Would heat protection help?

[sofo]

I've tried it, not using any heat in my hair, but its thick, takes forever to dry (4-5 hours) and its freezing outside. I tend to use the hair dryer a lot now. I use it on a semi-cool setting, luke warm air, or maye a tiny bit warmer than luke warm. Not so hot it would burn my scalp and not too hot.

Until now I've been telling myself I do not need heat protection products since the hair dryer isn't very warm. Those are mainly for protection against really hot tools like curling irons. Right?

I use cones, and I'm very happy with my hair oil (also with cones). Would this suffice as enough protection? My hair is in good shape otherwise. No splits (well I trim regulary) and I haven't colored it.

I love my hair after using the hair dryer, its smooth, doesnt tangle very much and looks nice. So.. is the cones alone enough when its not very warm?

[Sammich]

Heat protection doesn't do anything, but it does hide the damage after it's done.

Taken from experience, hahaha... I always blow dry, sometimes I straighten. x

[Weewah]

If you can comfortably put your hand in front of the blow dryer then it's safe for your hair. :) I also read somewhere on here that blow drying can be better than air drying because it makes the hair smoother.

I'd be scared to use an oil as heat protection because I feel like it would be like frying the hair.shudder:

[walterSCAN]

If your blowdryer isn't any hotter than what your hair would experience on a hot day (i.e. you could hold your inner wrist under it for an extended period of time without becoming uncomfortable), you should be fine and not need any additional heat protection. This sounds like what you are doing, so I don't see a problem as long as you are being careful with your hair otherwise and not letting it get tangled while you're drying it. (Tangling while blowdrying was always an irritation for me when I was younger. One of the many reasons I can't be bothered to blowdry my hair now.)

[Avenie]

Heat protection doesn't do anything, but it does hide the damage after it's done.


Oh, really? I've been using a heat protection spray-on, even though I dry on a low temp, hold it far away and move it a lot. Is it doing nothing at all? :lol:

[RainbowBowser]

My heat protection of choice has cones in it anyway? :/

[Firefox7275]

I've tried it, not using any heat in my hair, but its thick, takes forever to dry (4-5 hours) and its freezing outside. I tend to use the hair dryer a lot now. I use it on a semi-cool setting, luke warm air, or maye a tiny bit warmer than luke warm. Not so hot it would burn my scalp and not too hot.

Until now I've been telling myself I do not need heat protection products since the hair dryer isn't very warm. Those are mainly for protection against really hot tools like curling irons. Right?

I use cones, and I'm very happy with my hair oil (also with cones). Would this suffice as enough protection? My hair is in good shape otherwise. No splits (well I trim regulary) and I haven't colored it.

I love my hair after using the hair dryer, its smooth, doesnt tangle very much and looks nice. So.. is the cones alone enough when its not very warm?

Many commercial heat protection products contain unproven ingredients. Silicones are more useful for helping with the slip of a flat iron than the high temperatures (which you are not using anyway). If you are using a brush you may end that is doing more damage than the heat itself.

See Natural Haven blog for a couple of posts on heat styling, temperatures and cuticle cracking. There is a list of proven heat protection ingredients (include glycerin, propylene glycol, hydrolysed protein, some polyquats) on the Facebook Wavy Hair Community, may also be on the Sciencey Hairblog as it is the same author.

[sofo]

Thanks for everyones input. I live in Sweden though so anything warmer than a hot day would basically even be the cold setting on the dryer (ok, maybe thats not true). I'll keep going then, since I like my hairs texture a lot better when its been touched by the dryer. I can't really see much damage either, maybe a few more splits around the bangs. It's hard to say though because I always get splits there.

[dulce]

I have almost classic fairly thick hair,I use a floor fan beside me when I'm working at the computer or sitting on the edge of my bed watching tv,my hair is dry in 15 minutes and it leaves my hands free,how easy is that!.MUCH faster than a blow dryer,no tangling and no worry of heat damage plus it reduces my curly frizz which the blow dyer always causes .

[ErinLeigh]

I've tried it, not using any heat in my hair, but its thick, takes forever to dry (4-5 hours) and its freezing outside. I tend to use the hair dryer a lot now. I use it on a semi-cool setting, luke warm air, or maye a tiny bit warmer than luke warm. Not so hot it would burn my scalp and not too hot.

Until now I've been telling myself I do not need heat protection products since the hair dryer isn't very warm. Those are mainly for protection against really hot tools like curling irons. Right?

I use cones, and I'm very happy with my hair oil (also with cones). Would this suffice as enough protection? My hair is in good shape otherwise. No splits (well I trim regulary) and I haven't colored it.

I love my hair after using the hair dryer, its smooth, doesnt tangle very much and looks nice. So.. is the cones alone enough when its not very warm?

I just looked at my heat protectors and conditioners labeled 450 degree protection. All I see are cones in them really. So if you are already using cones you should be just fine.
You can get one though, it's not going hurt. I have turn up the heat, and gb2 guardian angle and they work fine, but I don't see a difference when I don't use them bs just other coney leave Ins.

There was a link a posted a while back where a study was done that a cool blow dry could be better then air drying. I blow dry. Why ? Besides how it looks..my hair tangles less when I blow dry smooth. For me the blow drying is offset by the fact I incur much less mechanical damage than when I don't. The tangles when I don't are far far worse for my hair than a little warm air.

[ErinLeigh]

I just read dimethicone and cyclomenticone are best cones for heat protecting.
Article also mentioned hydrolyzed protein. Also I don't see those in my protectants. Labels are worn tho :)

[Bagginslover]

I have never understood how they can claim a heat protectant works! Spray it on your hand, then apply your straighteners-you will burn! The same is true for your hair! the only difference is you can't feel it because its dead. the moisture insite the hair will still boil and burst the hair shaft, with or without some overpriced spray on it. It might look and feel nicer with the spray, because you've just coated your hairs with (basicly) plastic, making them look shiny, but once that stuff washes off, eugh!

Don't beleive the hype!

[ErinLeigh]

They are supposed to just slow the rate of heat absorption I believe. Not stop it completely.
Its hard to imagine anything being protective at 450 degrees. That kind of heat is scary.

[Bagginslover]

So you could hold a hot straightner on your hand for a while before it burns? Nope, dont buy it. Direct heat transfer doesn't work that way, not without a significant quantity of insulating material, which theses sprays, arent.