My natural hair permanently heat damaged

[Integrity]

I am 4b natural. I went to the stylist to get a blow dry and flat iron. I did not realise just how much heat she had used till I washed it again. Parts of my hair does not revert to curly. It could have been much worse cos it is only strands of my hair. But it affects the overall look of my fro. I am soooo angry. It seems like stylists are one of few professions who can be negligent and get away with it!!!!!!!

My question is has anyone also been through this? I suppose there is nothing I can do but grow it out and chop of the ends?

 

[SisterGirl*]

I'm sorry to hear this happened too you. I believe she applied more heat than needed because she did not realize that natural hair needs tender care too. She probably thought she had to really break the hair down to get that "straight look" While natural hair is typically stronger, its not a passport to treat the hair so roughly. I would inform her of the damage that she has caused, so that she will think twice about her hair treatment methods on the next natural lady.

 

[Bint Yusef]

Dont throw in the towel so quickly. Your hair is probably heat damaged if it didnt revert quickly. But there could still be hope without having to cut.
You should try to deep condition every day or every other day for a week or two to see if the hair decides to snap back. Sometimes it takes a lot more effort but it can still have a chance at snapping back. Baby that spot for a week or two and see what results you can get. Then if not, you may need to chop.

Sorry this happened to you.

 

[PinkSkates]

I'm sorry that happened; Try this method, I think the damaged area can be saved, it may not be permanent; try and save your hair length. I call this Deep Reconditioning: I recommend that you use a deep penetrating, protein-and-moisture-rich conditioner in order to stabilize the hair strands, and use the following method. After shampoo, apply a protein rich conditioner, cover hair with a plastic cap. Sit under a warm dryer for 15 min. (dryer s/b set to medium) come out from under the dryer, remove cap, and carefully apply more conditioner to the hairline, ends and to the damaged area. Cover with cap and sit back under the dryer for 10 more minutes. Come out from under the dryer and again apply more conditioner to hairline, ends and heat-damaged area. Cover with cap and sit back under the dryer for another 10 minutes, for a total of 35 minutes. Finally rinse your hair thoroughly for at least 60 seconds. Try this for your next 6 shampoos and you should see the damaged hair strands bounce back and revert to their natural state. I hope this helps you.

 

[ajargon02]

Dont throw in the towel so quickly. Your hair is probably heat damaged if it didnt revert quickly. But there could still be hope without having to cut.
You should try to deep condition every day or every other day for a week or two to see if the hair decides to snap back. Sometimes it takes a lot more effort but it can still have a chance at snapping back. Baby that spot for a week or two and see what results you can get. Then if not, you may need to chop.

Sorry this happened to you.

I am so sorry that this happened to you. I guess the positive part is that you can learn from your experience. If you are thinking of using heat in the future, try to get a word of mouth stylist. This way you have heard of the work that they have done on natural hair, and you can feel better about having them do your hair, if you choose to straighten in the future. Btw, below, I just wanted to give you the honest truth about heat damage. You can also search this info on the net. I just don't want you to think that a conditioner/protein tx, or any magic potion will undo heat damage b/c it doesn't and won't. hth, good luck to you! I would hug ya if I could.

heat damage (imho) occurs when there's damage to the cortex of the hair via heat. YOU CAN'T CONDITION THIS AWAY . Unfortunately if you truely have heat damage, it won't "correct" itself w/gentle care. That's a myth. You will eventually have to cut off that area, or it mighht break off. You can baby the dmg parts to slow the breakage (protein tx, dc tx) but damage is damage, and only the scissors will fix it.

 

[Bint Yusef]

Well she wont know if its truly heat damaged until she gives conditioning a try. Which was the point of the second and third posts.

 

[PinkSkates]

Thank you OnAHairQuest! I am an intelligent black woman; and I know that once hair is truly, permanently damaged, that it cannot be repaired; but Integrity will not truly know if her is permanantly damaged until she gives her hair some tlc. If it does not revert back after trying deep reconditioning then she can begin the "grow some-trim some" method. Good luck with your hair.

 

[Integrity]

thanks for all your responses. you guys are brilliant. this happened over 2 weeks ago. i have since washed and conditioned twice, first with motions CPR and last nite with le kair cholesterol, both with some EVOO. it is stll there and looks terrible. i will be patients and chop off bit by bit. i will also make sure i let her know my next visit.

 

[sweetwhispers]

this happened to me twice when i was in secondary school- i do not mess with heat no more, my fine hair can't take it.

The first time i just grew it out but i had this fro with straight ends sticking out. I wore cornrows to school so no-one would notice anyway.

Second time, couldn't bear looking at them so i hacked them off.

Do whatever is comfortable for you. Depends on how much is damaged/how you wear your hair etc .

 

[Mahalialee4]

A great retexturizer is Rachette if you can get hold of any of that. Do a type on the Search Button. They also talk a lot about it at Blackhairmedia.com under Cactus and Rachet and Aloes. The Rastas use it to rought up their hair to lock it apparently. Hope this helps.

 

[Integrity]

thanks for all your responses. I will look up Rachete. I just love my natural hair soooo much. The curls are sooo gorgeous.

Thanks!

 

[Integrity]

A great retexturizer is Rachette if you can get hold of any of that. Do a type on the Search Button. They also talk a lot about it at Blackhairmedia.com under Cactus and Rachet and Aloes. The Rastas use it to rought up their hair to lock it apparently. Hope this helps.

there is yet hope!
where can i buy this from? is it a condish?

 

[JuicesN'Berries]

Bumping for a response.

 

[Integrity]

hi thicknlong, thanks for your response. i am natural. i dont want to relax or texlax at all. but thanks anyway.

 

[weaveadiva]

I am soooo angry. It seems like stylists are one of few professions who can be negligent and get away with it!!!!!!!

Please do not blame everything on the stylist.

I hope I do not sound like I am preaching, but each and every time you straighten your hair you are taking a risk. You can straighten your hair 99 times, and that 100th time could be the one to ruin it permanently. I have seen it happen.

That being said, I hope it is just tempoaorary and your hair returns to normal. I agree with the other ladies... condition condition condition!

And again, this post was not meant to condemn or judge.

Good luck!

 

[Integrity]

no offence taken weaveadiva. i still blame her though. she is the professional and should be trained in how to use heat appliances. plus i specifically asked fo one who was exp in treating natural hair. that was only the 2nd time i was blowdrying and flatironing my natural hair. before that i had not done it before!!!!!

 

[JuicesN'Berries]

Integrity, by any chance did you see the thread about the beer. Supposedly, using beer on your hair can bring it back to its natural state. I think I'm gonna try it even though I am extremely skeptical. If you try it let me know.

 

[Integrity]

thanks Juices, I will look it up!

 

[Poohbear]

Integrity,

Did your hair smell like a strong burnt sulfur smell after washing? If so, it is damaged and cannot be repaired. It must be cut off if you had that horrible sulfur smell. This is what happened to me over 2 years ago when my mom straightened my hair with a hot stove comb. Conditioning did not work in my case so I just had my hair shaved off.

If your hair did not smell bad after washing, there may be hope. I would definitely try OnAHairRequest and pinkskate's suggestions. I have straightened my natural hair once since being natural with a flat iron and my hair did not get damaged and there were no straightened areas. All of my hair reverted back to it's natural curl pattern.

And if you want to straighten your hair in the future, I would suggest using DivaStyle's method (do a search on her posts). She rollersets, airdries, then flat irons her hair weekly or every other week and her natural hair is bra-strap length.

Hope that helps! Take care.

 

[Brownie]

Amla powder is good for bringing out texture. Mix it with water, put on hair---use conditioning cap---and wash out after 30 minutes to an hour. My hair is curly, but it made my hair super curly.