Flat irons.

[wissles]

How bad are flat irons? I know they're bad, but just HOW bad?
Because I haven't used one on my hair since my haircut (3 weeks ago) and yesterday I did, and just a little bit this morning. But now I'm just loaded with anxiety and I've decided that I won't use it AT ALL anymore.
And this is probably a stupid question, but this incident wont be that big of a deal, will it?
Right now it feels as if I'm going to get 100 split ends just because I did it ONCE.. with a protecting product.

[misspriss]

I don't think one time will hurt, I iron occasionally. Never ever iron when it is wet though.

I believe it has something to do with the heat boiling water in the hair, causing it to bust.

[Nat242]

You can probably heat style occasionally without much damage if you use the lowest setting possible, use protective products and only do each section once.

Don't panic - I doubt you've ruined your hair at this stage. Keep in mind though that regular heat styling is going to make growing long hair more difficult, and you'll probably need to trim more frequently (so your progress will be slower). But every so often, done with caution, won't do much harm unless your hair is very fragile or already damaged.

Why not give yourself a nice deep treatment/oiling when you next wash your hair? That might make you feel better.

[Gypsygirl]

It's not a big deal, hon. You'll be ok.
I have to let people do scary things to my hair a couple of times each month and sometimes every other day for a whole month. My hair is fine. Just make sure you spoil it rotten when you can. :)

[manderly]

Paging Nightshade, to the white courtesy phone.......

It depends on how long you want your hair. It's bad. If you do it once or twice a year, you'll probably be fine. Lots of people here flat iron once and a while. But you aren't going to grow healthy knee-length hair if you do it daily. It's your choice :)

[Roseate]

Don't worry about it. If you've flat ironed before without your hair freaking out, you know it won't really burst into flames from one use!:) I think some people with more delicate hair can experience severe damage from just a little flat ironing, but most heads can take a little abuse and bounce back.

I flatironed my hair about once a week the whole time I was growing it out last time, and it happily grew to waist length without any trouble, no visible damage. I've quit using it now because I've learned to love my waves and I really want to maximize the health of my hair, but once in a while won't kill you!

[Arctic_Mama]

Occasionally is not the end of the world, though it WILL do more damage to your hair than if you hadn't messed with a heat tool, there will likely be no demonstrable damage from just one time. It is habitual, cumulative effects that are the bigger deal.

[lacereza]

................................

[wissles]

Thanks. :)
But how can I style my hair without using a flat iron?
Because my hair is pretty short, and I don't like it so I'm trying to make it look as good as possible. But thing is (prepare for a bad explanation) my hair looks like this but longer:
http://gas13.ru/v3/tutorials/hair9.jpg

and I want it to look like this:
http://www.choicehairstyles.com/images/Nicole-Ritchie-Hairstyle.jpg

Meaning,
I want my all of my hair to "point" inwards, and naturally it "points" outwards. That's why I used a flat iron today, to kind of bend my ends inwards.
I reeeally hope you understand what I'm trying to say.

[melrose1985]

I still use mine every once in a blue moon but on the LOWEST setting. And i make sure not to linger on the hair. Just a quick pass though. And i dont really do it all over my head just parts that need it.

Every once in a while isnt bad, just make sure it's not on high.

* i actually used to have the iron so high that it would burn/hurt my neck after the hair fell back on my skin. I used to iron the edge of my shirts with it on the highest setting.... Not good!

[Nightshade]

Paging Nightshade, to the white courtesy phone.......

I can only imagine you're asking for these :twisted:

http://www.pg.com/science/haircare/hair_twh_110/hair_03.jpg
http://www.pg.com/science/haircare/hair_twh_73/hair_twh_73_01.jpg


Here is a case where the hair has been overheated to the point where the moisture inside has started to boil, permanently damaging both the cortex and the cuticle.

http://www.pg.com/science/haircare/hair_twh_74/hair_twh_74_03.jpg
Eventually the hair will break down and split, sometimes into a "white dot" which is just a split in the center of the hair. The second picture shows a case of trichorrhexis nodosa (white dot), where the cortex was disrupted by an overheated hair dryer.

http://www.pg.com/science/haircare/hair_twh_69/hair_twh_69_04.jpg
Here you can see the hair is so damaged that the cuticle scales are almost entirely missing, the cortex has been disrupted, and the keratin fibers are clearly visible.


Despite the pics, wissles, I'm sure you're fine, but I wouldn't do it again if you feel it's habit forming. Perhaps a round brush to curl the ends under?

[dorkfish]

This is my first post! I found this site yesterday and love it! I am afraid to admit that I use a flat iron ALOT! I never had any idea that it was sooooo damaging. I want my hair to grow, but I can't stand the way it looks without either blow drying or flat iron. It's not curly and it not straight. I don't even know if you can consider it wavy. When I air dry it looks so frizzy, I am embarrassed. I am not sure what to use to condition it. (by the way, I do highlight my hair) :(

[dorkfish]

Flat Iron Help!

[goodluckcharm]

Hi Dorkfish!

I totally understand your frustration with your hair. While more information about your current routines would help, I would suggest that you read some of the articles on the site about haircare. I have very wavy hair and it used to be a ball of frizz until I started caring for it properly. I also was once attached to my straightening iron and found that now that my hair is well conditioned, soft and frizz-free, I can embrace my natural texture much more easily.

Best of luck! :)

[dorkfish]

Well, I am still learning to use the site. There is so much information in here. I love it. But, I do highlight my hair. Only the crown. the rest I have finally managed to leave it alone and I can tell that it is much healthier than the rest, (but still damaged from past chemical treatments). I have some leave in products to assist with the frizz, but I am not sure that they are safe, they may be doing more damage than good. I will read the articles.

Thanks So Much!!

[Nightshade]

dorkfish- Those pics I posted are from my article on damaged hair :) There's a link to it in my signature (under the picture).

The article talks about how hair gets damaged, how to prevent it, and how to rehabilitate damaged hair.

[dorkfish]

Thank You Nightshade, I went to the site, but I am not very computer savvy. I wasn't able to find the article, but I saw some of the products that you have created. BEAUTIFUL!! I will be contacting the site for purchases very soon.

[dorkfish]

I am Goofy, I found it, Thanks again.

[Nera]

It's ok. if you flat iron once or twice a year.

[wissles]

Despite the pics, wissles, I'm sure you're fine, but I wouldn't do it again if you feel it's habit forming. Perhaps a round brush to curl the ends under?

I can't believe I didn't think of that! Seriously. :rolleyes: That's a really good idea, but it will be hard without using a blow dryer though, but I'll give it a try.

[HairyCarrie]

Or you could put in large, non-gripping hair rollers just long enough time to give the hair some inside bend.

[RancheroTheBee]

Or you could put in large, non-gripping hair rollers just long enough time to give the hair some inside bend.

There's always hair-wrapping, too! :)

[s_tresses]

No one said this was going to be easy;)

[Nightshade]

I can't believe I didn't think of that! Seriously. :rolleyes: That's a really good idea, but it will be hard without using a blow dryer though, but I'll give it a try.

Try spritzing a bit of diluted aloe in water in your hair, it acts like a weak gel and helps with shaping :)

[ravenreed]

I am not sure, but a different style maybe? I have had my hair trimmed so that the inner layer was slightly shorter than the outer, so that it curled under a bit.

Also, if you get a round brush and curl your hair under while using the warm setting on your hair dryer, that might be less damaging than the flat iron.



Thanks. :)
But how can I style my hair without using a flat iron?
Because my hair is pretty short, and I don't like it so I'm trying to make it look as good as possible. But thing is (prepare for a bad explanation) my hair looks like this but longer:
http://gas13.ru/v3/tutorials/hair9.jpg

and I want it to look like this:
http://www.choicehairstyles.com/images/Nicole-Ritchie-Hairstyle.jpg

Meaning,
I want my all of my hair to "point" inwards, and naturally it "points" outwards. That's why I used a flat iron today, to kind of bend my ends inwards.
I reeeally hope you understand what I'm trying to say.

[Zombiekins]

Also, if you get a round brush and curl your hair under while using the warm setting on your hair dryer, that might be less damaging than the flat iron.

Yep. I blow dry after every wash and there's nothing wrong with my hair. For comparison, I went three years without using a single heating appliance on my hair and there is no difference in the condition of my hair from then to now, aside from it being even healthier after a large trim. So, yeah, you can use a blow dryer just fine on warm (I use my "cool shot" button like I'm getting paid so that the air never becomes warmer than my skin for more than a few seconds and there is constant motion, no holding the dryer in one spot for long) on a regular basis and be ok. But, it does take a while to dry when you aren't blasting with heat (ten minutes or so), and I always stop before my hair is completely dry. Also, I've found that the oil spreads better through my hair when using the blow dryer, so no more oil clumps. Using a large, round boar bristle brush helps to get my bangs into a reasonable shape, the same should also work for you. :)

As for flat irons, do they even warm up on a decent setting? I tried to use my sister's on my bangs (trimmed semi-regularly so I figure I can do whatever I want with them) on the lowest setting it would go, and my hair sizzled and smoked when I tried to do one quick swipe. shudder: I think that's where the bunch of new growth is coming from at the front of my scalp, the damned thing burnt some of it off. :disgust:

[Kirin]

To help your hair from "flipping out" and to "flip in" instead, you'll need to sacrifice a small bit of hair, not much. Mine used to do the same thing when it was at shorter lengths.

Its a "bevel" cut, like the beveled edge on a knife blade, the inner shorter than the outter. This can be done with a 1/2 inch trim so they can do that. the longer hair on the outside, will be forced by gravity to go in, instead of out, when the under layer of hair is shorter.

[Fireweed]

I think that flat irons are hard on your hair and so is blow drying. How long do you want to grow your hair? If you are only going to your shoulders then you can do both.

[sagebabies]

my daughter has type 4 hair and I've stopped using a flat iron on her hair because she was getting very damaged hair from that and other bad things I was doing to her hair. For her, it really damaged her ends in a bad, bad way.