My hair gets hot 🔥 heat protection ?

[TaterTot]

I work at a bakery and have my hair pulled up into a hat - but I am in a 325 degree oven every 15 minutes on average for 6-12 hours 5 days a week. I am positive that my hair gets damaged from the heat - is there some kind of solution to protect it, like a deep conditioning leave in I could do before work or a specific heat spray like someone would use if they were blow drying or straightening ? I have looked for heat resistant hats and headbands but don't have a lot of luck finding what I want.

I use mane n tail conditioner 2x a week with water and a dab of coconut oil maybe 4 times a week.

[Nadine <3]

I would just oil the ends with whatever oil my hair liked and then keep it pulled back into a bun. I would think that would be fine, if the heat isn't burning your face it should be okay for your hair.

[TaterTot]

It is really hot on my face and I can touch my hat and feel that it is warm, but cakes gotta bakes! In my imagination, putting too much oil in my hair would cause my hair to "cook" - is this not true?

[nikegirl]

I had the same problem as you before I shaved my head. I would use coconut oil on my ends and braid my hair into two plaits and leave that in for the day. It kept it more protected and it never "cooked" or anything like that! My hair went from damaged, fried, and frizzy to healthy, but that may have been also because I quit using heat on my hair altogether!

[Sarahlabyrinth]

I used to work in a bakery under the same conditions and I wore a hair covering of very light, almost papery fabric, a similar style to a shower cap. I wore my hair bunned underneath this cap. We had a baseball style cap also to wear on top but that was optional and I didn't wear that, just the papery hair covering. I figured that it was my face getting the heat from the oven, rather than the bulk of my hair and didn't worry about it too much, I just made sure my hair was well moisturized every time I washed it.

[Aderyn]

It is really hot on my face and I can touch my hat and feel that it is warm, but cakes gotta bakes! In my imagination, putting too much oil in my hair would cause my hair to "cook" - is this not true?

Well, lots of people do hot oil treatments.. so maybe it would just be lots of nourishing treatments for your hair?

[TaterTot]

Well, lots of people do hot oil treatments.. so maybe it would just be lots of nourishing treatments for your hair?

yes, this is my second more optimistic hope: i don't know as much about hair care as a lot of this forum does so i wondered if this was a blessing or a curse!

if anyone has any suggestions for a DIY oil treatment that would be awesome for my hair in heated conditions please let me know! i don't mind slathering it up and throwing it under the Hat of Baking.

[Aderyn]

Just use any oil you have. Olive oil and coconut oil work well and you probably have at least one of those on hand? You can just mix oils together in any fashion you want (with essential oils being minimal if you have them, obviously). I do a (non-heated) oil treatment with just coconut oil before I wash my hair for an hour or two with really great results. I wash my hair once a week, for reference.

You could try some SMT (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=128), too. There are plenty of DIY recipes out on the interwebs as well. I'd personally stick to just coconut or olive oil, though, since it isn't as runny as a lot of DIY recipes, is very simple and really easy to start with. I don't know that I'd do an oil treatment every single time you're at work, but you know.. it will be great since the warmth will open up the cuticle and allow the oils to penetrate and nourish the hair more effectively. :)

[TaterTot]

Just use any oil you have. Olive oil and coconut oil work well and you probably have at least one of those on hand? You can just mix oils together in any fashion you want (with essential oils being minimal if you have them, obviously). I do a (non-heated) oil treatment with just coconut oil before I wash my hair for an hour or two with really great results. I wash my hair once a week, for reference.

You could try some SMT (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=128), too. There are plenty of DIY recipes out on the interwebs as well. I'd personally stick to just coconut or olive oil, though, since it isn't as runny as a lot of DIY recipes, is very simple and really easy to start with. I don't know that I'd do an oil treatment every single time you're at work, but you know.. it will be great since the warmth will open up the cuticle and allow the oils to penetrate and nourish the hair more effectively. :)

i have so much coconut and olive oil !
i use coconut in hair, but have never gone olive.
maybe monday, wednesday and friday i can do oil and see if it makes it feel less dry.

[lapushka]

I think heat from an oven is different than applying *direct* heat onto the hair (straightening iron). I think you're quite safe. Just moisturize well with every wash and cover your head with a head covering and you should be just fine! Don't worry too too much. :)

[Nadine <3]

I don't think it will cook your hair. I've used a blow dryer on coconut oiled ends to apply a bit of heat. It helps it soak in nicely and gives super soft, lovely results.

[meteor]

A couple ideas:

- Do you have a measuring tool to measure the temperature your hair gets at those times? Because chances are, that temperature is OK. The studies I've seen seem to point to 50 degrees as the cut-off point for blow-drying. (Higher than that can be damaging.) But I have no idea for wet conditions - didn't see any studies on that...

- Always keep hair contained in very compact updos and cover the hair completely, preferably in silk or other "breathable" natural materials rather than synthetic stuff, because I'd think it's best for your scalp and hair not to trap heat too much.

- My intuitive thought would be to use alcohol-free heat protectant products if you are worried. They are full of silicones that are designed to be somewhat heat-resistant, and I'm not so sure about natural oils. Does anybody know: could oils with high smoke point (e.g. coconut) be more heat-resistant in this case than the ones with low-smoke point (e.g. EVOO)?

- Overall, for products, I would use penetrating oil (coconut) first and then layer coney heat protecting product on top.

[GrowingGlory]

Wearing a UV Buff keeps my hair and head cool all Summer. Maybe you could try one.

[TaterTot]

UV buff was the only thing I could find that seemed reasonable to me. Tomorrow at work I will try to measure the temp of my hat! I have to cover my hair completely but right now it is in a synthetic hat. Will consider silk, my linen hat was a bit stiff and scratchy.