HIH Syndrome

Hey beautiful people,
So confession time...yes I am suffering from HIH (hand in hair) syndrome..I cant seem to get my fingers out of my hair..always fluffing , twirling and playing with my hair. I know y'all think this is harmless but its not and it can lead to some serious damage to my hair and scalp..smh Even as i post this I'm finding my self twirling my hair..
So wondering why this is not a good thing well so apparently besides encouraging frizziness, pulling, twisting, and twirling hair constantly can actually lead to or be symptomatic of a condition known as trichotillomania, an anxious disorder that presents itself as incessant hair pulling. This condition can also be a symptom of obsessive-compulsive disorder.

When you have HIH you are stressing your hair out. Messing with your hair excessively can lead to breakage also. Once you style your hair and your hair is dry, you shouldn’t constantly touch it after that.

Why do some women love touching their hair? There are several reasons. (1) They want to make sure their hair is perfect. You obsess about your hair being perfect and so you always mess with it. (2) You made a recent change to your hair like a cut or texture change so you want to constantly touch to feel this new texture. (3) You just love your hair so much that you want to play with it all day. (4) You’re just bored. And several other reasons.

Mine is number 3..so in love (sigh)

Good ways to combat HIH:

Get A Protective Style: Something that involves your hair being flat against your head or in twists or braids. You can’t run your fingers through it and you won’t want to touch it because you’ll want it to stay pretty. (Make sure your stylist doesn’t tug too hard when twisting or braiding)

Focus on style: Try new trendy styles like Pompadours, Braided crowns, fishtail braids, etc… If you try and focus on your hairstyle, then you won’t want to touch your hair for fear of messing it up!

Updos: Updos are helpful because they can look bad with a slight tug on a wrong part of your hair, so keep your fingers out!! They protect your ends since they are tucked away. A well manicured updo in styles such as a bun or throwback roll updo should keep your fingers from wandering!

Find a new habit: Manage the amount of time you play in your hair. Whenever you notice you’re doing it, stop and find something else to do lol.

How many of you are victims of HIH and what do you do to combat this?

Be blessed xx