Should I heat style or not?

[BrightEyes]

I had gone almost three weeks without using heat. My hair has felt a lot more healthy. But to be honest, it was driving me crazy. Without heat my hair has absolutely no volume, and although it has really pretty waves on the sides, the back is a mix between wavy and straight. It has been driving me crazy. For some reason I just don't feel as pretty if I leave my hair in its natural texture. But it does feel so much softer and healthier since I've not been heat styling.

Well today I was teaching a lesson at church so I decided that I would blow dry it straight since I was going to be up in front of people. So I blew it dry with a round brush. Once it was done and styled, I at first felt really good because I felt like my "normal self", if that makes any sense at all. But as the day has progressed, it just feels drier and actually strawlike. Like this one time of blow drying has totally ruinned all the care I've taken the past few weeks.

I guess this is kind of a rant because I don't know what to do. Should I be content with the dryness and have hair that "looks" nice and styled? Or should I resolve to stop using heat and have healthier hair that I don't feel looks as nice or pretty?

I never knew I could get so frustrated about my hair!!! Oh well, thanks for letting me get this off my shoulders.

[Dreams_in_Pink]

I think everyone should do what makes them happy, as long as it doesn't harm themselves or other people.

I, personally, have the same issue. I'm so used to straightening my hair. I'd flat-iron the heck out of my hair right after shower. I loved how shiny and healthy it looked, despite the damage it had. Now that i'm kind to my hair, i found out that it looks pretty nice as natural.

But still, it doesn't feel "me" :(

I think we should keep away from heat as much as we can if we want to grow long healthy hair. Your goal isn't too long actually, you can heat-style from time to time, it wouldn't do too much visible damage i think. I will keep on my hardcore hair diet though, there will come a time when i'll love my hair (and you'll learn to love yours as well ;)

On the other hand though, do what makes you happy.

[teela1978]

If blowdrying straight helps you get your hair to a point where you can wear it up easier without heat-styling, then its probably worth it. If you're not enjoying your hair there's not much point in growing it out is there?

[BrightEyes]

I think everyone should do what makes them happy, as long as it doesn't harm themselves or other people.

I, personally, have the same issue. I'm so used to straightening my hair. I'd flat-iron the heck out of my hair right after shower. I loved how shiny and healthy it looked, despite the damage it had. Now that i'm kind to my hair, i found out that it looks pretty nice as natural.

But still, it doesn't feel "me" :(

I think we should keep away from heat as much as we can if we want to grow long healthy hair. Your goal isn't too long actually, you can heat-style from time to time, it wouldn't do too much visible damage i think. I will keep on my hardcore hair diet though, there will come a time when i'll love my hair (and you'll learn to love yours as well ;)

On the other hand though, do what makes you happy.

Thank you for the advice. I do wonder if once it gets longer (it's at SL now) that it will have more of a wave pattern in the back and it won't bug me so much. And I've read other people say that the longer they went without heat the healthier (ie. wavier) their hair got. I'm not sure if this would happen to me, but it does make me curious.

[BrightEyes]

If blowdrying straight helps you get your hair to a point where you can wear it up easier without heat-styling, then its probably worth it. If you're not enjoying your hair there's not much point in growing it out is there?

Fortunately I can wear it up without blowdrying it, and I've been doing that a lot lately.

What you said is true: I need to enjoy my hair or it's pointless to grow it out. I do enjoy how healthy it's been since I've stopped blow drying, but I like the look of my hair blow dried too. I think I need to find a happy balance between healthy hair and enjoying it at the same time.

[YesitsReal]

I have this exact same problem sometimes. To alleviate it, I try to style it in ways that don't need heat--braids, buns, hair bands, etc. to add variety and keep me from getting bored.

If you want volume and straightness, you could try large (3" diameter) rollers in slightly damp hair and then let it dry (this can take quite a while). Or (for straightening) try wrapping your hair at night. I think there's a thread somewhere around here on hair wrapping. If you want curls, try rag curls or bun curls. Just do some experiments and find out what works. Have fun!!

Or...when in doubt, new hair toy! :p

[teela1978]

I've never been much of a heat styler... other than a few months where I adored my flat iron. But I did notice as my hair grew out that its much easier to manage down without heat styling when its long. Once it grows out a bit wearing it down without the blowdryer should be easier to do... theoretically.

[Yozhik]

Maybe you could just try not to blowdry it often? Or just compensate by doing deep conditioning once a week and doing heavy oilings. Maybe that would help balance it out :flower:
I never liked blowdrying my hair even before I joined LHC because it always made my hair frizzy, but I have noticed little things like brushing it more gently, wearing it up more, oiling, and sleeping with a satin pillowcover all contribute to it looking nicer. So probably if you are nice to your hair in a variety of other ways, it'll forgive you for occasional heat styling :)

[Roseate]

Thank you for the advice. I do wonder if once it gets longer (it's at SL now) that it will have more of a wave pattern in the back and it won't bug me so much. And I've read other people say that the longer they went without heat the healthier (ie. wavier) their hair got. I'm not sure if this would happen to me, but it does make me curious.

I think the longer I go without heat, the better my hair looks without it; my waves are much stronger and more regular. I used to blow dry it straight every time I washed it, and it had a very lumpy, wimpy wave pattern if it was ever air dried; now it has much better shape. Also, many wavies find more waves as they get longer.

I also agree that you should go ahead and use heat if you want, though- you are at kind of an awkward length and a little styling may help you through it. Just give your hair lots of TLC otherwise, and a little heat won't kill it.

[BrightEyes]

Thanks everyone for the great advice. You've all given me things to think about.

The nice thing (for my hair at least), is that throughout the week I pretty much stay at home except for an occasional run to the store. The weekends is when I tend to have special things planned. So I'm thinking that during the week I can let my hair air dry naturally. And I can save the heat styling for weekends when I have special occasions, or experiment with doing my hair up or in something like rag curls (like has been mentioned). I have also been doing overnight oilings more often and weekly DTs. So this should help with the dryness.

Thanks again for all the advice.

[BrightEyes]

I think the longer I go without heat, the better my hair looks without it; my waves are much stronger and more regular. I used to blow dry it straight every time I washed it, and it had a very lumpy, wimpy wave pattern if it was ever air dried; now it has much better shape. Also, many wavies find more waves as they get longer.

That's good to hear. Maybe that will be the case for me too. Your hair is very pretty, btw.

[Roseate]

Your hair is very pretty, btw.

Thank you! :flowers:

[BrightEyes]

I have this exact same problem sometimes. To alleviate it, I try to style it in ways that don't need heat--braids, buns, hair bands, etc. to add variety and keep me from getting bored.

If you want volume and straightness, you could try large (3" diameter) rollers in slightly damp hair and then let it dry (this can take quite a while). Or (for straightening) try wrapping your hair at night. I think there's a thread somewhere around here on hair wrapping. If you want curls, try rag curls or bun curls. Just do some experiments and find out what works. Have fun!!

Or...when in doubt, new hair toy! :p

Those are some great suggestions. I'm going to have to try them out. But I think my hair might still be too short for bun curls?

[YesitsReal]

Not if it's the length it is in your picture there. Spritz your hair with water, make 3 or 4 buns (or however many you want--fewer, larger buns= larger curls), and then sleep on them. Or let them dry for a few hours and scrunch. You may need a curl cream to hold them, and I recommend washing out any product that you put on your hair as opposed to combing it out (you'll pull out hairs). Bun curls are easy-peasy, but for sleeping, rag curls are more comfy. Bigger rags=bigger curls.

[FrannyG]

There's no point in growing out your hair if you can't enjoy it during the process. It's also important to feel attractive, whatever that means to you.

I never thought that I could enjoy wearing my hair flat, but as it grew longer I became more comfortable with it this way.

You need to strike a balance between looking the way you want to, and treating your hair well. If you need to use heat, then give it some extra love in other ways.

Just enjoy the process, whatever it takes. :blossom:

[YesitsReal]

P.S.--I do recommend going off heat, even if you don't like your hair texture at first. As it gets longer, you'll be able to do more with it and the texture might even change on you. If you keep heat styling, you'll never know.

If you're truly unhappy, though, go back to heat. After all, you want to enjoy your hair, right?

[BrightEyes]

Not if it's the length it is in your picture there. Spritz your hair with water, make 3 or 4 buns (or however many you want--fewer, larger buns= larger curls), and then sleep on them. Or let them dry for a few hours and scrunch. You may need a curl cream to hold them, and I recommend washing out any product that you put on your hair as opposed to combing it out (you'll pull out hairs). Bun curls are easy-peasy, but for sleeping, rag curls are more comfy. Bigger rags=bigger curls.

Ohhh..... I'm going to try that!!! Thanks.

[-simply Venus-]

Do you use heat protection spray? Because that's really important.

[Prism]

Depends on if you really intend to stop at BSL. I blew dry daily and didn't have a problem getting to BSL. However, if you then then decide you want it longer, you might run into trouble. If there's any chance you might want to go longer, I'd try to avoid the heat whenever possible. Otherwise, I'd say blow dry on lowest possible, use a heat protector, etc. Just baby your hair and I wouldn't worry too much. This is my history with my hair type, which is a bit different than yours.

[pepperminttea]

Do you use heat protection spray? Because that's really important.

For the very short time I used heat, I didn't actually find any 'protective' serum or spray did any good. But that may just be me.

To the OP: Could you blowdry gently on the cool setting? If it makes such a big change in how you feel in yourself, it'd be worth it now and then. :)

[klcqtee]

I say don't heat style, if you want your hair to be long quickly. Of course, you're only going for BSL...

The more you heat style, the more damaged your hair becomes, as you know. Well, eventually all that damage is going to break off, causing your hair to seem to grow "slowly". If you just heat style once a week or so, then it shouldn't be a big deal, in the long run, because you aren't going for very, very long hair, as many LHC-ers are.

Can you achieve the same styles with your blowfryer on cool instead of hot or warm? Cool is far better than hot, and it would still allow you (I think) to achieve volume, and you're normal "you" style.

[Willow]

Just use a heat protectant spray. Kenra makes a nice one. Of course this won't prevent all damage but it will take care of a lot of it.

[ericthegreat]

BrightEyes, the most important thing is that you need to do what makes you personally happy. If you are happy with your hair blown out straight, then by all means style your hair straight. You don't need to justify yourself to anyone else in the world.

There are ways where you can both heat style your hair and still keep it relatively healthy. You will need to step up your moisturizing. You may need to use a stronger conditioner, one with that is more moisturizing. You might even want to start doing pre-shampoo oil treatments, like coconut oil which has proven to strengthen hair. Simply apply the coconut oil to your hair when its dry, leave it on for a few hours, or if you want, sleep with it in your hair overnight and then wash it out in the morning. Coconut oil is a really good deep treatment, especially if you heat style or colour your hair.

[countryhopper]

[quote=YesitsReal;964917]I have this exact same problem sometimes. To alleviate it, I try to style it in ways that don't need heat--braids, buns, hair bands, etc. to add variety and keep me from getting bored.

If you want volume and straightness, you could try large (3" diameter) rollers in slightly damp hair and then let it dry (this can take quite a while). Or (for straightening) try wrapping your hair at night. I think there's a thread somewhere around here on hair wrapping. If you want curls, try rag curls or bun curls. Just do some experiments and find out what works. Have fun!!

Yes, I was going to suggest the same thing. I used to sleep in velcro rollers for the volume, but I've stopped doing that because I have the bad habit of ripping them out in the morning and that snaps off hairs. But maybe there are some more gentle rollers you could use for the extra lift.

I've recently started doing rag curls for bed. I love them!

[elina333]

I've found that the longer my hair gets, the more I love its natural state. I used to be a styling freak myself but now I dont even like it when its straight (it looks so dull and flet) So maybe you could style it until it gets a little longer and then just leave it alone?

[BrightEyes]

Thanks so much everyone for all your advice. You've given me a lot to think about. I've been thinking today that I really need to think more of my hair's long-term health, rather than how it looks for the moment. Although right now my goal is BSL, I've been toying with the idea that I might even want to get to waist. So I definitely need to rethink my haircare routine. I really hope that as my hair gets longer I will like its natural texture more.

I love LHC!:cheer:

[spidermom]

Can you blow-dry on the coolest setting? When I blow-dry, I use the warm setting around my scalp and the cool setting on the length. I don't pull and stretch my hair, either.

With more length, you will probably enjoy your natural wave pattern more.

[BrightEyes]

Can you blow-dry on the coolest setting? When I blow-dry, I use the warm setting around my scalp and the cool setting on the length. I don't pull and stretch my hair, either.

With more length, you will probably enjoy your natural wave pattern more.

I actually tried blow drying on cool at first. But then I lost patience with it and turned it to warm. I was in a hurry:o

When I have more time and patience I'll try using cool again.