How awful do you think heat styling once per week is??

**spidermom** · November 14th, 2010, 09:07 AM

Flat-ironing once in awhile with protective spray damaged my hair big time. But that's MY hair. I have no idea how your hair will do. Good luck!

**lapushka** · November 14th, 2010, 09:59 AM

I think you should be fine. As UltraBella said, watch those ends for signs of damage.

Those triple barrel irons are *awesome* (*so* putting that on my wish list).

I used to crimp my hair a lot when I was 15/16. Oh boy, steam came out of my crimper all the time, it was so hot! I used to use it twice a week. Never saw any damage in my hair.

**Lianna** · November 14th, 2010, 11:47 AM

LHC was a place I use to come happily to read, hours a day, even though I don't post much. People are more understanding of the non conventional practices in here, they show more support to someone who does WO, than someone that washes everyday with SLS.

If someone is here for a while, they know SLS is potencial damage, and if they still choose to do it, they're probaly fine, just an example, same goes for dye, heat or whatever. But they read over and over how bad it is for hair in general, and that makes them feel bad, even though they're fine.

Sometimes some weird threads go on too, where I see most of the ladies kinda make fun of short hair, how is unfeminine (by often saying how feminine long hair is), how much older (in general) makes women look. This kind of thread often starts with women over 30/40 and long hair.

I try to stay within the K.N.I.T., so please don't think I'm not following this rule, because I think some people in LHC needs to start thinking there's ALL kinds of people here, and some are being hurt by their words. I just wan't LHC to be a better place, and never again feel like I wanna quit this place, like it has happen a few times before. I have and still learn so much in here.

I don't often say this but english isn't my first language, and I usually don't have problems with that but some things I've said might come off wrong or rude (which I don't mean), so please take this into consideration. I was just trying to make an informative post and support the OP with her conventional choice, my reasons I already posted.

**Fractalsofhair** · November 14th, 2010, 12:36 PM

Lianna, I totally get what you mean about the long hair being more feminine! Excuse me, but I have many guy friends with long hair, and they look VERY manly! I grow my hair long because it looks best on me, and I honestly get mistaken for a dude more often with long hair than with a pixie, as with a pixie, people generally look twice to be sure, but with long hair, if I'm wearing a baggy teeshirt and no makeup, they presume. xD

But, I think a lot of women might need to vent after feeling the societal pressure to cut their hair short after a certain age, and might be a little stressed. I know I find it helpful to vent occasionally here when people are pressuring me to flat iron my hair, since there are people here who think flat ironing isn't needed to look nice, and isn't the best thing for my hair.

**alwayssmiling** · November 14th, 2010, 12:41 PM

Well if we did everything perfectly then we would never heat our hair, dye it, manipulate it, or even touch it. But life isn't like that for many of us. I dropped the heat for a good few months (and yes my hair felt much, much healthier for it) but my hair was badly damaged and needed a break. I'm now missing having styled hair so I'm restricting myself to heat straightening for nights out or special occassions. Sometimes that can be once a week. I use treseme heat protector and deep condition it first - then when I next wash I use some oil to give it a treat. I haven't noticed any new damage at all from this but I guess time will tell. Its growing pretty good at the moment and I haven't had any signs of breakage (like white dots or bits on my top). I don't ever use a hairdryer because it makes my hair wild and frizzy and I CO wash with occassional sls free shampoo, and sometimes a sls clarifying shampoo, I also henna instead of dying. So I'm not doing lots and lots of damaging things, which I think is why I can now heat style in moderation.

OP - what you are doing sounds fine to me considering you only wash your hair once a week. Keep an eye out for white dots, frizzy ends, splits and bent ends and you should be fine. Keep checking your hair in good sunlight for damage - you'll soon know how fragile/strong your hair is. Good luck

**Mutinous** · November 14th, 2010, 12:55 PM

On my hair? It's fine but I have thick hair, both in quantity and quality so it's more resistant to damage. Experiment, try once a week for two months, and monitor the damage, if there is no significant damage it should be okay. Try to use a heat protector on your hair as well.

Plus, if you stretch out your washes the effects of flat ironing should last. I wash mine about once every five days and if I straighten a day after I wash it stays mostly straight until my next wash.

My only other advice would be to not straighten your hair on the same day you washed. Even if you think it is dry their may be extra moisture lingering around, and straighteners on even slightly damp hair is damaging in my experience.

**jenjen10** · November 21st, 2010, 12:35 PM

Originally Posted by Mutinous

My only other advice would be to not straighten your hair on the same day you washed. Even if you think it is dry their may be extra moisture lingering around, and straighteners on even slightly damp hair is damaging in my experience.

I never thought of this... and have to admit I usually wash the day I use heat. What you say makes sense though and I will pay more attention to my timing in the future. Thanks for the input!

**Sunsailing** · November 21st, 2010, 06:18 PM

There are things to minimize potential damage, like by not using the highest heat setting. I began using a large curling iron to make my ends look good back when I first began growing. And it's something that I've just continued to do.

Not all heat appliances are created equal regarding potential damage. A curling iron is not touching all of the hair equally. But a straightening iron is getting the hair from two sides.
Always make sure your hair is dry (including any products you put on it) before using heat.

Just keep a look out for damage, and adjust accordingly. Every person's hair is different, thus reacts to heat differently.