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Amygirl8
October 11th, 2012, 06:55 PM
While taking a shower today, I was thinking of how my mom was going to yell at me to blowdry my hair after I get out (which I won't do, of course).
It got me thinking to the way a blowdryer causes damage, which if I recall correctly was that the heat boiled up the water inside the hair shaft, causing damage (not to mention the whole heat-raising-cuticles thing)

It got me thinking though. If there was a tool like a flat iron or curling iron that instead of releasing heat released "cold", if that would work on hair.
Now, I'm not talking a little cold, I'm talking cold-enough-to-freeze-the-water-in-the-hair-shaft cold. If the water freezes in a set position (i.e in the wrap of a curling iron) would that allow the hair to stay in the position?

I'm not overly familiar with the way the science behind this works, but there's a possibility it could, I think.
There's always the fact that the frozen water can fall apart and/or melt throughout the course of the day, too.

What are the thoughts of LHC on this? Do you think it's doable?
The only other issue would be that since ice is less dense than water and is expanded when frozen, that it could potentially cause breakage as well. I'm not sure.

melusine963
October 12th, 2012, 01:02 AM
Hmm, water does indeed expand when it freezes, so surely this would explode your hairshaft from the inside just as efficiently as heat-styling would? I'm not sure I'd recommend it.

spirals
October 12th, 2012, 01:42 AM
I've been known to go out in winter with wet hair and get to work with literal icicles. After they melt the only explosion I have is frizz. Don't recommend it.

Thinthondiel
October 12th, 2012, 01:52 AM
Well, hair doesn't really freeze "solid" unless it's wet/moist in the first place... at least not in any temperatures my hair has been subjected to. And if there are indeed temperatures where it does, I assume that the expansion of the water in the hair shaft as it turned to ice would be damaging. Or even if it didn't, I think the stiffness of the hair would make it brittle and prone to just... breaking off.

Also, if this were indeed possible, I think that as soon as the water inside the hair shaft melted, the effect would be gone.

Shiranshoku
October 12th, 2012, 03:05 AM
I used to cycle to the bus stop with my soaking wet hair down in winter as a teen, so I can tell you from experience that it will freeze in a certain position, but it will be very stiff like you used too much hairspray. It will also break, and melt as soon as it gets warmer.

Didn't get any frizz, but it wasn't good for it :)

Quahatundightu
October 12th, 2012, 03:37 AM
I have also had my hair freeze. It doesn't style it though because the moment it starts to melt it's just wet again like it was before it was frozen.

Bagginslover
October 12th, 2012, 03:37 AM
.........
If there was a tool like a flat iron or curling iron that instead of releasing heat released "cold"........
........I'm not overly familiar with the way the science behind this works, but there's a possibility it could, I think........

Sadly, understanding the science, I can tell you, its not possible. 'Cold' isn't a thing, 'Heat' is. Cold is simply a lack of heat, you cannot add cold, or take it away, only heat (heat is a type of energy). This makes making things cold very difficult. You either have to use a heat exchange mechanism (this is how your refridgerator and freezer work) or use a chemical reaction that takes in heat from its surroundings (exothermic), which you wouldn't want to put near your hair! This is without the damaging properties of the ice itself, which would indeed explode your hair from the inside out (think of what freezing does to a strawberry).
Nice idea, but not really feasable sadly :(

torrilin
October 12th, 2012, 08:35 AM
It's not a big deal if you go outside with a wet head. The idea that it will give you a cold or whatever is a myth. Colds are virus infections :). The big thing is to make sure your head is well insulated, because a wet head may not give you a cold, but it can easily lead to hypothermia or frostbite. I usually wind up wearing two hats if I have to go outside with a wet head in winter. Sometimes my hair will freeze anyway, but freezing my hair is nowhere near as bad for it as using a blow dryer.

Blow dryers do not just cause damage from heat. They also cause mechanical damage from tangles. Fine hair tends to be more tangle prone, more breakable, and in general more prone to mechanical damage. Curly hair tends to be drier and also pretty tangle prone if it's not kept in the protective curls. The finer or curlier your hair, the more the mechanical damage of a blow dryer will be a problem. The coarser or straighter your hair, the less the mechanical damage is an issue. Some LHCers will happily use a blow dryer, fan or hood dryer on their hair as a regular thing. My hair is fine enough that it's better to blot it with a towel and stuff it in an undo.

As Bagginslover says, cold is the absence of heat energy. The physics of how heat energy affects the world is called thermodynamics, and it's pretty nifty stuff... and your idea just doesn't work under the laws of thermodynamics. It's pretty mathy stuff, but it's well worth studying.

jacqueline101
October 12th, 2012, 08:42 AM
I'd use warm water dry it thoroughly. I was sick a few weeks ago and used my dryer on cool setting with a heat protector. I did towel dry almost dry. You might try this as a method.

Amygirl8
October 12th, 2012, 02:30 PM
Sadly, understanding the science, I can tell you, its not possible. 'Cold' isn't a thing, 'Heat' is. Cold is simply a lack of heat, you cannot add cold, or take it away, only heat (heat is a type of energy). This makes making things cold very difficult. You either have to use a heat exchange mechanism (this is how your refridgerator and freezer work) or use a chemical reaction that takes in heat from its surroundings (exothermic), which you wouldn't want to put near your hair! This is without the damaging properties of the ice itself, which would indeed explode your hair from the inside out (think of what freezing does to a strawberry).
Nice idea, but not really feasable sadly :(

No, I'm aware that cold isn't a thing (hence the quotation marks). I was thinking to use a tool that worked similarly to a freezer to do it, although I could see why it wouldn't work.

Thank you for letting me know, though. I think I might look into it further anyway, since you never know if you can find some technology that seemingly defies what's currently believed (that along with the fact that hair seems to possess its own science-defying qualities).

thatcrazychick
October 12th, 2012, 02:59 PM
Other than curling, could very cold air be used to blow dry hair for straight hair or body? Not meaning the "cool" setting that's already on the dryer, but would actual cold (run through a condenser) be more effective than room-temp or hot air.

Practically, I think it'd be a real pain to fit a condenser into a hair dryer, rather than the simple existing resistance heat coils. But, its all interesting theory.

Miss Catrina
October 12th, 2012, 07:24 PM
Heat and water affect the hydrogen bonds in hair, but I've never heard anything about cold.