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After looking at the heat damage hair

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It means my hair needs a hair cut

To answer your question.... I'd probably leave heat alone for 6 months.
 
I was a heat straightened natural for the first 4 years of my "natural life" as an adult....I'm almost one year into my HHJ (Healthy Hair Journey) and I have not had any problems with straightening... Everything in moderation...I am much more aware of heat damage and therefore am much more careful with my curls and kinks...but I would not be scared to straighten...
 
This thread, and the others that have been bumped today, are RIGHT on time.

I pressed my hair a couple of days ago for a length check for the very first time. Researched methods for months, DC overnight, used the low & cool settings for the blowdry & the 7 setting on the maxiglide. Meticulously applied heat protectant for the blowdry and ANOTHER for the flat iron. And I somehow STILL managed to get a little damage. THANK GOD it was just a tiny corner at the front of my head, just about a 1/2" long (which I have since cut off), but it was enough to teach me a lesson.

I will probably not press my whole head again for a very long time, if ever. The risk just isn't worth the temporary style.
 
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yes i am scared to death of straightening my hair because i had two major setbacks due to heat damage. my hair is very fine. don't know if it can handle heat.
 
I just straightened my hair on Christmas Eve. All these threads popping up make me want to wash my hair to make sure I dont have heat damage. But no those threads wont stop me from straightening my hair, If I want straight hair I'll straighten it.
 
yes, i'm scurred. but to be frank that was before seeing the vid. additional vids and discussions about the possibility of heat damage just freaks me out even more.

i have the worse luck! i know heat damage doesn't happen to everyone, but i'm convinced it will happen to me just cuz i'm that unlucky :look:
 
I just posted a thread about how paranoia I am about heat damage. Will I not straighten again....I probably will. Everything in moderation is the key. I was very careful when I straightened my hair if I do get damage, I probably will reevaluate my method and products used rather than say that I wont straighten.
Guess it might also depend on how much damage I suffer, if its alot I may rethink the whole thing, I dont know.
 
if i want to straighten my hair i will however i dont really like straightening so i dont think i have to worry about that.
if i did though i would do it the safest way possible, protein treatment, 2 heat protectants, rollerset.
 
I would and as a matter of fact. I did today. Wash, deep cond, blow dry (80% dry) oiled scalp (sulfur challenge) and flat irone. Then pin curled my hair.

I've done this before for a length check and thought that I had some heat damaged because when I poo'd my hair, my curls didn't quite come back as before, but then I poo'd again with Dr. Bronners peppermint soap and applied silicon mix. Sat under dryer for about a half hour and viola, my curls popped back. I made sure that I used plenty of heat protectant.

I let hair air dry to check curl pattern and it was the same. I guess I've been lucky so far, but I don't straighten much. This is only my second time since my bc (03/05/10).
 
i was already scared...i wanna straighten w/ rollersets, but i would never let a flat-iron or a pressing comb touch the length of my hair for fear of damage...i might flat iron the roots if i had to...but not often, and only around 300 degrees.
 
I have to admit that I am scared of heat damage as well. I don't plan to straighten until september 2011. Until theni will be doing a ridiculous amount of research. My hair is easily manipulated so I don't plan on using alot of heat.
 
Nope, never have, never will. In the last 12+ years I have never had an itching to see my hair straight. I wouldn't even know what to do with almost waist length straight hair.
 
I straightened my hair for the first time in October. I've had it blown out a couple times before, as a natural, but it wasn't straight. I've been fully natural for about 3 years and after straightening I vow to never do that again. Once I started I immediately started questioning why I was doing this to myself. A quarter way through my hair I wanted to stop but I didn't, SMH. I did it to trim it but I much prefer trimming my hair in it's natural state. I don't like the way straight hair looks on me and it was a complete waste of 6 hours. It started to revert WHILE I was straightening! SMH.lol

So no, it doesn't take looking at heat damaged hair for me to know that it's not worth the risk for myself. All it takes is one bad press. I didn't decide to wear my hair natural so I could straighten it anyway.
 
I always have had a fear of heat damage. I'll probably do indirect heat like rollerset and get under the dryer. It probably won't be super bone straight like a good press/flat iron but if I wanted something different, i'd risk that instead!
 
I just straightened my hair the other day :look:. And I will probably continue to do so in future. And tbh, all this trying to be careful with my hair is kinda stressing me out, since my hair isn't getting longer so it's not really going anywhere :(
 
I have yet to flat iron my entire head (only small sections to test out my flat iron technique) since my BC. I'm not really big on straight hair and have no plans to flat iron anytime soon.

I do however use a blowdryer occassionally so that I can trim my hair. I will use my blowdryer again and not really worried about heat damage. As long has I make sure my hair is well moisturized before blowdrying I believe my hair will be fine.
 
i have been tryin to heat train since august every week. I just did a wash and go yesterday and my hair fully reverted. I deep condition everytime and im 4 a/b. I use a original chi or maxiglide on 8. Its actually growing better in problem areas keeping it str8. I think im gonna get a fhi and gradually use higher heat. this experience make me not as scared of heat as I was before.hth and any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated.
 
Heat training? I've heard of it but I don't really understand it. I'm gonna have to research this. I'm not interested in it personally though. Is the goal of heat training to make your hair straight? If so then why not just relax or texturize?
 
It is scarey...but I think I will still try my luck.

Taren in my opinion didn't have top notch healthy hair practices. She seems to be one of those that can push their hair to the limit and still grow/retain.:rolleyes:

I'm sure she wasn't taking every precaution. I'm a subscriber and I doubt she was protein/moisture dcing before and after straightening, I don't remember her mentioning a heat protectant, I doesn't seem like she was doing it in moderation, and who knows how high her setting was or how many passes she did. I can totally see her doing whatever... Like with that glue in weave....just saying. :lol:


One of the reasons I went natural was because of the presumed versatility of natural hair. :ohwell: I can be in my curly/kinky state and if I get the urge I can straighten and still return to my beloved coils ( if I take all precautions)...The idea that this is just natural "propaganda" :blush: kinda rubs me the wrong way. It seems like you don't find out about this stuff until you're in too deep.:nono:
 
Heat training? I've heard of it but I don't really understand it. I'm gonna have to research this. I'm not interested in it personally though. Is the goal of heat training to make your hair straight? If so then why not just relax or texturize?

Nope it won't make your hair straight. Relaxing is a hassle. Self touchups are a hassle, and finding a trustworthy stylist is even bigger hassle for some. Those are the usual reasons.

I was a heat trainer earlier this year. I gave it up once the cold weather set in basically because I got lazy. Long ironing sessions are not my idea of fun and I have other more pressing things to do. My hair is still the same tightly coiled texture it's always been. There's no heat tool in the world that will take my 4b/c'ish hair to type 3ish hair. This is how it is for some of us - otherwise relaxers would never have taken off in the first place.
 
It is scarey...but I think I will still try my luck.

Taren in my opinion didn't have top notch healthy hair practices. She seems to be one of those that can push their hair to the limit and still grow/retain.:rolleyes:

I'm sure she wasn't taking every precaution. I'm a subscriber and I doubt she was protein/moisture dcing before and after straightening, I don't remember her mentioning a heat protectant, I doesn't seem like she was doing it in moderation, and who knows how high her setting was or how many passes she did. I can totally see her doing whatever... Like with that glue in weave....just saying. :lol:


One of the reasons I went natural was because of the presumed versatility of natural hair. :ohwell: I can be in my curly/kinky state and if I get the urge I can straighten and still return to my beloved coils ( if I take all precautions)...The idea that this is just natural "propaganda" :blush: kinda rubs me the wrong way. It seems like you don't find out about this stuff until you're in too deep.:nono:

In one of her videos, she mentioned the Fantasia IC Heat-Protectant Serum in the pink bottle.
 
well i know my hair..is just that..MY HAIR. the point of me growing out my hair is so i can enjoy its length every blue moon.. it can handle heat..i only use it 1x a year anyway
 
One of the reasons I went natural was because of the presumed versatility of natural hair. :ohwell: I can be in my curly/kinky state and if I get the urge I can straighten and still return to my beloved coils ( if I take all precautions)...The idea that this is just natural "propaganda" :blush: kinda rubs me the wrong way. It seems like you don't find out about this stuff until you're in too deep.:nono:

:lol: at the bold.

I just bc'd and I really wanted the ability to go from a big curly wash and go or twist out to straight hair. I have a long way to go before I would consider straightening but I must say that I'm a bit nervous.
 
I blowdry on medium and have flat ironed on 280 twice in the past since being natural (for trims)...but I think that I'm going to cut out the flat iron completely. I don't think it's worth it...plus I can wear wigs and weaves to achieve the straight look...which I don't find to be worth the hassle (process+reversion) or the risk of heat damage. Heat damage is what ended my first natural journey, btw.

But...Just because you are natural, doesn't mean that you can't have the straight "look." I plan on getting a full-head weave (no hair out) in a Kim K. type style b/c I want a change...all the while I'll be protecting my hair:-) #winning.
 
I had to deal with heat damage 2x this year, but that was because I got talked into an old school hard press (from off the stove no less). I can do rollersets or flat ironing with no ill effects though. So I will probably do those once ever 2 months or so as they seem to help with SSK.
 
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