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View Full Version : Going completely heat free!! Who's with me? :)



Rapunzel_to_be
May 1st, 2015, 02:54 PM
Ok so I decided today that I will not use heat on my hair anymore!

After going all natural for soon to be two months now, and not using the flat iron anymore, I've been air drying, but then using the blow dryer for some minutes ( 5-10) on medium heat ( sometimes high ). But since two days now I have air dried completely, and I want to continue doing so!

I was also wondering, those of you who have gone through this process of becoming heat free, do you guys maybe have some before and after pictures? If so, I would love to see them!! :)

Let us stop damaging our hair and grow it healthy and long <3

cat11
May 1st, 2015, 04:08 PM
Ive been doing this for three years conciously, more like 5 years casually (with the occasional straightening for curiosity) ! I shall return with pics for thee, although I dont know if I still have any of my straightened hair, it was that long ago.

edit: I cant find a picture of it :( Im sorry. Very few pics of me from that time I seem to have kept ... lost to the abyss.

meteor
May 1st, 2015, 04:20 PM
Great thread idea! :thumbsup: I've been wondering if there is a thread for people who decided to ditch heat-styling.

I haven't used a blow-dryer in 4 or 5 years, that was before I started growing out hair, so I didn't take hair pictures, sorry. I don't miss it at all, because it took me 30 - 45 minutes and would always give me headaches from the loud noise and tired arms from moving the blow-dryer around. What a waste of energy! :lol:

I have never used a flat-iron, curling iron or any other heat tool in my life.

I find the best styles can be achieved with heat-free damp-setting methods anyway. :)

I like beautyklove's no-heat hair styling tutorials, for example - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4626FAE04F57ED14

gwenalyn
May 1st, 2015, 04:23 PM
I can count the number of times heat has touched my hair on my fingers :) The occasional hair dresser, and a few abortive attempts with a curling iron/blow drier. So no before/after, but I've gotta say ... I get so impatient and bored standing in the bathroom blowing air at my head--I just can't stand it! Air drying all the way!

ZoSo
May 1st, 2015, 04:44 PM
I've been heat free since starting to grow it out almost 3 years ago. I'm lucky right now, because I'm not too worried about how it looks. I'm also OK with having it drip dry on my shirt.

Arwenlily
May 1st, 2015, 04:54 PM
I started going heat-free (no blow-frying or flat ironing) once I joined the LHC in late 2013. Since then I think I blow-fried my hair once on cool/medium heat because I had to leave the house quickly and flat ironed once because I was curious to see how long my hair would be! So basically I have been heat-free for about a year and a half. Now I just plop and/or air dry.

Aurum
May 1st, 2015, 04:55 PM
I never liked blow drying my hair, so I haven't done that in probably 5 years. I went through a straighter phase (and no heat protectant! shudder:) a few years ago and I believe I still have some evidence of it. I've stopped incurring new damage, at least.

ZoSo
May 1st, 2015, 05:31 PM
I just realized something. Does the smell of a blow dryer bother anyone?

Sarahlabyrinth
May 1st, 2015, 05:38 PM
I can count the number of times heat has touched my hair on my fingers :) The occasional hair dresser, and a few abortive attempts with a curling iron/blow drier. So no before/after, but I've gotta say ... I get so impatient and bored standing in the bathroom blowing air at my head--I just can't stand it! Air drying all the way!

I could have written this myself! The last time heat touched my hair would have been 2005, way before LHC was on my mind and I would have laughed my head off at the thought of taking hair photos! But I just wanted to say I am supporting you all the way on this topic and hope you will see great results from no longer using heat tools on your hair. Of course, like everything else to do with hair it takes heaps of patience :)

NitaB
May 1st, 2015, 05:47 PM
I used to straighten my hair every day (wet and without heat protectant), but all that hair has been long cut out. I could never figure out how to get a blow drier to work by myself, so that's helpful.
Good on you all who are trying to stop, I wish you all luck

Rapunzel_to_be
May 2nd, 2015, 02:03 AM
OOoh I love beautyklove's vidoes!! Ive been watching them over the past weeks,and her hair is soooo beautiful and the tutorials are great!!

Im happy to hear you don't miss it at all, and I can't wait till I can one day say that I've been heat free for as long as u have :D

Rapunzel_to_be
May 2nd, 2015, 02:08 AM
I started going heat-free (no blow-frying or flat ironing) once I joined the LHC in late 2013. Since then I think I blow-fried my hair once on cool/medium heat because I had to leave the house quickly and flat ironed once because I was curious to see how long my hair would be! So basically I have been heat-free for about a year and a half. Now I just plop and/or air dry.

Thats great!! :D And omg blow fry is really what they should call it instead of blow dry !! I also am plopping and air drying ! :D I actually feel like my curls look more defined without the blow dryer too ! So im very happy because I was afraid it would not look nice, especially since I had been using so much heat ( flat ironing and blow drying for maybe 15 years... everyday..... ) on my hair before!

Rapunzel_to_be
May 2nd, 2015, 02:14 AM
I could have written this myself! The last time heat touched my hair would have been 2005, way before LHC was on my mind and I would have laughed my head off at the thought of taking hair photos! But I just wanted to say I am supporting you all the way on this topic and hope you will see great results from no longer using heat tools on your hair. Of course, like everything else to do with hair it takes heaps of patience :)

Wow your hair is SO GORGEOUS!!! Looking at your hair, and all the other lovely hair here, it gives me even more motivation to stick this through and never use heat on my hair again! :D

Doreen
May 2nd, 2015, 02:50 AM
I'll commit to this -- I haven't frequently used heat in about 5 years, but now I would say I do it 1-3 times per year. Each time I end up detesting the feeling of brushing out the curls and hairspray! Might as well quit for good :)

Rapunzel_to_be
May 2nd, 2015, 03:01 AM
I'll commit to this -- I haven't frequently used heat in about 5 years, but now I would say I do it 1-3 times per year. Each time I end up detesting the feeling of brushing out the curls and hairspray! Might as well quit for good :)

Thats great! :D I don't think doing it 1-3 times a year is that bad, although not doing it at all is probably best!! I hope I can manage to find a heatless straightening method that works on my hair, because I would like to occasionally be able to have it straight also !

Auni
May 2nd, 2015, 07:54 AM
I'm in! The last time I blow dried it was to post how it looked on the botticelli thread:p! Otherwise it's been months! Prior to LHC I was blow drying every wash. I have mastered bun waves of various types, and love experimenting with different air drying techniques!

Rapunzel_to_be
May 2nd, 2015, 10:19 AM
Yeay !! Im glad people are joining in !! Do you have any tips on bun waves ? I tried to twist my hair and put it in a bun, and also in several small twists on top of my hair, but it did not turn out great.. it actually didn't dry properly, so my hair was probably too wet to begin with..

lapushka
May 2nd, 2015, 10:48 AM
It's been years since I touched a curling iron. But the blow dryer is used weekly on "warm", for 4 to 5 min. (diffuser). I'm TBL+ with 2/3 inches to go until classic, and I have no splits or white dots, so I'm not about to give up the convenience of my hair dryer.

Sarahlabyrinth
May 2nd, 2015, 12:30 PM
Wow your hair is SO GORGEOUS!!! Looking at your hair, and all the other lovely hair here, it gives me even more motivation to stick this through and never use heat on my hair again! :D

Who, me? Lol. Thank you. Right now I am hating my hair and almost chopped half of it off a couple of days ago. :( Trying to put it up and forget about it until I decide I can like it again.

mermaid lullaby
May 2nd, 2015, 09:56 PM
I'm in the process of being heat free, it's just the winters give me problems. Summer I'm all air dry!

curlylocks85
May 3rd, 2015, 05:17 AM
Ok so I decided today that I will not use heat on my hair anymore!

After going all natural for soon to be two months now, and not using the flat iron anymore, I've been air drying, but then using the blow dryer for some minutes ( 5-10) on medium heat ( sometimes high ). But since two days now I have air dried completely, and I want to continue doing so!

I was also wondering, those of you who have gone through this process of becoming heat free, do you guys maybe have some before and after pictures? If so, I would love to see them!! :)

Let us stop damaging our hair and grow it healthy and long <3

I have been heat free since November 2013 (the day before Thanksgiving) and I am glad I stopped. My hair is healthy and feels a lot better now. It feels softer and looks more shiny than before. Also, my hair isn't breaking off at the ends which stopped my hair from growing long. I am glad I gave up flat ironing my hair. :)

kitcatsmeow
May 3rd, 2015, 05:37 AM
I've been heat free since 2010 :) I use a straightening iron and a curling iron maybe a couple times a year but other than that...nope!

My hair is SO much better because of it. I have fine/medium hair so it's essential to growing. I learned to wrap m hair to dry so it dries nice and straight. Otherwise it's a curly, crazy mess. lol I even use the wrap method to re straighten it.
Very good decision! It took me months to learn how to style without heat and look polished but so worth it. Don't give up!

Rosetta
May 3rd, 2015, 06:25 AM
I can count the number of times heat has touched my hair on my fingers :) The occasional hair dresser, and a few abortive attempts with a curling iron/blow drier. So no before/after, but I've gotta say ... I get so impatient and bored standing in the bathroom blowing air at my head--I just can't stand it! Air drying all the way!
This could almost be me, too; though I did use curling irons etc. when I was younger, but now I've been basically heat free for at least 12 years. Heat just never did anything good to my hair anyway, so it's no sacrifice whatsoever to be without it, quite the contrary.

Agnes Hannah
May 3rd, 2015, 11:39 AM
I stopped using a hairdryer when I joined LHC in Sep 2013. Flat irons? I went into a salon once and the hairdresser asked me (thankfully)if she could use one on my hair. I said "no". The texture of my hair has changed, it is uber smooth and soft and very very slippery!

Rapunzel_to_be
May 4th, 2015, 03:14 PM
It's been years since I touched a curling iron. But the blow dryer is used weekly on "warm", for 4 to 5 min. (diffuser). I'm TBL+ with 2/3 inches to go until classic, and I have no splits or white dots, so I'm not about to give up the convenience of my hair dryer.

Thats good to hear! :) I also do not remember having any split ends or dots way back when I used to only blow dry, but I feel like after all the straightening these past years and also the highlights I had done some months ago, I need to be extra careful... I've been S&D'ing a lot lately, and it feels like it never ends... :( So I need to be heat free in order to cause as little damage as possible, buuut I might do an occasional blow dry like I've been doing until now when my hair is in a better condition :)

Rapunzel_to_be
May 4th, 2015, 03:16 PM
Who, me? Lol. Thank you. Right now I am hating my hair and almost chopped half of it off a couple of days ago. :( Trying to put it up and forget about it until I decide I can like it again.

Aw, it still is gorgeous even if you cut it, and it will grow out soon so don't feel bad, although I know the feeling!

lapushka
May 4th, 2015, 03:17 PM
Thats good to hear! :) I also do not remember having any split ends or dots way back when I used to only blow dry, but I feel like after all the straightening these past years and also the highlights I had done some months ago, I need to be extra careful... I've been S&D'ing a lot lately, and it feels like it never ends... :( So I need to be heat free in order to cause as little damage as possible, buuut I might do an occasional blow dry like I've been doing until now when my hair is in a better condition :)

I *totally* get why you want to limit the damage. I just wanted to mention I see no damage of blow drying, but it depends -I guess- largely on how you use the blow dryer. If it's on cool/warm, I guess it's okay.

Rapunzel_to_be
May 4th, 2015, 03:17 PM
I'm in the process of being heat free, it's just the winters give me problems. Summer I'm all air dry!

I knooow, it is really hard during winter... I have no idea how I'll manage when winter comes hahaha, but hopefully it'll work somehow!

Rapunzel_to_be
May 4th, 2015, 03:19 PM
I *totally* get why you want to limit the damage. I just wanted to mention I see no damage of blow drying, but it depends -I guess- largely on how you use the blow dryer. If it's on cool/warm, I guess it's okay.

Yeah I know :) :) and thank you for sharing, makes me feel better about emergency blow drying :D

Rapunzel_to_be
May 4th, 2015, 03:24 PM
I have been heat free since November 2013 (the day before Thanksgiving) and I am glad I stopped. My hair is healthy and feels a lot better now. It feels softer and looks more shiny than before. Also, my hair isn't breaking off at the ends which stopped my hair from growing long. I am glad I gave up flat ironing my hair. :)


Im happy to hear that !! :D Hopefully mine will become better soon too!!


I've been heat free since 2010 :) I use a straightening iron and a curling iron maybe a couple times a year but other than that...nope!


My hair is SO much better because of it. I have fine/medium hair so it's essential to growing. I learned to wrap m hair to dry so it dries nice and straight. Otherwise it's a curly, crazy mess. lol I even use the wrap method to re straighten it.
Very good decision! It took me months to learn how to style without heat and look polished but so worth it. Don't give up!


Oh I so wish the wrapping method worked on me... or maybe I have to practice doing it , I tried it once, but I think my hair is too thick, because I have to wrap it on top of each other and it kinda takes forever to dry and does not really become that straight :( But so happy it works for you! I hope I can find a way to straighten my hair without using heat!

sourgrl
May 4th, 2015, 09:20 PM
My hair on heat (2 inch curling iron):
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y83/sagon069/8e08e4a2-e3e6-4d66-926d-6516434d18b9_zpsthlyru6w.jpg (http://s3.photobucket.com/user/sagon069/media/8e08e4a2-e3e6-4d66-926d-6516434d18b9_zpsthlyru6w.jpg.html)

I have been heat free for about two years and love the healthy hair I've grown to BCL. You can see my heat-free results in my avatar. I prefer the results I get on heat but I also really enjoy my natural swaves. Now that I've reached my final destination I feel more comfortable working heat back into my routine occasionally, like for date night or a special occasion. Those occasions are few and far between so I will remain mostly heat free :)

Sarahlabyrinth
May 4th, 2015, 11:01 PM
Aw, it still is gorgeous even if you cut it, and it will grow out soon so don't feel bad, although I know the feeling!

Thank you. I have managed to talk myself out of cutting it, the two week rule is a good one! :)

(The rule is, if you want to chop a lot of hair off, wait two weeks and see if you still want to chop when the two weeks is up. Mostly the urge to chop disappears during the two weeks.)

Rapunzel_to_be
May 5th, 2015, 12:22 PM
My hair on heat (2 inch curling iron):
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y83/sagon069/8e08e4a2-e3e6-4d66-926d-6516434d18b9_zpsthlyru6w.jpg (http://s3.photobucket.com/user/sagon069/media/8e08e4a2-e3e6-4d66-926d-6516434d18b9_zpsthlyru6w.jpg.html)

I have been heat free for about two years and love the healthy hair I've grown to BCL. You can see my heat-free results in my avatar. I prefer the results I get on heat but I also really enjoy my natural swaves. Now that I've reached my final destination I feel more comfortable working heat back into my routine occasionally, like for date night or a special occasion. Those occasions are few and far between so I will remain mostly heat free :)

Your hair is so lovely !! Thanks for sharing pictures also! Im so glad to see so many people with beautiful heat free hair! :D

Sarahlabyrinth Thank you. I have managed to talk myself out of cutting it, the two week rule is a good one!

(The rule is, if you want to chop a lot of hair off, wait two weeks and see if you still want to chop when the two weeks is up. Mostly the urge to chop disappears during the two weeks.)

That is a great rule! I will definitely use it too! Wish I would've known about it or thought of something similar a month ago ! :p

sarah.j.xx
May 5th, 2015, 02:12 PM
I'm in! I've decided not to use any heat on my hair this year (except during June when I'll be using a curling wand on my hair for my dance recitals, because no-heat curls won't last and I hate using gel). So far so good! This shouldn't be hard, though, since I rarely use heat on my hair anyway. :o

Rapunzel_to_be
May 5th, 2015, 02:51 PM
I'm in! I've decided not to use any heat on my hair this year (except during June when I'll be using a curling wand on my hair for my dance recitals, because no-heat curls won't last and I hate using gel). So far so good! This shouldn't be hard, though, since I rarely use heat on my hair anyway. :o

Yeaay thats great!! I agree, its not so hard actually, I really like my hair better air dried actually! :D

maegalcarwen
May 5th, 2015, 02:52 PM
I am so happy for you! I have been heat free for almost 3 years now - I could never imagine using a hair dryer ever again. It takes so much time and movement, and it makes my hair look terrible! I hope it works out for you too, be sure to keep us updated:)

Rapunzel_to_be
May 5th, 2015, 03:08 PM
I am so happy for you! I have been heat free for almost 3 years now - I could never imagine using a hair dryer ever again. It takes so much time and movement, and it makes my hair look terrible! I hope it works out for you too, be sure to keep us updated:)

Thaank youuu :D And I'm happy to hear that it has worked so well for you ! I'm actually loving it already, and I will definitely keep you guys updated :D

jeanniet
May 5th, 2015, 05:43 PM
Thats good to hear! :) I also do not remember having any split ends or dots way back when I used to only blow dry, but I feel like after all the straightening these past years and also the highlights I had done some months ago, I need to be extra careful... I've been S&D'ing a lot lately, and it feels like it never ends... :( So I need to be heat free in order to cause as little damage as possible, buuut I might do an occasional blow dry like I've been doing until now when my hair is in a better condition :)

Bear in mind that using a flat iron is way, way more damaging than a few minutes with even a hot blow dryer, and the damage is cumulative over time. It really depends on how direct the heat is. I use a blow dryer a few times a week, anywhere from cool to hot, but it's not for more than a few minutes and I'm careful to keep it at a distance. So, no damage. But I've never used a flat iron or curling iron and the basic health of my hair is good.

Rapunzel_to_be
May 6th, 2015, 02:24 AM
Bear in mind that using a flat iron is way, way more damaging than a few minutes with even a hot blow dryer, and the damage is cumulative over time. It really depends on how direct the heat is. I use a blow dryer a few times a week, anywhere from cool to hot, but it's not for more than a few minutes and I'm careful to keep it at a distance. So, no damage. But I've never used a flat iron or curling iron and the basic health of my hair is good.

Yes I know the flat iron is far worse than using a blow dryer, and I know it will not damage your hair if you use it on cool setting or low heat and at a distance, so this might be an option for days where I really do not have the time to air dry :)

Illryeth
May 6th, 2015, 02:33 AM
I have also been heat free for over a year (it was longer but a bad keratin treatment happened so I need to take that in consideration :D). My hairs are less thin and have more shine!

Auni
May 6th, 2015, 06:00 AM
Yeay !! Im glad people are joining in !! Do you have any tips on bun waves ? I tried to twist my hair and put it in a bun, and also in several small twists on top of my hair, but it did not turn out great.. it actually didn't dry properly, so my hair was probably too wet to begin with..

After washing, I pull my hair back into a pony tail to help dry the top portion/hair on my skull, when it dries it stays straight and the ends are still wet/damp so I'l braid or bun for the rest of the day. I do my bun waves at night for the next day, I find it best to work with hair thats about 90-95% dry for bun styling. Another method I actually LOVE that doesn't take DAYS to do:p, Is after my top area is dry, is to part my hair down the middle, and to twist the ends together away from my face, so you have 2 long tubes on either side of your head! I get beautiful waves this way, and my hair is still happy because it works with my curl pattern!

Betazed
May 6th, 2015, 11:54 AM
I'm totally in! I divorced my beloved hair straightener during the 1st week to of April. I used it nearly every time I washed my hair. I was also using sulfates and cones until that time as well. LHC taught me to actually read ingredients and I learned the products I had been using, which were labeled as "organic", were anything but. So, I got myself some cone and sulfate free products and after clarifying and using real all natural products, I found that my natural texture is really pretty. I used my straightener after that first wash but it was really just out of habit. I was used to the pin-straight look and almost felt like anything else wouldn't be as pretty.

Anyway, I haven't used any heat since that last straightening and I don't plan on using any again. The bad side? At the beginning of this past March I spent $150 straightener that I will use only a handful of times. Sad. Lol

Rapunzel_to_be
May 6th, 2015, 12:14 PM
I'm totally in! I divorced my beloved hair straightener during the 1st week to of April. I used it nearly every time I washed my hair. I was also using sulfates and cones until that time as well. LHC taught me to actually read ingredients and I learned the products I had been using, which were labeled as "organic", were anything but. So, I got myself some cone and sulfate free products and after clarifying and using real all natural products, I found that my natural texture is really pretty. I used my straightener after that first wash but it was really just out of habit. I was used to the pin-straight look and almost felt like anything else wouldn't be as pretty.

Anyway, I haven't used any heat since that last straightening and I don't plan on using any again. The bad side? At the beginning of this past March I spent $150 straightener that I will use only a handful of times. Sad. Lol

I completely get you, because I was exactly the same, and I really did not feel like anything other than pin straight hair looked good (on me), I still have some days where I kind of do not feel like my natural hair suits my face as well as the straight hair did, but Im sure its just because Im so used to the straight look, and I recently cut short layers which I regret so it contributes to me feeling that way :p
It sucks that you payed so much for it now that you are not going to use it so much, but maybe you could sell it?
I also want to go all natural when it comes to products, I have not gotten that far yet, but I think that will be my next step!! :D


After washing, I pull my hair back into a pony tail to help dry the top portion/hair on my skull, when it dries it stays straight and the ends are still wet/damp so I'l braid or bun for the rest of the day. I do my bun waves at night for the next day, I find it best to work with hair thats about 90-95% dry for bun styling. Another method I actually LOVE that doesn't take DAYS to do:p, Is after my top area is dry, is to part my hair down the middle, and to twist the ends together away from my face, so you have 2 long tubes on either side of your head! I get beautiful waves this way, and my hair is still happy because it works with my curl pattern!

Thank you so much for sharing!! I will definitely try them out soon!:)


I have also been heat free for over a year (it was longer but a bad keratin treatment happened so I need to take that in consideration :D). My hairs are less thin and have more shine!

Thats great!! :D I hope I will also see the difference in my hair in not so long :)

Betazed
May 6th, 2015, 01:02 PM
It sucks that you payed so much for it now that you are not going to use it so much, but maybe you could sell it?
I also want to go all natural when it comes to products, I have not gotten that far yet, but I think that will be my next step!! :D


I was thinking of putting it up on kajiji but for now I'm going to hold onto it. I might still use it for special occasions but I've been trying to learn more updos for that kind of thing. After seeing all of the neat pics here, I've realized that I'm seriously lacking in my updo skills. Now that the weather is getting warmer, I tend to wear my hair loose less often. I have thyroid problems and I overheat really easily so I have to keep my hair off my neck and back or else I'm just a sweaty gross mess. I never knew there was so many ways to bun hair! LHC is very enlightening!

Lady Katherine
May 6th, 2015, 03:58 PM
I've been heat free since the beginning of the year. I used to straighten my hair a few times a month.My ends are still suffering from it. I think I'll slowly trim off the damage. But I mostly quit because it would take over and hour to straighten. Yay for laziness! :cheese:

Rapunzel_to_be
May 7th, 2015, 01:01 AM
I've been heat free since the beginning of the year. I used to straighten my hair a few times a month.My ends are still suffering from it. I think I'll slowly trim off the damage. But I mostly quit because it would take over and hour to straighten. Yay for laziness! :cheese:

Hahahah yeay for laziness!! yes I agree it takes a long time to straighten and now that I don't do it anymore, I can't understand how I bothered to do it for so long! :p


I was thinking of putting it up on kajiji but for now I'm going to hold onto it. I might still use it for special occasions but I've been trying to learn more updos for that kind of thing. After seeing all of the neat pics here, I've realized that I'm seriously lacking in my updo skills. Now that the weather is getting warmer, I tend to wear my hair loose less often. I have thyroid problems and I overheat really easily so I have to keep my hair off my neck and back or else I'm just a sweaty gross mess. I never knew there was so many ways to bun hair! LHC is very enlightening!

Yea maybe it is good to hold on to it for special occasions, at least you will have a good quality one for those times :) I also want to learn more updos, I'm currently just putting it in either a sleek bun or a messy bun the times I want to put it all up, or I'll do half updos ! And I hear you, I also get soooo warm during spring/summer months, so it feels very good to put my hair up! For some reason I feel like my natural hair makes me warmer than when I used to straighten it hahha I have no idea if Its just in my imagination or not, but it really does feel that way !

mermaid lullaby
May 7th, 2015, 07:35 AM
I'm still going strong!

Aleahcim
May 7th, 2015, 07:58 AM
I've been heat free (I don't count a hair dryer on cool) for daily styling for about 2 years, other than for my dad's wedding this past October when my hair was curled And professionally styled.

I don't plan on ever really using heat again (the only exception it potentially my mother's wedding in a year, depending on what she wants).

Rapunzel_to_be
May 7th, 2015, 11:39 AM
I've been heat free (I don't count a hair dryer on cool) for daily styling for about 2 years, other than for my dad's wedding this past October when my hair was curled And professionally styled.

I don't plan on ever really using heat again (the only exception it potentially my mother's wedding in a year, depending on what she wants).


I'm still going strong!

So happy to see so many people being heat free and with good satisfying results!! :cheer:

gwenalyn
May 8th, 2015, 03:07 PM
I've been heat free since the beginning of the year. I used to straighten my hair a few times a month.My ends are still suffering from it. I think I'll slowly trim off the damage. But I mostly quit because it would take over and hour to straighten. Yay for laziness! :cheese:

Yayy! Once you go lazy, you never go back!

Betazed
May 8th, 2015, 03:39 PM
I have been heat-free for a whole month now! This is probably the longest I've gone without any type of heat in 5 years (at least 5. Might actually be closer to 10!) I'm thinking of getting a tiny trim every 4-6 weeks or so to get rid of some of the damage heat syling has caused. I hope from now on my hair will be much healthier. And it saves me a ton of time to just air dry and go. I used to spend well over an hour each time my hair got wet (usually 30 min blow drying followed by 1 hr of using a flat iron). I never realized how much time I wasted fighting my natural waves.

radiofreejenn
May 8th, 2015, 05:33 PM
I've been heat free for a few months now. Granted, I have shorter hair so it's not quite as big of a deal IMO. Even with long hair I preferred to air dry. I noticed it was much shinier and healthier that way and oddly gave me more volume.

Smky_Mtn_Echo
May 8th, 2015, 05:40 PM
I'd love too go fully heat free. I curl once a week with steam rollers for Sunday service. If I can find some other ways to style my hair nicely, i'll get rid of my rollers too. If anyone has styling ideas for collar bone length hair, I'm all ears.

TigerEyes2143
May 8th, 2015, 06:30 PM
I can count the number of times heat has touched my hair on my fingers :) The occasional hair dresser, and a few abortive attempts with a curling iron/blow drier. So no before/after, but I've gotta say ... I get so impatient and bored standing in the bathroom blowing air at my head--I just can't stand it! Air drying all the way!
Ha ha, yeah, this pretty much describes me too. I also HATE the smell and sounds of a blow-dryer, which I remember my mom did on me a couple times when I was a kid...

I WOULD say "air drying FTW!" except I'm doing NW/SO and "dry cleaning" my hair with SMP (scritching, massaging, and preening) as well as horn combs, so I don't actually wet my hair at all anymore at the moment. XD I may wash it with a diluted amount of a natural shampoo if I get something gross in it. And if that happened, or if I got it wet in the rain or ocean or something, I'd just let it air dry then. Almost 13 weeks into this NW/SO experiment though, and my hair is really getting a lot healthier and stronger, so I'm really liking it so far. =D

Rapunzel_to_be
May 9th, 2015, 01:09 AM
I have been heat-free for a whole month now! This is probably the longest I've gone without any type of heat in 5 years (at least 5. Might actually be closer to 10!) I'm thinking of getting a tiny trim every 4-6 weeks or so to get rid of some of the damage heat syling has caused. I hope from now on my hair will be much healthier. And it saves me a ton of time to just air dry and go. I used to spend well over an hour each time my hair got wet (usually 30 min blow drying followed by 1 hr of using a flat iron). I never realized how much time I wasted fighting my natural waves.

Im also doing tiny trims, or actually S&D'ing and then going to do microtrimming from time to time to get rid of all of the damage!! Every time I S&D I find so many split ends and some of them are like taken out from a horror story or something, they are sooo so bad!! I've been S&D'ing maybe about 4 times since going heat free... and it never ends... Motivates me even more though, to never again use heat on my hair!

Rapunzel_to_be
May 9th, 2015, 01:10 AM
Ha ha, yeah, this pretty much describes me too. I also HATE the smell and sounds of a blow-dryer, which I remember my mom did on me a couple times when I was a kid...

I WOULD say "air drying FTW!" except I'm doing NW/SO and "dry cleaning" my hair with SMP (scritching, massaging, and preening) as well as horn combs, so I don't actually wet my hair at all anymore at the moment. XD I may wash it with a diluted amount of a natural shampoo if I get something gross in it. And if that happened, or if I got it wet in the rain or ocean or something, I'd just let it air dry then. Almost 13 weeks into this NW/SO experiment though, and my hair is really getting a lot healthier and stronger, so I'm really liking it so far. =D

What is NW/SO ? :)

Smky_Mtn_Echo
May 9th, 2015, 04:23 AM
What is NW/SO ? :) I think it's No Water / Sebum Only

Rapunzel_to_be
May 9th, 2015, 10:19 AM
I think it's No Water / Sebum Only

Oh ok thank you :)

Smky_Mtn_Echo
May 9th, 2015, 05:02 PM
you're welcome:)

PalomaSincera
May 9th, 2015, 08:07 PM
You guys have totally convinced me to go heat free. I usually blow dry my hair about half way and then use the hair straightener for the ends, especially now because I cut it short recently without layers and it gets puffy at the end. For the past couple days I've been trying to find a way to put it up that I'm comfortable with, this way I can let it air dry and also stay away from the hair straightener.
Anyway, I'm going to stop blow drying!

Rapunzel_to_be
May 10th, 2015, 01:43 AM
You guys have totally convinced me to go heat free. I usually blow dry my hair about half way and then use the hair straightener for the ends, especially now because I cut it short recently without layers and it gets puffy at the end. For the past couple days I've been trying to find a way to put it up that I'm comfortable with, this way I can let it air dry and also stay away from the hair straightener.
Anyway, I'm going to stop blow drying!

Yeaaay thats great, happy for you !! :cheer:

Hairkay
May 10th, 2015, 02:06 AM
I never got used to using heat on my hair in the first place so I can count the number of times I've blown dried on one hand. These past few years my skin got even more sensitive to include sudden changes to temperatures as well as allergies. Changes in heat especially where water is involved will bring on a painful stinging attack that spreads from scalp all over my body.

Rapunzel_to_be
May 10th, 2015, 04:28 AM
I never got used to using heat on my hair in the first place so I can count the number of times I've blown dried on one hand. These past few years my skin got even more sensitive to include sudden changes to temperatures as well as allergies. Changes in heat especially where water is involved will bring on a painful stinging attack that spreads from scalp all over my body.

Oh that sounds very uncomfortable :( I'm sorry to hear that ! :( But its good you do not have the bad habit of using heat though :D

Auni
June 18th, 2015, 03:21 PM
Just thought I'd pop in with an update! So the last time I blow dried my hair was April 9th of this year. I think I can confidently say that my hair has recovered. Now after air drying, I have smooth, shiny, and amazing wave/curl formation...WITHOUT product! I am so happy with my hair, it's texture, how it moves, I never thought it could look the way it does, but here I am with my dream hair. So, I hope everyone is sticking with it!!:blossom:

meteor
June 18th, 2015, 03:34 PM
^ Congratulations, Auni! :joy: That's awesome news! :D


I think if anybody addicted to heat tried going heat-free for a couple months, they'd probably be super-impressed by how awesome and soft their natural hair can feel! :D The coolest thing about never using heat is that you are not afraid of rain or humidity or whatever, because usually non-heat-styled hair doesn't respond with extreme out-of-control frizz to such changes. Or at least, that's what I notice. :)

Auni
June 18th, 2015, 03:40 PM
^ Congratulations, Auni! :joy: That's awesome news! :D


I think if anybody addicted to heat tried going heat-free for a couple months, they'd probably be super-impressed by how awesome and soft their natural hair can feel! :D The coolest thing about never using heat is that you are not afraid of rain or humidity or whatever, because usually non-heat-styled hair doesn't respond with extreme out-of-control frizz to such changes. Or at least, that's what I notice. :)

Thats really interesting that you say that, I was thinking as I was posting that, that it was weird I haven't had any issue with frizz so far this summer like I normally do. Makes sense though!

nikegirl
June 18th, 2015, 10:47 PM
I hope it's okay if I join you on your heat-free journey! I haven't put heat on my hair since I've shaved it at the end of December and my hair has never felt better.

rosance
June 19th, 2015, 09:15 AM
Ok so maybe not completely heat free, but very VERY close to that. Started my hair journey in 2011. Before that I used a lot of heat (curling iron, straightener, and hot rollers). I used heat almost every day. Once I started my journey, I used it about once every three months, sometimes twice a year for length comparisons. The pic on right is 2011. I had heat damage, failed haircut, and blonde highlights. The pic in middle is from 2013, and left is 2015. I hope this can motivate you because being heat free is not as difficult as it may sound :D
http://i1298.photobucket.com/albums/ag59/gnlmoreno/201120132015_zps59d7e12f.jpg (http://s1298.photobucket.com/user/gnlmoreno/media/201120132015_zps59d7e12f.jpg.html)

rosance
June 19th, 2015, 11:18 AM
Thought I'd show today's heat free waves :D
http://i1298.photobucket.com/albums/ag59/gnlmoreno/8c0191e8-4192-45e4-bad8-73f9411fb4bd_zps1i0nrfhe.jpg (http://s1298.photobucket.com/user/gnlmoreno/media/8c0191e8-4192-45e4-bad8-73f9411fb4bd_zps1i0nrfhe.jpg.html)
http://i1298.photobucket.com/albums/ag59/gnlmoreno/2224c81f-7074-4495-9be6-b5dccda0adfd_zpsmnksvpdv.jpg (http://s1298.photobucket.com/user/gnlmoreno/media/2224c81f-7074-4495-9be6-b5dccda0adfd_zpsmnksvpdv.jpg.html)

meteor
June 19th, 2015, 11:50 AM
^ Awesome progress, rosance! Very inspiring progress pictures! I love that dramatic increase in shine you got! :applause

hinabelle
June 19th, 2015, 11:51 AM
I've recently began going heat free. Hooray! I have been air drying and not using a flat iron,
when I used to flat iron all the time. I'm happy to be doing the right thing for my hair :) Once
it starts growing longer, I'll be so happy to cut out all the heat damage!

Auni
June 19th, 2015, 05:25 PM
I've recently began going heat free. Hooray! I have been air drying and not using a flat iron,
when I used to flat iron all the time. I'm happy to be doing the right thing for my hair :) Once
it starts growing longer, I'll be so happy to cut out all the heat damage!

Good deal! Now keep up the motivation! I would get discouraged at times and want to use heat, but then I would oil the ends, put my hair up and forget about it. I used to think I just had a frizzy/course hair type, but as each month passes of being heat free it keeps on getting better, smoother, shinier, and softer!

yahirwaO.o
June 20th, 2015, 08:10 PM
I've been completly heat free for more than 6 years just because of laziness. I had my hair straightned just once about a month ago, liked it, but I wouldnt really go and grab the flat iron as a habbit again (CRINGE ! had emo styled hair from 2005 until 2008 that resambled a peacock and flat ironed my hair every single day) :couch::couch::couch: LOL

Lucy Elizabeth
June 20th, 2015, 08:16 PM
I haven't used heat on my hair in over a year, and don't plan on it for awhile as I am a lazy university student who is ALWAYS on the go and barely has time to BRAID my hair in the morning lol :p

I don't think I'll go COMPLETELY heat-free, I may curl my hair once or twice a year for a special occasion, but that will have to be in the far future as I have yet to purchase a good hair curling device since my hair has outgrown my Curl Secret

I can't wait to see how much your hair will benefit from going completely heat-free! My hair feels wonderful from not using it at all for almost 2 years.

Brunette_Barbie
June 21st, 2015, 03:23 PM
Last time I used heat on my hair was in 2011 when I needed to wear a wig (my hair straightened fits in a wig easier). Before that, I had maybe used heat on my hair about once a year.

lapushka
June 21st, 2015, 03:27 PM
Great progress, Auni & rosance!

I admit, I'm not completely heat-free (well, what is "heat"?) as I use a diffuser weekly for 4/5min. on warm (not burning). I am almost classic now with zero splits or white dots, in short: no heat damage. So that's good, no? ;)

Auni
June 22nd, 2015, 07:24 AM
So it was like, 70% humidity here yesterday, and we went golfing. Guess what, NO FRIZZ!:happydance: My hair was sleek and controlled. I couldn't believe it! I had it in a pony tail and it was just perfect! So I am a total believer in going heat free, never again. Well, maybe only on a special occasion!

flickm
June 22nd, 2015, 07:59 AM
I was completely blase about my hair. It was thick and tough and seemed to survive everything i did to it, so i blow dried on hottest, put elastics in it to keep it out of the way in the bath, once in a while borrowed a crimping iron. I always lost lots of hair but it never seemed to matter. Then I had two years of stress and lack of sleep, plus a few months of temporary dyes to blend in the grey, and my hair came out constantly, my clothes were covered in hair. Suddenly I realised my hair was only a half to two thirds as thick as before.

The final crunch came when i had to cut several inches because of damage - my hair was so straggly and porous at the ends. Then I began hennaing again this April and joined this forum for info. i was already using natural washing methods, but I began to take more notice of what people on the forum were saying about caring for long hair. I haven't used any form of heat since mid April. i can't see myself ever using a hair dryer again. It is still thinner than before, though thickening up again, so it only takes a couple of hours to air dry. With the central heating on in the winter, it's usually dry before i need to go out.

I'm like a reformed smoker over hair dryers now, warning everyone off them!

floraflowerpowe
June 22nd, 2015, 08:27 AM
I've been heat free for around a year and I don't miss using heat tools really. Some years back my cousin curled my hair with her flat iron and it completely damaged my hair. My hair was a permanent afro, while my hair is naturally wavy. Of course all that damaged has been cut out during the years and I have to admit after that, I took really good precautions when using heat.

I never straighten my hair, as it just doesn't suit me. I let my hair air dry and sometimes to enhance my waves I do a Dutch braid. Especially before going out or having a party. I'll wear a Dutch braid all day long and just before leaving I'll undo my braid, detangle by running my fingers through it (no comb or brush to avoid frizz) and flip my hair to one side. Gives volume and nice waves which I like :).

wilderwein
June 22nd, 2015, 08:36 AM
I've also been heat free for more than 5 years (with an exception of 6 months when I was using a blow dryer)
The fact to start using heat now seems more difficult!

woodswanderer
June 22nd, 2015, 08:49 AM
I've been heat free for so long that I don't have before pics. :cool: However, before LHC, it was due to laziness.

A little tip for winter...put all your wet hair under a hat in winter so it won't freeze while walking to the car.

Ambrielle
June 22nd, 2015, 10:06 AM
I am not sure i can be included. :) i use heat on my bangs (straighteners) sometimes but i haven't used ANY heat on my hair in 12 months exactly. :D

alexis917
June 22nd, 2015, 10:10 AM
I diffuse my hair after every (weekly-ish) wash on the lowest heat setting. ...but this might be fun to try. I never iron or curl it (duh).

Betazed
June 22nd, 2015, 01:13 PM
I hope everyone is sticking to being heat-free!

I'm officially at two months without heat. I was a little overzealous when I posted at the 1 month mark (I think i was about a week early) so it seems like it took a lot longer to reach my 2 month mark than it did. My hair journal lists the 22nd of April as the last day I used heat so now I can confidently say I'm 2 months heat-free! My hair dryer and flat iron were collecting so much dust that I boxed them up and put them away in a closet. I hope it's a very long time before I have to get them out again!

Aderyn
June 22nd, 2015, 11:10 PM
I've never really been a heat user, and I can count the number of times I have used heat on one hand. Last time I used heat was when I had my hair straightened was ~5 years ago for a wedding (and my hair was straight and smelled like hairspray for nearly a week..), and maybe a couple of years before that one of my friends curled it while we were hanging out (the curls fell after like 1 hour because my hair is fine and non-porous).

Aside from that, less than a handful of times using a hair dryer, though I haven't used that in 5+ years, too. I have really dry skin, especially on my face, so using a hair dryer just doesn't go well for me. Not to mention that I'm pretty wimpy and it hurts to hold the hair dryer and brush and then have the hand-eye coordination to actually do that effectively, etc.. I'm just lazy and wash my hair in the evening so it's dry (or nearly dry) by the time I go to bed.

I have a hair dryer, but it's buried in one of my parents bathroom cabinets, and I've never owned a flat or curling iron. :)

Jynkies
June 23rd, 2015, 12:28 AM
I _love_ my hair curler but have never used it much (about once a month when going out) but decided to give it up when I made the decision to try and grow my hair; last week I was going out on a date with DBF for the first time in ages (I've been very sick lately) so wanted to get gussied up, curl my hair, put on my red lipstick etc - I searched for my trusty curling iron.. and couldn't find it!!! So I tried pin curls instead.

Wow.

I'm now happy to leave my curling iron where ever it's gotten to as I loved the pin curls which looked great, held fast for the evening, overnight (tossed in a pony tail) and then gave me volume the next day which is pretty amazing!

I'm happily going heat free now ^_^

luxurioushair
June 23rd, 2015, 07:41 AM
I stopped 2 years ago and maybe I need to give my flat irons away...

Auni
June 23rd, 2015, 07:48 AM
I _love_ my hair curler but have never used it much (about once a month when going out) but decided to give it up when I made the decision to try and grow my hair; last week I was going out on a date with DBF for the first time in ages (I've been very sick lately) so wanted to get gussied up, curl my hair, put on my red lipstick etc - I searched for my trusty curling iron.. and couldn't find it!!! So I tried pin curls instead.

Wow.

I'm now happy to leave my curling iron where ever it's gotten to as I loved the pin curls which looked great, held fast for the evening, overnight (tossed in a pony tail) and then gave me volume the next day which is pretty amazing!

I'm happily going heat free now ^_^

I love heat free curls and waves! They have so much more staying power and body! You should check out the heatless waves topic- lots of how to's!

Betazed
June 23rd, 2015, 08:38 AM
I've wanted to try pin curls for ages but I can never figure out how to wrap my hair. It ends up with weird kinks in it. I'll probably revisit them when autumn rolls around and I wear my hair down more often. I'm sure there's a lot of tips on LHC that will help when your hair is longer than BSL, which is the longest I've seen on the scant few tutorials I watched.