Heat...ouch!

[2gaits]

I guess I'm a bit clumsy and when I picked up my flat iron the cord was tangled a bit. In the process of fixing the cord I bumped the hot flat plate with my hand. Wow..second of accidentally bumping that hot plate and I have a blister on my finger. Ouch! Really got me thinking about using that flat iron. It's a professional one with ceramic plates and it is only turned up to about 320 degrees. I can't imagine if it was at 450. Might have melted my skin. And I use this on my hair! Think I'm done with burning my hair with the flat iron. Shudders....

Anyone else have that moment something stupid made you think about what you do to your hair?

[aethyra]

Using a flat iron on your hair is insanity! I have intense damage to my fine hair from just extra chlorine added to city water. A stylist once flat ironed my hair about 15 years ago; and by next shampoo and conditioning, I could feel the damage. This was on virgin hair too. This stylist also sold me a professional flat iron that day with the ceramic plates, etc. I put it in a drawer and never used it. I tossed it out!!! Ditch the flat iron TODAY before you melt your hair off completely.

[sophia_]

I used to curl my hair every single day, and the curls wouldn't even hold, no matter what I did! I tried everything (besides bleach, which was suggested to me several times). My hair would not hold a curl for more than an hour at the very most, yet I did it every single day. Sometimes it would fall straight right off the barrel, and I would continue to try again and again. I could not get it, but it never occurred to me to just try to wear it straight.

[blackgothicdoll]

If I show you pics of my heat damage you'll never straighten again (I'm still in rehab, lol).

I stopped dying and all that, trying to grow out virgin hair, but all I do is look back of pictures where my hair was bleached, or constantly straightened (read: FRIED), and that's enough to make me really think about my hair decisions lol.

[Joules]

Words "professional" and "ceramic plates" are being thrown around so much, as if they're supposed to make things better. Heat is heat, a hot ceramic plate will burn you just as badly as a hot steel plate, there's absolutely no way to protect hair from it. I always thought it was common sense, but everyone on youtube and in salons is raving about it, and people believe...

[aethyra]

I apologize in advance for the definitely forceful might of my words. I feel strongly about this issue.

[blackgothicdoll]

Words "professional" and "ceramic plates" are being thrown around so much, as if they're supposed to make things better. Heat is heat, a hot ceramic plate will burn you just as badly as a hot steel plate, there's absolutely no way to protect hair from it. I always thought it was common sense, but everyone on youtube and in salons is raving about it, and people believe...

@ salon approved... my mom used to take me to the Dominican hair salons when I first went natural (because your natural hair should be straight, too :crazyq:).... anyhow, I met another girl who got blow-outs at those types of salons and she made a joke that they 'jailbreak' their blowdryers. It was funny then, but not when I was 17 and had scabs on my scalp from the blowdryer, my hair smelt burnt for the next month every time I washed it. Back then I thought that was just the price to pay for presentable hair.

Nope, never again.

[Ylva]

I don’t have any heat story of my own other than buying an expensive flat iron once which I never used. I should try to sell it... But my hairdresser (otherwise good) burned my scalp with a blowdryer pretty badly a few months back, after which I gathered the courage (I’m very stoic) to request that she use less heat on the machine in the future.

[spitfire511]

Oh No! So sorry about your finger - I hope it gets better quickly! (Try mustard on it - seriously like the yellow stuff in the fridge - put it on and let it dry - I'm a serial burner in the kitchen and it helps).

Yeah - I still own a flat iron, but it hasn't been turned on on probably 10 years. I should just chuck it - embrace your natural hair or go with what a cool blow dry will do! (It's amazing how much better my hair behaved when I let it be once I stopped torturing it all the time!)

[DaniGirl]

I own way too many hot tools. Perks of being a hairdressers kid you hoard hair things. I’m down to about twice a month with any heat on my head. I don’t actually remember the last time I blow dryed my hair, and it’s ancient over 20 years old now. I find as long as I’m using a heat protect spray or serum it’s not too bad. I also know when I’ve used too much my hair doesn’t feel or look right after. Temp is never maxed for any of them, and it’s never on for long.

However my hair isn’t virgin. And until I’m ready to let myself go gray it won’t be. I haven’t had any issues with heat damage with texture lasting beyond a hair mask treatment.

It never ceases to amaze me how long some people will hold a piece on something directly on their hair with insane heat. If you have to run a straightener down the same piece of hair 6 times yikes, same if you hold a curling iron in place for 20 seconds. It makes me cringe. Like noooo stop doing that! I’ve learned how to do several wet sets on my hair to give nice curl for vintage styles without heat and as I get better at them, I’m reaching less and less for hot tools.

[lapushka]

I apologize in advance for the definitely forceful might of my words. I feel strongly about this issue.

I noticed you feel strongly about it, nothing wrong with that, IMO.

I get my hackles up when people throw the baby out with the bathwater and name the blowdryer together with the flat iron or curling iron, in one breath.

There is a sensible way of using a blowdryer/diffuser. And then there's the hot setting. ;)

[kitcatsmeow]

Heat is my worst enemy! And bleach. I have med/fine hair but it just hates heat. Even a warm setting blow dryer and it just gets frizzy and angry. I quit all heat 8 years ago. I have curled it a few times 3 maybe 4 for occasions but really it curls naturally when I take it down from a bun so I don’t need to.

[aethyra]

I noticed you feel strongly about it, nothing wrong with that, IMO.

I get my hackles up when people throw the baby out with the bathwater and name the blowdryer together with the flat iron or curling iron, in one breath.

There is a sensible way of using a blowdryer/diffuser. And then there's the hot setting. ;)

Ahhhhh!! Nooooooo!! Not the dreaded heat setting!!! *she shouted in madness with a fake english accent..*

[illicitlizard]

Ow!! I have a straightener, but rarely use it and only at 150C (around 300F) but it still feels overly hot.
I've never understood why stylists, after bleaching/colouring hair then blow dry it on the hottest setting. Not to mention then offering to curl it ? Like it's already chemically damaged, why are we trying to heat damage it too?
Actually I know exactly why, it's because they can take a better pic because the waves make the colour look better

There's no way of using a flat iron without it causing damage, but I'm pretty sure the thing with the ceramic plates is more even heating so you don't end up with hot spots and more damage than it would normally cause? Idk if that's the real reason, just something I've heard...

[Missymo]

150 degrees does really sound hot. I mean 100 degrees is boiling point, so how on earth can hair deal with even one use of a flat or curling iron without burning off?

[lithostoic]

Yep I stopped using a flat iron on my hair years ago. Used to straighten or curl my hair with it DAILY. I think I was 16 the last time I used it. Now it belongs to my mom who blowdries and straightens her hair to oblivion every other day -shudders-. I wish she would accept her natural texture. She simply doesn't like wurly (curly?) hair.