Heat caps, good heat for the hair?

[Annalouise]

Hi guys, fellow long hairs.:) We know that heat is bad for our hair, but I was curious why are heat caps good for the hair when they are heat? Is it because we have a deep conditioner on our hair which makes the heat a positive thing? It's kind of a weird question but I was just wondering if there was a downside to using heat caps? Should one have it on a low - med setting? Does it matter what deep conditioner one uses? Are some deep conditioners better with heat caps than other deep conditioners? Should we limit our use of a heat cap to only once a week?

I've recently bought a heat cap for the first time and I'm wondering what your results are from using one. Do you find it beneficial?

Thanks in advance,
:puppy:

[lunasea]

I was wondering the same thing and will be watching.

[ephemeri]

I've never used a heat cap so I don't know how hot they get but I imagine they are much less hot than a flat iron, and probably even the highest setting of a blow dryer.

[TatsuOni]

I don't have a heatcap, but I like to sauna in hot temperatures and usually put in some type of hairmask, potion or other thing in my hair while doing that. Can a heatcap be worse? :p I don't know how warm theese things get. Not that I sauna that often anymore and I only wash my hair every other week...

[Rebeccalaurenxx]

I guess it's kind of compariable to the heat that your body produces naturally. Is the hair not exposed to naturally made heat when you wrap it up and coat it in a treatment? I suppose one would assume that it doesn't get upwards to 250 degrees in the heat caps... straighteners and curling irons get Very VERY hot.

[littlestarface]

Well the heat is not a direct heat on strands burning them, your putting plastic inbetween the cap and your hair and letting it warm up the strands to open cuticle to let moisture in the hair and be more proactive instead of said oil/product just sitting on top of the strands doing nothing. Hence why salons use heat for effective deep treatments.

[mizukitty]

Heat allows the fatty alcohols and oils in conditioners to adsorb (stick) to the hair better. So when you rinse it away, some remains and prevents friction, loss of natural sebum, repels water and humidity for smoothness etc. Flat irons flash dry your hair which damages the protein, and flat ironing wet hair literally causes bursts of hot water droplets to annihilate your hair (cringe)

Heat caps are a lot more subtle, even, and gradual. Can be safely used, but not necessary for everyone. I like mine because it's relaxing in general, and the pampering is nice :) It does make for softer hair, too.

[dvep]

I have a microwavable heat cap. It doesn't have to get super hot, but so far I've not experienced any adverse effects. It's quite relaxing! Apparently it's supposed to help the oils penetrate the follicles or something. Either way, it's a soothing ritual and my hair isn't hurting. Definitely only do it with oil or conditioner, though.

[Anje]

I always assumed that they didn't get very hot, since it would burn your scalp if you put direct heat on your skin above about 120°F/50°C. Compare to the temperatures of several hundred degrees advertised for many heat tools. Reasonable warmth like that isn't likely to substantially damage the proteins that make up hair.

[dvep]

If your scalp hurtsthsts probably a good sign to stop. I'd say the hot conditioning treatment vs heat damage is like the difference between coating your veggies in oil before roasting them: the former results in tender, juiciness and the latter in dry burning.