A lot of women may not be aware that heat in excess has
harmful effects on hair, more so for women who are of African heritage. You’re
probably curious as to how and why, but I’ll break it down for you.
Before I get to the damaging effects, I’ll list a few
examples in which artificial heat may be incorporated into your daily or
weekly routine. ( I say artificial because this is not heat produced by our own
bodies)
* Stay tuned for posts
on The Greenhouse Effect in which natural body heat is produced.*
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You’re seated in the hair salon and your hair is freshly washed and ready to
dry, your hair dresser immediately grabs the blow drier and dries away until
your hair is back to being straight.
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She/he may go ahead and flat iron your
hair depending on how straight you may want it.
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You may opt for a roller set instead, so you sit under the hooded drier for a
set amount of time until your hair is completely dry.
This brings us to the damaging effects of regular use of
heat:
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Dehydrates your hair. The heat you
apply to your hair especially direct heat
( see Definition ) has the ability to cause evaporation of moisture from the
hair. And lack of moisture = breakage. Hair that is already poorly moisturized
suffers way more damage than hair that is very well moisturized.
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Dry, dull hair. As I mentioned in
the above point, the evaporation of moisture leaves the hair dry. It is this
dryness that leads to breakage.
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Split ends. Our scalp naturally
produces sebum. Sebum is an essential natural oil. Its job to keep our hair
moisturized, however because our natural hair is of a kinky, curly, coily
nature, it is a little difficult for this oil to travel to the ends of our hair
because of the curves our hair strands possess. So the ends of our hair are at
a potential danger.
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Denatured protein bonds. ( For the Chemistry lovers out there, myself
included, this point is easily understood.) About 80% of our hair consists
of protein bonds. What heat does is, it damages the protein structure in order
for the hair to take on a certain shape.
The above effects are likely repaired by:
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Dehydrated hair will require moisture. Moisturize your hair using natural
moisturizing oils e. g coconut oil (my favorite). Purchase conditioners and
deep conditioners that have the ability to add and retain moisture.
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Trim or cut off the damaged ends.
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Use of protein treatments that come in the form of a deep conditioner. They add
strength by reinforcing hair strands.
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Use of a heat protecting lotion or serum prior using heat on your hair.
*Stay tuned for upcoming posts on
deep conditioners*
My recommendation regarding use of heat
I would recommend using direct
heat at least once a month. In direct
heat is not as damaging as direct
heat, however it should be used in moderation. The most common alternative is allowing your
hair to air dry. In my opinion, it’s the best and safest way.
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