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View Full Version : Flat irons are eeeevilllll!!!



Olivia23
October 1st, 2009, 05:41 PM
It's been at least a full year since I've used any type of heat on my hair. No hair dryer ( unless it's on cool setting ) and no flat iron. Well last week I had a get together to go to and I wanted to show off my hair by using cones, hairdryer, and flat iron. It was overkill. My hair did look straight and shiny but I hated the way it felt. It was constantly getting tangled even though I put a smoothing serum on the ends. Also when I tried to wash it out, my hair felt like hay. I had also finally gotten rid of all my split ends, but guess what? Now I have hundreds of white dots popping up all over my hair, and some had already split.

Lesson is, don't ever say it's only one time and I don't use heat much LOL! I have learned my lesson the hard way. I love my soft wavy hair!

missfortune9335
October 1st, 2009, 05:48 PM
*ugh* I know, I'm growing out flat iron damage right now. blech.

mightymustang
October 1st, 2009, 05:49 PM
Once upon a time, I also used a flat iron and never plan on it again. Your hair looks pretty with waves and I'm sure it also looked good straight but I'm like you, I don't need the damage!! Take care!

Kaijah
October 1st, 2009, 07:31 PM
They can be really terrible, can't they? My hair is pretty resistant, a one time use doesn't do much... but on and off use over the course of a year did some pretty heavy damage. I could definitely see a change in texture as my hair grew out and shed - the top few inches were always deeply colored and pretty thick, and they tapered down to fine, blondish wispy ends. I wish I had a camera that could show the change on one strand!

Waves are pretty anyway. ^_^

Dars
October 1st, 2009, 07:37 PM
I hadn't straightened my hair for 4 months, then last weekend I just felt like doing something different to my hair. I always enjoyed my hair straight in the past. But...after I was done I absolutely hated it! It looked so odd and didn't feel right. So I jumped in the shower, again!, and washed (CO) my hair and was very happy to have my curls back :D

PurpleAshes
October 1st, 2009, 09:03 PM
Flat irons are terrible. They made a part of my hair stop curling :S
You can see a pic in my album.

Brat
October 1st, 2009, 09:23 PM
Yikes! Did you use some sort of heat protectant before?

kwaniesiam
October 1st, 2009, 09:47 PM
Flat irons can be pretty bad. I go to hair school currently and a lot of the girls in my class obsessively iron their hair every day, when its already straight and very damaged from bleach to begin with. They offer to do it to my hair too :rolleyes: Um, no thank you. My hair is already straight :ponder:

dolcevita
October 1st, 2009, 09:49 PM
Aww so I read this thread the day I used a flat iron on my bangs ONLY (and a couple strands around my face infront of my ears that always want to curl funny) this morning!

I feel so much better about my appearance when my bangs are straight. The rest of my hair was in a french braid over night and that's how it dried so I have nice waves and a very neat appearance because of the straight bangs. Without straightening, I have to pin them back, wear a headband (which means I have to wear my contacts that day or else headband and glasses compete for space back there by my ears!!), or tons of hairspray (which I hate).

Can anyone recommend a good heat protectant? I plan on growing the bangs out one day so if I only straighten those once or twice a week I want minimal damage. If it helps at all, when I used to straighten all my hair, it was my ends on the sides that were the most damaged but my bangs were always pretty healthy.

Aer
October 1st, 2009, 11:28 PM
Ditto. Although, I have none those rare few that could lay their hair at the belly of a volcano, and still have less damage then I would just by using a squirt of hairspray.

Olivia23
October 1st, 2009, 11:38 PM
Yes I did use some sort of Sally's brand heat protectant before I heat styled it. Also I sometimes use it on my bangs because they are short (above my eyebrows) and they tend to want to go their own way. I don't care about damage to my bangs because I am always cutting them. I cannot let them grow long because I don't look right without bangs. I am so envious of people who can grow out their bangs. I tried, and I had people ask me what happened to my bangs and basically that I need to get them back.

mellie89
October 2nd, 2009, 12:13 AM
Aww flat irons are terrible. I used mine pretty regularly for a couple years on top of bleach damage. I quit over the summer (except for my bangs, which are now long enough to blend with the rest of my hair, thankfully) and I tried it again yesterday. It was awful, I went from nice looking waves to stringy hay with white dots everywhere. I threw it in the garbage in my dorm hallway, so it isn't coming back! :)

Nightshade
October 2nd, 2009, 07:51 AM
Flat irons can be pretty bad. I go to hair school currently and a lot of the girls in my class obsessively iron their hair every day, when its already straight and very damaged from bleach to begin with. They offer to do it to my hair too :rolleyes: Um, no thank you. My hair is already straight :ponder:

I work with one of these girls. She's forever "growing her hair out" but it never does more than touches her shoulders because it breaks off. She bleaches and has a razored cut and sideswept bangs. The shortest piece of her bangs is so trashed from heat and styling that you can just see it's like Barbie's hair after she's been in the bathtub- cruchy, broken, it almost looks like a tattered skinny dreadlock because there's so much breakage it all just velcros together. :scared:

GlassEyes
October 2nd, 2009, 08:08 AM
Surprisingly, my sister flatirons often and her hair is great. o-o;; Almost daily.

Me, on the other hand--I hate the flat iron. Every time I've used/had one touch my hair I've regretted it, yet I always seem to forget. And, for a reference point, my hair was straight this morning--it was so bad I refuse to post pictures. Blegh.

That said, flat-ironed hair can look nice...but not damaged flat-iron hair, even though I've said otherwise in the past. xD;

Nightshade
October 2nd, 2009, 08:16 AM
How about I post in the right thread?

Damn multiple tabs....

Shermie Girl
October 2nd, 2009, 09:22 AM
So called heat protectants don't really protect hair from anything. All they are is silicone that allows a flat iron to slide easily down the length of the hair without sticking and burning. It doesn't actually "protect" the hair from anything. Certainly not the heat from searing hot metal or ceramic plates clamped down on it.

I have seen pictures of hair that is routinely flat ironed with the use of "heat protectants". The hair still looks thrashed. Those products can make hair look smoother, a little shinier but they can't prevent damage from heat styling. And I get so annoyed by companies who have duped the public into believing that they can.

*Yes, "heat protectants" is a hot button for me. :lol:*

halo_tightens
October 2nd, 2009, 09:37 AM
Ohhh, I so agree with the "evil" part. I can't believe I used to subject my hair to that every day before work, and on top of multiple dye/bleach jobs, too!

Now I'm paying my penance with super-splits-from-hell on nearly every strand. I keep thinking that I might want to do it again "just once" for fun, to see how it would look at this length... but you know, it might just not be worth it. What's one day of a new 'do compared to months or years of growing out damage?

Zombiekins
October 2nd, 2009, 09:46 AM
So called heat protectants don't really protect hair from anything. All they are is silicone that allows a flat iron to slide easily down the length of the hair without sticking and burning. It doesn't actually "protect" the hair from anything. Certainly not the heat from searing hot metal or ceramic plates clamped down on it.

I have seen pictures of hair that is routinely flat ironed with the use of "heat protectants". The hair still looks thrashed. Those products can make hair look smoother, a little shinier but they can't prevent damage from heat styling. And I get so annoyed by companies who have duped the public into believing that they can.

*Yes, "heat protectants" is a hot button for me. :lol:*

Damn, that sucks. I swear I read somewhere months ago that there was one silicone (or combo) in particular that did help prevent heat damage, but that it wasn't in every "heat protectant serum" - just some. My sister recently cut her hair into a cute (but very high-maintenance) style that requires the flat iron to get it to "look right". She's got wavy hair and not even blow drying it with a brush will get the same look as the flat iron. Kind of funny - I want her texture and she wants my straight "already looks flat ironed even when it isn't" hair. :rolleyes:

So what can a flat iron person do? I've had nothing but problems with them (though I'd love to get one that doesn't burn the s**t out of hair for my bangs, they're often mischievous), but my sister just won't give it up. Though she probably only uses it once a week.

Rentlle
October 2nd, 2009, 10:08 AM
They are evil indeed XD
My hair feels the same when I use them.. I just stopped with it, altough my hair looked shiny and straight...

ladylibra
October 2nd, 2009, 03:49 PM
Surprisingly, my sister flatirons often and her hair is great. o-o;; Almost daily.

Me, on the other hand--I hate the flat iron. Every time I've used/had one touch my hair I've regretted it, yet I always seem to forget. And, for a reference point, my hair was straight this morning--it was so bad I refuse to post pictures. Blegh.

That said, flat-ironed hair can look nice...but not damaged flat-iron hair, even though I've said otherwise in the past. xD;

Oh GlassEyes... you disappoint me! I was really looking forward to a flat-iron pic. :( (Although I understand, given the circumstances.)


So called heat protectants don't really protect hair from anything. All they are is silicone that allows a flat iron to slide easily down the length of the hair without sticking and burning. It doesn't actually "protect" the hair from anything. Certainly not the heat from searing hot metal or ceramic plates clamped down on it.

I have seen pictures of hair that is routinely flat ironed with the use of "heat protectants". The hair still looks thrashed. Those products can make hair look smoother, a little shinier but they can't prevent damage from heat styling. And I get so annoyed by companies who have duped the public into believing that they can.

*Yes, "heat protectants" is a hot button for me. :lol:*

Interesting! I never knew this. I'll still stick with my heat protectant though... even if it is a misnomer. :laugh:

Mutinous
October 2nd, 2009, 04:18 PM
I used to do it daily, even more than that sometimes. I used to do it for work, even though I have to wear a hat!

I've been pretty good lately, I only ever do it when I go out, otherwise I will just wear a hat and let my hair stick out the bottom.

I would get rid of them and just live with my natural hair, but I know if I stepped into some of the pubs I go to with my natural hair I would be absolutely slaughtered.

Pegasus Marsters
October 2nd, 2009, 05:30 PM
Heat is not evil. Heat is damaging unless used in moderation. :)

Shermie Girl
October 2nd, 2009, 06:00 PM
Damn, that sucks. I swear I read somewhere months ago that there was one silicone (or combo) in particular that did help prevent heat damage, but that it wasn't in every "heat protectant serum" - just some. My sister recently cut her hair into a cute (but very high-maintenance) style that requires the flat iron to get it to "look right". She's got wavy hair and not even blow drying it with a brush will get the same look as the flat iron. Kind of funny - I want her texture and she wants my straight "already looks flat ironed even when it isn't" hair. :rolleyes:

So what can a flat iron person do? I've had nothing but problems with them (though I'd love to get one that doesn't burn the s**t out of hair for my bangs, they're often mischievous), but my sister just won't give it up. Though she probably only uses it once a week.


If your sister wears a short 'do and has it trimmed and cut on a regular basis, flat iron damage probably isn't that big a deal for her. :) Or for your bangs, if you trim them all the time. :D But it is for anyone with long hair or who is growing long hair. Heat can do so much damage and hair can't be repaired. If you aren't cutting it away regularly, heat damage can really pile up and trash your hair.

I challenge any so called heat protectant product to truly protect hair against heat. I look at it this way, I sure wouldn't spray that stuff on my skin then clamp a flat iron on it... I would end up with a horrid burn. If I could burn my skin with a flatiron after using a heat protectant, I sure as heck could burn my hair. :)

Shastrix
October 2nd, 2009, 06:35 PM
It may be my imagination, but I swear the damage to my hair (increased split ends and white dots) from a single use of my hair straighteners is noticeable even when using so-called “heat shields” and having them set to their lowest temperature setting of 160C. :(

I try and avoid them completely now, although sometimes I cave in and use them on the hair at the front of my head as often it dries oddly and has an awful kink at eyebrow height...

I think that as my hair gets longer the slight waviness is growing on me more, so hopefully the hair straighteners will soon be banished to a forgotten dark corner to gather dust... :)

Anywhere
October 2nd, 2009, 06:45 PM
Thats very true. Whenever I straighten my hair it's never completely straight, and ends up frizzy (with heat protectant that is).
I look at pictures of me from 2-3 years ago when I straightened almost every day, my hair was completely flat on my scalp, frizzy, and just all around gross.

Curlsgirl
October 2nd, 2009, 08:19 PM
Yes I agree. I am embarrassed to say that even though I KNEW better I convinced myself that it was okay to do it at the new salon I go to when I got my highlights touched up, after all it was only about once a month. I LOVED how it felt at first. Then I noticed after about the 4th time that my hair was broken all up and down the ends quite a ways up the length. I also have white dots which I haven't had in a LONG time. :mad: Thankfully with my curls you can't really notice unless you look closely so I am going to trim off just a bit at a time.

The flat iron feeling and look as much as I like it for a change is not worth the price for me. That is all.

Bellona
October 2nd, 2009, 10:55 PM
I (unintentionally) grew my hair to almost waist washing, blow drying, and flat ironing every other day, plus bleaching/changing color about every five months. It looked alright from far away, and I got a few splits but nothing major, but it felt HORRIBLE to the touch, like horse hair or doll hair or something. Towards the end before I cut it, it also started to lose its curl and just bend in 90 degree angles! Gross. I'm definitely not touching any of my virgin roots with any of that stuff!