What happens if you don't use any heat on your hair?

[Luna2442]

I did it once back in 2012 for 8 months but nothing changed. I want to do it again but sometimes i wonder why should i stop using heat if it doesnt make a difference. So my question to you guys is how long will it take to see results and how did your hair responded with not using heat on your hair? Did it make your hair smoother, less tangly/frizzy, faster hairgrowth? Please inform me about your non heat journey so that i can stick with it this time because sometimes i feel sooooo tempted to just straighten my hair!

Thanks

[Kaelee]

You won't see a difference until you grow out the damage caused by using it. I haven't used heat on my hair in years, with the exception of blow drying once or twice a year (my stylist liked to see the result of her cut dry, so she could tell if she missed any). If you've been using it and you have damage though, it's not going to magically go away when you stop.

[lapushka]

Heat, especially excessive heat causes white dots in the hair, which in turn causes the hair to break off at that point. Look for them sometime... if you have them. They're up the strand (not at the very end).

[sourgrl]

Since I've stopped using heat I have less breakage, splits, and white dots. I think my results have been positive because I'm more aware of how to properly care for hair in general, I have a better idea as to what works for my hair specifically, and I used a coney heat protectant on dry hair only when I did use heat. I haven't used heat in months and love the freedom of just wash and go hair, plus I REALLY like the extra 20-30 minutes of extra sleep I get since I dont 'need' to get up and straighten my hair.

[Madora]

No heat means healthy hair:

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w225/07Erzbet/1988lrg.jpg (http://s177.photobucket.com/user/07Erzbet/media/1988lrg.jpg.html)

[Magalo]

Hair that is already damaged by heat will NOT recover. You have to grow out completely the damaged part.

[DweamGoiL]

I haven't used heat in 5 or 6 years. Before that, I had grown my hair without heat drying until TBL. It was healthy and lustrous.

http://i987.photobucket.com/albums/ae360/dweamgoil/Long%20Hair%202003%20to%20Now/th_jan3-2002LongHair_zps53c68f65.jpg (http://s987.photobucket.com/user/dweamgoil/media/Long%20Hair%202003%20to%20Now/jan3-2002LongHair_zps53c68f65.jpg.html)
this is my hair when I first was growing it out without product and air dryed (pictures are clickable)

I then cut it to above shoulders and when I did that, I started blow frying at the very least 2 times/week. Right away, it didn't show damage, but as it grew down to BSL, the bottom half was just dryer and dryer and no shine whatsoever. It didn't matter how many expensive deep conditioners I applied, it looked like straw.

http://i987.photobucket.com/albums/ae360/dweamgoil/Curly%20Hair%20Journey/th_021711.jpg (http://s987.photobucket.com/user/dweamgoil/media/Curly%20Hair%20Journey/021711.jpg.html)

[chen bao jun]

If you stop using heat (or chemicals or dye or whatever else) on your hair, you eventually learn how to manage it in its natural state and are much happier. however there is often a frustrating transition period while any damage grows out and while you are learning, during which LHC and youtube gurus are invaluable. It is worth the wait, but it won't be instant.
I never got white dots from heat, I have very strong coarse hair but I was also strawlike and rough textured (believed that was my hiar's natural state) and it never grew past brastrap while straightened, which I thought was terminal.
But its way soft now and though not yet long, its quite a bit longer than its ever been. Its as long curly as it was most of the time when straight (and I have a lot of shrinkage) and its VERY easily manageable.

[Heni]

I stopped using a flat iron last summer (did it for 10 years, because I hated my waves...) and the blow dryer this spirg. The years before I had to cut it every 3 months (but it was braking almost suddenly after the cut), I haven't grown out the breakage yet, but it is so many times better, s&d ing is enough (the last haircut was 5 months ago), there are a few splits, but not unmanagable. It has never been thin, but this year crazy new growth is happening, so I think it likes being without heat :o oh, and it has never been this long before!!!

[shutterpillar]

As others have said, you will not see any difference until you grow out and cut off the hair that is already damaged by the heat.

1/2 of my length is heat damaged and the other half is not. I've been growing the heat damage out for well over a year now and I can tell a very distinct difference between what is damaged by heat and what is not. The half that is not damaged is less frizzy, shinier, softer, and overall easier to manage.

[AmyBeth]

No heat means healthy hair:

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w225/07Erzbet/1988lrg.jpg (http://s177.photobucket.com/user/07Erzbet/media/1988lrg.jpg.html)

:thud: I don't think too many of us could do this while using a heated appliance on a regular basis. That is happy, loved, un-tortured hair. A thing of beauty and a joy forever.
THAT is what can happen if you don't use heat on your hair.

[bythesea]

I did it once back in 2012 for 8 months but nothing changed. I want to do it again but sometimes i wonder why should i stop using heat if it doesnt make a difference. So my question to you guys is how long will it take to see results and how did your hair responded with not using heat on your hair? Did it make your hair smoother, less tangly/frizzy, faster hairgrowth? Please inform me about your non heat journey so that i can stick with it this time because sometimes i feel sooooo tempted to just straighten my hair!

Thanks

I know everyone is going to disagree with me... but I don't think using heat every once in awhile is going to do anything terrible to your hair. I used to curl my hair every day/every other day for years straight. I've stopped doing it and trimmed off my ends and such. I haven't noticed much of a change at all. Idk if it's because maybe my hair is less susceptible to damage by heat than others?

Now... the one thing I hate to do is blow dry my hair and if I blow dry my hair I will get tangles, knots, and split ends and my hair texture will feel strange.

I don't think running a flat iron through your hair on a low heat setting in between your washes (so like, once or twice a week) is going to give you any drastic damage. I'm the type of person where, yes I want long healthy hair with minimal breakage and lots of shine, but I also want to enjoy it and style it. The no heat methods of curling always give my hair the frizzies, using hot rollers gives me nice smooth waves like in my pic. So, I think it depends. If you use heat on your hair and notice breakage/brittle-ness, then you should stop doing it.

[HintOfMint]

I've found that heat damage is often cumulative. Once or twice doesn't make much of a difference, but regular use causes more overt damage that results in dullness, white dots, splits, and breakage.

[Flor]

Heat weakens hair structure. And the effect is cumulative. The more you use it, the more likely your hair is to break, split, bend, etc. Also if you have waves or curls, heat styling (straightening or curling) will continue to mess up your natural hair pattern, so you will be getting more frizz.

[LaurelSpring]

There is a big difference for me. Actually I just posted a thread about suggested help because of just using heat a few times recently. Before LHC I used the blow dryer and curling iron every day. I had white dots and breakage at the bottom third of my hair. I stopped when I joined here and wanted long healthy hair. Now that I know what healthy hair feels like I was really surprised when I used the heat the other day at what a huge difference a little heat made in the feel of my hair. I cant stand it! I am use to the feel of healthy silky hair. After just two uses of a curing iron my hair felt dry and straw like. I thought.... ooh after all these years a little heat cant hurt that much...but the difference was quite extreme. At least to me anyway. No more heat!

[Madora]

AmyBeth, thanks for your lovely comment.

I've never used heat on my hair. I suppose if you wanted to use it for a very special occassion...and were very careful how you used it, then go ahead. But personally, I developed my own method of drying my hair in half an hour, so didn't have to resort to heat.

The picture I used represented 12 years of growth...w/o heat. I rest my case!

[In2wishin]

Not using heat on my hair makes it smoother and allows the natural waves to form.

[Naiadryade]

Madora, your hair is absolutely to die for.


But personally, I developed my own method of drying my hair in half an hour, so didn't have to resort to heat.


:bigeyes::agape::bowtome:
How on earth do you dry all that hair in half an hour without heat?? Please share your secrets!

[Madora]

Madora, your hair is absolutely to die for.




:bigeyes::agape::bowtome:
How on earth do you dry all that hair in half an hour without heat?? Please share your secrets!

Thank you for your lovely compliments, Naiadryade! Here's what I do:

1) Using my palms, squeeze excess water out of my hair and gently detangle with wide tooth comb.
2) Take towel and place it vertically so it covers my head, and wrap length of towel around hanging hair (all my hair is in front of me)
3) Take palms and press them along length of towelled hair.

4) Remove towel, part hair in center part so there are 2 sections. Clip one section aside out of the way (it just hangs - not attached to my head).

5) Take other section of hair, detangle gently again.

6) Then I begin to "fan" the strands...my theory being that hair dries faster when the air circulates through it constantly.

To "fan the strands" take a SMALL portion of hair in your hand, bring your hand up to your eyebrow THEN EXTEND YOUR HAND OUT IN FRONT OF YOU, then release the hair and let it drift to the floor.

Take the next piece of hair and repeat. Keep repeating the motions until all the hair is "fanned".

Special note: After "fanning" each section I usually comb it out after it has fallen down...I do it SLOWLY but you can omit this step if you want.

After one side has been completely "fanned", braid it gently (if desired) or clip it to keep it separate from the other side. Repeat the procedure with the other side of the hair until it too has been completely "fanned".

Style as desired. I do not use any products, sprays/gels/mousse or oils on my hair when fanning..or afterwards.

In wintertime:

I have a small portable electric heater in my bathroom that has 3 adjustable temps. I turn on the lowest temp and then stand about 3 feet away from the heater and perform my "fanning" technique. Works very well though the hair might seem a little "frisky" afterwards (because of the heat). I usually just run my hands down my hair and that helps tame the friskiness.

Bottom line: the success of the air drying depends on: how much water you can get rid of after final rinse, and how much time you spend on the "fanning" process.

Years ago, before I developed this method, I went thru the whole "towel on the head...hair in a towel down my back...wet and heavy...yuck" syndrome. I hated it...waiting around forever for my very thick hair to dry....so I experimented and found the solution that worked for me.

Fanning the strands is easy to do and as long as you're willing to take your time, it really shrinks the air drying time to a manageable degree.

By the way, my hair is slightly wavy and thick (back then). I wouldn't recommend "fanning" the strands to those with really curly hair, as they need to be extra careful when dealing with those curls.

Hope this helps! I've been air drying my hair like this for more than 40 years.

[Dandelion6]

Welcome. I see you are a "newbie." In my opinion you have already asked the most important question in the LHC. "What happens if you don't use any heat on your hair?" The second being "What if I don't bleach my hair?" Answer: More than likely you will be able to reach your hair length goals with beautiful results!:beerchug:

[Buddaphlyy]

If you don't use any heat, you'll probably get less damage which will result in less breakage and ultimately longer hair. And while most heat damage is cumulative, sometimes it only takes one time to do loads of damage. I got my hair flat ironed at the salon last December and it took until April to get the breakage under control. I still have a few straightened pieces that need to be trimmed off.

[restless]

Back in my teens and early twenties I used to blowdry and (!) flat iron my poor F/ii hair EVERY DAY. My hair kept breaking off (little bits fell onto the sink whenever I brushed it/ flat ironed it) and it was full of white dots. It was, quite frankly, a miserable sight to behold. Almost 2 years ago I stopped blowdrying and flat iron the lenghts but continued to use the flat iron on my bangs/face framing layers for yet some time. A little over a year ago I stopped with that as well and no heat has touched my hair since. (I did a lot of mean things to my hair back then but heat styling was by far the worst when it came to damaging it)

Since my hair is hip lenght I still have some heat damage left and I can tell a big difference in thickness if I compare my "virgin" hair to the bits that were once flat ironed. However, I have been doing a lot of oiling, S&D and some mictotrimming and I see less and less broken ends nowadays, even though the damage is still presumably there. Though, I am 100% convinced that if I had been continuing the heat styling then I would never have gotten this far with my fragile hair- it would be shorter and thinner. No doubt.

[Bagginslover]

I think I'm an unusual case, but I saw a difference in my hair immediatly when I gave up heat (its been less than 2 years). My hair has more life, feels better, looks shinier-which I never thought would happen after seeing my salon straightened hair, that was shiny, but this is shinier! The 'hair confetti' when I detangled stopped within a week, and I swear my roots grow in faster now too.

I do still use head 2 or 3 times a year, but but boy can I tell the week afterwards! I never want to go back to having hair that feels like that all the time, I love my hair now.