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Women with textured hair know that heat damage is the number one curl killer. Curly girls need to exercise extreme caution when it comes to heat styling like blow-drying and flat ironing, even if it’s occasional. Heat-styling too often or at too high a temperature can turn shiny, springy and bouncy curls into dry and unmanageable curls with split ends.
Heat styling can leave any hair type brittle and damaged, but curly hair is particularly susceptible to it. When you straighten or blow dry curly hair, the bonds that make it curly, relax. As soon as you wet your straightened hair, it returns to its curly state. But not when your hair is heat damaged. Extreme heat has the potential to break the hair’s bonds the same way that chemical relaxers do, and sadly, once those bonds are broken, they cannot be reformed. This can leave your curls dry and limp and unable to get back to their naturally bouncy shape.
How to prevent heat damage
A good quality thermal or heat protecting spray should be applied to your hair every time before you pick up a styling tool.
It’s best to use a styling tool that allows you to control the temperature, rather than a styling tool that has one heat setting. Set it to the very lowest temperature that will still make it possible for you to achieve your desired style. A healthy blowout on regular heat setting and one pass with the flat iron would limit heat damage
Limit how often you heat style your hair, and if possible, save it for no more than a handful of occasions per year.
How to treat heat damaged hair
Once your hair has been heat damaged, you’ll need to treat it with extra care. The limp pieces (that have broken bonds) are weakened and will be extra susceptible to further damage. That means being very gentle whenever you work with it, more conditioning and regular protein treatments. For some women, it also means wearing your hair in a protective hairstyle while you wait for the damaged pieces to grow out.
Start by giving your hair a break from heat styling to prevent any further damage and focus on a nourishing hair care routine. Regular trims will help remove some of the visible damage and split ends.
Heat damaged hair may have trouble holding moisture, so you need to implement a hydrating hair care regime that’s rich in nourishing ingredients. Cutting back on shampoo comes highly recommended, as shampooing can remove natural oils and moisture from the hair. Try to stretch wash day to every two weeks, only rinsing your hair and scalp under clean running water when it feels like it needs a rinse in between. Cantu Shea Butter Sulfate Free Cleansing Cream Shampoo (R195.00) gently removes build-up from the hair and scalp while moisturising to help prevent breakage and create a healthy environment for hair growth. Once rinsed out, apply Cantu Shea Butter Sulfate Free Hydrating Cream Conditioner (R195.00). Formulated with shea butter to nourish dry, brittle and damaged hair, it helps hair retain more moisture to leave it hydrated and healthier and prevent split ends and breakage.
Always complete wash day with a deep conditioning mask to lock in hydration. Cantu Shea Butter Intensive Repair Masque (R54.99) penetrates deep into the hair shaft for an intense treatment to repair, restore and strengthen dry and damaged hair. It’s the perfect protein treatment to be used once a more than once a month. Cantu Shea Butter Grow Strong Strengthening Treatment (R139,95) strengthens fragile, weak hair to help stop breakage and encourage strong growth. It’s made with pure shea butter to replace vital moisture revealing stronger, healthier hair with a natural shine. Perfect for Pre and Post styling.
You can help restore shine to your curls and give them an extra moisture boost with a leave-in conditioner. Cantu Shea Butter Leave-In Conditioning Repair Cream (R140.00) is a deeply nourishing treatment formulated with 100% pure shea butter and other natural oils to leave dry and damaged hair softer, more manageable and more resilient. It also helps to repair split ends and reduce frizz. When used daily it helps promote stronger hair and mend breakage and damage.
Curls love oil, but their shape makes it difficult for the natural oils produced by the scalp, to reach the end of each strand. While brushing your hair could help move some of that oil downwards, it’s often avoided as it’s known to lead to frizz. The solution? Apply a good quality hair oil like Cantu JBCO Finishing Spray (R149,95). Available at selected Dis-Chem stores, it’s the perfect finishing touch when styling tight curls and coils. Following the L.C.O. regimen (leave-in conditioner, cream, oil), the waterless formula locks in moisture and adds shine while decreasing drying time. Crafted with Jamaican black castor oil and a blend of sweet almond, coconut, and safflower oils,
Prevention is better than cure. Avoid heat damage altogether by limiting how often you heat style, managing the temperature of your styling tool and applying a heat protecting spray. If you find yourself with heat damaged curls, follow a good quality, moisture-rich hair care regime to help restore and hydrate your curls, and at all costs, avoid heat styling for the foreseeable future!