Oil and Heat Styling

[shellblue1]

If you oil your hair before heat styling does it cause damage to your hair or does the oil protect your hair from the heat?

[Riot Crrl]

It never protected my food from caramelization much.

[spidermom]

I'm of mixed opinion about this. I think the heat might help the oil to penetrate; think "hot oil treatment". When I blow-dry on warm (never hot), I use oil. With the flat iron, however, I really think you're better off with a silicone product because it makes the surface of the hair very slick so that the iron will glide right down it swiftly without hanging up anywhere. I'm not sure that oil would do the same.

[danacc]

As the hair is heated, the first thing that happens is that the cuticle opens. This is the desired effect with "hot" oil treatments, allowing the oil to penetrate more deeply into the shaft. It doesn't take much heat to do this, though. Body heat in conjunction with a plastic cap or saran-wrapped-head will work.

Heat protection products can help. Specifically, with blow-drying you're looking for something to hold in the moisture. Otherwise, the heat from the blow-dryer will remove both the water on the hair (which is why you're using it), and the water in the hair (which you don't want). Removing the water from within the hair makes the hair itself dry and brittle, and leaves the cuticle open. This will be true whether you oil the wet hair first or not. To get the outside dry, you will lose moisture from the inside. I don't think oil coats the cuticle well enough to block the water evaporation.

For styling where you are applying heat to dry hair, you want a product that penetrates the shaft and strengthens it before applying the heat. Some oils penetrate and strengthen, coconut oil included. I don't know how much the coconut oil would mitigate the heat damage from styling dry hair.

[Starr]

Think of it this way. . . warm oil= penetrates, but overly hot oil=frying

[shellblue1]

Thanks for your replies!

[chrissy-b]

It never protected my food from caramelization much.

oooh. I never thought of it this way. Scary.

[Riot Crrl]

oooh. I never thought of it this way. Scary.

A lot of those irons are on 400 Fahrenheit or more. (204 Celsius)

[asantegold]

Think of it this way. . . warm oil= penetrates, but overly hot oil=frying


LOL. This is a true and very funny equation!

[Pear Martini]

Whoa... so if I coconut oil my ends the night before flat ironing, I fry them or protect them?

This is scary

[Dreams_in_Pink]

i don't think oiling before is a good idea like mentioned above. but it surely works right after flat ironing. I used to flat iron without applying any product (but my flatiron was coated with teflon fabric so it glided smoothly on hair) and once i was done, i applied many drops of castor oil. Not only this prevented hair from frizzing and waving, it also make my hair extremely smooth and shiny, like a natural 1a :D

[Shermie Girl]

Whoa... so if I coconut oil my ends the night before flat ironing, I fry them or protect them?

This is scary


I think that you would fry them. :scared:

[Elainehali]

This thread reminds me of french fries.

Does a silicone product keep your hair from cooking? Could I make french fries in silicone.:ponder:

[prittykitty]

I use to use coconut oil before heat styling, thinking that it would protect my hair. This was when I was still straightening it. My ends looked fried. I feel that using oil with the hot straightening iron will only cook your hair.

[Shermie Girl]

This thread reminds me of french fries.

Does a silicone product keep your hair from cooking? Could I make french fries in silicone.:ponder:


No, silicone doesn't keep your hair from cooking. It only lets a flat iron glide more smoothly down the hair so that it doesn't stick and totally burn that one spot. It doesn't keep the heat from doing it's work upon the hair. :)

If you cook french fries in silicone, would they have more slip? Would they just slide right through your system, not making you fat? :face: