Gas heaters effect on hair

[julliams]

Anyone know if gas heaters dry hair out? My "spot" in our living room is right beside the gas heater and so I was wondering if it's really bad for my hair or if I should lighten up and enjoy the heat.

[Milui Elenath]

Its sooo cold at the moment isn't it? Unfortunately I think that it can be drying on your hair but I think winter is generally. I guess all we can do ( because I too have been sitting in front of various heaters and fires) is keep an eye on our hair and give it a bit more moisture if it looks like its drying.

I'd be interested in others opinions and advice.

[*Aoife*]

I think it dries out your hair (and skin) as much as most central heating does. I find deep conditioning helps in winter to combat the dryness from all heating systems.


Its sooo cold at the moment isn't it? Unfortunately I think that it can be drying on your hair but I think winter is generally. I guess all we can do ( because I too have been sitting in front of various heaters and fires) is keep an eye on our hair and give it a bit more moisture if it looks like its drying.

I'd be interested in others opinions and advice.

That really confused me until I realised you were in Australia :o It's yummily summer here :p
But to make you feel better, it's only 20+ degrees C. That's our summer!

[beez1717]

I guess that what I would have to do would be to just wrap myself in a worm blanket and stay away from our mini radiators and then see how good it does to my hair (when i go to maine for the winter break). IF I REMEMBER though XD

[GRU]

I used to work for a gas company, and we had a fake mini-fireplace set up in the office for the customers to see (and hopefully purchase). When we first installed it, I used to stand in front of it and hold my head over the rising heat, because I loved how quickly it dried my hair without using any blowing air (which makes my curls FRIZZ insanely).

Then one day I looked down at my ends to see if they were dry yet and OMG I couldn't believe the split ends!!!! I had been frying my hair every day -- it's not just blow-fryers that do that! Any heat source, be it gas or electric, radiant or forced air, will damage your hair at extreme temperatures.

So I would take your proximity to the heater into consideration. If it's just a nice cozy warmth, I don't see how it would be any different than being in a house with no air-conditioning in the summertime. But if it's too warm to leave your bare skin for more than a minute or two, then it's too warm for your hair as well. For example, if your chair is set up so your back is to the heater, your body might be comfy because it's shielded by the chair, but your hair hanging over the other side could be getting fried. But if your skin and your hair are both on the same side of the chair and if your skin is able to stay there for sustained times, you hair will be able to do so as well.

But winter air is dryer both inside and out, so I'd definitely increase the moisture treatments, oiling, or whatever you do for extra moisture in your hair. But I'd do that even if you didn't have a chair in a 'hot spot' in the house.

[Milui Elenath]

snip

That really confused me until I realised you were in Australia :o It's yummily summer here :p
But to make you feel better, it's only 20+ degrees C. That's our summer!

I really should feel bad not better - complaining about the cold when It's 15 degrees C today :p and so far our coldest days has been 6 degrees C (probably a night temperature)

I am such a sook for the cold! . . . end hijack

[countryhopper]

I agree that heat can quickly dry out your hair!

maybe you could look into some moisture treatments and wear hats as often as possible to that your hair is more protected.

Crocheting or knitting a hat or calorimetry sounds like the perfect winter project!

[julliams]

That's right up my alley Countryhopper. I have 3 slouchy berets available to me that I made last winter - just not sure what my family would think of my wearing them indoors. Perhaps simply bunning would do too.

[Deelight]

A humidifier is a good idea for your skin and sinuses during winter - I'm guessing it might be good for hair as well.

[Milui Elenath]

:hmm: A humidifier, I think this might be a great idea for me.

[julliams]

Oh my gosh - we had to buy a dehumidifier as we have humidity issues in our house. Unfortunately a humidifier won't work for us but I can see it would be very useful in a more dry environment that required heating.