Healthy Hair: The Reality of Heat Damage

As African American females, we have such an advantage because we are able to wear our hair naturally curly, straight, in a weave, braids and any other style we can come up with. Many times we are unaware of the damage some styles can cause.One of the leading causes of damaged hair is heat styling. Extreme amounts of heat can crack your hair's cuticle and withdraw moisture inside of it-- leaving hair dry and brittle. The tools that cause heat damage are hair dryers, hot rollers, curling irons, straightening combs and flat irons. Once your hair has endured enough heat damage, it is nearly impossible to restore the health of severely damaged strands. As a result, it is in your best interest to use a minimal amount of heat possible when drying and styling your hair.

Here are some tips to avoid extreme heat damage:

1. Avoid multiple swipes with a flat iron and try not to apply heat to your hair multiple times per week.

2. Section your hair off into small enough pieces where one thorough swipe of the flat iron is enough to straighten the hair.

3. Never blow dry 100% wet hair: Allow your hair to dry for a while (up to about 70% dry) before using a blow dryer. When you dry 100% wet hair, you boil the water inside the shaft and get a condition known as bubble shaft which causes weakened, damaged hair that's more likely to break when combed.

4. Take advantage of your blow dryer's cold shot when possible. Although it won't dry your hair as fast as the hotter temperatures will, it will still dry it and decrease the amount of damage on your hair.

5. Consider bonnet or hood drying rather than blow drying: Bonnet/hood drying diffuses the heat over a large area of your hair rather than concentrating high heat on a specific area. If your hair is really sensitive to high heat (especially if you have relaxed hair that is easily prone to breakage), you may want to opt for using rollers and a bonnet or a hood dryer as opposed to blow drying your hair.

Written By: Ericalynn Cotton