Tips For Heat Styling Without Damage – Most of us have at least one hot tool in our styling arsenal: a blow dryer to add volume, a flat iron to smooth, or a curling iron to create soft waves. And while these tools may be essential for styling strands, they can also be very damaging to your hair without proper precautions. To heat up your style—and protect your locks—heed these pro protection tips.
Regular heat styling can cause the hair’s outer layer, known as the cuticle, to crack, making it more prone to moisture loss, brittleness and breakage. That’s why it’s important to strengthen weakened strands with a shampoo and conditioner with protein (sometimes called keratin) to help fill in the gaps in the cuticle layer and make hair less prone to breakage and split ends. We have several ingredients that do exactly this: our silk proteins nourish the damaged cuticle layer; while our heat shield cocktail contains wheat and soy amino acids (aka proteins) to make strands stronger and more durable.
Tips For Heat Styling Without Damage
Protein boosting in your regular shampoo and conditioner is vital, but to maximize strengthening results try making time for a deep conditioning treatment once a week. (Mostly it only takes ten minutes!) In addition to the essential protein boost, many pre-shampoo masques also contain moisturizing ingredients like argan and jojoba oils to replenish any moisture lost by leaky (heat-damaged) cuticles. To improve penetration, apply the mask while in a steamy shower or bath, as heat aids absorption.
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Have you ever yanked your hair with a round brush while blow-drying – or run a flat iron through your curls to maximize smoothness? You are not alone; heat styling can be quite demanding on curls. That’s why it’s important to be kinder in all other styling tasks: When detangling, start at the ends with a wide-tooth comb, then slowly, carefully work your way to the roots, and gently squeeze, never scrub, as you towel dry. .
In addition to using a protective shampoo and conditioner infused with a protein-rich heat shield complex, you should also spray on a heat-protecting styling product for extra protection before blow-drying or flat-ironing. “I tell my clients to think of a heat protection product as SPF. Apply liberally and thoroughly, making sure your strands are completely and evenly coated,” says Nina Dimachki, a stylist in Northville, Michigan. Dimachki also says that most heat protectants work best on hair that’s at least 50 percent dry (so wring it out with a towel or leave wet curls in a towel turban for ten to fifteen minutes). “Continuing with the SPF analogy, a heat protectant like SPF is best absorbed and won’t dilute when applied to blow-dried hair,” explains Dimachki.
“Let your hair dry as much as 80 percent before blow-drying,” says Dimachki, who suggests leaving hair in a towel turban or air-drying for up to twenty minutes. Of course, it depends on your hair type, but if possible, don’t reach for the round brush right away and “rough dry” first with your fingers and a blow dryer on medium heat to remove most of the remaining water. . Finally, pull out the brush and turn on the heat of the blow dryer to shape and smooth as the final step. “At this point, you can further minimize damage by directing the blow dryer nozzle down the hair shaft, toward the ends,” says Dimachki. “This reduces direct heat applied to the hair and also closes the cuticle to prevent frizz and increase shine.”
Not all hair types need to be straightened or curled with a flat iron up to 450 degrees. In fact, most don’t. It’s probably worth investing in a heat styling tool that allows you to lower the heat as needed. Most hair (fine to medium, colored or curly) can easily be styled at 300 to 380 degrees, while even the thickest and coarsest hair can usually be straightened or curled at about 400 degrees. One caveat: “The temperature you choose should allow the hair to be smoothed with one stroke of the flat iron or one turn of the curling iron. If you’ve turned the temperature dial so far that you have to iron each section three or four times to get it smooth, then it’s just as damaging,” says Dimachki. Your goal: Find the lowest temperature that still allows you to style effectively.
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“When it comes to flat irons or curling irons, you want to choose models that use ceramic, porcelain or tourmaline in their plates or barrels because they conduct heat evenly,” says Dimachki. “Tools that don’t use these materials tend to suffer from heat shock when you’re styling, and that can cause hair to splatter,” she explains.
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NEW Cleanser $29.00, 5.07 fl oz NEW Moisturizer $52.00, 1.7 fl oz NEW Serum $64.00, 1 fl oz We all love our hot styling tools, whether it’s a blow dryer, curling iron or iron. But with heat styling comes heat-damaged hair: split ends, dry and dull strands, and hair breakage.
He explains: “Hair is made up of a protein called keratin. High temperatures can weaken and break protein bonds, leading to permanent structural damage.
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Lindsay adds, “Heat damage is cumulative. Regular use of tools at high temperatures increases changes in the protein bonds and moisture levels of each fiber. Eventually, those bonds are broken and beyond repair.”
Fine and thin hair is generally more susceptible to heat damage because it has less natural protection. But thick and coarse hair is not immune, especially when exposed to high heat frequently or for long periods of time.
The good news is that you don’t have to completely give up your styling tools. Here are our five practical tips you can use to minimize heat damage:
apply a heat protectant. This creates a protective barrier that seals in moisture and helps prevent the hair shaft from drying out, leaving hair looking shiny and healthy.
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Lindsay adds, “I particularly like Matrix’s Miracle Creator because its ultra-light consistency spreads easily throughout the hair, absorbs in seconds, and leaves no residue behind.”
High-quality heat styling tools often have a more even distribution of heat, reducing the likelihood of “hot spots” that can seriously damage hair.
They also usually have adjustable temperature settings, so you start with a low temperature and increase it if needed.
Lindsay warns, “And avoid using tools on the same section of hair more than once, as this can cause damage to the hair shaft.”
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Wet hair is more susceptible to heat damage because the cuticle (outer layer of your hair) is lifted, exposing the inner hair structures to intense heat. So always make sure your hair is 70-80% dry before using heat tools, advises Lindsay.
Heat damage accumulates and constant heat styling gradually weakens your hair. So it’s important to try to incorporate heat-free days into your hair care routine.
Air dry your hair when you can and use a dry shampoo once a week if possible. Plus, you can explore alternative styling methods like braids, updos, or hair accessories that don’t require heated tools.
Deep conditioners restore essential moisture and nutrients to your hair and fight dryness and breakage caused by heat styling. Regular use of hair masks or deep conditioners like Sebastian Penetraitt can go a long way in restoring and maintaining hair health.
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Even with these precautions, some degree of thermal damage is almost inevitable. That’s why it’s important to get regular trims every 6-8 weeks to remove damaged or split ends and keep your hair looking its best.
As always, remember that everyone’s hair is unique, so ask your stylist for advice, tips and recommendations – we’re happy to help.
We use cookies to help provide you with the best possible online experience. By using this site, you agree that we may store and access cookies on your computer/device. Find out more. I get it We all love changing our hair into beautiful curls or straightening it for a sleek look, but as we all know, heat styling is not the best for our hair. We totally get that you can’t just throw out your heat styling tools to save your hair, but we’ve got some tips on how to reduce overall heat damage!
Sometimes it’s best to skip the day. If you don’t need to style your hair for the day, then don’t! Giving it a break, even just a few days a week, will help reduce the damage and make you look much healthier! A great place to start is to avoid heat styling tools as much as possible.
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Helpful tip here! When using any heat styling tool, ALWAYS use a heat spray to help protect your hair! We personally love Aquage Beyond Body Spray and EiMi Thermal Image Spray.
Depending on the texture of the hair, you need to adjust the temperature of the tool. If you have thick and coarse