Can rubber bands really cause hair to break off or split?

Your friend must pull it back very tight for it to break. I wear my hair in a ponytail a lot of the time and I don't see it breaking off at the hairline. I do lose a lot of hair when I brush it though because of the treatments I get done on it every year.

I was told to never use them too because of that. My hair is really fine and if I use anything like that it will break. If you go to the dollar store you can get some cheap elastics that won't make your hair break.

A person would have to be pulling their hair up really tightly to have it breaking off at the hair line. It's much more common to have a line where you actually put the rubber band or scrunchie or whatever you are using. Rubber bands are terrible for your hair anyway, though. They cause a lot of breakage and they can easily become tangled in your hair. It's a much better idea to use a an elastic band that is covered by some sort of fabric. Most of those will still break hair right where they are placed, though, if you have really fine hair. I know that when I wear my hair in a pony tail, I always make to not put it in the same spot very often, because my hair is so fine that no matter what I use to put it up, it breaks it off, or it isn't tight enough to hold it up. lol When I was younger, if I wore my hair down, you could see the curved line of broken hair from wearing my hair in a pony tail in the same spot all the time.

Rubberbands are horrible for the hair. Every so often you should allow your hair to breathe and wear it down....I call those my "fro days".There is a certain type of baldness called "traummatic alopecia" where the hair has gone through severe pulling and tugging a rips the bulb out of the scalp causing hair loss...but the good part is..it's possible that the hair will grow back.

Do you mean a regular rubber band, instead of the hair scrunchies and things? Because yes, those rubber bands are bad for your hair. They can thin it out, get stuck in your hair(pull it out), split ends, damage it when you take it out. It isn't a good idea to use rubber bands to make a ponytail. But actual hair scrunchies and hair products are fine.

yes that is true about pulling your hair back tightly it will break off. that's like somebody just pulling on your hair for hours. I used to wear my hair in a ponytail alot in high school and I heard if you wear your hair a certain way all the time, it will start to break out. But i'm not sure.

I have heard that it just isn’t healthy for your hair to use plain old rubberbands- You would think when you are pulling your hair tight- it causes breakage anyways- I use clips and pull it up loosely- also I use scrunchies from time to time- I am constantly losing hair.

My hair is very thick and heavy and comes down to my waist. I don't like it around my face so I always keep it tied back. I used to use heavy rubber bands (the thick ones you get from Grand and Toy or Office Depot to bundle ledger sheets) and they really worked for me. I found, though that I would get a handful of hair torn out when I took them off. I found though, that when my hair is oily (I even smeared a very thin coat of Vaseline, or sometimes grapeseed oil, or jojoba oil, on the rubber band) then the rubber band slips off easily with very minimal tangles. I used the coated bands but I have to use the really thick ones, the thin ones don't hold up my hair. I get the ones by Goody and they do a good job. I still get some hair pulled, but I guess that's normal. I bought a couple of packs from Dollarama but I found they weren't stretchy enough to get a tight bind, and my hair keeps falling, so I used them to bundle papers for the recycling blue box, hahaha! I also use a lot of scrunchies, which I think are also better for your hair. I found that if I keep my ponytail too tight, (tight enough to hold the hair up) it gives me a really bad headache. I wear my hair in a bun now, and I find I get less headaches. Good luck on the hair issue. I also hope you don't get the bald spot. I did but when I stopped pulling my hair so tight, fuzzy down started to grow back. Take care, beautyqueen26, and maybe let your hair down once in a while, because it gives your scalp a break. :-D

Some ppl do have hair break off. That is more from pulling it too tight then having it in a rubber band. Rubber bands really aren't all that great for hair but I used them. Mine are all either scrunchies or coated rubber bands (they have a fabric covering over the rubber band). That cuts back on the amount of breakage. Also you should never sleep with them in...if you do, you should use a scrunchie and put it in loosly not tightly. Have a great day!! AT PEACE WITHIN

You shpuld be careful about what bands you use in your hair cause a lot of them can cause your hair to split or break! When I was a teenager I used to use any rubber band that came to hand - I had really long hair and ended up having to cut it short because it was so damaged! I am now really careful about what bands I use in my daughters hair! xxx

I heard never to use the rubber bands in my hair coz it'll cause damage - it's easier to get elastic ones or to use the scrunchy ones that are elastic with a covering. I've never heard of people going bald or losing hair from using the scrunchies (unless we call different things scrunchies) but still if you want to put your hair up, go with anything made from elastic or the ones that have a cotton cover - they should serve you well! Either that or you could just use plastic combs to keep your hair up & back or normal clips just to keep everything out of your face!

according to my beautician it can dry the hair and can cause split ends..never heard about what happened to your friend though..tying the hair too tight can make the hair dry specially with rubber bands because rubber bands are hot..even when you tie it on something else for a long time it can break it and so does the hair because its strands are not that thick..my beautician suggested if i have to tie my hair i should use a soft cloth material..never rubber bands..and when i tie it be sure to make it a little loose so the hair can still breath..it works somehow..

you can buy the coated rubber bands they wont break your hair.i use the srcunchies all the time and you can make them as tight as you want and you wont lose your hair.your suppose to lose 100 hairs a day,which seems like alot but its not,if you are under alot of stress you lose more and certain meds cause you to lose more.

I know tht if you use the rubber bands that they use in the office you may have a problem with tangles.

hello there beauty..my gramma and mom always told me that and i always listened..but i was never sure untilli did soem research online a few mins ago to make sure they werent fibbing me all these years lol..but yes rubber bands are very bad for your hair..Use only soft fabric tie-backs for your hair. Rubber bands or anything that pinches hair is chipping away at the cuticle, and when you remove a rubber band, it takes lots of hair with it. i found a great site on takin care of yur hair..u might find it interesting like i did..so i hope i was some help..have a good one!:) http://www.cosmeticscop.com/learn/hair.asp?ID=400

I just know that regulary rubber bands will pull your hair out more than something that has cloth over it. I have had long hair all my life and put it in ponytails ALL the time. I have just as much hair as always - but I have very thick hair too, so I don't know that I'd miss a few in the front...

Rubber bands, like the real rubber ones, like you get at stationary stores, are really bad for your hair. The best thing to use is the cloth covered elastics that don't have a metal part. I get mine at Dollarama. I had a friend that I worked with at Tom Hortons that started to get a bald spot on the front of her head from her hat rubbing there, (she couldn't pull it down one her head enough to keep it in place because it gave her a headache).