How to incorporate breathiness in a healthy way

Hi! I just watched some videos of an amazing singer called Dimash and noticed he used breath quite often as a stylistic choice. How does one incorporate breathiness without damaging the vocal chords? Is there a way to do it right or wrong? 

Hi, Liza! For me, it's all about moderation (how many spots throughout the song are breathy), amount of breathiness (controlled by cord closure), and the ability to sing without breathiness. Breathiness becomes unhealthy when singers are always singing breathily and aren't in control of that breathiness. 

Are there exercises to help hone the breathiness vs non breathiness so you know how to control that dynamic? And besides drinking tons of water by training this-any other tips on how to avoid vocal damage?

I'd recommend any exercises labeled "messa di voce" (since that trains you to control your dynamic level), and check out this lesson on singing breathily! (Just one caveat: the teacher in that video claims that breathy singing is completely healthy, but new research tells us that it actually can lead to vocal damage when overdone).