Fix it Friday: My Hair is Heat Damaged

What is Heat Damage 
Heat Damage is when you hair fails to return to it's natural curl pattern when wet. This occurs when various elements of the keratin in your hair have melted, they are now permanently straight. These elements melt at temperatures above 235°C. 


I used a heat protectant 

Using a heat protectant even the best one on market will not a guarantee that you will not damage your hair. If you hair is constantly exposed to extremely high temperatures without proper care and treatment you will damage it. 

How do I treat Heat Damage 

Firstly assess how bad the heat damage is, once you have ascertained how bad the damage is follow these steps:

1. Immediately stop using heat on your hair 

2. Introduce or increase protein treatments 

3. Increase moisture to the affected part

4. Regularly trim away the damaged ends 

Unfortunately there is no treatment for heat damage and you will eventually have to cut away all the damaged ends. 

Prevention is KEY

Preventing heat damage is absolutely key. If you are going to use heat on your hair make sure you stay within the "safe" temperature zone. Use a heat protectant before you blow dry and flat iron your hair. A petroleum based product is most definitely not a heat protectant as these will "fry" your hair even further. Minimize your use of heat; blow drying or flat ironing your hair every week is a recipe for disaster. 

Most salons do not know how to blow dry natural hair correctly, they use a fine tooth comb like a tail comb, which pulls at the hair causing breakage. Make sure the salon you choose to do your hair actually knows how to blow dry and flat iron your hair. 

Please share your experiences with heat damage in the comments below? If you have any questions please either email them to info@mzansifro.co.za or comment below. 

If you have found this post helpful please share it with your friends. 

XXX 

Isabel