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Heat Appliances and Hair Breakage

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Heat Appliances and Hair Breakage by Kinyetta Hunter

Have you noticed that your hair is coming out in your hair brush or comb more than usual lately?  You may want to start asking yourself whether you have been making some common hair care errors from the “do not do” list that are often the cause for your stressed out mane.  We all do it at some point, mostly due to the time restraints of a busy schedule; we take shortcuts with our hair styling process.   Then before you know it two weeks go by, when you only intended to do it just to get through that first week, and your promise to your hair to deep condition it very well for the next two weeks and stop using heating tools gets shot to hell.  Let’s review some of the reasons that these heating tools are so bad for our hair, in an attempt to get back on track shall we? The intense heat that blow dryers, flat irons, and other hair appliances generate causes:
• Dry ends
• Split ends
• Breakage
• Burned hair, I have done it and seen it, you know when your hair burns off onto the heated appliance right before your eyes.

So now that the damage is done what do you do about it? 

Fortunately there are several good products on the market that can come to the rescue in your time of need, but first and foremost put down that heat appliance!  My second piece of advice is to purchase a good hair care system, complete with a shampoo, conditioner, and daily hair serum or leave in treatment.  One brand in particular that I have used and liked the results is by Ojon.  Ojon’s Damage Reverse Restorative Conditioner and Shampoo left my hair feeling smooth and healthier after the first treatment.  They also have a Damage Reverse Instant Restorative Hair Serum that is worth the money.  You can purchase these on their website www.ojon.com.  I ordered mine from QVC through their auto ship program so that I always had some in stock.

Sephora also carries a lot of Ojon’s products as well. Infusion is a brand in hair care products that has been around for over thirty years and with good reason.  Their quality products now come in several formulas for your hair care needs.  They have a shampoo and conditioner formula called (Moistur)ologie and another called (Repair)ologie.  Alternating between these two formulas on a bi-weekly basis, follow-up by their Repair and Renew Leave In Treatment every week, can do wonders for your hair.  Their products can be found in almost any beauty supply store, pharmacy, or Sally’s Beauty Supply store. Pantene recently came out with a conditioner and shampoo formula for damaged hair as well called Breakage to Strength that is worth giving a try.  I used their line for natural and relaxed hair in the brownish copper color bottle and if this new line is anything as good then it’s well worth a try.

Also consider wearing your hair in protective hairstyles for awhile in order to give your hair a break from the stress caused by heating appliances.  Protective hairstyles are styles that allow your ends to be tucked away by wearing your hair in a bun, braided, or in a roll.  One of my favorite protective hairstyles was to put my hair in a bun using Goody’s stick pins after I put some conditioner on my ends.  No one ever knew I had conditioner in my hair! When I wanted to put even more conditioner on my hair I would buy a pony tail hair piece or a readymade bun from the beauty supply store, put the conditioner on my whole ponytail really well, and style the hair piece over my own hair! The color of the hair piece would match my hair and texture so well that it was virtually undetectable.

Three sites that I commonly used to buy my hair pieces are www.blackhairspray.com, www.hairsisters.com , and www.outre.com.  Also try your local beauty supply store; based on where you live you might also find a wide variety in stock nearby.
Since at some point in time you might find yourself reaching for that blow dryer or flat iron out of desperation due to time restraints make sure that you also reach for a good heat protection serum like Organic Root Stimulator Olive Oil Heat Protection Serum.   A heat protection serum creates a protective barrier against the damage caused by high heat appliances so that your hair isn’t being fried.  If you prefer a spray over a serum you might want to try out Nexxus’ Heat Protexx Heat Protection Styling Spray.  The difference between the serum and the spray is basically that the serums are often silky to the touch with a feel of a thick smooth type of oil and the sprays are more like a water type of texture.  If you have coconut oil in your kitchen cabinet you can grab that as well to do the trick!  Coconut oil has a high heat tolerance and is excellent for the hair for many reasons; being a heat great heat protector ant is just one of benefits of this rich oil. 
You may want to invest in a higher quality blow dryer and ceramic flat iron as well if you’re serious about keeping your hair looking healthy.  There is a difference between an ionic blow dryer and a regular high heat blow dryer that those of you that made the switch can attest to very clearly.  A high heat blow dryer, without an ionic component to it, can leave your hair feeling like straw.  But an ionic blow dryer dries your hair faster using negative and positive ions rather than just heat so your hair isn’t being exposed to just hot drying air.  One of the brands on the market to take note of is by Hot Tools.  Hot Tools Tourmaline Ionic Professional Dryer retails for about $85.00 at www.ulta.com.  Ceramic flat irons have a similar effect on your hair as oppose to heated irons in that it helps to retain the moisture in your hair while styling.  I like Chi Ceramic Flat Iron but there are many brands on the market.

So how many of you are game for a hair care challenge?  The challenge is to wear your hair in a protective hair style for a month, a weekly or daily leave in treatment, and a good shampoo and conditioner regimen.  So who’s game?