Is it possible to use heat twice weekly...

[ShiShiPooPoo]

...if you wash and condition your hair beforehand?

I remember reading that Oprah gets her hair washed and conditioned daily and that is why it can withstand the heat. Also, I see so many other races who wash, blowdry, flatiron their hair daily to maintain a style and their hair thrives. I'm just asking.

 

[gissellr78]

I have read that but i wouldn't put relaxed hair through that since is so prone to breakage...Once a week is ok to me (DC prior).

 

[Taina]

You can do it, but your hair is gonna complain about it. You must know that our hair, even it does not seem like, is less strong than other races hair, and we have to give extra extra extra extra care for it to be healthy.

 

[foxieroxienyc]

Actually, my hair is absolutely the HAPPIEST when I use heat... And my hair is fine/4's/relaxed. I've tried everything that most believe on the board to be best for THEIR hair - such as braidouts (leaves me with instant split ends), no heat (single strand knots became my new friend), roller setting (dries my hair out and breaks it off too), wash and go (looked like a wet golden retriever, was a mess). For me unfortunately none of it worked, and trust me I really really wanted it to.

When I started my hair journey, I did a strictly Cathy Howse method. Wash/DC 2x a week, protein treatment when needed 1x/mon, moisturize daily. And that wash was ALWAYS followed by an air dry/flat iron. My hair thrived, and now is thriving again because I realize it works for me. You just have to try it, and see how you do with that kind of regimen. There are plenty of women here (off hand I can think of Shtow and Gymfreak) who use heat as well and have healthy beautiful hair. It's possible, if it's right for you.

 

[1QTPie]

Depends on your hair. My hair would snap and break off, it's way too fine and fragile. For others it may work great for them.

 

[longhairlover]

My hair likes heat, sometimes I wash 2x a week and use heat, my hair is fine no damage.

 

[LushLox]

May be problematic if you're hair is fine, if you have dense/thick hair you may be okay. You really need to be up on your protein/moisture balance though. You'll be aware that the more heat you use, the more inclined you are to getting split ends. I appreciate this is not the same for everyone though.

Of course a happy medium would be to rollerset and then just flat iron the roots; that way you're minimising the stress on your ends.

 

[Vshanell]

I wouldn't recommend it unless you're ready to risk possible damage and a halt in growth. If you're ok with that then try it I guess.....you have to try things out and be ready for the long term consequences before you know.

 

[jnicole]

I've gone over the heat issue over and over again in my head. My hair does much better with heat. It feels and looks healthier. And I hardly get any breakage. It just depends on your hair.

 

[NikStarrr]

I wouldn't use heat that often with relaxed hair. Natural hair may be able to handle it with no repercussions other than possibly losing the curl.

 

[SelfStyled]

I think it really depends on the individual......

I do think it is possible for some as long as you deep conditioned each time, use a heat protectant and the lowest amount of heat to get your hair straight. Also a ceramic iron that is temperature controlled.

This is pretty much the Cathy Howse system, no?

I think the biggest deal with heat is to use only on clean hair- no touchups in between.

 

[beans4reezy]

Twice a week definitely wouldn't work for my fine, relaxed hair.

 

[Britt]

It really depends on how much heat and the person's hair.

I would not advocate full blowdrying and then flat ironing 2x a week, even after deep conditioning, b/c I think after a while you will begin to see the cumulative effects of heat use. However, if you wash 2x a wk and lightly blow dry your hair, just to make sure it's no longer soaking wet I think you'll be fine especially if your hair is extremely healthy eventhough it's relaxed. On the flip side, I really don't think airdrying is for everyone, and that also can have cumulative effects on some people's hair as well depending on how you airdry.

 

[Mad Scientist]

right before i big chopped, I was doing rollersets and then flat ironing about three times a week and my hair seemed to be doing fine. I guess it depends on your hair and how much heat you use.

 

[C@ssandr@]

I'd try it on keep a close eye on my strands. It may have cumulative effects but I'm thinking that if you catch it early maybe you can avoid a true setback?
I've been considering using more heat. (My hair can withstand ALOT, but i'm also texlaxed) Before I use heat 2x weekly I'd try it once weekly while watching my moisture/protein.

 

[dicapr]

The problem with heat use seems to be dry ends that cause splits and less retention. I would think that if someone kept their hair well moisturized and used the least amount of heat needed to straighten their hair heat use 2x a week would be o.k. I keep going over the heat issue in my mind and the main issue seems to be the loss of moisture. I think extra effort is paid attention to the moisture levels of the hair heat usage would not be such a factor.

 

[Desarae]

It depends on the hair.

Maybe if you used a WARM dryer and WARM iron. But on my hair, no no. I can't use heat twice a month without seeing some kind of repercussion