by
Chinwe
By Chinwe (pictured above) of Hair and Health
When I first went natural years ago, I did not foresee myself using heat regularly, if at all. However, with more and more length came a few changes to my regimen … and a big change in my mindset. While heat was “the enemy” in the earlier part of my natural hair journey, it gradually became a friend (though with caution) starting almost two years ago. It began as a way to experiment with more styling options but eventually served a dual role of facilitating length retention once I started seeing results.
While heat usage is NOT for every natural, I do share this list for those who are considering using it for length retention. The following are four ways I use moderate heat to retain length:
1. To make detangling easier and faster
Prior to incorporating heat into my regimen, detangling would take a maximum of two hours of standing in front of the mirror. With a wide-tooth comb and patience, I would start in the back of my conditioner-soaked hair. However, fatigue and impatience would set in as I gradually made my way to the crown and front area. This process eventually led to breakage of my crown and front strands over time, but incorporating heat into my regimen changed that. Now I detangle on previously straightened hair in under thirty minutes and with less breakage.
2. To decrease knots and tangles in loose styles
Single-strand knots (SSKs) and tangles become prevalent when I choose to wear my hair loose for more than a couple of days. Even if my hair has been stretched via twists or braids, shrinkage quickly sets in allowing for these SSKs and tangles to form. Since incorporating heat into my regimen, I can wear my hair loose (i.e., twist-out, braid-out, or straight) without the worry of knots and tangles forming on my ends.
3. To take a break from protective styling
If you know me, then you know I LOVE wearing twists regularly, but sometimes my edges need a break, and sometimes I do. Twist-outs and braid-outs used to be my favorite options for a break, but as I mentioned above, SSKs and tangles can become problem. When my hair was shorter, I used to be able to wear such styles for a week without any issues. However, as my hair has grown, I can only wear them for a couple of days before knots and tangles take form. Using heat to straighten my hair before twisting for a twist-out keeps knots at bay and allows me to take a 2- to 3-week break from protective styling.
4. To reduce breakage while styling
Heat and breakage are two words that may sound like they belong to the same family, but when used appropriately AND moderately, heat actually reduces breakage for me. My hair is very kinky and thick in its natural state, and styling it at this length can be difficult sometimes. A little mechanical breakage is almost inevitable, especially if I am on a time crunch. Heat usage, on the other hand, makes styling easier in that the bulk in my hair is minimized and my kinks are temporarily stretched.
Ladies, do you use heat? Has it helped you in any way?
104 Responses
This has become my reality. It has been almost 13 months since I shaved my head. Since then, I have been living the easy life of an afro. I had a simple daily routine, and surprisingly my hair didn’t become a giant knot without protective styling. I love my thick hair and my afro. But now my hair is getting too long for the fro. I am getting nasty tangles and the single strand knots never cease. My hair has an extremely high shrinkage rate and it loves to tangle. I’m at the point where I am constantly cutting out tangles and losing length unevenly.
I have no styling skills whatsoever. I would love to just braid or cornrow my hair all the time. However, I don’t have the time (university student) to try and fail. My hair is so thick and takes so long to get though, even for others. I also don’t trust other people in my head, but that’s another story…
I tried blow-drying for the first time a little over a week ago and this is something that might stick. It stretches out my hair, which is what I really need, and the stretch lasts a long time. I’m not aiming for bone straight. This aids me in minimising knots and tangles while enabling me to do suuuper easy styles like buns and puffs. I will be monitoring my hair to see if I retain healthy length again.
Considering that I’m commenting on a post that is 2.5 years old, I believe that heat is less demonised now. When I first went natural (over 4 years ago), I thought I would never use any heat. Now I am seeing that I can use indirect heat if I stay smart and realistic.
I hope this helps anyone who might be in my situation. I love experimenting to see what works and what doesn’t, and learning about my natural hair is an ongoing process. Be warned that this might not work with fine hair. My individual hairs are thick, and I have a lot of them, so they can take this. If you know that heat won’t work for you, then then stay away. Enjoy your hair. 🙂
I”ve just started trying this out on my hair. I will have to perfect the prep leading up to the heat sessions and play around with lower temps because it seemed to really dry my ends out. I didn’t like that at all. I blowdryed on low heat and then I flat ironed on 375.. Next time I will prep longer leading into the heat session and use less heat. I do want the loosening/less tangling benefit but I don’t want to end up with dry hair… How do you keep your hair moisturized while its straight?
Try skipping the blow dry and just air dry in twist or braids then flat iron. My hair retains much more moisture this way. I flat iron once a month and while it is straight I use a tiny amount of a moisturizing cream and grape seed oil until wash day.
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Did you go to university? %anchor% I love how towards the end when shes bouncing on top with her ass facing the camera you can see her pretty little butthole. I would stick my finger in that or my tounge
YUCK! YOUR CREEPY AND PERVY .THIS IS A website for hair. whats wong with you?ou need to get a life
Great post! Just throwing this out there: If you’d like the benefits of heat stated here, but without the actual use of heat, you can try curlformers. I haven’t actually tried them yet, but I do plan on buying them soon. People seem to be getting good results with them and I’m going to see if I can retain more length with them. Personally, I’d like to continue to stay away from heat but my natural hair, even when stretched with braids, still tends to tangle and break from mechanical damage. I’m excited to see if stretching with curlformers will help!
I use Curlformers all of the time! Every since I saw Naptural85 use them, I have been addicted! Curlformers make my hair look like I actually put heat in it! I bought the Curlformers from eBay. They were from China and cheaper than going to Sally’s. Ppl may say that they’re not the real ones, but everything in made in China anyway, so how could those be any different from Curlformers brand? They work great in my hair!
No heat here. Fine strands. I also discovered that for my hair, even when I straighten my hair without heat there’s more breakage than I would like. There’s something about the individual strands curling around each other that’s “protective”
I’m actually writing a post about for this coming Monday. If you use the hair typing system, I’m a combo 3c/3b and have noticed that when my hair is in it’s naturally state, it almost never breaks vs. when it’s in a straightened state.
You only live once, straightening your hair is not the end of the world but an option of styling you can have.You could always use african threading to get a blow dried effect and or use curl formers to stretch hair before straightenng. I have made peace with it and do not feel bad when I straighten n love my kinky curly hair wen it’s curly too. #bestofboth
I’ve used African threading since I was a baby and the results are amazing. It stretches hair,while giving it the blow dried effect.recommend it for anyone
I want to try the threading technique on my own hair. ive watched several videos time and time again.
Everyone has different hair. I use heat from time to time maybe once a month or every other two months and never experience breakage or damage, but I use other hair stretching techniques. I keep my hair stretch ALL the time. I get knots and tangles like CRAZY that requires me to clip my hair off and I don’t reatain that much length. I can’t do Wash N Go’s and wet Twist Outs and Braid Outs because it shrinks and that causes my knots and tangles. This article is great.
Everyone needs to calm down! It’s JUST an article! If this makes you that mad, DON’T READ IT! There is a “X” in the corner. Click it. Goodbye. I know my hair type and sometimes heat works for me and sometimes it doesn’t! People need to get over themselves! There shouldn’t be any complaints or fights about heat. If it works, fine, if it doesn’t, don’t use it. Simple as 1,2,3…
I totally agree with you. Maybe I’m a terrible person, but when I saw this post, I pulled out my imaginary popcorn and settled down to watch the show. Heat usage on natural hair is always a controversial topic due to the implication of “colonial” mindsets and the debate over what actually constitutes “natural. I knew people would be all down each other’s throats; that’s what humanity tends to do when there’s a passionate disagreement in progress.
completely agree. whats even funnier is that many who argue that people who straighten their hair have colonial mindsets are the same ones who do everything but straighten to still alter their textures – henna to losen, twist outs/ braid outs to losen and give more of a wavy look, and so on… its crazy
Right! I noticed that whenever the topic of heat comes up some people put on their crazy hats…lol. It isn’t that serious. All natural hair is not created equal what may works for you might not work for another fellow natural. Your natural hair journey is just that YOUR natural hair journey, nobody is trying to twist people arms and make them use heat or promoting heat use for all. But the fact is heat (done responsibility) is a great method/tool used for SOME naturals while other naturals have to stay away from heat all together. Different strokes for different folks, I am so sick and tired of the mentality some people employ that in order to be considered natural you have to do x,y and z, use a, b, c products or only do this method and stay away from this one as mention there is more than one way to skin a cat.
This is the truth I have 4c hair and I just recently discovered this and I’m happy someone confirmed it for me. Styling my hair stretched without heat takes forever and ends up matted in two days. Thanks for the confirmation!
Crysterical!!! LOL. I love this word and will have to use.
Dumb as article
So bc you don’t agree w it it’s dumb?? Grow up smh everyone’s hair is different. Just bc it doesn’t work for you doesn’t mean it doesn’t work for others. Get a grip
Funny naptural85 doesn’t use heat….
And…?
Naptural85 has different hair. Every head of hair is different and you can’t use her hair to judge another woman’s hair
Longhairdontcare2011 used heat for the majority of her journey and her hair is almost waist length… Different strokes for different folks. No one “owns the definition of natural.” That’s what’s wrong with this whole “movemen”! Instead of us embracing each other and accepting each othere and how we chose to wear our own “natural” hair – we constantly criticize each other. That’s one of the reasons Solange resigned from the Carol’s daughter partnership. She just wanted to wear her hair “her own way” and so called naturals (especially) on this site, constantly criticized her hair for not being defined, looking dry, uneven, etc. The way some of the women on this site criticize others – it makes you think it’s an episode of Atlanta housewives… crazy!
She’s one human being, not the God of natural hair. There are others with hair as long as hers who do use heat. So what is your point? Alicia James started tension blow drying after about 2 years into her hair journey and that’s when she really started retaining length. Others, like myself, have similar stories.
I’m just glad to see people exploring what’s right for their hair and breaking out of these natural hair “rules” from on high! There are just things that are certain we can all agree on. Yes, if you are using heat on your hair every single day, it will be a detriment to maintaining length. We all know that. It’s why so many of us had short hair back when we relaxed, being that we didn’t understand that using flat iron and curling irons everyday before school/work was not good for our hair. Now we know that. But using heat at a decent temperature every two weeks? Every month? That’s not going to harm most natural hair. And I think it’s good that more and more natural haired women are realizing this and are now reaping the benefits of responsible moderate heat styling.
People need to stop being so dogmatic and obsessed with natural hair “rules”.
Back in September 2012 I decided to start using heat again to minimize tangles when I did my bi-monthly mini-twists. When I first started using heat in 2010, I had minimal issues with heat and didn’t see a ton of breakage/SSKs. Then I decided to dry my hair with a soft-bonnet dryer or to air-dry in 2011. Let’s just say that didn’t work. I decided to add grapeseed oil to my Kimmaytube leave-in as a heat protectant and use medium high heat to blow dry my hair semi-straight. My hair is still super coily, breakage is minimal, although I do get a SSKs and split ends. But those come with having super coily hair. I only blow dry 1-3x/month and my hair seems just fine. I think making sure you properly moisturize/strengthen your hair during the washing and deep-conditioning process and after will ensure your hair is adequately moisturized and strong to handle the heat. Great article Chinwe!
I agree with aa22121 I’m also new to the site and really like it, It’s almost a one-stop shop. It’s great to have a discussion with everyone’s opinions even if we don’t agree. I think we should not be outraged at what someone does if it does not fit in with what we understand as the norm. Heat can damage hair, we know this but with some things I feel you can harness them to help you. It must be done in the right way though. I have often looked at Longhairdontcare2011 and have been amazed how she grew her hair so long using blow drying along with lots of hair care methods, her hair has grown a phenomenal length in my eyes and now she is laying off the blow dryer and still has her long hair. She harnessed the blow dryer to manage the tangles and retain length, this is something that intrigues me and I am going to try it, initially, to see if it really does help the detangling I am actually going to use it before I detangle when I take out my twists as I used to use it after. Using it before detangling I think might help me as all I do is lose my new growth through breakage I can only experiment and see. If it works I will stick with it for a little while and then move on to using no heat stretching methods, because I ultimately just want the stretched effect on the strands to keep them from tangling. In the long run you want something that you can do for a long time without too much damage if any.
SSK are a part of being natural. I get the authors point of view because sometimes the knots and tangles can get on my last nerves, but I knew this when I signed up to wear my hair naturally. Bottom line ladies is this: you should have a healthy fear of heat when it comes to our hair espically if desire longer hair. Adding to heat to your regemine every now and then is your business and you don’t have to justify it to no one but yourself okay, just keep an eye on things. Watch for signs of damage. Don’t get so caught up in having hair that a comb can glide thru or hair that hangs and shows off the progress you have made. Neither is the nature of our hair. Especially longer natural(nappy) hair. I wouldn’t say that naturals should shun heat all togther but be careful about adding it on a regular basis to your routine. As a former “presser” I can tell you that literally smells trouble.
My hair has recently gotten longer and I just started using heat this past year because of SSK. They were just causing too many tangles and breakage. I had to cut out knots with scissors every time I wanted to detangle after wearing it down. To me it’s not worth it to keep my hair in twists or braids or buns all the time, so I blow dry and flat iron it every month or two weeks. Now I can wear it “out”. I have been noticing split ends that I didn’t have before so that’s a problem, but I don’t get as many SSK. In fact, hardly any. It seems like you either have to suffer with one or the other…or maybe the solution is just to get more frequent trims? I dunno, I just decided to share my experience.
[img]https://bglh-marketplace.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/528934_407778939309812_1019058365_n.jpg[/img]
OMG! You look like Rae Dawn Chong! Has anyone ever told you that?
Different strokes for different folks. I’m not a fan of heat, I used to be last year, but since I’ve colored my hair it causes me more breakage so I stay away from it as much as possible.
I’m new to this site, but I don’t understand why people give “thumbs down” to others’ comments. Most of the comments I’ve read are very courteous and not at all rude. But if people voice concerns, they are treated as if they’ve done something wrong. I think if people have legitimate questions/concerns about methods described in an article, they should be able to voice these without getting a thumbs down. It is not always negative to express a contrary view. People come on here for a forum and to have discussions, and discussions can’t be one-sided. We can all be positive and encouraging, but real at the same time.
That being said, I thought this article was very thought-provoking and interesting. I would have never thought of using heat in this way, but it sounds great.
You’ll live and so will everyone who got thumbs down. More people just happened to disagree than agree with those comments and there is NOTHING wrong with making that known. If you comment on something on the internet or anywhere else, you put your words out there to be scrutinized. Stop with the negativity talk. It’s simply disagreement and that’s ok.
Great article!!! I use heat by blowdrying my hair semi straight every 2 months and it definately helps me when it comes to detangling, washing and deep conditioning plus it saves me on time. It has also helped me reduce breakage because when my hair would shrink when water touched it it made it almost impossible to finger detangle and SSK`S would take over!!!but now with what I do Ive notice less breakage tremendously!!! It may not be for everyone but if it works for you then hey!! why not.
[img]https://bglh-marketplace.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/myprettyblowdried.jpg[/img]
BTW, I’m not advocating that people relax their hair. I’m just saying if your priority is length, I’m not sure flat ironing is the best option for long term. For some the heat is worse than a relaxer.
I was thinking about this same thing the other day. I have parts of my hair that flat iron straight with no problem and other parts that revert back after a few hours to a tangled shrunken clump, and the tangling and breakage in that area was fierce. I was afraid to increase the heat setting in that area.
BUT arguably, isn’t it better to just relax? I mean when my hair got near APL that’s what I did. I know the chemicals aren’t desirable but imo at least my texture STAYS loose. And my hair split alot from flat ironing even though I only did it once a month or so. I couldn’t wear my kinky hair fully out anyway (tangles).
to me, just do your research. if the chemicals are not harmful to your hair and overall health in your opinion after you do your research, wear your relaxer. this is black girl long hair, not black girl long unrelaxed hair. please, just stay on revlon, tcb, etc and make sure they provide QUALITY products for black women. and adopt practices that counteract the harmful effects of the chemicals, ie condition well, eat right, take hair vitamins, etc, just like the women who use heat (which from what i have read, damages the cuticle) are doing. straight hair is straight hair. if its what you like, be confident and wear it proudly. smh at the hypocrites.
Like she said heat isn’t for everyone. I personally use heat semi-regularly and have had zero problems with breakage and heat damage. I made the mistake of condemning the use of heat when I first went natural, but now I could care less. It doesn’t harm my hair so I’m fine. Just because it doesn’t work for you, don’t condemn it.
This article should have been called “4 reasons to use heat”, not “4 ways to use heat” because there was nothing in here about HOW she uses heat. I’m left wondering does she blow dry, flat iron, use a heat cap? What? I came here thinking she was going to share some safe methods of using heat to retain length. I guess she feels the need to defend her use of heat and this is her list of arguments. Personally, I think if it works for you, do it. But this article needs a title change.
Hi Adriene. I think the title comes down to a matter of opinion because for me, these are “4 ways I use heat to retain length”. I use heat specifically to take breaks between protective styling, to make the detangling process easier, to reduce knots and tangles, and to reduce breakage while styling. Someone can look at the same list as “reasons to use heat”, but that was not the point I was trying to get across, hence the title.
To answer your question, I do a light flat iron (under 350 F) an average of 4-6 times a year. I use a heat protectant each time and the fro shot above shows that my pattern is still preserved after two years. (The bone-straightness in the pics above were done with 360 F and is more from the technique than the heat.) The rest of the time, I wear twists without heat usage. The article above also mentions that because my hair is stretched via heat, I can detangle on dry hair and can twist/braid my hair for tangle/knot-free twist-outs/braid-outs.
Also, check out this article I wrote for how to use heat with minimal heat damage: https://bglh-marketplace.com/2012/12/7-steps-to-minimize-damage-when-using-heat/
I hope this helps!
You can use heat without getting heat damage. There’s more than one way to skin a cat…..damn nappy natzi’s at it again.
This sums it up! I used to be so anti-heat until I realized what you stated.
I didn’t put heat on my hair for my first 2 years with natural hair. I said “to hell with all these rules” and started experimenting. I have a huge fine, low porous, and dense hair. Blow drying has changed my life. I use the tension method and it’s allowed me to wear twist outs that don’t tangle.
I’ve heard about flat ironing the hair as a sealing method. I believe it, it helps lay the cuticle down. So perhaps that is another way it is helping to retain length and making her hair more manageable, by locking in moisture.
I retained more length when I pressed and when I used to lightly blowdry before twisting too. I started to prefer the look of my shrunken fro and stopped blow-drying, but the SSKs took over. Detangling is no big deal for my fine thin hair, but constant manipulation wreaks havoc on my ends. Stretched hair means less frequent re-styling and less knots. So I get it. Comes down to what more important for me: avoiding straight heat damaged/trained hair or length retention
if she does lots of different things to retain length, ie protective style, eat right, good conditioner, finger detangling, how does she know that it is heat that helps retain length? it could be that all of the other things she does help retain length (ie help her decrease manipulation, decrease tangles) and heat just helps her to have pretty straight styles. i dont use heat ever, but would love more length not so much for straight long hair styles, but for thicker fluffier rounder hairstyles. will heat help me? maybe its the henna (go to her blog) that makes her hair grow. how does anyone know of any one thing that he or she does to make hair grow if she or he is doing lots of different things to make hair grow?
It does make sense that straighter hair will have less friction and SSK. I think if you are natural and want to retain length you’re better off staying away from loose styles and washing hair in twists. Heat/blow-outs are a great idea (once in a while) but if your intent is retention over time it will weaken/split/dry out your hair. Especially since this styling process itself puts some stress on your strands. But this is from personal experience…to each their own.
isnt her hair growing regardless?
Sounds like heat training to me
lol…i have the same questions in my mind when i read these kinds of articles. i understand it if she uses heat because she likes the straight styles. her straight hair pretty. but does heat really help retention and growth? if so, how? does heat stimulate circulation to the follicles? does heat encourage absorption of nutrients along the hair shaft? without thorough discussion and specific answers. makes me think she works part time for the blow dryer/flat iron industry.
She said it helps retain length by decreasing breakage (easier detangling & styling) and knots and tangles. Makes sense to me.
Exactly it help with me bc my hair is fragile, and constantly pulling and tugging and having to detangle every other day etc caused breakage. With a straight style I can run my fingers through my hair to style. Problem solved. Not saying it works for everyone but for those who have that issue definitely can benefit from it
I agree. It helps to retain (as in not having to constantly clip ends because of ssk’s). Blow drying has been quite helpful in reduction of breakage, especially as my hair gotten longer.
Did you read the article at all?
She wasn’t saying she just likes “straight”, “pretty” styles. She gaves reasons for how she feels using heat reduces knots and tangles that damage hair.
ummm maybe you need to reread my reply. i asked a question after reading and interpreting the things she said and looking at the pictures she posted. i did not say she said anything about liking certain styles, although i did infer from the picture of the straight pressed style that she posted, that she is a fan of that particular style. and, my question is still the same. now that she has responded to some of the posts, and clarified some of the information that she provided, i understand she only uses heat a few times a year. she used to be anti heat as a matter of fact. so that leads me to believe that her retention is due to her overall healthy hair practices. not heat. she uses heat occasionally to ease tangles. but does that help growth? she may comb through easily immediately after the heat, but if the cuticle is damaged with heat (even slightly) she may lose hair at some point???? unless she does something to counteract the weakness???? ie product, oils, etc. oils, good product strengthen a weak strand and lessen hair loss???? these are my thoughts and questions. you should try it…thinking and questioning are good habits to have.
Heat training is when you use heat to soften your curl pattern by applying direct heat, without protectant. She is talking about flat ironing her hair, in a healthy way, w heat protectant in a way that will help make styling easier but still maintain your curl pattern. Two totally different things.
I just recently came to the conclusion that I needed to straighten my hair to some extent to help in my type 4 hair care regimen. I usually didn’t use heat but every blue moon & each time my ends would be a mess (even with trims every 2-3 mo). A couple of weeks a go I wanted to straighten & curl my hair. Although I had been moisturizing morning & night & wearing pstyles, deep co, my ends still seemed dry & damaged. So I figured I might as well use heat, if my ends are going to be jacked any way. Although I’m not trying to fry my hair for a bone straight look. I straighten it enough so that I can have better moisture retention & an awesomely stretched Fro. So I’ll wash, deep co, braid to air dry & stretch & then straighten on lowest heat setting. My hair feels so soft & so far I’m seeing less shedding & less fairy nots (of course). I just started this, but so far so good. At first I felt I was “punking” out, but after 2.5 years I think I owe it to myself to try something different to get better results. Plus it’s mine ;).
I have 4c/4b hair. I agree that using heat can be a useful tool. I used to straighten my hair using heat. It was so much easier to discern how well each strand was moisturized. It seemed to stay well moisturized and soft all week. I’ve minimized the use of heat because it can be initially time consuming and I was concerned about heat damage. I’m glad to see that some people have had success with using heat long-term.
I’m in transition and almost all the relaxer has been cut out. My shrinkage is so compact that I have to use a little heat to get my hair to let go. I use A LOT of heat protector though so I don’t fry my hair. I know most are against using heat, but I need it so I can get my fingers through it when I braid it or want to do anyhthing else to it where you need to get your hands in there.
I have thick hair that conspires to knot as soon as it gets wet to such a degree that previously dtangled hair knots as if plaited. When I try to blow dry it to prevent this it becomes too brittle and dry, then I try to add moisture to it and it dampens and knots up all over again….by which time I have lost the will to live…frustrating!
What is the heat setting? You may have to lower the heat, so it doesn’t fry your hair. You probably are using it already, but I love detanglers! Find one that works for you and just take your time. When I was first starting to transiton it literally took forever to detangle my hair, it didn’t make any sense, now its easier and one thing that I learned is that I have to really use the detangler.
i feel your pain. id like to share my regime bc i was at the point of tears during wash day too! if my hair even saw water it shrank up, and turned into a thick forest i could barely get my fingers thru.
So to combate the issue i started using a detangling spray for PRE-WASH detangling.
*Id spray my hair with water & then a good dose of detangling spray. Put on a heat cap & watch tv for 20-30m. *My hair is now still thick but softer
*i detangle it in smaller sections (4-6) using a deman brush & wide tooth comb then after its done, it’s time to wash!
*I part my hair in two,clip one side up and wash my hair in 2 sections. **Ive heard ppl do more sections when they have a lot of hair but i dont see how…
**i dont manipulate my hair too roughly during the wash, i scrub the scalp really well but i dont retangle my hair by agitating the length of my hair during the shampoo process. I figure shampoo will run thru and break up the dirt along the length, i dont need to further agitate or tangle my hair.* i actually HOLD the end of my hair and use the other hand to scrub my scalp so my hair is flopping all over the place & getting retangled!
*After the final rinse & then the DC…IF my hair has retanglged a bit, i follow up with a little more detangling spray before i add my final styling products.
Its helped me immensely! Wash day isnt torture anymore.Its still a long process but i can enjoy it now and not be aggravated and stressed! I was ripping out tons of hair bc my hair wouldnt cooperate. I realized i had to HELP it cooperate with the right products!
hope that helps! 🙂
Maybe I missed something, but why do people keep asking about how she uses heat to maintain her styles? She just gave 4 ways and explained them all. When her hair is stretched by heat, she doesn’t suffer SSKs, breakage, protective styles that don’t last, and long detangling hours like she did pre-heat.
The source of your heat is up to you. I don’t think a step-by-step heat regimen is necessary. We all know that frequent uses of heat and high temperatures are a no-no. What is everyone looking for?
She didn’t give 4 ways she gave 4 REASONS for heat styling. The title is misleading.
Very true, but i later decided that the “use of heat” is self-explanatory. how many ways are there to use heat? blow dry, flat iron, hot curler, hot rollers & hooded dryer. I kinda get her perplexed question. I thought the same thing at first as i scrolled down looking for her actual regime but then the more i thought abt it i realized it didnt need further explaining. I just WANTED to see it written down in black n white.
imani,
That’s what I was trying to get at. Whether the heat source is a flat iron or a hair dryer, the point was to make maintenance and styling more practical and beneficial.
Maybe I need some clarification. I thought that reducing breakage and SSKs and making your protective styles last longer are ways to retain length.
I think next winter I will blow dry my hair more. My hair thrives in the summer but I feel like the dryness of the colder weather causes more damage and blow drying it a bit will help. I think I read this on MOPTOP MAVENS site a few years back.
I would love to know HOW to blow dry my hair myself to give it a slightly straightened look. I always thought blow drying was meant to get the hair dry and that’s it but I see now you can use it to somewhat “relax” the curls. I just don’t know how.
Try using the -tension method- it’s pretty easy to do. Browse youtube for how-to videos.
Also take a look at this previous BGLH article, “4 ways to blow dry natural hair”: https://bglh-marketplace.com/2013/02/4-ways-to-blow-dry-natural-hair/
I have to say i agree. I LOVE my curls and Ive put almost no heat in my hair in the last 5 yrs bc i though it was the enemy. BUT now im so excited abt my new regime that includes some heat! I suffer from a lot of SSKs & matting. No matter what i do i get knots and mattes of hair that get on my nerve! So i decided to try something different two weeks ago! I pondered over my options since perms arent even a thought but i needed to tame these sassy curls of mine!
Ive started roller setting my hair& then i flat iron just my ROOTS just to get the super wavy roots to lay down a bit more. I always use a heat protection leave-in and med heat. Direct heat NEVER touches my mid-length or ends and I end up with cute curls that i dont even touch much throughout the week. All i do it pull my hair up in a pineapple every night and in the morning take it down, shake my hair &add a little shine serum! Silicone shine serums have also become my friend and not my curly girl enenmy!as long as there are no alcohols in them!they give me great shine and slip to keep the tangles to a minimum. I get the curly look without the SUPER curly issues bc as denimpixie once said our curls like to love on one another …so they wrap around each other & here comes the knots!
I am immediately noticing the difference in the SSKs! It might get a little tangled but bc most of the length my hair are smooth curls from the roller set, they detangle really easy so im not pulling on matted curls! Im hoping this new technique will allow me to retain length bc my ends are always breaking off or being pulled out when i go through my detaingling process. I feel thats the main reason i cant retain growth.
Its all a learning process so ill see how this goes bc i cant take much more of finding little balls of knots in my hair throughout the week that i usually have to CUT off bc they are soooo knotted up!
I’ve heard many people complain that, although they have long hair, it still shrinks up into an afro and won’t lay down. I think that this could be because of heat damage. The use of heat burns cuticle layers off, making the hair lighter. As a result, there is not enough weight to the hair to make it lay down.
I have to disagree with this comment as it does not appear to make any sense. I think that if you have natural afro hair not past your shoulders, especially type 4, which does not shrink when you wash it, then it is likely that you either have heat damage or you have ‘heat trained’ your hair. Natural afro hair is supposed to shrink.
If you wish to wear your hair straight and want it to ‘lay down’ or ‘hang’ then obviously you will need to use a lot of heat, such as a blow dryer and flat iron, to achieve such a look. There is nothing wrong with this.
I don’t know anything about Black hair.
Uhhh….ok then.
Well why are you here?!
To learn.
The hair doesn’t lay down b/c that is not a characteristic of tightly curled and Afro textured hair. That’s it.
Ok.
i read somewhere that aa hair grows out of the follicle at an angle (90 degrees) which is different than the angle at which other hair types grow from the follicle. so that is why our hair springs out instead of lies down. i never use heat. when my ends do their thing, once wng dries they spiral and coil out every which way. roots wave but do not lie flat. but your comment is interesting. the burning off cuticle layers, thing. i am going to do a little research. thanks for the comment.
That makes sense. That would explain why it has so much volume.
Typically “cheap” blow dryers contain metal or plastic heating elements and distribute heat unevenly. This will ultimately lead to burning your tresses. These elements diffuse positive ions that cause the cuticle layer of the hair shaft to open, causing frizz and brittle appearance. Investing in a quality dryer will mitigate the degree of damage done to your mane.
quick search using “heat burns off cuticle layers” and guess what… somebody out there in internetland agrees with you to some degree, summergirl. again, thanks for your comments. these pictures of long pretty hair are sooooooooo appealing, but can be dangerous for those of us who like our soft (not tight and dry and brittle, ever) fluff. u have convinced me to skip the heat. lol.
Good article but I agree what others have said that details were left out as to how her heat routine is…I think I may try blow drying my hair more often because like the others I had no problems when my hair was shorter but now my hair is surpassing bsl I get soooo many one strand knots but only blowdried my hair like 3 or 4 times a year and flatiron twice a yr so I just may try blowdrying more often because of all of the talk of heat being the enem so I want to see if its better for me
My stylist uses heat to straighten my hair every 6-8 weeks when I go in for a trim. Trimming on my hair only works when it is straight & so long as I get a DC at the same time I never have any damage. It is a great way to do a length check & really see how my ends are doing.
I also use low heat from a blow dryer for my wash & gos. I find I get better volume and curl pattern retention (not to mention I’m not walking around with a wet head all day). As with just about everything, moderation is key with heat (for me).
I’m glad this article was written. I’ve been natural all of my life, but I grew up getting my hair blow dried and once I hit my later middle school years and high school, I started flat ironing my hair. Now that I’m in college, I flat iron my hair once every 3-4 weeks without reapplying heat to my hair within that timeframe, and it works for me. My hair has always thrived in spite of my heat usage. I love my hair in it’s natural state and in the summer time, I choose to wear it that way because only then is it most convenient. However, I’ve realized when I’ve made efforts to wear my hair in its natural state during other times of the year, that’s when I saw the breakage and SSKs and dryness. It wasn’t working for me, and I ended up doing more harm than good to my hair.
I’m not always on natural hair blogs these days, but I know heat was previously (and maybe still is) seen as taboo and the enemy so I hope this article makes people more open-minded to it. It has nothing to do with hating your hair the way it is but rather doing what benefits your hair the most. For some it works, for others it doesn’t.
thank you for this ! however I felt like you lef our details on exactly what you do and how but still thanks I’ve been trying o tell folks his for a while now I don’t advocate heat BUT I understand that it may be needed for some (I’m one of those, I have to either keep my hair ONLY in a few ways or use some form of heat I have like 3 or 4 types of hair and it’s about two inches from waist lengh and it does tangle if you just LOOK at it LOL I detangle a section reach for a clip and it’s tangled again. Do what works for you. I like that you gave Naturals something o think about!
I think this is a great post. I have 4c, medium length hair and have the same problem with detangling and knots.
I thought as my hair grew I could detangle it in larger sections and cut down on time, however the opposite has been true. It takes me an hour and a half to detangle my hair and another hour to style it. And the style barely lasts three days. NO BEUNO!
I would love to learn the details of how this person uses heat on their hair and how regularly. PLEASE DO ANOTHER ARTICLE!
When people say it takes them 2 hrs just to detangle I’m always amazed. Why would it take that long?!
You have to do what works best for you and not follow rules just b/c people keep repeating them. I would’ve liked if you discussed how you use heat to maintain length. Do you mean flat ironing? Just blow drying?
I know. Me too! Lol. I kept reading to see if she would explain how she uses heat to maintain her hair. That’s what we need to know.
Hi. I also do this to my hair. Ir really depends on what you are going for and your hair. For example, right now I flat iron my hair. Because my hair is already stretched and detangled, I can put it in twists, then wash condition, and seal, and allow the twists to air dry. Then I can flat iron to stretch. (not bone straight, just enough to be big and poofy but not bone straight) I repeat every 1 to 2 weeks or so, with NO HEAT in between.
However, if you are just beginning this, it may take longer to detangle BEFORE you wash. When I first started I detangled my shrunken hair, then twisted, then attempted to use the blow dryer. the detangling part to A LOT longer because it was shrunken. It takes less time now. I also notice that for my super thick, low porosity 4b 4c hair, a flat iron on low heat works better than the blow dryer on low/ medium heat. One pass on a section and its done.
I also SWEAR BY a heat protectant spray, it makes a world of difference. I use one By Aussie.
Sorry for the book, Hope this helps.
I am also grateful for this article and comforted that I’m not the only one who finds it easier to handle my hair when applying heat(specifically blowing out). I don’t do it often becuz of the fear of breakage even though I use my heat protectant serum and I blow dry on low heat. But now I have more information and won’t have doubts myself whenever I do it again as long as I continue to take the necessary precautions.
I also think though that everything should be done in moderation so my advice to anyone considering incorporating heat in their regimen is to NOT OVERDO IT.
I’ve been blow drying my hair every 2 weeks and my hair has thrived and I’m finally maintaining length. This is after 2 years of being scared to death of any kind of heat.
I started blow drying my hair 6 weeks ago and loving the results. I make sure to pre-poo and use heat protectant. My hair is less prone to tangles now.
Hi Newbie- What kind of heat protectant are you using? And are you using a specific blow dryer? Also, what is your texture if you don’t mind me asking. Thanks.
ive been on the hunt for a good heat protectant spray. im looking for an alcohol free one and cant seem to find one. i made the mistake of flat ironing my hair with a shine serum that had alcohol (didnt notice it or think abt it at the time) and my hair shedded sooo bad! i realized after that nothing had changed abt my regime except id straightened it and the serum had alcohol. it had to be the culprit! what do you use?
thanks!
Try using grapeseed oil. It is a natural heat protectant.
Thanks. I heard abt this. Ill give it a try!
I think a natural’s relationship with heat depends on the type of hair the person has and how they use it. Thicker hair or low porosity hair is sure to resist more damage than the opposite (very fine strands or high porosity hair). Also, if you’re using over 400 deg. and doing multiple passes every 3 days, of course you’re going to experience damage. Longhairdontcare2011 and aliciajamesmusic on youtube are two others who have fared successful results with heat.
This article is proof that not every natural has to follow “the rules”. Listen to your hair and drown out any extra noise/ advice.
Heat’s only the enemy if it’s used improperly. Unfortunately sometimes people don’t know it was used improperly until it’s too late and that’s why some people take that “Heat is the DEBBIL!” stance.
I haven’t heat-straightened my hair in years and I’ve just accepted SSKs as simply being part of having longer Afro-textured hair BUT everything said here makes sense to me. I know people whose hair knots up at the very mention of the word “loose” and since they’re committed to being natural but aren’t prepared to loc up (yet) incorporating a little heat into their regimen seems to work fine for them.
i’m the same way. I used to use heat on a wkly basis since coming to college up to about 2012, when i discovered natural hair boards and decided to give the natural hair style thing a try. up until that point i’d never really worn my hair curly except for the time following my big chop. but in all of last year i gradually cut off the ends of my hair that had been heat exposed, and came out by the end of the year with about 10 inches or so of pretty healthy, thick natural hair. But by 2013 i said enough was enough. It was nice but not for me. I find heat to be much easier, and now i’ve gone back to my old flat ironing ways, because i find that i prefer my hair straight. With curly hair i think i look like a kid, for one, and two, i never was as gung ho for my curly hair as I was for the styles i could create on straightened hair. Nothing fancy, of course, but simply styles that were much harder to come by on curly hair without producing breakage.
I discovered on my natural hair journey that i couldn’t really wear my hair loose for long without it tangling up to high heaven, and eventually that just wore on me. I struggled with hating my hair all the time, which i’d never really experienced before when i used to use heat religiously. Now that i’m back to flat ironing, i feel so much better toward my hair, because it’s easier for me to put it out of sight and out of mind. And if i wear it loose, it doesn’t tangle or knot. I love that. And it’s such a styling relief, because after the initial straightening it takes no time at all to do anything with it. It’s not for everyone, but it had gotten to the point where for me, i was resolved to either loc my hair, outta sheer frustration, or to relax it, outta overwhelming frustration, OR, go back to using heat. And since i happened to know how to maintain a healthy head of long hair with heat, the way became clear.
i wish people didn’t villify heat so, because i’ve seen plenty of heads of perpetually straight otherwise natural hair that was healthy and MBL plus to know that if done correctly, heat is not foe. And in my own experience, that has been true. The key is moderation, and taking the necessary precautions if, well, necessary, and using quality tools.
I FULLY agree with everything that you said! I have 3c, 4a and 4b hair and it seems as if using heat, makes it easier to maintain my hair. I LOVE to straigthen my hair and from reading blogs and vlogs, I always was told that heat is “The Enemy”. I’m happy you posted this! You helped someone with relief from guilt!