You can have healthy hair w/ regular heat use.

[Ms_Twana]

Wow, this thread blew up while I napped!!

Okay, so am I understanding you ladies correctly that my friends' hair may "appear" to be healthy, but it's not really?? I'm just not certain that I agree with that completely. I mean, I get that it breaks down bonds, and makes hair thinner over time, and may stop growth after a certain length (because it definitely did that to mines). But does that mean that hair is not HEALTHY???

I mean the length thing is definitely one of the reasons that I wanted to go natural. I don't think I've ever made it to APL. Plus, I think my hair grows slow, so when I flat ironed every week, that required me to get my ends trimmed every six weeks when I got my relaxer. And I believe that my stylist cut everything that had grown in that six week period. This is one of the things I discussed with my friends during girls night. We all go to the same stylist. My friends have always gone on a regular basis (every week to two weeks). And I've always only gone for a touch up. And I guess I haven't noticed the length issue with my friends because they are the type to just cut their hair spontaneously. I don't think they've ever just tried to see how long it would grow.

But any way, with all that said does thinning over time, breaking down of bonds, and hair no longer growing really mean that your hair isn't healthy??

 

[LynnieB]

I was actually thinking of getting the Biosilk but I had to make the PJ part of me shutup. Curiosity kills the cat as well as the piggy bank. Biosilk has alcohol in it, so it may dry the hair out over time if you use the same amount of it on your hair as you do the Silk Infusion. Both Biosilk and CHI Silk Infusion are made by the same company (Farouk) and Silk Infusion is supposed to be the newer, better version of the Biosilk Silk Therapy (a big change was getting rid of the alcohol).

hmm...i use biosilk but have never actually thought of or noticed it as being drying. maybe if i flatironed my hair more frequently, like every week or 2 i'd notice it, but i'm not willing to go on a flatironing marathon anytime soon to test the theory .

 

[JazzyDez]

thanks.....I am not overly knowledgable about ingredients yet so that helps alot. I think i'd rather go without the alcohol so I am def going to pick up the chi silk infusion..

I dont plan on using heat too often regularly but I am taking every precaution possible for when I do!

 

[navsegda]

But any way, with all that said does thinning over time, breaking down of bonds, and hair no longer growing really mean that your hair isn't healthy??

Well, some bonds in your hair are going to break, even if you NEVER use any heat (bonds breaking in your hair is different from the entire STRAND breaking). That's why reconstructors are good even if you aren't relaxed and don't use heat. You can never touch your hair at all and you are still going to lose strands just like cells in your body reach apoptosis (cell death) without you doing a thing to them. When I broke some of my hair off, I actually wasn't using heat at the time, but I was doing a lot of unadvised manipulation (bad combing, brushing, etc) and wasn't doing all the things that I am doing now to take care of it (moisture, protein, etc). It takes energy to break down bonds and lots of things put in that energy that can cause the bond to weaken and then reach the breaking point.

So basically:

Breaking off strands or hair at the roots=hurting the health of your hair
Breaking down a few bonds of many thousands in your hair strands (and will happen naturally at some point anyway)=hair can still be healthy
Using a good heat protectant when you use heat so that the heat doesn't reach the bonds of your actual hair strand=hair can still be healthy
Using a good heat protectant but having a flat iron hot enough to exceed all the dissociation energies of the bonds in the heat protectant=hurting the health of your hair
Not using a heat protectant and flat ironing and blow drying like there's no tomorrow=hurting the health of your hair

 

[Isis]

Heat did not work for me at all before LHCF. It kept me at the same length (above or at shoulder length) for years and kept my naturally thick hair thin and see-through. Of course, I didn't know about heat protectants or anything.

I stopped using the heat abruptly when I discovered the hair boards and learned to airdry for the first time. That was when my relaxed hair started to first thicken up (all of my strands) and then it started to retain length. I'm so amazed I haven't tried this before in my life but I thought all type 4's (in particular) had to use heat.

BTW, thanks Navsegda for your expertise on hair, bonds, etc. It isn't everyday we learn about hair from a scientist.

 

[Priss Pot]

Ok, so what is everyone's definition of "regular heat use?" I ask this because everyone's definition might be different. Some people may think that everyday is regular use while others may think that 1x a week is regular use.

Me, I stopped blowdrying a long time ago (I still keep it handy though, for emergency use only). I would blowdry my hair everyweek, and use the curling irons everyday. Now THAT gave my hair a great deal of damage, including all of the permanent color that I had in my hair. Since coming to the boards, I've cut down on my use of direct heat tremendously. I also learned how to properly relax my own hair (roots only...not root-to-tip like I had been doing). Although my hair is just about the same length as it was last year (due to me constantly trimming trying to get rid of the damaged, overprocessed ends), I've noticed the thickness of my hair increasing and the overall health of it improving. Now I won't say that my hair is 100% healthy now, but I have noticed a big change, even while adding minimal heat back to my regimen. Like I said in my earlier post, I only plan on using heat maybe once every other week (1-2x a month)...and I'm pretty sure that I'll have periods of time where I don't use heat at all. This past Fall semester at school, I didn't use heat for almost 3 months!!! All I wore were buns and some rollersets.

When it comes to using heat, to each her own. The Spring semester is coming up in January, and I will keep a close look on my hair and it's behavior throughout the whole semester. By the end of the semester, I'm pretty sure I'll notice anything "wrong" or "strange" about my hair, and that's when I'll determine if even minimal heat can cause great damage.

 

[Mars_Reiko]

Ok, so what is everyone's definition of "regular heat use?" I ask this because everyone's definition might be different. Some people may think that everyday is regular use while others may think that 1x a week is regular use.

Me, I stopped blowdrying a long time ago (I still keep it handy though, for emergency use only). I would blowdry my hair everyweek, and use the curling irons everyday. Now THAT gave my hair a great deal of damage, including all of the permanent color that I had in my hair. Since coming to the boards, I've cut down on my use of direct heat tremendously. I also learned how to properly relax my own hair (roots only...not root-to-tip like I had been doing). Although my hair is just about the same length as it was last year (due to me constantly trimming trying to get rid of the damaged, overprocessed ends), I've noticed the thickness of my hair increasing and the overall health of it improving. Now I won't say that my hair is 100% healthy now, but I have noticed a big change, even while adding minimal heat back to my regimen. Like I said in my earlier post, I only plan on using heat maybe once every other week (1-2x a month)...and I'm pretty sure that I'll have periods of time where I don't use heat at all. This past Fall semester at school, I didn't use heat for almost 3 months!!! All I wore were buns and some rollersets.

When it comes to using heat, to each her own. The Spring semester is coming up in January, and I will keep a close look on my hair and it's behavior throughout the whole semester. By the end of the semester, I'm pretty sure I'll notice anything "wrong" or "strange" about my hair, and that's when I'll determine if even minimal heat can cause great damage.

I would like to know everyone's definition on "regular heat use" as well. Reading this post has got me paranoid.erplexed I've been flat ironing every 2 weeks to cope with my 14 weeks of new growth. I deep condition and wash every 2 weeks and use lots of heat protectant. I don't flat iron to wear is down, I flat iron to make it managable and look nice in ponytails and updo's.

 

[Ms_Twana]

I would like to know everyone's definition on "regular heat use" as well.

I consider "regular heat use" to be anything under every couple of weeks. My friends get their hair flat ironed every two weeks, and that's regular to me.

I don't flat iron to wear is down, I flat iron to make it managable and look nice in ponytails and updo's.

Try letting your hair dry in the ponytail method. A lot of ladies use that instead of heat.

 

[prettypuff1]

i can't... for my fine hair heat= breakage..... i have tried to grow my hair aout before and it didnt come with constant heat usage

 

[Mizani_Mrs]

I used lots of heat all thru 2006 (blowdry & flatiron weekly). My hair grew and I retained length, but not as much as I expected. I had breakage and i would have to continually trim. I know this is because of my improper use of the blowdryer. I would just get lazy and try to quickly blow my hair on high and hold it close to my hair. I have stopped blowdrying. So now I rollerset and pincurl, or rollerset and flatiron. I still consider myself a regular heat user, but cutting out the blowdryer has tremendously helped my hair. its more softer, less dry, less frizzy, less breakage and my ends stay thick. So I do think that it's possible to have healthy hair w regular dome dryer and weekly flat iron use (no more than 1x week). But blowdrying on a regular is a no-no. At least for me... Now I only blow out my roots maybe from 10-12 weeks post relaxer.

 

[HoneyDew]

I used lots of heat all thru 2006 (blowdry & flatiron weekly). My hair grew and I retained length, but not as much as I expected. I had breakage and i would have to continually trim. I know this is because of my improper use of the blowdryer. I would just get lazy and try to quickly blow my hair on high and hold it close to my hair. I have stopped blowdrying. So now I rollerset and pincurl, or rollerset and flatiron. I still consider myself a regular heat user, but cutting out the blowdryer has tremendously helped my hair. its more softer, less dry, less frizzy, less breakage and my ends stay thick. So I do think that it's possible to have healthy hair w regular dome dryer and weekly flat iron use (no more than 1x week). But blowdrying on a regular is a no-no. At least for me... Now I only blow out my roots maybe from 10-12 weeks post relaxer.

same here.

I airdry, but sometimes it is still damp when I need to flatiron so I use my dryer on cool to finish it off. My dryer on cool has a tad bit of warmth to it (not as cool as when you use the cool shot button) so a min. or so with it can help me dry those few damp places.

Doing it this way has really help me. As my hair gets longer it is taking longer to do this. I am going to be forced to learn to rollerset, as a result. I just cannot go back to using the fryer on higher like I used to.

I think you can have healthy hair with heat use, but for me no more than once a week (tops)

 

[prettypuff1]

yeah i used heat daily. and blow dry monthly. no protectant no nothing,hence my hair stayed at about shoulder length. i thought everyone did..... i had no clue how not too.....once my hair gets really strong, i may try to flat iron it once a month, but certainly not like i was before, but i like the roller sets.

 

[imstush]

Everyone is different. My hair never grew when I had a relaxer and used heat. I would go to the dominican's weekly. Then I tried every 2 weeks. I would only use the dryer you sit under and my hair still wouldn't grow. I grew out the relaxer using no heat and my hair grew like crazy. When I was 100% natural I would still get my hair done (blow dry straight) and it still grew. So it just depends on what your hair can take.

 

[bajanplums1]

I had no hair until I stopped using heat.

 

[LovelyLionessa]

I use heat 1x a week and my hair is inching past BSL. This is how I use heat safely:

*I always deep condition and airdry my hair first.

*I use good leave-in conditioners and heat protectants that are heat activated to straighten and smooth hair, so I don't have to crank the flat iron way up.

*I flat iron my roots ONLY. Heat never touches my ends.

*I use my Maxiglide on setting 1 only.

ETA: I am relaxed.

 

[KhandiB]

I say yes, because to me although a hair dryer isnt considered direct heat, its heat all the same.

I use heat every week , I dont blowdry every wash but I def use a flat iron ..

Im happy with my hair and my hair is quite thick and pretty healthy .. ask HoneyDew

 

[aurora3140]

I had a friend (R.I.P) who had beautiful natural hair that she always wore in a press and curl. Her hair was very long and thick. Maybe ladies with natural hair that hasn't been compromised by chemicals can withstand more frequent heat usage.

 

[cmw45]

My mother straightens (with a hot comb) her hair twice a week religiously...and her hair is in excellent condition...then again....she keeps it very short and is trim happy...so I think she could have problems if she was trying to retain lenght.

 

[MissMarie]

before i started my transition, my hair was always a few inches above bra strap, split ends, my bangs hardly grew and my nape was a mess. i'd faithfully blow dry and use a curling iron once a week and for touchups in between. ugh.

it looked great but always managed to stay basically the same length.

This is basically my experience except my hair stayed around shoulder length, occasionally it would grow to collarbone length but after trimming raggedy ends I'd end up back at sl. My hair was always pretty thick, and healthy looking but it never grew.
When I first started transitioning I still used a blowdryer, it tore up my hair more than the curling iron, especially after I got a lot of newgrowth. Now I only use the maxiglide a few times a year and I've retained a lot more length.

So I know that for me less heat is better.

 

[honeybadgirl]

Well, some bonds in your hair are going to break, even if you NEVER use any heat (bonds breaking in your hair is different from the entire STRAND breaking). That's why reconstructors are good even if you aren't relaxed and don't use heat. You can never touch your hair at all and you are still going to lose strands just like cells in your body reach apoptosis (cell death) without you doing a thing to them. When I broke some of my hair off, I actually wasn't using heat at the time, but I was doing a lot of unadvised manipulation (bad combing, brushing, etc) and wasn't doing all the things that I am doing now to take care of it (moisture, protein, etc). It takes energy to break down bonds and lots of things put in that energy that can cause the bond to weaken and then reach the breaking point.

So basically:

Breaking off strands or hair at the roots=hurting the health of your hair
Breaking down a few bonds of many thousands in your hair strands (and will happen naturally at some point anyway)=hair can still be healthy
Using a good heat protectant when you use heat so that the heat doesn't reach the bonds of your actual hair strand=hair can still be healthy
Using a good heat protectant but having a flat iron hot enough to exceed all the dissociation energies of the bonds in the heat protectant=hurting the health of your hair
Not using a heat protectant and flat ironing and blow drying like there's no tomorrow=hurting the health of your hair

if you use a reconstructor, do you need to use a moisturizing conditioner after????

 

[navsegda]

if you use a reconstructor, do you need to use a moisturizing conditioner after????

Definitely. Not only would I advise a moisturizing conditioner, but I'd do a deep condition as well. Too much protein can dry the hair out and leave it hard or brittle and the only way to prevent that is tons of moisture.

 

[Country gal]

I completely agree with this post.

My hair will look good if I use heat regularly but it will not retain any length. That’s why I have been stuck at just below bra-strap length for years. I have to seriously limit the heat for my hair to actually retain length and be healthy, also if using heat regularly its A LOT harder to really keep your hair healthy which equals a lot of work... I will grow it out to about tailbone length and then probably use heat whenever I want to and see how well my hair retains /and or cut it down again.

I know a girl who gets a blow out every few weeks and her hair has stayed above shoulder length for a good year, the main reason is heat. I know this because she has mentioned wanting to have her hair grown out yet she feels its unmanageable while natural.
My sister is another example she hot curls her hair 5 days a week faithfully and her hair is now ear length from the breakage. I know she wants to grow her hair out, but when I tell her “you really got to stop using all that heat on your hair” she tells me rollers and not looking good is too time consuming and not worth it, so it boils down to how much u really want your hair to grow or how much you are settled with the current length.

I think it’s very rare to find someone with major growth while using regular heat.

Your hair looks great. I feel heat can be very damaging. I pretty much was on a no heat challenge for my hair for two years. The proof was in the lenght for me. My hair was super thick and had grown a lot when I flat ironed it. It was very healthy and soft. I hated the flat iron on my hair because it smelled like cooked hair. I may flat iron or press my hair once in a while but I won't do it repeatedly. I feel that terminal lenght can come from too much heat and manipulation.

 

[chayil0427]

I know two naturals who flat iron and their hair is fine, but also natural hair isn't broken down with chemicals so it can better tolerate heat.

Chayil

 

[honeybadgirl]

Definitely. Not only would I advise a moisturizing conditioner, but I'd do a deep condition as well. Too much protein can dry the hair out and leave it hard or brittle and the only way to prevent that is tons of moisture.

thanks!!! sounds great! let me clarify what you said. bare with me....lol....is a deep conditioner the same as a moisturizing conditioner? for instance, i started pre poo-ing using evoo, a mositurizing conditoner, sit under dryer, then i shampoo with aveda sap moss and follow with aveda brilliant conditioner. where would the reconstructor fall in to my regimen? are these conditioners the type i need? also, i have natural 3b, a little past shoulders, hair.
also, just to add to the topic, before i joined lhcf i would do a braidout usually in the summer time for about 2 months. i gained length! it was funny because before i knew about hair care i would feel guilty wetting my hair every nite and eventually stopped. i thought being wet, but not drenching wet, every nite would be putting my hair at risk being in a fragile state. it helped. i would make it damp, seal it (didnt know i was doing that...lol) and braid it. it worked out very well!

PS....I TOTALLY COSIGN WITH THE CHI SILK INFUSIONS!!! GOTTA LOVE IT!!!!

 

[navsegda]

thanks!!! sounds great! let me clarify what you said. bare with me....lol....is a deep conditioner the same as a moisturizing conditioner? for instance, i started pre poo-ing using evoo, a mositurizing conditoner, sit under dryer, then i shampoo with aveda sap moss and follow with aveda brilliant conditioner. where would the reconstructor fall in to my regimen? are these conditioners the type i need? also, i have natural 3b, a little past shoulders, hair.
also, just to add to the topic, before i joined lhcf i would do a braidout usually in the summer time for about 2 months. i gained length! it was funny because before i knew about hair care i would feel guilty wetting my hair every nite and eventually stopped. i thought being wet, but not drenching wet, every nite would be putting my hair at risk being in a fragile state. it helped. i would make it damp, seal it (didnt know i was doing that...lol) and braid it. it worked out very well!

PS....I TOTALLY COSIGN WITH THE CHI SILK INFUSIONS!!! GOTTA LOVE IT!!!!

Ok, what the heck happened to all the posts made after 11:30 last night? UGH.

Anyway, I'll guess I'll have to retype what I said to you lol. A moisturizing conditioner doesn't necessarily have to be a deep conditioner. For instance, V05 Moisture Milks is a moisturizing conditioner but it isn't a deep conditioner. On the other hand, Motions After-Shampoo Moisture Plus Conditioner is both a moisturizing conditioner and a deep conditioner.

Reconstruction: You shampoo, use a reconstructor, and then follow up with conditioning. It wouldn't hurt to condition before and after a reconstructor, but most of the conditioning should definitely come after. When I use one, I shampoo, condition with Garnier Fructis Length & Strength Fortifying Cream Conditioner, use a reconstructor, then deep condition (a combination of Motions Moisture Plus, Doo Gro Deep Down Intense Penetrating Conditioner, and Organics Hair Mayonnaise).

I've never used any of the Aveda conditioners, but if they are very moisturizing for you, you should keep them. However, if you're looking for a change, Motions Moisture Plus is great, so is Nexxus Humectress and Nexxus Phyto Organics Humectin.

Hopefully, this post won't disappear as well.

 

[MizAvalon]

Ok, what the heck happened to all the posts made after 11:30 last night? UGH.

That happened to me too! Glad to know it wasn't just me.

Regarding the topic, I do think that most natural hair can probably withstand a little more heat than relaxed hair.

However, I have yet to see IRL or in this thread anyone with LONG hair that uses heat on a regular basis and has healthy hair.

 

[navsegda]

However, I have yet to see IRL or in this thread anyone with LONG hair that uses heat on a regular basis and has healthy hair.

By long you mean waist length or longer, correct?

 

[Wishin4BSL]

That happened to me too! Glad to know it wasn't just me.

Regarding the topic, I do think that most natural hair can probably withstand a little more heat than relaxed hair.

However, I have yet to see IRL or in this thread anyone with LONG hair that uses heat on a regular basis and has healthy hair.

Navsegda has long hair.

 

[honeybadgirl]

Ok, what the heck happened to all the posts made after 11:30 last night? UGH.

Anyway, I'll guess I'll have to retype what I said to you lol. A moisturizing conditioner doesn't necessarily have to be a deep conditioner. For instance, V05 Moisture Milks is a moisturizing conditioner but it isn't a deep conditioner. On the other hand, Motions After-Shampoo Moisture Plus Conditioner is both a moisturizing conditioner and a deep conditioner.

Reconstruction: You shampoo, use a reconstructor, and then follow up with conditioning. It wouldn't hurt to condition before and after a reconstructor, but most of the conditioning should definitely come after. When I use one, I shampoo, condition with Garnier Fructis Length & Strength Fortifying Cream Conditioner, use a reconstructor, then deep condition (a combination of Motions Moisture Plus, Doo Gro Deep Down Intense Penetrating Conditioner, and Organics Hair Mayonnaise).

I've never used any of the Aveda conditioners, but if they are very moisturizing for you, you should keep them. However, if you're looking for a change, Motions Moisture Plus is great, so is Nexxus Humectress and Nexxus Phyto Organics Humectin.

Hopefully, this post won't disappear as well.

thanks a million!! i have used the motions before and liked alot. the pre poo is the aphogee moisturizing conditioner. thanks for reposting. i couldnt get on until this evening how can you tell if a conditioner is both or just one (moisturizing and deep)? will it actually say it on the bottle?

 

[SandySea]

I had a healthy head of hair using extreme heat every 2 weeks--but I was natural. I wore my hair pressed until I let some people convince me that relaxers were more healty than the heat. My hair hasn't been the same since. But I must say that the heat ruined my natural kink pattern and made my hair look like a jheri curl when wet. This was fine with me at the time because I didn't wear it unpressed. For me it is healthier to achieve straight hair with heat than with chemicals. Of course, neither is probably best depending on your goals.