Do any longhairs use flat irons? I miss my flat iron :(

[Pear Martini]

I have not used my flat iron for almost 3 months, it has been lost and I am enjoying not damaging my hair.

I want to buy a cheap walmart flat iron just to style the from with and maybe once or twice a month my whole head.

I have a few questions, please answer the ones you know the answer to:

1. Is it safe to flat iron on a no-cones diet?
2.What heat protection do you use?
3. Do you still flat iron?
4.How long and what type is your hair?

[Bene]

1. Is it safe to flat iron on a no-cones diet?
I'm currently going cone-free, but I'd never tell anyone that flat ironing is safe. Damage is damage. I make sure that my hair is completely dry so that I'm not boiling any water inside my strands, and try to keep it at the lowest setting possible.

2.What heat protection do you use?
I use the Living Proof- No Frizz line.

3. Do you still flat iron?
I've started up again. Maybe once a month.

4.How long and what type is your hair?
Waist length, 3A, medium-coarse.

[peachrose]

1. Is it safe to flat iron on a no-cones diet?
Cones seem to help with adding shine to flat ironed hair, I don't think they minimize any damage. I am cone free generally but when I do straighten on I use heat protection with cones.

2.What heat protection do you use?
Frizz ease thermal protection serum- full of cones.

3. Do you still flat iron?
Once in a long while. I did for my birthday in Oct and plan to for Xmas also. I can get away with having it straight for 1 week then I clarify and deep condition. I like my hair wurly but every now and then it's nice to shock myself (and DH!) with how long it is straightened, I gain a good 2 inches!

4.How long and what type is your hair?
BSL+ 2b/2c

[contradiction]

If you are going to buy a flatiron I wouldn't get one from WalMart. Every flatiron, styling tool I have used from there is usually weak and ineffective or difficult to handle, plus they break so easily.

[Dreams_in_Pink]

whatever you do, DON'T get a cheap one. If you're going to cause damage, at least it should be worth it, right? (i have both good quality and bad quality ones, the difference is huge)

[Alexannee10]

2.What heat protection do you use?
CHI Guard Thermal Protection (Full of cones :/ )

3. Do you still flat iron?
For special occasions. I'll flat iron for Christmas!

4.How long and what type is your hair?
My hair are 29" and type 1B - M - ii

[rogue_psyche]

Try to keep your willpower. Flatirons cause damage even with a heat protectorant. Heat protection serums are usually a ton of cones with a little bit of sunscreen. Would you spray cones and sunscreen on your hand and then high five a clothes iron, expecting not to get hurt? The "protection" aspect of those products are very limited; mostly they just hide whatever damage you accrue.

If for some reason you really want straight hair, use a blowdryer instead. You might not get the stick straight hair that the iron gave you, but you would be damaging your hair less.

Or, you could embrace your natural texture, which I'm sure is more gorgeous than anything heat can do for you. ;)

[mugglemomof3]

Yes, I still flatiron. A couple of times a month. And I'm pretty sure that no matter what quality of iron I'm using (we've got one expensive on and one Wal-Mart brand one) or what kind of heat-protection spray I use (I do like Silk Elements Mega Silk Heat Protection Spray and Proclaim Glossing Polish and Heat Protection (both from Sally's)) the flat-ironing and curling-ironing are RUINING my hair. Even just a couple of times a month.

I go back and forth between not caring and just wanting to keep it between armpit and BSL (which is all it will grow if I don't baby my hair) and being good so I can grow it back to waist.

It really is either one or the other. Flat irons are evil.

[Heidi_234]

I'm growing out damage caused by flat iron use on my bangs. The ends are a total nightmare, and this convinced me to never flat iron my hair ever again. It just not worth it.

[gnegirl]

Flat iron? What is a flat iron :)? (ducking, i'm a 1a...no need to make it any straighter!)

[Unofficial_Rose]

I'm growing out damage caused by flat iron use on my bangs. The ends are a total nightmare, and this convinced me to never flat iron my hair ever again. It just not worth it.

I have just had a similar experience. I have delicate hair at the moment anyway, because I have a lot of bleached highlights over henndigo (eek!) but I recently flat-ironed my hair as I had a big customer presentation at work.

Result: Hair looked good on the day but I ended up trimming half an inch off the most damaged bits as they were just so irredeemably fried that even deep conditioning and oiling the ends couldn't make them look decent. And this was avoidable :brickwall

Of course if your hair is less damaged to start off with, you can get away with more, but it's risky. :shrug:

[Sheltie_Momma]

I taped a ziploc bag full of my really bad split ends to the top of my flat iron. Everytime I get the urge I see the baggy and stop. The flat iron is like crack to those of us in the 2a 2b range!

The crown of my head to about ear length has never been flatironed - it is shiny and dark brown (no orange-red tones) and supple and smooth. I think it will be 4-5 years before I grow off all my flatironing damage and I think I will have new hair type, as my non damaged hair isn't as wavy, frizzy or coarse.

1. I would not call it safe, no. This isn't me being judgemental, this is me and my white dots giving my own experience.
2. When I flat ironed I used Tresemme.
3. I haven't flat ironed since sometime in late April.
4. Waist (soaking wet LOL) coarse, 2a/2b

I pre-conditioned with low fat coconut milk this weekend, whoa, shiny, soft, supple, smooth hair. If I had known my hair could be like that I would never have had to use the flat iron in the first place!

[Athena's Owl]

I heat straightened my hair in june 2009.

the time before that was in 2008 sometime.

as you can see it's not something that i currently do with any regularity. heat processing is damage, period.

[Gypsy]

I flat iron, but I don't consider myself a long hair!

I am not really much help here, though.

I use whatever shampoo catches my interest, I try to do no-cones, but I don't always get a good result doing that so I use what works or see something new and try it and either it works or doesn't.

For protection, I don't use a specific thermal protection products, except maybe Elasta's mango butter, that is promoted as a thermal proctectant but I never used it solely for that purpose (plus, apparently they are reformulating it and the old formula is on back order, so I don't have any of it, anyway); I typically grab some of the rinse out conditioner that is in the shower, rub it in my hands (not enough to make the hair wet, just enough to coat it but not soak it) and smooth it on the section I'm working on before using the iron. The stuff that has worked best is the Cherry Almond Bark cond from Sally's.

I flat iron maybe 3 times a month; my natural texture is too freaking wild to let go on it's own for more than a day or two. It really breaks way more when it's natural because of the zillions of textures fighting with the curls, they literally snap off from the friction they create on their own and all the products, techniques, leave ins, etc, do not help so I get better results ironing the hair straight to reduce it's own friction. blow drying only does not get it straight enough to reduce friction, it is still highly kinky with blow drying.

My hair is just a smidge below shoulder length (it was below bra strap-teasing waist length a couple months ago) and my textures range from 3a in the bangs, top and sides in front of the ears, 4b at the crown, 3b in the back and 2b at the nape.

[Dars]

1. Is it safe to flat iron on a no-cones diet?
No, it's never "safe" to straighten hair.

2.What heat protection do you use?
None.

3. Do you still flat iron?
Only my fringe, which I regularly cut. My whole head, no. In the past 7 months I have only straightened my whole head once and I hated the look of it so much I washed my hair right after I finished.

4.How long and what type is your hair?
APL+ 2c/3a, F/M, ii

I was SUPER addicted to straightening my hair, I invested in a $300 straightener and salon only heat protectants. Now I don't have a single desire to use it, not even for highly special events.

[spidermom]

The best heat protection sprays are silicone based. Silicone is a very poor heat conductor, so as long as you are moving the flat iron fast, it will prevent the heat from penetrating into the hair shaft. Don't go too cheap; you get what you pay for. You want something that heats evenly and glides down the hair, which heat protection sprays also provide - smooth glide.

I let my stylist flat-iron my hair about once a year. I love how long and shiny it looks when she does it.

[cupcakes]

I think many of us would agree that the ends are the driest parts of our hair (or aren't because the ends are oiled a lot more than the rest). When I flatiron I focus on the center length of the hair. The part closest to the head, with me, isn't that wavy, and the ends are so dry that they just need a quick pass to straighten out or none at all. I have used CHI products as heat protection (can't afford a CHI iron that's for sure) but don't think they make a difference. If you wash often I wouldn't iron that often. I wash twice a week so if I ironed once I'd get flat hair for three days.
I have dyed hair so my ends might be extra dry. Undyed hair can be less dry but also harder to iron flat. The dye in my hair tames flyaways. It's true I have three inches of regrowth and it's all over the place compared the the dye hair. So, if you dye (especially lighter) then maybe the ironing will be the straw that broke the camel's back. If you have natural color maybe ironing will need to be so hot that it wrecks what you have.
It's winter and there's no way I'm even going to work (unheated) or stay home (barely heated) with wet hair, so I have to blowdry almost right away. With proper technique, one can blowdry fairly straight. Seeing as superstraight at flat hair is out of style (as a 'do, not as natural texture), I would imagine a good blowdry will get hair sufficiently straight.
I blowdry my few-inches-shy-of-waist hair the following way.
Starting with blotted-dry hair (not rubbed with a towel, not dripping, but with water sqeezed out using a non-terry towel), I begin blowdrying at the back of the head. I divide my hair in rough halves (part down the middle-near middle) and work with one half at a time. Keeping the blowdryer at a generally downward angle (this is important, where the dryer nozzle is above your head and the air blows downwards almost parallel to your hair), I slowly run the dryer over small sections of hair. So first it's a handful from the back left, then another more towards my ear, and so on to the front. Now you can start on the other side and do the same.
Next I brush my hair gently to get tangles out. I use a plastic vented brush because it doesn't absorb water and I'm about to use it to dry with also. You can use a comb or if you have the time, finger comb your hair.
Now using the vented brush (it has holes in it for the air to flow through) I hold it on one side of a handful of hair and hold the blowdryer on the other. I slowly drag the brush down through the hair and follow down with the dryer. Do not (at any point in this whole procedure) wave the blowdryer around or side to side. Home hairdryers will not get hot enough to burn hair plus you can always turn the heat on low. I use medium and hot depending how much time I have. Waving the dryer tangles the hair and is bad because you'll be brushing the tangles out and your hair will rip and tear.
Finish the dry-with-brush at the front of your head.
For flipped or straight ends have the brush on the outside and the dryer inwards near your face. For curled underish ends, have the brush on the inside and the dryer on the outside.
Hair professionals recommend not drying until your hair is 100% dry, but til it is 90% dry. If it seems dry it probably is and there's no point to blow it further as it will not frizz upon airdrying the rest of the way.
When I am done drying my hair is very smooth and I insist my fiancee touch it. Be wary of braiding or twisting hair into buns at this point as the last 10% dampness is still enough for my hair to set to braid waves. But I guess if you want straight hair you're wearing it mostly down.
Hopefully blowdrying your hair straight in this fashion is straight enough for your style desires. I have not noticed any damage using this method and to tell you the truth I am pretty negligent with my hair. (I dye, don't do regular split hunts, and hardly ever oil.)
And anything is better than going out in winter with wet hair.
Good luck :)

[Curlsgirl]

I have a Chi iron but I rarely use it. I was letting my stylist at the salon use one on my hair once a month and I started seeing the damage VERY quickly. I found one there that could blow-dry my hair almost as straight as a flat-iron and after that she runs the flat iron over it VERY quickly and uses heat protectant. It lasts a good week until I have to wash again. I have been getting it done MOST every month. It seems to be good but it will still cause damage. Any heat will. I am willing to compromise and keep my hair trimmed. I LOVE silky straight hair once in a while but I like my curls too. What good is growing hair if you don't enjoy it? However, once a week would be way too much in my opinion. And using it more than lightly running it over your hair would cause more damage than I would want to deal with.

[Captain Nikki]

1. Is it safe to flat iron on a no-cones diet? Flat ironing will always cause damage.
2. What heat protection do you use? Kerastase Nectar Thermique is amazing stuff!
3. Do you still flat iron? Very rarely. My curls are much nicer since cone-free CO washing.
4. How long and what type is your hair? BSL & fine.

[Laylah]

1. Is it safe to flat iron on a no-cones diet?
I don't think that cones would really make a difference in terms of heat damage. Heat styling long term would cause damage, and heat styling occasionally or on hair that you won't keep for long (like fringe) won't cause much damage, regardless of cones.

2.What heat protection do you use?
I don't use heat regularly. The one time I did, I didn't use heat protection serum.

3. Do you still flat iron?
I didn't use a flat iron before, nor do I now. I only used a flat iron once for a party, borrowed from a friend.

4.How long and what type is your hair?
About 32 inches and quite wavy.

[Leena7]

If you are going to flat iron, get a good quality one rather than a cheap one, even if you are only going to straighten your hair once a month. I have found ceramic irons to be better working and even less damaging than metal ones.

[HappyHair87]

I flat iron every other week or once a month. :)

I'm not bald :D

[RocketDog]

I pull out my flatiron occasionally, but find that the temporarily sleek locks are not worth the hassle any more - now that my hair is past shoulder length it takes forever to get it all straightened, augh!

To answer your specific questions, I do not use cones or any sort of heat protection spray when I use my flatiron, although I do rub a drop of jojoba oil between my palms and run it over the flyaway bits to smooth them out. I find that doing a nice SMT-type conditioning treatment before and after ensures that my hair looks good when it's straightened and keeps it happy afterwards as well. I agree with the suggestion on purchasing a very nice flatiron, they are well worth the expense even for infrequent use.

[lacereza]

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

[Debra83]

I bought some FEkkai Coiff ironless straightening balm, and it really does work. I never thought any of those products were for real, but this stuff actually makes my hair straighter without blow drying -- and if I use a round or paddle brush and flat nozzle, it looks like it's been ironed. Plus smells awesome. If your hair's not curly, but wavy, I recommend it.

Cool. Gotta try to remember that one!!!

I have one very expensive flat iron I bought off of an infommercial a few years ago, and I have 3 curling irons - none of them have been used for a long, long time, but I can't throw them out. I bought a "no iron straightening balm" from Avon that I forgot about until reading this thread, and I have the Pantene straightening cream as well. Have to try to give them a go again and check the results...maybe post a pic if I get it right!!!!!

[Aditi]

1.What heat protection do you use?
I use Matrix Biolage Leave-in serum for protection.

3. Do you still flat iron?
I only do it occassionaly.

4.How long and what type is your hair?
I am nearly Hip length and 2a/M/C

[WavyGirl]

1. Is it safe to flat iron on a no-cones diet?
I think flat ironing always causes damage.

2.What heat protection do you use?
I just use my usual leave-ins. I don't do it often enough to warrant buying a specific product.

3. Do you still flat iron?
I stopped using heat & cones at all for 3 years. Now I occasionally blow dry and maybe once or twice a year I'll use my flat iron. I always see damage after I've done so. I also find that it doesn't work as well if you are not doing it regularly.

4.How long and what type is your hair?
31" 2c/3a and mixed textures which I classify as medium for ease. It's middle of the range for thickness.

Going cold turkey on the heat styling worked for me. It was not easy learning to love my natural hair. In fact I still damp bun now most times because I find wearing my natural curls very hard. My wave/curl pattern is bizzarre to say the least. The 2a/b effect I get from damp bunning is now my favourite although I do wear it curly for a change now & then. I think you have to decide what's more important, super long hair or heat. If you don't aim to grow much past waist then the heat avoidance isn't as important.

[alys]

I flat iron more than most people here, probably. I've also spent countless hours investigating heat tools and effects. I flat ironed when I had BSL and when I wear a chin-length bob. So I am for sure when I say that flat ironing is bad for your hair, plain and simple. Here are a few pointers from my own personal experience/investigation:
Cheap (chain store) flat irons are no good. They don't get as hot, they dont hold even temperture along the plates, and oftentimes you end up making multiple passes over the same section of hair in order to get the straightening you desire. And I've noticed the effects are very short lived and all but destroyed by humidity.
Go with a CHI. FHI, SEDU, GDH or other top-quality flat iron. They all have temp regulators so you dont burn your hair (well, extra burn). They all use ceramic or tourmaline which are very helpful in terms of defrizzing. Their heating elements are of a higher quality and provide even heat which is the key to a good press.
If you dont use cones...hmmm...I would not flat iron my hair without some sort of heat protectant, and unfortunately cones are very good at protecting from thermals. I really can't advise you here because I believe that not using any protectant is going to make an already bad thing worse. If you only straighten every so often, why not keep some heat glide or something around just for those occasions?
You can really tell the long haired people that use thermals from those who don't. But there are some people that pull it off ok, like Jennifer Aniston, who has poufy frizzy hair in reality. She uses the Sedu iron, and has for many years. You can see that her hair is pretty, IMO, but also much thinner and lanker than it was back whenever muddling through and friends came out.
I recommend Redken heat glide, I've used a lot of thermal protectants and this one has worked the best for me, though it's a bit on the pricey side. I've had the same CHI for 5 years or longer, love it. Only need one pass over each section, and that makes a big difference I think. Good luck!

[morguebabe]

I flat iron my bangs. Thats about it. THey are short, and grow fast so about every 3 months I have new bangs anyway.

[Madame J]

I'm going to echo the advice to get a not-cheap flat iron. Cheap irons, even ceramic ones, have sharp edges and exposed screws that can snag and rip hair. If you're going to do something as damaging as ironing, you need to make sure not to cause any collateral damage.

I have very hardy hair, so I never noticed damage from flat-ironing, but I was also getting my hair cut every few months. I don't remember if I used a heat protector, but I do know that it does not take long for an iron to vaporize water. On the one time I accidentally used it on damp hair (the canopy was dry, but the underlayer was still wet, I found), I heard hissing as soon as it touched my hair. I also never ironed it more than once a week.

Hmm... that's a pretty expensive piece of equipment to take up space in my closet... maybe I should list it on the swap board...

[contradiction]

Actually I agree. I want to get away from any use of my flatiron because my ends are so so damaged now. I used to flatiron every day and looking back I wish I hadn't. The ends look bad and it will take years to have healthy hair again.

[Dolly]

Flat iron? What is a flat iron :)? (ducking, i'm a 1a...no need to make it any straighter!)


LOLOLOLOL....I know what you mean.....about 4 years ago, I had a woman in Wal Mart ask me what type of flat iron I use on my hair because it is stick-straight!

[littlebabywulf]

I use one now and then. At a maximum, I only let myself use it once a week. And realistically, I use it once every 3-4 months.

I didn't read the whole thread, just the first page, but you'll definitely want a good quality one. I have a Sedu that I love. CHIs are good, but I've heard that they tend to die much more quickly than Sedus. I've also heard that GHDs are good, but I've never tried one. With a good quality one, I can straighten my hair on the lowest temperature setting possible and have it last all day.

For a protectant, I use CHI 44 Iron Guard. It smells yummy, and it was one that was recommended to me. I straighten so infrequently that I've never had to buy another type.

I currently CO my hair, which is about BSL. I don't remember what type it is, though. Some sort of chaos with stick straight, wavy, and actual formed curls. :) It can't technically be virgin hair because I do straighten it and dry it every few months, but other than those two things it would be virgin hair.

[melrose1985]

I dont miss mine. I dont really have very long hair either. I tended to use it when my hair is at shoulder or a hair below. My hair likes to turn and twist different ways so i would use the iron to correct it. Now that it's longer it doesnt really do it as much so everyonce in a blue moon (pretty much never) i'll break it out. But once all my hair is past my shoulders (i have layers) I probably wont use it ever.

[xxchoco]

I don't know if anyone replied the first question "properly", just skimmed through this thread and found no real answer, so I'm going to write some things I know about cones & heat damage. they actually prevent it. Here's a pretty good and scientifical article/pdf I read 2 weeks ago here: http://www.dowcorning.com/content/publishedlit/HEATPROTECT.pdf

The "silicone prevents heat damage" talk starts from page 9, so feel free to skip the first pages. You can also google "heat damage silicones hair" or something similar :)

Few extracts from the text:

Thermal conductivity measures how quickly heat is passed through a material.
The higher the thermal conductivity, the faster a material will transmit heat.

Silicones have lower thermal conductivity compared to water, glycerin and
mineral oil and so will transmit heat to the hair more slowly.

// Water, on the other hand, absorbs and dissipates more heat than the other materials, That is why it is so important to maintain the water content of hair.

The best protection of the hair is achieved when both water and silicone are present

I would advise you to wash with a cone free conditioner and use heat protection that contains silicones. Whenever you get build-up, just wash with a gentle shampoo :) (You shouldn't get build-up that easily!)

Hope this helped.

[camirra555]

I get my hair flat ironed by my hair stylist about twice a year. She blow drys it first and then runs the flat iron over it with an AG heat protecting serum. I used to flat iron more frequently but the thing is I was never really good at doing it by myself and the damage just isn't worth it

[Madame J]

I don't know if anyone replied the first question "properly", just skimmed through this thread and found no real answer, so I'm going to write some things I know about cones & heat damage. they actually prevent it. Here's a pretty good and scientifical article/pdf I read 2 weeks ago here: http://www.dowcorning.com/content/publishedlit/HEATPROTECT.pdf

The "silicone prevents heat damage" talk starts from page 9, so feel free to skip the first pages. You can also google "heat damage silicones hair" or something similar :)

Few extracts from the text:

Thermal conductivity measures how quickly heat is passed through a material.
The higher the thermal conductivity, the faster a material will transmit heat.

Silicones have lower thermal conductivity compared to water, glycerin and
mineral oil and so will transmit heat to the hair more slowly.

// Water, on the other hand, absorbs and dissipates more heat than the other materials, That is why it is so important to maintain the water content of hair.

The best protection of the hair is achieved when both water and silicone are present

I would advise you to wash with a cone free conditioner and use heat protection that contains silicones. Whenever you get build-up, just wash with a gentle shampoo :) (You shouldn't get build-up that easily!)

Hope this helped.

I would like to see where this study was published in a peer-reviewed journal. The link goes to a presentation done by a major manufacturer of silicone compounds, and is therefore, not exactly an impartial source. How does the application of 0.125 g of silicone per 1 g of hair relate to "typical use" of a nickel-to-quarter sized amount of serum smoothed over an entire head of hair? What is the vehicle they use? Do they test pure silicone, or do they test it at a dilution comparable to what is used in silicone serums? And where did they get their human hair for the last bits? The picture they show of untreated hair does not look like the picture from P&G of "undamaged, adult hair" that Nightshade used for her damage article.

I'm not saying silicones don't prevent damage, I'm just doubting if the real-world results would be as dramatic as the study suggests. Just because a material doesn't conduct heat well doesn't mean that a thin coating of it will protect against thermal damage -- plastic has a pretty low thermal conductivity, but I'm not going to wrap my hand in plastic wrap to take a hot pan out of the oven. Thermal conductivity is only one part of the heat transfer equation.

[Altocumulus]

I haven't read the article, but something seems a bit off to me. Isn't it necessary for the heat to reach the hair in order to (temporarily) change its texture? The heat must reach the hair in order for the process to work; otherwise just passing room temperature metal or ceramic plates over the hair would be sufficient to straighten it. Even if silicone slightly decreases the rate of heating, doesn't the fact that the hair actually gets straighter mean that heat has affected the hair?


I don't know if anyone replied the first question "properly", just skimmed through this thread and found no real answer, so I'm going to write some things I know about cones & heat damage. they actually prevent it. Here's a pretty good and scientifical article/pdf I read 2 weeks ago here: http://www.dowcorning.com/content/publishedlit/HEATPROTECT.pdf

The "silicone prevents heat damage" talk starts from page 9, so feel free to skip the first pages. You can also google "heat damage silicones hair" or something similar :)

Few extracts from the text:

Thermal conductivity measures how quickly heat is passed through a material.
The higher the thermal conductivity, the faster a material will transmit heat.

Silicones have lower thermal conductivity compared to water, glycerin and
mineral oil and so will transmit heat to the hair more slowly.

// Water, on the other hand, absorbs and dissipates more heat than the other materials, That is why it is so important to maintain the water content of hair.

The best protection of the hair is achieved when both water and silicone are present

I would advise you to wash with a cone free conditioner and use heat protection that contains silicones. Whenever you get build-up, just wash with a gentle shampoo :) (You shouldn't get build-up that easily!)

Hope this helped.

[Pear Martini]

I bought some FEkkai Coiff ironless straightening balm, and it really does work. I never thought any of those products were for real, but this stuff actually makes my hair straighter without blow drying -- and if I use a round or paddle brush and flat nozzle, it looks like it's been ironed. Plus smells awesome. If your hair's not curly, but wavy, I recommend it.

thanks, I will have to look this one up later. I miss that sleek look and the extra length it adds.


I don't know if anyone replied the first question "properly", just skimmed through this thread and found no real answer, so I'm going to write some things I know about cones & heat damage. they actually prevent it. Here's a pretty good and scientifical article/pdf I read 2 weeks ago here: http://www.dowcorning.com/content/publishedlit/HEATPROTECT.pdf

The "silicone prevents heat damage" talk starts from page 9, so feel free to skip the first pages. You can also google "heat damage silicones hair" or something similar :)

Few extracts from the text:

Thermal conductivity measures how quickly heat is passed through a material.
The higher the thermal conductivity, the faster a material will transmit heat.

Silicones have lower thermal conductivity compared to water, glycerin and
mineral oil and so will transmit heat to the hair more slowly.

// Water, on the other hand, absorbs and dissipates more heat than the other materials, That is why it is so important to maintain the water content of hair.

The best protection of the hair is achieved when both water and silicone are present

I would advise you to wash with a cone free conditioner and use heat protection that contains silicones. Whenever you get build-up, just wash with a gentle shampoo :) (You shouldn't get build-up that easily!)

Hope this helped.

Thank you so much :D

[DanielleRenae]

I have to say that I totally agree that cheap flat irons are a waste of money. I've bought three or four from Wal-Mart and they have never compared to the quality of one I bought from Sally Beauty Supply (it's a jilbere de paris tourmaline series).


2. I have tried many heat protectors and found that I like John Frieda Frizz-Ease Hair Serum Thermal Protection to be my favorite. I get that at Wal-Mart.
3. I use a flat-iron about four times a week *gasp*. I have been doing this for three or four years and have not noticed any considerable damage. I use my straightener on the lowest setting possible and use plenty of thermal protector.
4. My hair is tail-bone length (my avatar hasn't been updated in a year) and it is coarse, thick, and straight. I straighten it to get the frizzies out and make my ends straighter (they get all bent up at night).

I realize that hair straighteners can cause a lot of damage, but my hair has gone from chin length to tail-bone length in four years and the straighteners have not damaged it to a noticeable point. I also get my hair trimmed half an inch every 4 months, so that's important to mention.

[thelittleredfox]

I do once or twice a month for special occasions, on dry hair. I never use a hairdryer though, so I see occasional straightening as my only indulgence:)

I've got a very expensive (not ghd) set of irons which I bought on ebay for $10/£6 second hand. They've lasted me five years so far, best bargain ever! Cheap ones are useless.