Heat Damage Round 2... Fight!

I received an email asking if there is anyway to deal with heat damaged pieces, being a victim myself I had no clue. So I told her that I would research the options that we have.

* hot oil treatments
* deep condition regularly
* use products w/ Humectants (holds and attracts moisture)
* make sure the conditioners are high in moisture retaining abilities
* eat more protein (fruits, vegetables, chicken, fish and nuts)
* protect ends from outside elements and clothing ( updo)
* use a leave in conditioner

However a lot of the articles I read on heat damamge made it very clear that it truly depends on how severe the hair damage is. If you have severely heat damaged hair it is not reversable and you will essentially have to cut the heat damaged pieces off in order to achieve the curls you want. If you do not want to cut your hair (like me) then wear updos or protective styles that is not to strenuous on your hair until you achieve the length you want.

Much Love,
Bri

   

Hair

Heat Damage the Hidden Enemy

By: Bri Rose

In so many finer hair textures heat damage can go unnoticed. For example I never thought that heat damage was possible for my hair texture. I never imagined that heat only being used once a week and no other time could alter my entire hair structure, but nevertheless it did. How does heat damage go unnoticed you ask? In my case I kept my hair flat ironed, the only time I saw the natural state of my hair was on wash day because I never blow dried my hair. However I did notice that my hair when flat ironed became very, VERY thin. So thin to the point where it was super unattractive to myself. What made it even worse is the fact that I absolutely hate when my hair is extremely thin, I love full hair, thin is not for me. Especially since my actual head shape is extremely odd to me. Having this realization, made me focus on the health of my hair and question myself, “why am I flat ironing my hair once a week?”. Not being able to produce an answer caused me to go fully natural. I was under the assumption that since I never had a perm that my hair was automatically healthy. I did everything (deep conditioning, co-washing) but I still experienced heat damage. The only way to combat heat damage and regain my natural hair pattern which I believe is a 3c is to cut out the heat which I did starting in January of 2011. Now the question arises if I should cut out the heat damage and start fresh or let it grow out and cut out heat damage along the way. Hhhhmmmm???? We will see….