Must be missing something... <vent>

[ElenTikvah]

Alright, I was surfin' MSN and thought I'd read through their "summer hair tips" slideshow...

Now, I know that most all of us agree regarding the harm that heat can do to the structure of our hair. But I have to say, I'm absolutely fabbergasted with this one "expert" tip...

Don't Fear Your Flat Iron
Celebrity hairstylist Ursula Stephen says the key to straight hair in the summer is a ceramic wet-to-dry flat iron. First, "apply a protecting spray, such as Motions Heat Seeker Protecting Spray to damp hair and then use the iron," she says. The iron helps lock in moisture and fight flyaways. Bonus tip: "After using the iron, apply the spray again on dry hair to help protect against the sun's UV rays."

Somehow, not only is the iron locking in moisture <boggle>, but apparently, the UV rays of the sun are much more damaging that wet-to-dry flat ironing. Honestly, I don't know exactly which one is more damaging, but I'd anticipate that the wet-to-dry ironing is significantly more damaging. (If my assumption is incorrect, feel free to say so.)

Anyway, I know that this are not sources for accurate information, but I am a little surprised at how bizzare they can be!

~Tik

[neon-dream]

Gah! I'm sick of these 'expert' tips which are simply a load of rubbish!!

[Madame J]

Have you seen the picture in Nightshade's article of the strand of hair that exploded from the water inside being heated to vaporization? It's cool and scary (if you flat iron your hair when it's still damp and you consider that could be your hair!).

[Carolyn]

Anyone can declare themselves an "expert" on anything and put out all sorts of inaccurate and just plain bad information. It's up to those of us who read such garbage to sort out what we think is right and true and decide for ourselves. I just roll my eyes at a lot of "expert" advice and laugh it off as nonsense.

[Shermie Girl]

I get a little nutzo when I read tips like that one. We all know that flat irons are absolute death to hair and should only be used rarely, if ever. But what really sends me over the edge is the insistence that using "heat protectors" is going to magically keep out the heat and protect your hair from damage. If those products really did keep the heat away from the hair, they would render a flat iron useless, as it is the heat that makes it do it's thing. The silicons in these products let the iron slide along the hair, keeping it from sticking but it doesn't "protect" the hair from anything. And I am so tired of hearing about how it does. :rant:

[babybabycat]

Why is it that marketing is always a bunch of HYPE? You can no longer trust anything that you read in a magazine. You have to search for the truth, dig to find the answers.

[Ursula]

For the record, that Ursula is not me!

[Silver & Gold]

For the record, that Ursula is not me!

I'm glad you cleared that up. Cause I couldn't help but say to myself, "What is that girl thinking????"

[Unofficial_Rose]

Well, if she really is a "celebrity hair stylist" (oh, and we must believe her if she has anything to do with celebs :rolleyes:) then this would explain why so many of them are walking around with a head full of extensions. :spitting:

[spidermom]

I'd love to go right out and buy one because I love how shiny and smooth my hair gets from flat-ironing. For some strange reason, though, I have my doubts about claims of "locking in moisture" and "protecting from the sun's UV rays."

Why why why must we LHCers be such killjoys!?

[wheatfree]

Celebrity hairstylist.... People PAY her to do that to their hair.

[Silver & Gold]

Why why why must we LHCers be such killjoys!?

Did someone say 'joy'? Where? I must kill it NOW!!!

:hatchet:

[enfys]

Right, does celebrity hairstylist mean stylist to the celebrities, or she's a minor celebrity who is on MSN or Yahoo answers or whatever?

I feel so sorry for the people who just believe it, I'm sure there's a lot of them, the adverts are so convincing.

[wintersun99]

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

[abritta3]

Wow! Incredible to me to think that I used to buy into that garbage too before I started doing reading on the history of hair, etc and then thankfully I found LHC!!

[RancheroTheBee]

Well, she is right, to an extend. Those heat protectors are usually silicone and oil-based, and they provide lubrication and a heat barrier. But really, it's kind of like fighting a bear while wearing a suit made of Saran Wrap - It will protect you, technically, but the bear will still win.

Also, the only way heat-protection sprays could negate the effects of the sun is by relfecting light and minimizing the impact of the sun; this time, it's bear vs. you + suit made of cardboard. Bear still wins.

(I just really like bears. :p)

[Fractalsofhair]

Heat sprays hide the damage, which is enough for most people. Also, heat styling from wet to dry without any sort of way to hide the damage is VERY bad even on very short hair! Heat styling will still damage hair, but, those articles are meant for people with very short hair, not even shoulder length. However, people with longer hair(Shoulder length or so) take those words to heart and well... We end up with stringy over bleached hair that is flatironed and breaking off.

[wackyredtangles]

I used to flat iron my hair quite a bit, but I always knew it was bad for my hair.