Anyone else who used to flat iron heaps?

[toodramatik]

Okay, soooo the majority of you will think I'm an idiot but until like.. sunday i used to flat iron my hair every day :(

So did anyone commit the same sin? and if so is your hair okay or did you have to chop it all off?

[buttons]

Okay, soooo the majority of you will think I'm an idiot but until like.. sunday i used to flat iron my hair every day :(

So did anyone commit the same sin? and if so is your hair okay or did you have to chop it all off?

I think I fall into that category :o
I flat ironed daily...for a a year and a half...on top of dying it almost monthly.
For a year out of the year and a half my hair didn't grow at all, not that I cared back then. After trying to grow my hair out as-is and not trimming any damage off for a while, I decided to cut back to shoulder (like 9 inches.)

ETA: A lot of people deal with the damage by babying their hair and not getting rid of it, so you could go that route. I just got really fed up with it.

[julya]

A close friend of mine flat irons her hair at least a few times a week, and her hair is at about tailbone length. I think with the treatment that she gives her hair she is at her terminal length as her braids taper away to nothing and it has been this length for a year or so. She is happy with her hair though, and she keeps the damage under control by doing frequent s&d missions.

[Mrs_Zombie]

i used to blow dry and flat iron my hair every time i washed my hair, which was about 1-2xs per week. I did this for about 3 years. My hair didn't suffer, but granted i did get a different hair cut every 3-4 months. Since i decided to start growing my hair back in August of last year, i still blow dried and ironed my hair and as before it has not suffered. I just do it about once a month now, i've weaned myself off of it since joining TLHC back in November of last year.

I have no split ends or any kind of damage, then again my hair is thick as a horse's tail. :D And as i said, i cut down to about once a month now, just to check my growth.

[darl_in1]

I flat-iron my hair regularly...a few times a week, except when I can't be bothered (which is quite ofter admittedly). I also dye........it's definately worse for your hair than *not* flat-ironing. I have noticed that I shed a lot more. I don't know if this is because shorter hair sheds more than long, or if it's just plain abuse. Applying extreme heat to the hair shaft causes damage...period. Think of it like this, if it's hot enough to burn your skin to the touch, it's not gonna *help* your hair any. Even my hair dresser warned me of this!

However, I'm not growing mine. When I was I didn't use the iron or blowdryer at all. If you're intending to grow it then protecting the ends as they get older (ie longer) and more fragile is a good idea. If you wan it long and strong you need to protect it. I'm willing to take my chances.

[AJO8]

I used to use them at least once a day. I still use them on my fringe/bangs, but the reason for me to grow my hair was so I could have the option to wear it naturally and for ease when I finish university and have to be up early and at work with the rest of the world lol.

I do notice my hair can be a little bit on the dry side but its not that bad after a year of not using the straighteners and henna.
I usually just use a cool blowdrier setting and I usually do everyday.

Its probably something I will notice more as my hair gets longer. You live and learn right?!

[DavidN]

I used to flat iron mine almost every day, for about 1 1/2 years of my growing, from the spring of 2005, until September of 2006. I am sure that damage was being caused, and apparent slow growth as well. I had a period from December 2005 until September 2006 when I had thought my hair had stopped growing. Fortunately, I stopped, and my hair seems to be growing better again, but there is still some damage on the ends. I am considering a small trim, (possibly Feye's self trim), to "clean up" the ends.

[jojo]

Yes I used to do this daily from 1998 to 2005. My hair was in a dreadful state, now I am growing again, I do sometimes use them but only run them through quickly and I put a protection spray on too.

[renarok]

I don't flat iron my hair often, but my daughter does at least 2-3 times a week. She doesn't like her natural curls (how silly) and I have noticed her hair has lost about 3 inches in the last 2 years. I have cut her hair her whole life ( she's 21) and I know how much I take off, just enough to keep it healthy.

Flat irons and growing are not compatible. Just my two cents.

[Mary <><]

Before I came to LHC I washed every 2-3 days, then air dried, then flat ironed. So every time I washed I flat ironed. I would say that you would be amazed at how quickly your hair can bounce back from that kind of heat damage. Just baby it and give it LOTS of oil (I use jojoba). I am astonished at how much healthier it has gotten doing those simple things. I have flat ironed my hair 3 times since joining LHC and have noticed I can get away with it if I am careful. I just cannot do it every time I wash, so I save it for special occasions. :)

[Curlsgirl]

I used to flat iron some. I think mine was okay at shorter lengths (say shoulder and above) but not now at all. I blow dry to straighten it and maybe run a curling iron over it to touch up the parts I missed but that is all and not very often. For ME heat is the very worst thing I do to my hair, way worse than chemical color (done right that is).

[joyinc]

i stopped all heat damage a couple years ago when i joined here, and really, i'm not sure i notice that much of a difference in my hair. so the other day i bought a flat iron, cause i've never used one :) i havent liked the way my hair looks at all lately and have been debating a chop for the longest time!

but i'm not going to go flat iron crazy, i agree it should be for special occasions

[FrannyG]

Don't ever imagine that we'll think you're an idiot! :(

I used to flatiron on occasion, even though my hair is straight. Sometimes it would be slightly kinky after sleeping on it. Even more drastic--I used to crimp my hair quite a lot.

Some people can to this without much trouble. For me with such fine, relatively thin hair, that I colour, it was just too much heat for my hair to bear.

I know a lot of people IRL who continue to use heat products with no noticeable damage.

I've had to stop using any and all heat appliances if I want to be able to maintain my hair even to BSL length. For some others, it doesn't make much difference.

[QueenBea]

I flatironed daily for about a year until last summer. Now I just do my bangs, and when they get chin length, I'm going to try HARD to stop.

My hair is very wavy, so it took several go-overs with the iron, after already blow-drying it with a round brush (and bleaching it and using a curling iron to style it--sigh), so I probably got more damage than someone with mostly straight hair just doing a quick go-over.

It is very damaged now on the length. I haven't trimmed since November, but I really am going to have to commit to getting 1/2" trims every 4 to 6 months. I am trying to convince myself to get a trim tomorrow; I just hate to lose the little length I've gained - - -

The damaged area looks MUCh better after not blowdrying hardly ever for nearly a year, not straightening, not curling, and doing some CO-ing and oiling--but the damage isn't going to go AWAY until I cut it off.

Bea

[Forever_Sophie]

I love the look of straightened hair! When I used to heat style often, I always made sure of using a protective product and Nexxus Emergencee once in a while to strengthen...Still got more split ends since these products *can* only do so much, but I like to get my hair trimmed, so it wasn't a problem.

[Marysmirth]

I sat behind a girl, with obviously flat-ironed hair, in Church. I know, I should've been praying(!) but her hair was so splitty and damaged looking, that I just thanked God for giving my flat iron away to someone who keeps there hair short and trendy. After several months of just babying my hair toward good health in general, no dyes, etc.,. I just don't want to throw it all away. I've learned so much of "what not to do" in order to achieve long hair from all of you. I would just tell you to use flat irons in moderation or maybe just getting rid of it.

[alys]

I used to iron with a CHI at least 3-4 times per week, but kept a chin-length bob so damage was at a minimum. However I did notice those white dots around my ends, which were cortex eruptions, and was constantly needing to have trims. And it dried my hair out to death. When I started using all natural products, I had to stop using the CHI iron period, because without the cones and heavy product, my hair after being ironed was dull and straw like... looked awful. I've kept some cone-laden product around and now that my hair is past my shoulders, I CHI maybe 1-2 times per month, but only after using cone condish and leave-in. The damage from 1-2 irons per month on my shoulder lenght hair is minimal.

STINKS BECAUSE I LOVE THE WAY HAIR LOOKS WHEN IT'S LONG AND STRAIGHT! IN THE END THE DAMAGE ISNT WORK FREQUENT IRONING, IN MY OPINION ANYHOW.

[shellblue1]

I used to work for a very trendy professional salon haircare company and flat ironing was kind of expected. Since I left them I hardly ever flat iron my hair, of course I almost always do for an important event, first date, wedding, job interview, etc. I still feel a bit uncomfortable about wearing my hair more natural to those types of events, but I might if my hair was a lot longer. The length would probably help weigh down some of the natural curl so I wouldn't have to flat iron much.

[ladystar]

I use to blow dry and flat iron once a week for as long as I can remember. My hair looked like this http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/album.php?albumid=503&pictureid=7148 I dont think it looked so bad lol. But I did stop and ever since henna I find that my hair is naturally straighter anyway, plus my bf loves it natural and so do I. Its a lot less stress when were getting ready to go some were. lol

[bex487]

I think if you're using heat-styling products and going over the section of hair once slowly (instead of several times quickly), the damage shouldn't be *too* bad. I weaned myself off my straightener recently, and my hair is actually really healthy. I just went in for a trim and the woman took off so very little. Just be good to your hair now! It's okay to straighten once in awhile, just not on a regular basis.

[peachy.pudding]

For me only two times.

The 1st - i flat ironed for about 2 years, i ad to cut my waist length hair to a bob because it was disguisting.

The 2nd - i did it several times over the christmas period, it has recovered now, but i see breakage, its weaker than before etc. I wont be doin it again although it does not look different. I did have to have a micro trim though.

[vidgrl007]

I have never flat ironed but when I was younger i've teased, curled and used to use a can of aqua net a week.I soo loved the texas big hair lol.

[somethingwicked]

Flat iron?!?!?! I wished I had a flat iron when I wanted straight hair. I used a clothes iron, on the silk setting.

[WavyGal]

I never used a flat iron, but back in high school I would straight my waves and curls either with a big barrelled curling iron or a blow dryer. It was a disaster, but I still believed I had to have straight hair. There was a reason why I almost always wore my hair up everyday. But thankfully my former hairstylist (I wish I still lived in Houston!) showed my how to work with my waves and curls PLUS I discovered nc.com and this site which REALLY helped! Now I would NEVER consider straightening. Even on bad days, I always remind myself how much pain it was to straighten my hair. I don't think it is worth it anymore.

[fireflycatching]

I used to straighten my hair every day for the past 2 years, or close to two years. I'm lucky that it didn't damage all my hair, the only thing it did was damage the ends: I had loads of split ends. I went from 30something inch long hair, and I got it cut to 25 and am now split free!

I've been using a flat iron only once every 2 weeks now, and my hair seems to be growing a LOT faster. Is it true that flat ironing stalls hair growth? Because now that I think of it, my hair stayed pretty much the same length for the past year or so.

[toodramatik]

I used to straighten my hair every day for the past 2 years, or close to two years. I'm lucky that it didn't damage all my hair, the only thing it did was damage the ends: I had loads of split ends. I went from 30something inch long hair, and I got it cut to 25 and am now split free!

I've been using a flat iron only once every 2 weeks now, and my hair seems to be growing a LOT faster. Is it true that flat ironing stalls hair growth? Because now that I think of it, my hair stayed pretty much the same length for the past year or so.

I don't know if it stalls it, but i guess the ends constantly break off, so it never gets any longer.

[DecafJane]

I straight-ironed AND coloured my hair for a couple of years while I was growing it out from short, and having regular trims. It fried it quite a lot, and although the damage didn't look TOO bad at the time, you can really see the difference between then and now, when my colour is all mine and I don't use any heat at all. (I cut it back to boy-short at the end of last year, which in retrospect was a mistake, but it is a long story which ends okay because it is almost back there!)

Flat-ironing is very addictive, and I used to spend 20-30 minutes doing it every time I washed, which was every second day. Now I just wash and put it up with some sticks/a fork/sock bun and go - it takes no time at all, it is healthier and it looks so much better. :)