I've been wondering for a while...no offense...

[NubianAngel]

I\'ve been wondering for a while...no offense...

I notice alot of talk of flat irons and Chi irons on this board. How do you manage to use those things on relaxed hair and still get such length? I know that Chi irons are supposed to be less damaging to hair than other flat irons, but I also know of someone whose natural hair tedxture was permanently loosened from one use of a CHI. I'm just wondering how many of you with bra strap length hair regularly use heat and still manage to retain length

 

[atlantatiffany]

Re: I\'ve been wondering for a while...no offense...

i only use my flat iron on my roots. i have very thick hair and if i were to flat iron my hair weekly i know that in the end it would thin my hair.
i have 2 flat irons a 2 and a half inch rusk and a tiny chi(now wider than your thumb). depending on the thickness of my newgrowth i use flat iron the new growth, but i think u make a great point.

 

[pink_flower]

Re: I\'ve been wondering for a while...no offense...

I dont think anyone here uses excessive heat. Not that I have seen, I think the most is once week and to me that is "safe". Some people can uses it more but I think over time that will cause problems.

 

[sassygirl125]

Re: I\'ve been wondering for a while...no offense...

I think the key is not using them too often.

 

[AnjelLuvs]

Re: I\'ve been wondering for a while...no offense...

I mean not to sound harsh, but heat is not bad, alot of heat is. I wouldnt understand if someone flatironed everyday, but occassionally heat will not make ur hair fall out, especially if you are using heat protectants and the like.

 

[Dolce_Dawn]

Re: I\'ve been wondering for a while...no offense...

I agree w/what everyone said. I only use my ceramic after I've washed my hair, NEVER on dirty hair! How did your friend permanently loosen the texture of her hair? I don't think heat can do that, only chemicals. The only instance where I've heard of heat doing that is if the hair were fried (damaged).

 

[ChocoKitty]

Re: I\'ve been wondering for a while...no offense...

If I do straighten my hair with flatirons it's only once a week. I also think keeping your hair moisturized from the inside out very important when using heat too. I believe a cetain amount of heat from flatirons can alter your hair's texture. They have irons for that type of thing. Straight Perming Iron

 

[NubianAngel]

Re: I\'ve been wondering for a while...no offense...

AnjelLuvsUBabe, no worries because i'm not criticising anyone for their hair care methods, nor am I preaching to anyone. I started this thread because I am genuinely curious. From what I gather, weekly use of direct heat seems to be considered "not too much."

Most of my family members are relaxed, and my cousin, for example, started using flat irons. She would get treatments religiously with her dominican blowouts, but this one change caused her alot of breakage. I don't know if it was daily, though.

Dolce Dawn, I do believe that if your hair is natural then even an occasional use of heat to get your hair bone straight may permanently change the texture. Seems to just be one of those things. The reason why I asked about breakage specifically is because if you wear your hair relaxed, I figure that would be a sign that the iron is changing your hair in some way, as opposed to the texture change a natural might notice.

Thanks for the replies.

 

[Dolce_Dawn]

Re: I\'ve been wondering for a while...no offense...

Hmm... permanently changing natural hair w/heat? Well, I've never seen it nor have I had it happen to me when i was natural. I press my niece's hair and believe me, the texture has not eased!

But hey, if you've seen it then I can't deny what you've seen/experienced. I guess it goes back to, "what works on others..."

 

[Haleni]

Re: I\'ve been wondering for a while...no offense...

A little off topic, but I used in the past a curling iron, almost every day. It never stopped my hair from growing. I've always had shoulder length hair or longer and I've been relaxed for almost 20 years. However I must say I tend to be the exception, since I also relax every 4-5 weeks, without a problem. My point, some peoples hair have no problem with the heat.

 

[NaturalRox]

Re: I\'ve been wondering for a while...no offense...

[ QUOTE ]
Dolce_Dawn said:
Hmm... permanently changing natural hair w/heat? Well, I've never seen it nor have I had it happen to me when i was natural. I press my niece's hair and believe me, the texture has not eased!

But hey, if you've seen it then I can't deny what you've seen/experienced. I guess it goes back to, "what works on others..."

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes, some people's natural hair texture really can be permanently altered by use of heat. That's one of the reasons why I went natural a couple of months ago. Pressing my not only thinned it out but it also changed the texture of the hair on top of my head. (Naturally, it has a slightly looser curl pattern than the hair on my sides and in the back, which is why this was the only area that was affected). Anyway, pressing & curling totally straightened this entire section of hair. It lost its elasticity so even when wet it would not curl with the rest of my hair, so I had to cut it off - I actually have a picture it in my album!

I just wanted to share that because unfortuately it does happen to some people. Just be careful when using heat!

 

[Poohbear]

Re: I\'ve been wondering for a while...no offense...

[ QUOTE ]
Haleni said:
A little off topic, but I used in the past a curling iron, almost every day. It never stopped my hair from growing. I've always had shoulder length hair or longer and I've been relaxed for almost 20 years. However I must say I tend to be the exception, since I also relax every 4-5 weeks, without a problem. My point, some peoples hair have no problem with the heat.

[/ QUOTE ]

Good point

 

[Dutchess]

Re: I\'ve been wondering for a while...no offense...

I only flat iron my hair 2-3 times a year. My hair is mid-back and my goal is to have waist length. I don't think I could achieve this length by blow drying and using a flat iron on a regular basis. The key to my hair care success has definitely been moisture, moisture, moisture. I can't keep the moisture in while flatiron regularly.

 

[Mariaat40]

Re: I\'ve been wondering for a while...no offense...

[ QUOTE ]
Haleni said:
A little off topic, but I used in the past a curling iron, almost every day. It never stopped my hair from growing. I've always had shoulder length hair or longer and I've been relaxed for almost 20 years. However I must say I tend to be the exception, since I also relax every 4-5 weeks, without a problem. My point, some peoples hair have no problem with the heat.

[/ QUOTE ]

My hair has always rested on my shoulders or a little below but I found that, FOR ME, it took really limiting the use of heat for my hair to finally grow to almost bra strap length.

 

[renee_n_3000]

Re: I\'ve been wondering for a while...no offense...

Nubian Angel, from what you wrote about your cousin's experience, I would guess that her problem may have been using a flat iron on hair that is also blown out on a regular basis. It may also have been used on too high a heat setting.

I use a flat iron about once a week in the colder months, but I almost never blow dry my hair.

I was a little disappointed that there was nothing offensive in this thread.

Just kidding!

 

[Haleni]

Re: I\'ve been wondering for a while...no offense...

You know Mariaat, your probably right. If my hair kept growing after repeatedly cutting it and hot curling, it probably will grow even better and longer without the heat.

 

[Sweetyb]

Re: I\'ve been wondering for a while...no offense...

Regular use of a hot iron does stretch out your curl pattern permanently. My natural hair texture was changed from using a hot iron once. It was very hot ofcourse. Since, I've grown it out and have never touched another hot iron.

Whenever I hear naturals say they have like 3 different hair textures, I know that they either blow dry regularly or press their hair occasionally. If these same people would grow out their natural hair for a year or two, they'll probably see a difference in their hair texture.