others that can be 'triggering' for issues with the scalp or hair.
She told The Mirror: "There are two key food categories you should focus on for hair growth and health that you need to include within your diet and these are complex carbs and proteins.
"Good examples of complex carbs include wholegrain rice and pasta, wholegrain bread, sweet potatoes are also a good one as well as porridge oats."
The expert adds: "The building blocks for hair are proteins, so you need to be eating plenty of protein and it's best to eat this earlier in the day - breakfast and lunch are key hair meals, as you want to get the protein in early to optimise the time and use them well.
"There are all sorts of examples if you don't want to eat eggs you can eat a bit of smoked salmon, nut butter on your toast, and greek yoghurt is also a nice protein source."
Do you have a hair care tip to share? We want to hear all about it. Email courtney.pochin@mirror.co.uk
