Natural heat protection?

[Wravyn]

Hey guys,

First, can I just say how awesome it is to have a place to ask random questions like the one I'm about to ask? Totally helpful. :o


Okay, so... I've been thinking of getting a curling wand because my hair seems to have lost some of its natural curliness since the last time I grew out my hair. It might have something to do with the henna(?). Anyway, I don't usually use heat tools and I've switched to natural shampoo bars since the last time I used them, so I'm a bit out of my league.

Is it possible to get a natural heat protectant for the occasional use? Possibly one that won't aggravate my oily hair problem?



Thanks :)

[Deborah]

The short answer is NO. Nothing can really protect your hair from the heat generated by a curling iron. Using heat to curl or straighten hair damages the hair. There is no getting around it. There are however, lots of rollers and rods and rag curlers, etc. available which can give you curlier hair without doing damage to the hair. Maybe look into these options in order to have healthy curlier hair.

Best of luck with whatever you decide to try!

[lapushka]

There is nothing natural, no. Only silicone serums will do. Don't go putting an oil in your hair, because oil + heat = frying.

[Arctic]

I am not against modest heat styling, and have a curling wand myself too. But: to be honest I wouldn't use my wand at all if I would plan on growing very long hair.

This type of heat tool can be very damaging. It can become extremely hot, they don't always have option to chooce heat settings, the hair is in direct contact with the wand... Think of it like a straightening iron with just one plate - you don't get the friction and pulling of irons but I think otherwise the damage can be at same level. Depending how thick sections you wrap you hair may come with as close contact with the surface as with the irons. I don't hink curling wand compares to traditional curling irons, except maybe those tong type curling irons are as hot, not quite sure.

I use my wand extremely rarely, and I always put it on the lowest heat and hold it still for as little time as possible. I make sure my hair is dry before I start. As for heat protecting products, I don't believe in them, although I do use one just in case. I can't wrap my head around how silicone or any other ingredient can possibly protect my hair from surface that is hot enough to make water boil and then some. So no, I don't think there are natural heat protectants other than the manual type: tossing the iron to the bin - ha ha! (This being said, I have yet to notice any damage from it, but like I said I use it extremely rarely and carefully, and I trim a lot, have shortish hair, of which I take good care of in general.)

You might enjoy playing with heatless curls?

[Wildcat Diva]

Yes I believe that the loss of curls might have to do with henna application.

Heat styling is often not great for hair that will someday become very long hair. If your hair is very durable and coarse and will stay shortish, then might be ok.


Heartless curls sounds like a good way to go.

[vampyyri]

Hm, the only "natural" heat protectants I've read about are hydrolyzed wheat protein and glycerin... but who really knows?


Many products call themselves heat-protectants because they contain conditioners or silicones which keep hair soft and spread heat out like a potholder or oven mitt between the heat and your hair. But it's an awfully thin oven mitt!

-GoosefootPrints, from the Hair Analysis Companion

[Wravyn]

Don't go putting an oil in your hair, because oil + heat = frying.

Wow, I didn't think of it that way. Yet, it makes so much sense.:hmm:

[Wravyn]

Thank you for the answers, everyone!

As much as I hate to admit it, it sounds like I need to give up the idea of getting a wand because I do want it to grow out as healthy as possible.

[hanne jensen]

That's the best decision you can make.

[lapushka]

A blow dryer doesn't cause you damage (provided you use it well), so rather use that, if you must use something that gives off heat.

[mizukitty]

As long as you're replenishing lost moisture, blow drying is definitely okay. It's maybe 120 F max, and you're moving it around and not causing heat spots. A flat iron is what, 350 - 400? And that makes direct contact and steams out the moisture instantly!

[lapushka]

As long as you're replenishing lost moisture, blow drying is definitely okay. It's maybe 120 F max, and you're moving it around and not causing heat spots. A flat iron is what, 350 - 400? And that makes direct contact and steams out the moisture instantly!

Yes, the "general rule" on this is, as long as you can hold your hand in the airstream (for a long time as some blow dryers heat up) without it burning, it is OK to use on the hair. I go by the next to cool setting, which is warm (not hot) and it is non damaging. I had classic for a year, grew out all the way from chin and diffused most of that length while it grew longer. I never got white dots, or split ends on my virgin hair while diffusing it. I still don't have them. So, it's fine! Well, for my hair at least, and I have F hair.

[mizukitty]

Yes, the "general rule" on this is, as long as you can hold your hand in the airstream (for a long time as some blow dryers heat up) without it burning, it is OK to use on the hair. I go by the next to cool setting, which is warm (not hot) and it is non damaging. I had classic for a year, grew out all the way from chin and diffused most of that length while it grew longer. I never got white dots, or split ends on my virgin hair while diffusing it. I still don't have them. So, it's fine! Well, for my hair at least, and I have F hair.

Amazing! I need to use it on warm to dry my scalp occasionally with the diffuser (wet scalp = bad for me and stupid SD) and this works wonderfully. I really love the diffuser as it pretty much eliminates hair blowing around, so no tangles and much less mechanical damage.

[Nique1202]

Whenever I think of curling wands, I think of that girl on YouTube who was demonstrating how great they were, left her hair on the wand a few seconds too long while she was talking about it, and ended up melting/burning her hair right off at the point where it started touching the wand. :tmi: Not enough NOPE in the world for me to use one.

[Arctic]

Yes that video is epic :o

[lapushka]

Amazing! I need to use it on warm to dry my scalp occasionally with the diffuser (wet scalp = bad for me and stupid SD) and this works wonderfully. I really love the diffuser as it pretty much eliminates hair blowing around, so no tangles and much less mechanical damage.

Know just what you mean. I towel dry for about 30-45 min., then airdry for 2-4H, and then diffuse for 5 min., mostly the scalp. That's about as much as my scalp can take with the SD. If it's not cleansed well enough, I get trouble air drying, even towel drying. Just in general, really. Yes, the diffuser is a handy tool! You can reach your scalp so well without getting real "heat" on it. If you set your dryer low enough (warm), it will be comfortable diffusing.

[ephemeri]

Whenever I think of curling wands, I think of that girl on YouTube who was demonstrating how great they were, left her hair on the wand a few seconds too long while she was talking about it, and ended up melting/burning her hair right off at the point where it started touching the wand. :tmi: Not enough NOPE in the world for me to use one.

Do you have a link?

[vampyyri]

Do you have a link?


https://youtu.be/LdVuSvZOqXM
:run:

[hanne jensen]

Yikes! I'm sure glad that I've always been too lazy to use one of those contraptions.

[Rosetta]

I've seen that vid before, but that's definitely an extreme case ;) I don't think that would happen with good-quality curling wand. That one seems to be of metal; I have a ceramic one that has adjustable temperature (which I of course always set to the lowest possible), and I only use it for things like travelling, when there's no time or opportunity to do heatless curls (who sits in a hotel room with rollers on when travelling? ;)), and mostly on my bangs only.

[ChloeDharma]

https://youtu.be/LdVuSvZOqXM
:run:

Yikes!!! That poor girl! I used to use a curling wand on my mum's hair and sometimes would see smoke coming from the heated hair.
Personally I just don't think you can get away from the damaging effect of high heat on the hair. Blow drying on cool or gently warm seems fine but high heat styling will do nasty things even with these so called "heat protectors".

[TatsuOni]

https://youtu.be/LdVuSvZOqXM
:run:

shudder:shudder:shudder:

[ephemeri]

https://youtu.be/LdVuSvZOqXM
:run:

OH MY GOD. I'm almost as shocked as she is in this! I don't even know what to say. How terrifying!

:shocked:
:blueeek:
:disbelief
:brainbleach:

[Anje]

Every time I see that video, I have to admire her guts for posting it anyway!

[Rosetta]

^ And seeing it has almost 50 million views, seems it's one people just *love* to gawk at ;) Not sure why people here are reacting like "this is what will happen if you use a curling wand"; the whole point of it (and one reason why it has such a huge amount of views) is that it's an extreme case and a rarity...

[Nique1202]

^ And seeing it has almost 50 million views, seems it's one people just *love* to gawk at ;) Not sure why people here are reacting like "this is what will happen if you use a curling wand"; the whole point of it (and one reason why it has such a huge amount of views) is that it's an extreme case and a rarity...

The thing is, she doesn't hold her hair on it for very long, and she apparently used a heat protectant. She mentioned that the instructions say to count to 20, and it was only 20 seconds on the video that she held her hair on the wand, and it STILL burned off. If you can burn your hair while following the instructions, I don't blame people for wanting no part of it.

[Upside Down]

There is nothing natural, no. Only silicone serums will do. Don't go putting an oil in your hair, because oil + heat = frying.

Hmm actually I don't think this is the case.
The reason we use oil for frying is that it can be heated to high temperatures, higher than water before it evaporates, before it gets to the smoking point (at which it releases nasty carcinogens).

As for using them on hair as a heat protectant, there are other things to consider such as whether they slow down the flat iron (causing more damage) - although I jow see OP wants to use a curling wand so this doesn't factor, and how heavy they will look on hair when you put enough to be a heat protectant.

I think this article sums it up nicely
http://www.naturallycurly.com/curlreading/home/why-oil-doesnt-work-as-a-heat-protectant/

And I will have to ask my friend if 20 seconds is really how long you need to keep your hair on the wand. Sounds like way too long.

[KittyBird]

My curling wand has a timer setting, where you choose 5 seconds, 10 seconds or 15 seconds. Put your hair around the wand, press a button, and the curling wand beeps when the time is up. I find that 5 seconds on the lowest heat setting (135-140 C) is enough to get nice curls that last all day, even without hairspray. I think 20 seconds sounds like way too long.
As for that video, I think I read somewhere that her curling wand malfunctioned and was way, way too hot, which is why the hair burned off. I do find it weird that she didn't notice how hot is was though, as she was holding her fingers really close to the wand, and it was right next to her head. :confused:

[lapushka]

That girl was even on "Ellen" with that video. She's a little YT famous. ;)

[Arctic]

My curling wand has a timer setting, where you choose 5 seconds, 10 seconds or 15 seconds. Put your hair around the wand, press a button, and the curling wand beeps when the time is up. I find that 5 seconds on the lowest heat setting (135-140 C) is enough to get nice curls that last all day, even without hairspray. I think 20 seconds sounds like way too long.
As for that video, I think I read somewhere that her curling wand malfunctioned and was way, way too hot, which is why the hair burned off. I do find it weird that she didn't notice how hot is was though, as she was holding her fingers really close to the wand, and it was right next to her head. :confused:

I agree I would never leave my hair wrapped around my wand for 20 seconds. I count to 8 with my wand (your timer sounds super handy!) and also use the lowest heat setting.

[Wildcat Diva]

That girl was even on "Ellen" with that video. She's a little YT famous. ;)

Says the curling wand (a la Young Guns) to the blond chick, "I'll make you famous!"

[Rosetta]

My curling wand has a timer setting, where you choose 5 seconds, 10 seconds or 15 seconds. Put your hair around the wand, press a button, and the curling wand beeps when the time is up. I find that 5 seconds on the lowest heat setting (135-140 C) is enough to get nice curls that last all day, even without hairspray. I think 20 seconds sounds like way too long.
As for that video, I think I read somewhere that her curling wand malfunctioned and was way, way too hot, which is why the hair burned off. I do find it weird that she didn't notice how hot is was though, as she was holding her fingers really close to the wand, and it was right next to her head. :confused:
Curling wand malfunction would explain a lot... Though yes, most people would surely notice it being too hot. (She was only 13 though, so probably had not much experience with curling wands etc.)

I usually count to 10 when using my wand, and at the start set in on the lowest heat setting, which is 130 C. And as I mentioned earlier, mine is a ceramic wand, which is supposed to be more hair-friendly than the metal ones (i.e. where the part you wrap your hair around is of metal). :)

[calmyogi]

https://youtu.be/LdVuSvZOqXM
:run:



:agape:

Eek! She was calmer than I would have been!

[cassandraj]

https://youtu.be/LdVuSvZOqXM
:run:

dying. :thud: