Can heatless hairstyles cause damage?

[EleanorRigby]

Hello everyone :)
I know they are harmless comparing to any heat styling method, but i was wondering if this can cause damage for all the manipulation, and also for the fact that many of these styles implies wet hair...
This doubt came to my mind when i found on youtube a tutorial for curling hair with a straw, i saw the girl in the video and i cant believe the results, the funny fact was that when i do it on my hair (which is way shorter) it looks pretty good too ;D (this never happened to me) so i fell tempted to do it kinda often.
i put a link to the video, if you want to see
(maybe someone with more knowledge than me can say if its damaging or not for the kind of manipulation) :o

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVZ464gdZmE

[spirals]

I think manipulating the hair does weaken it a bit, but not as badly as heat-styling. We're all going to sustain some damage from daily activities like styling and friction and whatnot, but trimming helps keep it at bay.

[lapushka]

I doubt you can compare the damage from this (if any) to damage from heat styling. In the end it's still worth it to style like this instead of with tons of heat.

[luxurioushair]

I would not personally do straw curls (because of the sheer waste of time and potential damage), or use certain types of curlers. e.g. Curlformers.

But it depends on your hair type. Just use what is good for you. I think it's safe for someone like beautyklove to use Curlformers, because clearly she has very thick hair strands. It's just not good for my hair in my opinion.

[meteor]

It all depends on exactly what you do, of course. Those straw curls look OK to me, but I wouldn't do this too frequently, especially on damaged or very fragile hair. Any manipulation is worse than leaving it alone. The thing is that with wet-setting, you normally need some elastics or bobby pins or something to tie it off or pin it up, and that's where the damage can happen, even if it's something super-gentle, like a rag-curl.

Generally speaking, I think it's definitely possible to get damage from heatless styling, especially if it involves massive manipulation causing mechanical damage.

For example, torrinpaige posted her video with pin curls disaster a while ago: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HV6DIWc0qj4
I think pin curls are not meant for really long or thick hair.

Also, Jadestorm posted a video some time ago where she showed how much "Hot Buns" (sock-bun tool) tangled up her hair when she tried to put it up: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26rbQ--tDZg

Also, some tools like velcro rollers can be terrible for long hair, tangling it a lot. And obviously, heat-free styling that involves teasing/back-combing can be very damaging.

Also, tiny super-tight micro-braids can cause damage.

Tight styling that is done very tightly on scalp (e.g. cornrows that aren't done loosely enough) can even cause traction alopecia.

So yeah, even with heat-free styles, we need to be careful. ;)

[yahirwaO.o]

Yeah I still cringe when Torrinpage tried bandu knots and had a very awful accident!!!! shudder:

Some techniques work fairly safe and better than other (pillow curlers or soft rag curls), but most you really have to take a lot of care when removing.

My personal expirience with pin curls and regular rollers, was a lot of brakeage and sometimes a bit of shedding overtime. Once in a while its ok, but as daily habit can be very damaging (fine hair like me mostly).

[spirals]

I recommend getting sponge curlers and throwing away the plastic pieces. So how do you fasten them? Put each sponge in a knee-high stocking and tie like rag rollers. They are easier to roll up than real rag rollers and more comfy than keeping the plastic pieces in.

[DollyDagger]

deinitely damage can be caused. Alot of these you tubers show such rough handling of hair that id neverdream of doing to my hair. It just couldnt withstand it. I never did any backcombing even in the 80's when everyone was doing it. It always seemed like such a really bad thing to be doing...like petting a cat in the opposite way...lol I think depending on your hair type and the type of style no heat styling can of course be safe..but always proceed with caution :)

[EleanorRigby]

Thanks everyone for the answers and advices :blossom:, im definitely reconsidering doing it too often, anyways ive found that one good thing about the straw method is that when i remove them they kind of slide from the hair so i don't have to struggle to take them off.
Thanks for the videos too is really sad when you use those methods to avoid damage and end up causing it, kind of paradoxal u.u. That reminds me a bad experience that i have in the past with headband curls, i ended up with a lot of breakage and messy hair, i guess there are things that just dont work for my hair

[meteor]

My personal expirience with pin curls and regular rollers, was a lot of brakeage and sometimes a bit of shedding overtime. Once in a while its ok, but as daily habit can be very damaging (fine hair like me mostly).

When you say regular rollers, do you mean the velcro kind? :) Those can be seriously damaging on any hair other than pretty short.
Or do you mean standard foam rollers? I always thought those foam rollers (especially the satin-covered kind (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41mmgUZJycL._SY355_.jpg)) are very hair-friendly, but I don't know... removal can be tricky, due to the snaggy-snappy plastic bits. :hmm:


I recommend getting sponge curlers and throwing away the plastic pieces. So how do you fasten them? Put each sponge in a knee-high stocking and tie like rag rollers. They are easier to roll up than real rag rollers and more comfy than keeping the plastic pieces in.

GENIUS!!! :applause
No, seriously, this is the best tip ever! Silky stockings surface will provide protection and snag-free tying off and removal.


I would not personally do straw curls (because of the sheer waste of time and potential damage), or use certain types of curlers. e.g. Curlformers.

But it depends on your hair type. Just use what is good for you. I think it's safe for someone like beautyklove to use Curlformers, because clearly she has very thick hair strands. It's just not good for my hair in my opinion.

Curlformers are excellent, but they aren't made for very long hair, unfortunately - it wouldn't fit that YouTuber's length, for example. I heard that there is a way to hook one end of a curlformer onto another to double the length, but I'm not sure how that works or if it's sturdy... and I guess you'd need twice as many curlformers for that to work.


Thanks for the videos too is really sad when you use those methods to avoid damage and end up causing it, kind of paradoxal u.u. That reminds me a bad experience that i have in the past with headband curls, i ended up with a lot of breakage and messy hair, i guess there are things that just dont work for my hair

:agree: Oh yes, headband curls is another method that can be hard to do on thick and/or long hair... for example, it turns into a massive mess and tangles on me as soon as I start trying to roll (I guess due to too many strands changing positions and mixing with other sections at slightly different angles), and I've heard similar reports from others.

In general, I think the safest methods I know are probably bun waves, braid waves, satin-foam rollers, rag curls, flexi-rods and also, since we are referring to beautyklove's video on this thread, this method with a bendy foam bun maker she showed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYbcufW9jGQ But even then, those can be heavy.

[Arctic]

I recommend getting sponge curlers and throwing away the plastic pieces. So how do you fasten them? Put each sponge in a knee-high stocking and tie like rag rollers. They are easier to roll up than real rag rollers and more comfy than keeping the plastic pieces in.

Clever idea! The stocking might help make the surface of the curler more hair friendly too for my hair. I know many never have problem with them, but for me sponge curlers make my hair dry and frizzy and rough looking. I have thrown mine away for this reason, but your technique makes me want to re-try them :D

[lapushka]

Also, Jadestorm posted a video some time ago where she showed how much "Hot Buns" (sock-bun tool) tangled up her hair when she tried to put it up: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26rbQ--tDZg

I hope she comes on here to talk about it, because the damage she got from that was quite bad! :(

[Jennah]

Oh, her hair got so short! She went from classic to BSL! ;)

Great tutorial though, wonder where she lives. :?:

[meteor]

^ Who are you wondering about, Jennah? :) Beautyklove? She mentioned in her videos she's in the Philippines. :D
Yes, it's incredible how much tight curling can shorten hair visually. :D

[MarlieJane]

Thanks for starting this thread and posing the question! While I'm sure it could cause some damage, it's got to be less damaging than heat methods or what I've done to my hair with some of those traditional rollers (I love spiral's idea for modifying sponge rollers!). You inspired me to pick up some extras straws at the grocery store this morning :-)