A common myth that circulates most hair advice pages and sites is that heat is one of the worst things for your hair. However, granted your hair is healthy, hot tools can actually have a beneficial effect if not used every day. We are going to dive into how heat and your hair interact as well as a few of our favorite heat protection products.
Hair care before heat
Before we can apply heat to our hair, it is very important the strands are healthy enough to handle it. If you have recently had an intense color processing be sure to check with your hairdresser about how soon you may use heat. We highly recommend continually nourishing and hydrating your hair, especially post color service. Our staple J Beverly Hills Blue
Everyday Shampoo and Conditioner are a great duo to aid in your hair's overall health.
How hot can you get?
On almost all hot tools: curling irons, crimpers, flat irons, blow dryers etc, there are dials or buttons to adjust the temperature. It is also possible you might only find high and low settings, we recommend you always use these on low. If you are able to choose your temperature, some allow you to crank the heat all the way up to 450 degrees F, please don’t do this. Your hair will not thank you and the added heat actually does not increase your hair's ability to hold the desired shape or style. Depending on your hair type, how coarse or fine it is as well as overall strength we recommend using heat between 175 and 350 degrees F. Our hair is made up of a few things, one of them is keratin bonds. These bonds are what restructure themselves under heat and allow your hair to smooth flat or curl. Let's take a look at an example of this action on the most permanent level, keratin treatments.
Keratin treatments
What is really happening to your hair? In its natural state, the keratin strands in our hair are labeled as alpha keratin. When heated past 300 degrees F the keratin physically changes from alpha keratin to beta keratin. B keratin is weaker and the bonds in your hair are changed at the molecular level and are not reversible. This is what is happening when you receive a keratin treatment. A solution is applied penetrating the cutitul both to minimize damage as well aid fill what is lost in the smoothing process. Using the flat iron section by section you can see your hair strands changing bit by bit. Becoming smoother and with less volume, keratin treatments seal down your cuticle and the solution provides strength for the weakened strand. If you enjoy these services we recommend you do them at most twice a year. The more heat you put on your hair the weaker it gets, this leads us into how often heat styling should be in your hair bag of tricks.
Frequency
We here at Pro Salon Concepts recommend that you heat style your hair a maximum of 3 times a week. While using a blowdryer is considered heat styling, granted you keep the temperature down enough we will let it slide. Consider using an iron of sorts less than three times a week and at the appropriate heat to minimize the damage done to your strands. Our 5 in 1 styling product is our favorite not only because it provides heat protection but also shine, moisture, strength, and reduction of frizz!
Heat and your hair do not have to be enemies. With the proper care, usage, and protection you can still style using hot tools and not feel guilty about it.
Visit us today to grab some great products for hair health and happiness.