How damaging is straightening your hair every other day?

[hairtime]

My hair is at 2 and half inches so far and I am going to grow it out to about 6 inches and keep it at that length. How damaging is straightening your hair every other day? I mean I am gonna cut it regularly to keep it at that length.

This is about 6 inches right? http://haircrazy.info/gallery/spikes/4134/ Thats what I want to do

Also any interesting styles I can do now till it grows in, its kinda ll over curling right now at only 2 inches and really curly in the back O_o...

[Yozhik]

From what I understand, there are ways to minimize damage from straighteners: keep it at a low temperature, run it quickly over the strands once, and use heat protectants. Also doing it less often will help.

That hairdo looks wild! I hope you have fun with it :)

As for cute in-between styles, maybe some cute barrettes or a headband or scarf?

[Heavenly Locks]

If you're only planning to keep it at 6 inches, then you can pretty much do whatever you want to it :) You'll be trimming it enough to keep the worst damage trimmed off as fast as it happens.

But, to answer your question straightening it that often is *very* damaging.

[hairtime]

What would be a low temperature? I am new to this I had short spikes and tall mohawks my whole life, Hope this looks good on a guy lol.

[Beatrice]

It's hard to say without knowing your texture. Fine-haired people have to be more careful, while those with coarse hair can be a bit more lax. Since I've never used any kind of iron on a regular basis, I can't say for sure. It's likely enough that you could get away with it and disguise any damage with good conditioners and styling products.

I think styling products are your friend right now, even though the rest of us normally abhor them. Gel, wax, or pomade, depending on the amount of hold you want, are all good options. A drying gel and a quick rub with the towel might bring out the curl and give a messy look, if you don't mind that.

[slythwolf]

I would say the hair in that picture looks like the layers are between two and three or four inches.

[hairtime]

My hair is medium thickness I would say, not thin for sure.

[Hylia]

For me it was very damaging. I used to straighten my hair when it was at chin length every second day and now it is at APL and I still have damage from straightening it. Of course those are only the ends, but straightening it is a bad habit to get into if you`re trying to avoid damage.

[triumphator!]

Eh, straighten the hell out of it if you're cutting it regularly! Have fun!!

[sarahbrownie]

I did the same thing when my hair was around pixie length. In a previous post I mentioned that I nearly had a new hair color every week, (I had a vegetable dye that literally stayed in maybe 7-14 washes from Hot Topic) which required bleaching my hair a lot since I'm a dark brunette. I really felt like the damage was minimal. I know it sounds weird, as damaged hair is damaged hair, but it was only when I grew it out beyond my ears that I could see and feel a difference. I ended up hacking it off because the top felt very nice and the bottom felt like straw. I think when you have a drastic half of head of damage is when you can really tell. lol.

[hairtime]

Really, thats only 4 inches long? That Is odd, I am at 2 and it looks much longer to me :-/

[1953Diygal]

I don't really know the answer to your question but that link you posted is beyond awesome!
Oh yes.....I've bookmarked it and will be visiting frequently!! :cool:

[hairtime]

Its a nice site, this is my hair from about 3 months ago...

http://haircrazy.info/gallery/punk/7297/

I frequent there.

[IcarusBride]

I don't think it would be so horrible, but if you dye your hair a florescent color AND straiten it every other day, I think it might fall out D:

[hairtime]

Nah I am gonna keep it my normal color...Maybe dye the tips...idk yet.

[Synthemesc]

If you're just gonna straighten, then the amount of trimming you'll be doing means that you can straighten to your hearts content.

[Nightshade]

I snipped this from the Damaged Hair Article linked in my siggy :)

Heat Damage
I know you love your flat iron and hair dryer. They make your damaged, frizzy, flyaway hair lay nice. But for damaged hair it's like putting a Band-Aid on a sucking chest wound. You're not helping the problem, and in fact, you're making it worse. Even healthy hair cannot stand the abuses of heat damage long without showing significant wear and tear.

The main problem with heat appliances is that warmth, in general, opens the cuticle of the hair, which is why on a hot and humid day hair will frizz out to no end. The second problem with heat appliances is that often they are way too hot. Hot enough to actually physically BOIL the moisture within the hair, and that water, now steam, will try to escape the cortex of the hair, rupturing the cortex and the cuticle on the way out. Now take that uplifted cuticle, add steam escaping and compound it with the mechanical damage of the round brush with the hair dryer, or the abrasive action of the flat iron scraping along the hair (no matter how much "protective gel" you put on there, it still happens). Big problems:

http://www.pgbeautygroomingscience.com/assets/images/twoh/Chapter%204/Bubble%202.jpg http://www.pgbeautygroomingscience.com/assets/images/twoh/Chapter%202/Damage%2024.jpg

Here is a case where the hair has been overheated to the point where the moisture inside has started to boil, permanently damaging both the cortex and the cuticle. Eventually the hair will break down and split, sometimes into a "white dot" which is just a split in the center of the hair. The second picture shows
a case of trichorrhexis nodosa (white dot), where the cortex was disrupted by an overheated hair dryer.

The problem with all these types of damage is that your hair is often exposed to more than one of them, and the trick is to minimize it as much as possible. There's often the argument of, "But my hair is shoulder length and looks great!" At shoulder length I'm sure it does. But keep in mind that your hair currently at shoulder will be at your waist, at tailbone, at classic or longer, three, five, seven or ten years from now. What you do now to your hair is only compounded by time, and by weathering. Unlike skin, hair doesn't heal. You can minimize the damage already done, but there's no putting those cuticle scales back on once they're gone. Period.

[Athena's Owl]

if you'e not planning on growing it long, then go ahead and heat style it. you don't have to worry about extensive damage because you're cutting it off regularly enough.

[hairtime]

Thanks, guess I will be ok then I suspect. Should I use any of those heat sprays btw?

[irishlady]

that looks cool.

I don't really use straightening irons, but I do occasionally blowdry my hair straight. But then my hair is longer so I have to be more careful.

As someone above said though, it depends on how thick your hair is, but I think that since you won't be having it very long and will be trimming it often it won't be too bad for your hair :)

Have fun!

[spidermom]

No problem at 6 inches - straighten away.

[irishlady]

oh and a heat spray is a good idea to protect your hair from scorching/burning with the straightening :)

[irishlady]

that looks cool.

I don't really use straightening irons, but I do occasionally blowdry my hair straight. But then my hair is longer so I have to be more careful.

As someone above said though, it depends on how thick your hair is, but I think that since you won't be having it very long and will be trimming it often it won't be too bad for your hair :)

Have fun!

oh and a spray will definitely be a good idea just to protect your hair :)

[hairtime]

oh and a heat spray is a good idea to protect your hair from scorching/burning with the straightening :)

Sounds good to me, I just give it a couple hit of it then straighten right?

[maybe sparrow]

Wow. Anime hair.

[x0h_bother]

It always depends on your hair type. My hair took years of iron abuse before it became damaged.
From experience, you will probably get:
breakage at ends and all over
uneven ends
split ends
dry ends
rougher/coarser/frizzy strands
possibly more curl (ironic, I know)
IMO, heat protection is a myth, rather they mean cones. There are some other threads about this.

[cheriemonty]

I used a hair straightner a while ago almost everyday and it totally fried my hair but it probably depends on the type of straightener and the heat level.

[spidermom]

I'd use the heat-protection spray if I were you; it will give a better finish.

[hairtime]

I was gonna buy this straightener: http://www.sallybeauty.com/ceramic-flat-iron/SBS-345089,default,pd.html?cgid=Hair09-06

But I have no clue about what sprays work best or if thats even good...I have seen some expensive ones but I doubt I could bring myself to buy one... ;)