Will using heat damage your hair/stunt hair growth?

[lilenz]

SO..to make a long story short, I foolishly cut off my beautiful long hair (it was down to my hips) In November...however, the hairdresser made a mistake and ended up cutting it about an inch below my chin..

Needless to say, I lost my mind.

It has grown a few inches since then and now it is about 0.5 inches below by collarbone...I'm looking to grow it out down to my ribs (slightly shorter than it was before).

I used to use heat on my hair all the time, but about a month ago I cut it out of my hair routine all together (the growth rate of my hair has remained the same - it grows about 0.5 inches a month) ...but since my hair looks disgusting without some sort of styling, I've just been wearing it in a bun all day every day for a month (to the point where I have a headache at the end of the day). I've tried blow drying my hair on cool, but I have extremely thick hair and I only have about 45 minutes every morning to get ready and leave....it takes 45 minutes just to dry one side of my head, hahaha.

I wash my hair every 2 - 3 days with an all natural shampoo, I use an ACV rinse every time I wash my hair, I have a wooden brush to prevent static breakage when I brush my hair, and I have a very "hair healthy" diet..I've also started putting a "heat protecting" mask in my hair every night (even though I'm currently not using heat on my hair).

I'm really sick of wearing my hair in a bun all day every day because its the only hair style that actually looks good without heat.. I was wondering if I went back to using a flat iron every 2 - 3 days (on 350 degrees) if it would stunt the growth of my hair/damage it?

Any thoughts? Thanks!

[Adorkable One]

It won't stunt growth. A flat iron doesn't have any affect on your hair's ability to grow unless there's some bizarre instance where you somehow burn yourself and damage your hair follicles. :P You just might find yourself having to trim your hair more often as damage builds up, thus making it appear as if your hair isn't growing.

I don't mind heat styling my hair, I only do it about once a month. Typically after I retouch my roots, because I like getting to enjoy my color. In some ways I feel like having my hair straight is beneficial when wearing my hair down because it doesn't tangle, and the texture is very smooth, hence it reduces friction. However that comes at the cost of heat, and the heat is definitely damaging. Once I wash my hair after having my hair straight all week, I can see new split ends already in my hair. So heat is definitely one of the fastest ways to damage your hair.

[lithostoic]

It did for me. I couldn't grow my hair past APL until jyst recently when I was able to cut off the rest of my heat damage to collarbone length. My ends just kept breaking off and wouldn't allow my hair to get longer.

[Horrorpops]

Hey, so curling wands and straightening irons can and will damage hair. Its just the nature of the beast.

Blow drying on a cooler temperature is better for your hair, and you can limit any damage by heat styling on the lowest temperature possible. But it'll still cause damage.

At collarbone length I did a lot of braids, half-ups and top knots (a or b).

These aren't the most protective styles in the world but they are cute and mean that you can make your hair look good without as much heat styling. The other thing to look into is heatless curls - the results can be a little unpredictable but they last wayyyyy longer than curls made by hot styling. But that would be another nice way to style your hair without damaging it.

Hope this helps!

[teddygirl]

It doesn't stunt growth. Growth comes from your scalp. What happens is that it damages the rest of your hair, and it can break off so it seems like it's never growing. It's growing just fine, you just aren't seeing the length!

Have you tried washing and drying your hair at night? My hair takes a while to dry as well, so this is what I usually do.

[Entangled]

It will damage your hair, but how much depends on your hair. Lots of things damage it, so don't let it scare you off if it helps you keep it manageable. Just keep in mind it should be used in moderation or minimally.

Heat won't stunt your growth. It can, however, stop length gain. Your hair will keep growing from your scalp, but if it's really damaged, it might be tricky to get past BSL because of breakage at a constant or higher rate than your growth.

[Qz]

I'm not sure that it's fact that blow drying damages all hair, although some people certainly feel it damages theirs.

I've blow dried mine when it's been short and now that it's long again, and it doesn't seem to damage it at all. It may be that my hair is just tough or something, but it also looks better when I blow it dry, shinier, more body, etc. than when I air dry it.

The damage I had before cutting it all off and growing it out again fresh was from dyeing the stuff. And I do use my curling iron once in a while also, no damage there either that I can see. I just don't do it every day, or even every week. Mostly for those times I want to dress things up a bit when wearing my hair down.

[Nique1202]

As has been stated above, heat won't stop your hair from growing at the roots but it will cause damage that builds up over time toward the ends, so you may end up getting a lot of split ends, white dots, or breakage to the point that it looks like it's not growing. All curling irons and straighteners will do this, but you can avoid heat damage with a blow-dryer on a low heat setting. Put it this way: if the air coming out of the blow-dryer is comfortable to your skin then it won't damage your hair either, but if it's so hot that it hurts your skin then it's likely to cause damage to your hair too.

As for wearing a bun, I suspect it's giving you a headache because your hair is still too short so you have to make it too tight. What is it about "every other style" that you don't like the look of? Why not ponytails now and then, since they have a little more give than most buns? Or even a half-up ponytail if you don't like hair around your face but can deal with the back being loose? You could also start to play with dutch and french braids at your length, one down the middle or one on either side or as a crown braid. There are styling options open to you, but some of them will take practice to get right.

[Stepo_NiNha]

It doesn't stunt growth. Growth comes from your scalp. What happens is that it damages the rest of your hair, and it can break off so it seems like it's never growing. It's growing just fine, you just aren't seeing the length!

Have you tried washing and drying your hair at night? My hair takes a while to dry as well, so this is what I usually do.

This. What happens to your hair is not the growth that stops (since your hair grows from scalp and the folicles don't know what's happening out of them) but the incapicity of retaining length

This might not happen to everyone though, especially if your hair is coarse and thick. But I would not recommend either.

My recommendation is air drying but...

...I understand that you want your hair to behave. Try to wash your hair at night and blow dry in a cooler setting in the morning even if it means waking up half an hour earlier.

[spidermom]

Another vote for blow-drying rather than the flat iron. Even on the hottest setting, blow dryers don't put out 350 degrees (yikes!).