Naturals and Transitioners - How often do you use heat

[Dee_33]

I'm 15 wks post and transitioning to natural without BC'ing so I plan to flat-iron once or twice a month. Just wondering if anyone does this and has your hair suffered due to it? I know that good deep cond. and heat protection are a must but I'm hoping that flat-ironing 2x a month will not break my hair.

Thanks

 

[Dommo]

Im transitioning and blow-drying and flat-ironing works well for me....I use heat alot(every week)...But I also deep condition once a week (sometimes twice) and do protein treatments and apply a protein leave-in before I blow-dry...I know alot of people who use heat on a regular with no problems

 

[chelleyrock]

I'm wondering about this myself. I'm 21 weeks post and I flat-iron my roots every week. I deep condition weekly and use heat protected as well. So far so good. My roots still revert after every wash, but I may slow it down a bit to maybe 2x a month and wear twistouts every other week.

 

[Dee_33]

Thanks ladies, I think I'm going to try flat-ironing 2x a month along with dc'ing before each flat-iron and see how that works.

 

[lilsparkle825]

When I was transitioning, once a month. Now that I am natural, once every 3 months or so.

 

[loolalooh]

I think the danger is more in how high the heat is than how often you use heat. Though I'm not suggesting it's okay to use heat everyday or so.

Just use a safe temperature (along with the DC-ing and heat protectant you mentioned) and you should be okay. It only takes one use of high heat to get heat damage.

 

[Dee_33]

I think the danger is more in how high the heat is than how often you use heat. Though I'm not suggesting it's okay to use heat everyday or so.

Just use a safe temperature (along with the DC-ing and heat protectant you mentioned) and you should be okay. It only takes one use of high heat to get heat damage.

Thanks for that, I see a spin-off thread coming .

 

[nappi]

i used to ( try and) flat iron by hair before but it wasn't working 4 me

i rarely use heat now .....maybe once or twice a year

 

[Whimsy]

I'm transitioning and I was using heat weekly to biweekly. it was direct heat, i use a maxiglide and coconut oil. it's great for me.

 

[India*32]

SoCallie is the feature of the month and natural, check out her hair care.

Simone

 

[MummysGirl]

Quite a few ladies here use heat and their hair seems to be doing ok so I'm sure even more ladies will chime in... DC'ing and heat protectants and not too much heat seem to be the main things to be aware of.

I'm transitioning, a little over 19 weeks post. I don't use heat - I don't blow dry or flat iron and the most heat I have used this year is when I stayed under the dryer to dry my rollerset when I was in a hurry.

It's not that I'm scared of heat but I don't need it for my everyday styles.

Good luck with your transition

 

[MummysGirl]

oops... double post.

 

[Vonnieluvs08]

I've only stopped using heat in Jan, but before that about once a week to every 2 wks. I do warn be careful with the temp settings because I did damage a section of my hair (even with adequate heat protection)because it was too high heat for my hair. I'm learning that my natural hair (3c/4a) doesn't need a lot of heat to be straight.

 

[Leeda.the.Paladin]

I used it about every 2 weeks when I was transitioning. Now I've been natural for a year and this is the third time I've done it.

 

[MsEllie]

I've only started my healthy hair care in Feb... but I was flat ironing once a week... it would only last about 3-4 days in time for my co wash lol. I decided because its getting warmer and I'll be doing a lot of sweating (per-menopausal) along with the summer heat...not to put any heat in my hair. So I'll be doing that until October 1st at least. Thats my goal

 

[snugglez41685]

I've been transitioning since Sept/Oct 2007. In the beginning I used to flatiron once a month and now I flat iron about every 3 months or so. I am so afraid of heat damage.

 

[vainღ♥♡jane]

i use heat twice a month. i'm early in my transition (maybe 10 weeks) so its really simple right now. i don't know if i will rely on heat to carry me through my entire transition because i want to try some different styles like twist/braid extensions.

 

[mscocoface]

I have used heat direct heat only once in that past 4 years. Started with a no heat challenge to get my hair healthier, so far it is working for me. To use direct heat on my 4BZ, thick kinky, nappy strands (per naani chart now) it requires a lot of work, time, preparation and effort. So for now I am going the no heat route because it works better with my lifestyle.

 

[Allandra]

Sometimes I get my hair done weekly, and sometimes I get my hair done bi-weekly, so every 7 to 14 days.

 

[claudia05]

I've only used heat twice since I started about 10months ago...

 

[Skiggle]

I never use heat.
I'm too afraid.

 

[Dee_33]

Thanks for all the replies ladies. I think I'm gonna try flat-ironing 2x a month, but only the newgrowth not my relaxed hair. I think as long as I keep dc'ing 2x a month and use heat protection with my flat-iron set mediumish I should be ok.

 

[back2past]

i only used heat twice during my 5 months transition... personally, i found that once i stopped using heat i realized i really didnt miss it...and believe me, i used to flat iron my hair ALL the time...you'll be amazed at how much length u'll be able to keep my eliminating heat from your hair routine.

 

[remilaku]

I never use heat.

 

[Black Hoya Chick]

i haven't used heat in 6 months. and before that, i was waiting a good 3 months or so in between flat ironing. i don't plan on using it until thanksgiving-ish. unless somehow the weather is fantastic on my birthday, which i doubt cuz its in the humid august we have here lol. i don't use it mostly because with the thickness i have and the length i am acquiring, along with my drawn out process, its a lot of work.