Heat... maybe it's NOT damaging to hair??!!?

[thinkpinkprincess]

So, I'm thinking that maybe heat isn't actually bad for the hair for a few reasons.....

1. Heat allows nutrients to penetrate into the hair when it's wet (aka deep conditioning, steam treatments) so why would this all of a sudden not apply when using heat on dry/semi - dry hair? Maybe blowdryers/flat irons actually INFUSE nutrients into the hair and allow them to actually penetrate versus just sitting on top of the hair!

2. The straighter my hair is, the easier it is to maintain and detangle, thus less breakage... I feel like I actually have significantly less breakage when i am able to slide the comb easily through my hair throughout the week , versus when my hair is airdried but crunchy and hard to comb through each day!

3. gliding a heat appliance over the strands smooths the cuticle which not only makes the hair shinier and look healthier, but also smooths down the outer layer of the cuticle, which allows the inner layers, and thus the hair strands, hair to be more protected, right?

Again, please shares your thoughts, and experts, please enlighten me if I'm wrong!

 

[Tarae]

I think it if works for you, then do it. My hair is doing better since I've cut back on direct heat.

You're right about air dried hair though. I rather use direct heat than air drying. It just doesn't work for me.

 

[HeyItsHoney]

1. There's a difference between the heat used for deep conditioning and the heat used for flatironing. About 200 degrees!

2. With a good rollerset your can get your roots straight enough to glide the comb through, especially with mesh rollers. There are also a few ways to keep yoru roots soft enough to where you don't get breakage - although they don't work for everyone...you do have a point here.

3. If your hair is fried from heat no flatiron in the world will get that glossy flat cuticle look! Its better to get your hair healthy.

 

[Ms_Twana]

I started a thread on heat and healthy hair last year and some of our resident chemists chimed in.

http://www.longhaircareforum.com/showthread.php?t=110350&highlight=

 

[Ramya]

Heat in and of itself is not damaging. It's the misuse of heat that is damaging. Fried, burnt up hair ect.

 

[thinkpinkprincess]

Heat in and of itself is not damaging. It's the misuse of heat that is damaging. Fried, burnt up hair ect.

can you please elucidate a bit as to what you mean by this?

 

[Ramya]

can you please elucidate a bit as to what you mean by this?

Examples of this could be not prepping the hair by using a heat protectant or serum, not regulating the temperature of the heat appliance, leaving the appliance on one section of hair too long, using heat in this manner frequently can pretty much promise damage.

 

[JessCNU]

I love heat! I use it once a week but i make sure I ALWAYS use a heat protectant. I think misuse would come in if you are using it everday with no heat protectant at all. It reminds me of when I was in highschool when I would use cheap curlers on the highest heat everyday and spray some "pump it up" spritz on each curl before i fried it...lol I think that's about as mis use as it gets!

 

[Keen]

What is this? Challenge the status quo night?

It all depend on how you air dry. I haven't had one crunchy airdry hair day ever since I start using CHI silk infusion on my wet hair.

So, I'm thinking that maybe heat isn't actually bad for the hair for a few reasons.....

1. Heat allows nutrients to penetrate into the hair when it's wet (aka deep conditioning, steam treatments) so why would this all of a sudden not apply when using heat on dry/semi - dry hair? Maybe blowdryers/flat irons actually INFUSE nutrients into the hair and allow them to actually penetrate versus just sitting on top of the hair!

2. The straighter my hair is, the easier it is to maintain and detangle, thus less breakage... I feel like I actually have significantly less breakage when i am able to slide the comb easily through my hair throughout the week , versus when my hair is airdried but crunchy and hard to comb through each day!

3. gliding a heat appliance over the strands smooths the cuticle which not only makes the hair shinier and look healthier, but also smooths down the outer layer of the cuticle, which allows the inner layers, and thus the hair strands, hair to be more protected, right?

Again, please shares your thoughts, and experts, please enlighten me if I'm wrong!

 

[chebaby]

i use my blow drier and flat iron once a week. i dont have any damage. with that said i also deep condition, pre poo, use protein, shampoo with wen and use heat protectant along with leave in. i never use the flat iron on any peice of hair more than once and my hair gets straight and bouncy.
infact i just did my hair on sat. and am thinking of doing it again tonight(i dont do my hair more than once a week too often).

 

[thinkpinkprincess]

What is this? Challenge the status quo night?

It all depend on how you air dry. I haven't had one crunchy airdry hair day ever since I start using CHI silk infusion on my wet hair.

lol no, idk im just being my usual overly-analytical self!
thanks for the chi suggestion though!

 

[bellecheveux]

Heat appliances that are ionic can drastically reduce heat damage, but nonetheless, excessive usage of heat IS damaging. Google up Trichorrhexis Nodosa and see for yourself.

 

[Dove56]

I haven't experienced any breakage either from using heat. My hair is still growing like a weed. I've been waist length before and I'm well on my way to going back to waistlength with my flatiron in hand! I do use heat protectants, I deep condition and make sure I have ample protein treatments.

 

[amara11]

What is this? Challenge the status quo night?

It all depend on how you air dry. I haven't had one crunchy airdry hair day ever since I start using CHI silk infusion on my wet hair.

Okay?
Lets see-
No protein + no moisture + heat.

Let us know how it works out for you !!

 

[Irresistible]

Wasnt it lots of protein , no moisture and heat?

I have a headache

Okay?
Lets see-
No protein + no moisture + heat.

Let us know how it works out for you !!

 

[thinkpinkprincess]

Okay?
Lets see-
No protein + no moisture + heat.

Let us know how it works out for you !!

whaaaat lol I never said anything about not getting protein!

 

[thinkpinkprincess]

Wasnt it lots of protein , no moisture and heat?

I have a headache

why are you getting a headache lol
it seems like ppl tend are taking this too seriously! I'm just trying get somehonest questions answered , I like to know exactly why I'm doing something instead of just blindly following others , that's all , and anyway,it's just hair lol

 

[Irresistible]

why are you getting a headache lol
it seems like ppl tend are taking this too seriously! I'm just trying get somehonest questions answered , I like to know exactly why I'm doing something instead of just blindly following others , that's all , and anyway,it's just hair lol

I dunno probably cause I used that wallbash thingy

 

[*Happily Me*]

use of heat brought me to lhcf.

regular heat use will eventually damage my hair, heat protectants or not.

 

[Solitude]

I found that when my hair was not at it's healthiest, frequent (as in daily) direct heat was causing breakage.

After a cut & better hair practices, direct heat seems to be fine. As I posted in a different thread, I find it funny that the same people who say "no direct heat" own several flatirons.

Do a little of your own research & trial and error before you take what everything that someone with APL or longer hair said to be "da truth."

 

[Neith]

So, I'm thinking that maybe heat isn't actually bad for the hair for a few reasons.....

1. Heat allows nutrients to penetrate into the hair when it's wet (aka deep conditioning, steam treatments) so why would this all of a sudden not apply when using heat on dry/semi - dry hair? Maybe blowdryers/flat irons actually INFUSE nutrients into the hair and allow them to actually penetrate versus just sitting on top of the hair!

2. The straighter my hair is, the easier it is to maintain and detangle, thus less breakage... I feel like I actually have significantly less breakage when i am able to slide the comb easily through my hair throughout the week , versus when my hair is airdried but crunchy and hard to comb through each day!

3. gliding a heat appliance over the strands smooths the cuticle which not only makes the hair shinier and look healthier, but also smooths down the outer layer of the cuticle, which allows the inner layers, and thus the hair strands, hair to be more protected, right?

Again, please shares your thoughts, and experts, please enlighten me if I'm wrong!

I only have one thing to say.

Try putting that flat iron on your forearm instead of your hair. Then you'll see what kind of damage it's capable of.

OF COURSE a 300 degree implement causes damage. It may make the hair behave and "look" better, but c'mon now... does it really make sense that high levels of heat are not going to cause any damage?

 

[shtow]

We all know I dont think heat is bad. But im not gona lie, when I have my rollersetting stages, my hair retains twice the growth. My hair still retains length with heat, it honestly just takes longer. I have a friend who had WL hair for years. Through middle and high school she had WL hair and I had SL and APL hair. She didnt dc or anything "good"that we do here, she got rollersets when she got her hair done, which would be like every two months. In between she would either leave her hair alone, or let me flat iron it, but for the most part she stuck to rollersets. Fast forward to college. I found LHCF, she found the flat iron and uses it weekly. My hair is now longer than hers.

Of course I love heat for the convenience and because it makes your hair look longer. I got a rollerset and my SO SWORE I cut my hair and I didnt lol. But if faster retention is what someone is looking for, minimal direct heat is a plus.

 

[Ediese]

I love straight hair, but hate heat. For some reason, even if I use heat protectants, I still end up getting freaking split ends after getting my hair heat straightened.

 

[momi]

So, I'm thinking that maybe heat isn't actually bad for the hair for a few reasons.....

1. Heat allows nutrients to penetrate into the hair when it's wet (aka deep conditioning, steam treatments) so why would this all of a sudden not apply when using heat on dry/semi - dry hair? Maybe blowdryers/flat irons actually INFUSE nutrients into the hair and allow them to actually penetrate versus just sitting on top of the hair!

2. The straighter my hair is, the easier it is to maintain and detangle, thus less breakage... I feel like I actually have significantly less breakage when i am able to slide the comb easily through my hair throughout the week , versus when my hair is airdried but crunchy and hard to comb through each day!

3. gliding a heat appliance over the strands smooths the cuticle which not only makes the hair shinier and look healthier, but also smooths down the outer layer of the cuticle, which allows the inner layers, and thus the hair strands, hair to be more protected, right?

Again, please shares your thoughts, and experts, please enlighten me if I'm wrong!

ITA... My hair is blowdried and flat-ironed weekly and I havent had any problems and prayerfully won't. I also moisturize my ends nightly and make sure to "put it to bed" before I retire for the night.

When I wore my hair in twists I could not keep my hands out if it and did not have the patience to keep a style more than about 10 days so I tended to over-manipulate it.

 

[momi]

I only have one thing to say.

Try putting that flat iron on your forearm instead of your hair. Then you'll see what kind of damage it's capable of.

OF COURSE a 300 degree implement causes damage. It may make the hair behave and "look" better, but c'mon now... does it really make sense that high levels of heat are not going to cause any damage?

That is something to consider...

My hair has grown from nape to shoulder length in 11 months. Maybe I would have retained even more if I had a heat alternative, but since I am a "straight" natural I dont have too many more choices.

 

[Neith]

That is something to consider...

My hair has grown from nape to shoulder length in 11 months. Maybe I would have retained even more if I had a heat alternative, but since I am a "straight" natural I dont have too many more choices.

I'm not saying that you can't have healthy hair with heat (great progress btw )

Just that it does cause damage. Whether it's severe or not depends on the individual's hair, technique and products

 

[Fine 4s]

I am my own experiment when it comes to using heat.

I went to the salon for DCs and to straighten my hair every two weeks. No amount of DC helped that baby out.

Heat alone doesnt cause breakage but for some the frequent use of heat or using a straighten tool at a high temp could over time (and that varies for some 1 time to a million times) make the strands so weak that they break off. Eventhough the comb could glide through my hair I had TONS of breakage.

Yesterday I was looking at one of my braids... top is nice and thick and the bottom 3 inches or so are skinny and do not form a tight braid (seethrough braid)...darn heat damage.

It's all about the degree to which you use it heat and how high is the temp.

 

[FluffyRed]

So, I'm thinking that maybe heat isn't actually bad for the hair for a few reasons.....

1. Heat allows nutrients to penetrate into the hair when it's wet (aka deep conditioning, steam treatments) so why would this all of a sudden not apply when using heat on dry/semi - dry hair? Maybe blowdryers/flat irons actually INFUSE nutrients into the hair and allow them to actually penetrate versus just sitting on top of the hair!

2. The straighter my hair is, the easier it is to maintain and detangle, thus less breakage... I feel like I actually have significantly less breakage when i am able to slide the comb easily through my hair throughout the week , versus when my hair is airdried but crunchy and hard to comb through each day!

3. gliding a heat appliance over the strands smooths the cuticle which not only makes the hair shinier and look healthier, but also smooths down the outer layer of the cuticle, which allows the inner layers, and thus the hair strands, hair to be more protected, right?

Again, please shares your thoughts, and experts, please enlighten me if I'm wrong!

1 - with my hair, flatiron twice = inch long pieces fall off the ends
2 - True, with my bob haircut, flatironing was a low mani option... I could flat iron and not touch it for a week. I still had the 1-inch pieces popping off
3 - no, my hair feels drier with heat

 

[BillsBackerz67]

heat is actually helping my hair at this point

 

[TCatt86]

I don't use much direct heat now. But when I was flat ironing my hair once a week my hair suffered. There are pictures in my fotki in the relaxed album. I went from APL to CBL because of the direct heat. Whatever works for you, but I do know that abuse of heat can be damaging to MY hair.