Heat Protectors?

[Hellokim]

I searched for a thread on this but couldn't find anything.
I am relatively new here so bare (bear?) with me as I am not a hair expert by any means.

1. I don't want to use cones daily anymore because after a month of daily use my hair has suddenly reacted by being very greasy at the roots and very dry and damaged at the ends and I need to wash about every 18 hours (!!)
2. I have to blow dry my hair every day in the winter because I walk to work and in my area it's about 20-30 degrees (F) from November to April. Going out in the cold with wet hair has shown to be very quickly damaging. In the summer I don't blow-dry.
3. A heat-protector has been recommended by all the YouTube hair-girls I sometimes watch. And it sounds like a good idea-- however I have recently noticed that the heat protectors are cone heavy.

I just bought Tresemme Thermal Creations ("Heat Tamer Leave-in Spray"). I didn't look at the ingredients at the store because I was tired of shopping and wanted to get home.
The 2nd ingredient after water is amodimethicone. The 5th ingredient (after PEG-12 which isn't great either) is dimethicone. This sounds bad for my hopes i de-coning...

My question is how can I protect my hair from the heat of the necessary blow-drying (I ain't getting up an hour earlier than I do!) and not get cone-build up? Are there heat-protectors with no cones? Are heat protectors a bunch of bologna?

Thanks to anyone who has some experience with this. :)

[rtree721]

Yes there are cone free heat protectants. Got this list from http://www.naturallycurly.com/curltalk/general-discussion-about-curly-hair/68512-cg-friendy-heat-protectants.html
Silicone Free Heat Protectants◦Abba Pure Thermal Protect Spray
◦Aveda Brilliant Damage Control
◦Giovanni Vitapro Fusion Leave-In Hair Treatment
◦Hask Placenta Straight Solution
◦Sedu Volumizing Heat Protecting Boost
◦Sunsilk Thermashine Detangling Shine Spray (1 slightly water soluble silicone)
◦Tresemme Thermal Creations Heat Tamer Protective Spray (1 water soluble silicone, 1 slightly water soluble silicone)

Have you tried blowdrying on cool to lessen the damage?
Have you tired washing your hair in the evening?

[Hellokim]

Thanks!

The Tresemme I just bought is on your list! But I really want to try the Aveda ;).
I need to figure out how to identify the different kinds of silicones.
Yes I use a low heat setting, but not cool. I'll try it out. And I try to keep the dryer as far away from my hair as possible but sometimes I'm in such a rush!

Washing my hair the night before is a great idea. That would cut down on the morning primping time too.

Thanks for the list.

[GrowingGlory]

Goody makes combs and brushes that help wet hair to dry more quickly. I have used an Aquis microfiber towel that greatly reduces drying time. HTH.

[Hellokim]

I have a microfibre hair towel too! It's great.
By the way, I was looking at the ingredients to my after shower detangler (my fine hair is very tangle-prone) and it has grape seed oil in it. For some reason I did a search online for grape seed oil as heat protectant and apparently some people swear by it. Like just spraying or combing in plain old grape seed oil. Hm. This sounds promising.

[Kaelee]

Blowdry on cool or medium, don't hold the dryer too close and don't hold it in one spot. It'll take longer but will greatly lessen the damage.

Other than that, I'd recommend a good leave-in conditioner. I love the one made by Toadstool Soaps (etsy)

[Amygirl8]

In terms of your cone usage, did you clarify? It sounds like you might've gotten a build-up of them on your hair. I know it's time to clarify if my ends get dry even though the roots are greasy.
Right now I'm using ACV, it works amazingly.

Also, blow-drying your hair under 50 degrees won't damage it (apparently) so you might want to be more concerned with the mechanical aspect of it, as I find my hair likes to get a little tangled when I blowdry and that ultimately causes damage for me.

[Ravenwind]

I actually find that using coconut oil as a heat protectant works AMAZING. I just put a little bit through my hair when it's wet (not too much or else you hair will be too oily once it's dry), let it air dry for a little bit, then blow dry. Your hair will be left soft and smooth and the coconut oil protects it as well. :)

[dulce]

I used to have a shoulder length page boy and had to blow dry to style it due to my curl,I used a heat protective spray each time and after about 6 months I noticed tons of frizz and breakeage.I had to cut and haven't used a blowdryer since.

[lapushka]

You *can* still use cones, they're not evil. You only need to make sure you clarify-wash every once in a while (how much depends on your hair). For clarifying it's enough to wash with a shampoo with sulfates that has *no* silicones in it (that is very important).

It's not a matter of cones vs. no-cones, it's about learning how to deal with the difference.

Blowdrying isn't evil either. If you just use a mild warmth (not the hottest setting), that's all. My hair is blown dry weekly and I'm between hip and TBL with *no* damage.