Heat damage support thread

[laurend]

I think it's needed. I experienced heat damage long before the internet, the only help I got was from myself. I wore kinky twist for 6 months and trimmed off the damaged parts. I haven't worn my hair straight since. What advice can you give?

 

[CurlTalk]

No advise to give, but I just wanted to say that this is a great thread idea.

 

[ms.blue]

Use heat wisely. I have heat damage that I'm continue to trim off. I still use heat but I now know how to use heat w/o causing damage.

 

[Vintageglam]

All I can say from experience is that type 4's have much thinner cuticle layers than other hair types so we have to be especially vigilant of heat damage.

 

[Br*nzeb*mbsh~ll]

I just thank you for starting this thread. I think there needs to be more awareness of what causes heat damage and how it can be corrected.

I believe protein works for some and deep moisturizing treatments works for others. You have to go through trial and error to see what works for your hair.

If having bone straight hair is important to you, you may end up with natural 'heat damaged' hair. Some call it 'trained.' Tomato/tomato'... Some people could care less about maintaining their curl pattern. However, if maintaining a curl pattern is your priority, become a do-it-yourself-er.
Stay out of the salon.
Be it Dominican/Egyptian/African American, it doesn't matter. Save yourself the headache and heartbreak.

Learn how to use styling appliances. Invest in some really good, high-quality products. Do your research, practice on a tiny piece of your hair. Apply product to it to see if it snaps back. Don't be quick to cut and most of all, believe that your hair will recover.

 

[NaturalPath]

When I experienced heat damage I found that it usually takes a few months for the straighter parts to become normal again (except for being a looser texture).

I have found that you need a hardcore protein treatment(once a month) and a good deep condition (frequently) to try to repair those pieces.

When I do straighten my hair, I like for it to be swangy, but I feel like its impossible to achieve that with serum HP (weighs hair down and becomes greasy) and spray HP (sticky coaty strands).

Can someone recommend a good heat protectant, for now to avoid a lot of heat damage I have just been rollersetting my hair and flatironing the roots, which I believe is a lot better than blowdrying and flatironing the whole hair.

 

[WAVES4DAYS]

I just thank you for starting this thread. I think there needs to be more awareness of what causes heat damage and how it can be corrected.

I believe protein works for some and deep moisturizing treatments works for others. You have to go through trial and error to see what works for your hair.

If having bone straight hair is important to you, you may end up with natural 'heat damaged' hair. Some call it 'trained.' Tomato/tomato'... Some people could care less about maintaining their curl pattern. However, if maintaining a curl pattern is your priority, become a do-it-yourself-er.
Stay out of the salon.
Be it Dominican/Egyptian/African American, it doesn't matter. Save yourself the headache and heartbreak.

Learn how to use styling appliances. Invest in some really good, high-quality products. Do your research, practice on a tiny piece of your hair. Apply product to it to see if it snaps back. Don't be quick to cut and most of all, believe that your hair will recover.

Great Post!

 

[SummerSolstice]

I'm in here like swimwear!
However I don't really agree with the following...
Just bring your heat protectant with you to your stylist and give her directions. Or find one that knows what she's doing. Its not every stylist.
I think that stylists get an unfair bad rap around here just b/c theres a lot that STYLE and don't really care for hair. But there are good ones too.

Anyways I love this thread! All of my clients get double heat protectant when I heat style. Chi when I blow dry, then Redken heat glide for the press. And no direct heat above 375. I also use the silk wrapping technique. Gives bounce and its way less abrasive.

I just thank you for starting this thread. I think there needs to be more awareness of what causes heat damage and how it can be corrected.

I believe protein works for some and deep moisturizing treatments works for others. You have to go through trial and error to see what works for your hair.

If having bone straight hair is important to you, you may end up with natural 'heat damaged' hair. Some call it 'trained.' Tomato/tomato'... Some people could care less about maintaining their curl pattern. However, if maintaining a curl pattern is your priority, become a do-it-yourself-er.
Stay out of the salon.
Be it Dominican/Egyptian/African American, it doesn't matter. Save yourself the headache and heartbreak.

Learn how to use styling appliances. Invest in some really good, high-quality products. Do your research, practice on a tiny piece of your hair. Apply product to it to see if it snaps back. Don't be quick to cut and most of all, believe that your hair will recover.

 

[lexiwiththecurls]

Great thread. I have heat damage in a small area. This is my 2nd time..both from marcel irons...will NEVER let anyone use them again...two very isolated times because I usually only go places that use high end ceramics irons.
One thing I have noticed, maybe its just me, that heat damaged hair can't be repaired because it is permanently damaged. I know some people say they do things such as stale beer, protein, deep conditioning several times, etc...but from experiences with my -damaged hair- it is just damaged...I trim mine little by little...here is a pic of my current heat damage---biggest thing is to trust your instincts when you go to a salon--I wish I had trusted mine this go round :-(

 

[laurend]

I'm in here like swimwear!
However I don't really agree with the following...
Just bring your heat protectant with you to your stylist and give her directions. Or find one that knows what she's doing. Its not every stylist.
I think that stylists get an unfair bad rap around here just b/c theres a lot that STYLE and don't really care for hair. But there are good ones too.

Anyways I love this thread! All of my clients get double heat protectant when I heat style. Chi when I blow dry, then Redken heat glide for the press. And no direct heat above 375. I also use the silk wrapping technique. Gives bounce and its way less abrasive.

How about we stay out of the salon until we find someone like you. Do you live in Chicago?

 

[TaraDyan]

I just thank you for starting this thread. I think there needs to be more awareness of what causes heat damage and how it can be corrected.

I believe protein works for some and deep moisturizing treatments works for others. You have to go through trial and error to see what works for your hair.

If having bone straight hair is important to you, you may end up with natural 'heat damaged' hair. Some call it 'trained.' Tomato/tomato'... Some people could care less about maintaining their curl pattern. However, if maintaining a curl pattern is your priority, become a do-it-yourself-er.
Stay out of the salon.
Be it Dominican/Egyptian/African American, it doesn't matter. Save yourself the headache and heartbreak.

Learn how to use styling appliances. Invest in some really good, high-quality products. Do your research, practice on a tiny piece of your hair. Apply product to it to see if it snaps back. Don't be quick to cut and most of all, believe that your hair will recover.

I completely co-sign this post. I suffered from heat damage myself back in October of 2009 due to an overzealous stylist. It wasn't a Dominican salon, but you would have thought so with the amount of heat she used to blowdry my hair. I'm telling you ... she had that blowdryer set on Hell, then she flat ironed it to boot. The front of my hair (which is the looser texture) never recovered, no matter how many protein and conditioning treatments I did. I ended up cutting off the damage right away instead of a little at a time (4-6 inches total whacked). Painful.lesson.learned. erplexed

Trust that I will do my own straightening jobs from now on.

 

[laurend]

What's a good heat protectant?

 

[Your Cheeziness]

I think the best heat protection is prevention. If your hair is dry and breaking, heat is not your friend. If you have splits, heat is not your friend. If you have extremely course hair, heat is not your friend. Know your hair and have realistic expectations. If one doesn't use heat often, don't go gung ho on high heat the first time...guaranteed damage. I saw use alternative straightening methods like banding rollersets, ponytail set, etc and then use heat on a low setting until you know the minimum heat settings needed to achieve the look you want.

 

[Br*nzeb*mbsh~ll]

Bingo!

Because finding a stylist like Foodie is like finding a needle in a haystack. How many hair horror stories would a person have to live out to finally get to you, Foodie? I would love love love to have a stylist like you! But you know what, i'm sure you are pretty expensive, you probably have 7 gazillion clients, and i refuse to wait 3 hours to get my hair did (not actually you, but i'm making an example). Never-no-mo!

Girls, you better do your own hair!!!

How about we stay out of the salon until we find someone like you. Do you live in Chicago?

 

[Br*nzeb*mbsh~ll]

Oh, yeah, BTW, Foodie, are you in Houston? Just askin'....

 

[laurend]

Anymore advice?

 

[D0llface1]

When I do straighten my hair, I like for it to be swangy, but I feel like its impossible to achieve that with serum HP (weighs hair down and becomes greasy) and spray HP (sticky coaty strands).

There are some non-sticky heat protectant sprays out there. I use Silk Elements Olive heat protection on each section and still have swang . I've heard Beyond the Zone is good also.

 

[MsLizziA]

When I experienced heat damage I found that it usually takes a few months for the straighter parts to become normal again (except for being a looser texture).

I have found that you need a hardcore protein treatment(once a month) and a good deep condition (frequently) to try to repair those pieces.

When I do straighten my hair, I like for it to be swangy, but I feel like its impossible to achieve that with serum HP (weighs hair down and becomes greasy) and spray HP (sticky coaty strands).

Can someone recommend a good heat protectant, for now to avoid a lot of heat damage I have just been rollersetting my hair and flatironing the roots, which I believe is a lot better than blowdrying and flatironing the whole hair.

I would love to rollerset my hair but gotdamnit if i don't suck at it :\

 

[laurend]

I decided a long time go that I didn't want to take chances with heat so if I can't find a stylist I wouldn't straighten my hair. I had an itch to straighten so I PM Blackmasterpiece, I was thinking about flying to New York for her to do my hair LOL. Maybe we should ask more skilled members who live in your city for help.

 

[blksndrlla]

For me...it has been trial and error. Really listening to my hair is helping. The parts that I damaged with the maxiglide are pretty much a lost cause. I have the original CHI and don't seem to be having problems, but I want to get one with a thermostat. My hair straightens fairly easy and doesn't need all of the heat that it provides. I caused some issues a few weeks ago b/c I didn't have my moisture in check. I did a hardcore protein the week before and a DC, but I knew my hair wasn't in the prime condition to be straightened....So, I ended up with white dot breakage!

I have learned to listen to my hair. I will always want straight hair (and curly hair)...so, I have to make it work for me.

 

[shunemite]

The best advice I can give you is to give away your blow dryer or donate it to charity, and get a hooded dryer or learn the methods of airdrying that work best for you. I gave my blow dryer away and I don't miss it. And I never use my flat iron on the highest setting.

 

[Br*nzeb*mbsh~ll]

I actually made a thread about this in the Salon review forum, a lot of people thought it was a great idea, but it never really took off.

I decided a long time go that I didn't want to take chances with heat so if I can't find a stylist I wouldn't straighten my hair. I had an itch to straighten so I PM Blackmasterpiece, I was thinking about flying to New York for her to do my hair LOL. Maybe we should ask more skilled members who live in your city for help.

 

[Muse]

What's a good heat protectant?

I like Sabino (now called Lok n Blok) it's pretty heavy duty and I feel it protects VERY well.

I think the best heat protection is prevention. If your hair is dry and breaking, heat is not your friend. If you have splits, heat is not your friend. If you have extremely course hair, heat is not your friend. Know your hair and have realistic expectations. If one doesn't use heat often, don't go gung ho on high heat the first time...guaranteed damage. I saw use alternative straightening methods like banding rollersets, ponytail set, etc and then use heat on a low setting until you know the minimum heat settings needed to achieve the look you want.

I totally agree with this.

 

[whitedaisez]

Great. This is the kind of "support" I need. lol

 

[Muse]

I suffered heat damage by my own hands AFTER being on here for over a year and hearing the horror stories about heat so you would've thought I would know better. Mine was with the BKT. I'm not knocking the treatment but for fine 4 type hair you have to REALLY tweak the process but if you tweak it too much it may not take properly. It's A LOT of heat used in that process. I would see broken strands that were LONG closer to the roots but the ends were not breaking. I concentrated most of the heat at the roots because they were resistent. This scared me more than having the very ends break off!

I stopped BKTing immediately and trimmed about an inch and started using the Split Ender to maintain. I cut out ALL heat and cowashed daily CONSISTENLY. I use Skala and Mane N Tail for protein. I did not do any hardcore protein treatments. I believe in starting out small to mend things then working your way up if you have to. If this daily cowashing did not work them I would try a major protein. I am happy to say that it has worked for me I am seeing very minimal breakage now and they aren't the long strands like they were before.

 

[whitedaisez]

for fine 4 type hair you have to REALLY tweak the process but if you tweak it too much it may not take properly. It's A LOT of heat used in that process.

Can you use heat protectant before applying the heat?

 

[Br*nzeb*mbsh~ll]

Deleted post...

 

[Muse]

Can you use heat protectant before applying the heat?

Nope because the heat protectant would get in the way of the treatment bonding to the hair. So really your hair is just at the mercy of the treatment. If you use one that doesn't protect well-bye bye hair, lol.

 

[londontresses]

I suffered heat damage by my own hands AFTER being on here for over a year and hearing the horror stories about heat so you would've thought I would know better. Mine was with the BKT. I'm not knocking the treatment but for fine 4 type hair you have to REALLY tweak the process but if you tweak it too much it may not take properly. It's A LOT of heat used in that process. I would see broken strands that were LONG closer to the roots but the ends were not breaking. I concentrated most of the heat at the roots because they were resistent. This scared me more than having the very ends break off!

I stopped BKTing immediately and trimmed about an inch and started using the Split Ender to maintain. I cut out ALL heat and cowashed daily CONSISTENLY. I use Skala and Mane N Tail for protein. I did not do any hardcore protein treatments. I believe in starting out small to mend things then working your way up if you have to. If this daily cowashing did not work them I would try a major protein. I am happy to say that it has worked for me I am seeing very minimal breakage now and they aren't the long strands like they were before.

This is what is happening to me after my 3rd BKT and I also have fine 4ab hair. All the strands are long, flaky scalp and my hairs just getting progressively thinner with less and less 'swang'...which is why I fell in love with the treatment in the first place.

I'm gonna just weave it and rather than BKT again because when the regrowth comes in, the two textures is just like transitioning again

 

[Muse]

This is what is happening to me after my 3rd BKT and I also have fine 4ab hair. All the strands are long, flaky scalp and my hairs just getting progressively thinner with less and less 'swang'...which is why I fell in love with the treatment in the first place.

I'm gonna just weave it and rather than BKT again because when the regrowth comes in, the two textures is just like transitioning again

Oh yeah! I noticed that too! I didn't have problems with my scalp but my hair did start to thin out by the end. It is thickening back up quite nicely with the cowashing. I plan on doing a regular old flat iron (with Sabino) at the beginning of next year to check my progress. I think it's good you are backing off. It's definitely a risky treatment for fine 4s.