ryanshope
Well-Known Member
Hello Ladies,
This is my PSA on heat styling hair--relaxed or natural. I think this is important, especially in light of what happened with MissNorway and BrockStar. If anyone has additional tips or advice, please add on.
A misconception about natural hair and heat is that natural hair can "handle" the high temperatures, especially coarser 4a/4b. This is not true. Like relaxers, heat appliances should be used sparingly and handled with care---or your hair willl suffer from it.
Hair burns at 451F--most flat irons are between 225-410F, but that 451F is for instaneous burning, so even though the flat irons don't get this hot... hair is still susceptible at lower temperatures for longer times(410F for 30 seconds versus 451F for 2 seconds). So be cognizant of the temperature--check for temperature controls on all heat appliances.
Protect your hair--I have seen the best results when a protein(keratin) treatment and protectant are used in concert. The protein helps reinforce the hair follicles ;a protectant helps seal the hair cuticle and protect the hair from heat damage. Please take care when using oils and "grease" as heat protectants---they can actually make the problem worse by "frying" the hair instead of acting as a buffer. Silicones are good for this because they "absorb" some of the heat applied to the hair.
Use heat sparingly--repeated/frequent use(daily) can cause serious and irreverisible damage to hair. We ladies work to hard to let our efforts get burnt off.
Deep condition hair pre/post heat application with a reconstructor.
HTH.
References
http://www.dowcorning.com/content/publishedlit/HEATPROTECT.pdf
http://www.longhaircareforum.com/showthread.php?t=183673
http://www.hairstraightening.net/haistrtem550.html
This is my PSA on heat styling hair--relaxed or natural. I think this is important, especially in light of what happened with MissNorway and BrockStar. If anyone has additional tips or advice, please add on.
A misconception about natural hair and heat is that natural hair can "handle" the high temperatures, especially coarser 4a/4b. This is not true. Like relaxers, heat appliances should be used sparingly and handled with care---or your hair willl suffer from it.
Hair burns at 451F--most flat irons are between 225-410F, but that 451F is for instaneous burning, so even though the flat irons don't get this hot... hair is still susceptible at lower temperatures for longer times(410F for 30 seconds versus 451F for 2 seconds). So be cognizant of the temperature--check for temperature controls on all heat appliances.
Protect your hair--I have seen the best results when a protein(keratin) treatment and protectant are used in concert. The protein helps reinforce the hair follicles ;a protectant helps seal the hair cuticle and protect the hair from heat damage. Please take care when using oils and "grease" as heat protectants---they can actually make the problem worse by "frying" the hair instead of acting as a buffer. Silicones are good for this because they "absorb" some of the heat applied to the hair.
Use heat sparingly--repeated/frequent use(daily) can cause serious and irreverisible damage to hair. We ladies work to hard to let our efforts get burnt off.
Deep condition hair pre/post heat application with a reconstructor.
HTH.
References
http://www.dowcorning.com/content/publishedlit/HEATPROTECT.pdf
http://www.longhaircareforum.com/showthread.php?t=183673
http://www.hairstraightening.net/haistrtem550.html
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