Thought I was the only one who kept using the same stretched out elastics for years, figured if it still held my hair it was fine. Then one popped on me last month and took a bald patch with it, right where everyone can see. Now I check every single one before it goes near my head and toss anything with frayed edges or that weird thin spot. A pack costs like 3 bucks and a salon visit to fix the damage costs way more, so its just not worth the risk.

The "showed me why I was wrong" part is doing a lot of heavy lifting here. I've seen guys get real worked up about torque seal and I get it, but let's not act like every loose cannon plug is a plane going down. Half the stuff I've found loose over the years was just never tightened right in the first place, seal or no seal. A dab of paint doesn't magically stop a guy from rushing a job. If someone is gonna skip a step they'll skip it whether there's a stripe of sealant staring at them or not. Seems like good practice, sure, but calling it a life changer is a stretch.