Hot Water damage?

[toodramatik]

I was just wondering if anyone knows if hot water can damage hair? I don't mean as in burning water.. But as in.. Hot enough to shower with but still what some people would consider "pretty hot".

[manderly]

I dunno. I take some crazy hot showers and my hair seems fine.

[tiny_teesha]

i get loads of "bubble" splits in my hair (the white spot) and i think it is from my warm-hot showers. In is winter so i want it toasty, but i don't get it because it isn't insanely hot...like my skin doesn't turn pink or anything. I think it would be damaging. Because i have no other explanation to my bubbles in my hair.

[chrissy-b]

I know it can dry it out, which could possibly lead to more damage down the road. I haven't experienced damage and I too take pretty hot showers. Maybe some others will chime in.

[Monsterkitti]

I havent had any damage I would put down hot water and I love hot showers

[jojo]

In my opinion and I am no expert, any heat from any source is potentially damaging to the hair.

I always wash in luke warm and rinse in cold water, but I still get the odd split end.

My hair is also fine, so it is more prone to damage anyway.

[Shanarana]

In the Winter time I take hot showers, I can't stand being cold. I try and turn it to warm when doing my hair, but that is not always the case for me. I have been taking hot showers all my life and my hair seems ok.

Summer time is good when it's hot than I'll take a cool shower.

[greekprincess]

I've wondered about that too... I always turn down the water temperature in the shower when it's time to rinse my hair out...but I love a hot shower on the body on a cold day.

[ChloeDharma]

I've been concerned about this lately.....at my last flat i was able to adjust it so that i could wash my hair and rinse it in just about warm water then turn the heat up for the rest of me.....but here it's almost impossible to get any middle ground, it's either uncomfortably hot for my scalp, or freezing cold, so annoying.
My main concern is that i've heard some people get increased shedding with water thats hot, which i very much can't afford. My other concern is it drying the hair out and damaging the cuticle.

[zanne]

I have the white dots (pre-splits) at or near the ends of my hair, and those are usually associated with heat damage, but the only heat i ever exposed my hair to was in my super hot shower... now i just shiver my way through hair washing, and then put it up and turn the shower up to boil for the rest of me:)

[Golden21]

I have started washing my hair in the sink with super cold water. I can't stand a cold shower, so it's the only way to be safe.

[Kirin]

My hair is always in worse condition when I wash it in cold. To me, cold water seems more super drying than hot, though i couldn't explain the reasons why of it.

Not all heat is bad for hair, look at hot oil treatments! The white dot syndrome may not be from the water, but from sun exposure (that kind of dry heat I think) or inside heating elements in the winter if the house is very warm or your near a heater.

Granted this is all just opinion, I can't base it in fact. However I think unless the water was boiling or hot enough to turn skin red, I think warm - hot water is good for hair, it is, at least to mine. It gets it cleaner quicker, and my hair seems smoother and less gnarly than with cold.

[jivete]

I hope not. I've given up everything else that's bad for my hair, I'd really like to keep the hot showers.

[Cassiopeia]

I take showers that are really hot, but my hair seems very fine.

[Alaskanheart]

I take showers that are really hot, but my hair seems very fine.


Looks more than fine, maybe really hot water is good for hair.;).

I take hot showers, to where my skin turns pink/red.Ive always showered that way, thats how I like it, but the last year ir so Ive tried to turn the heat down while washing and then rinsing with freezing water, and then turning the heat back up.I also wash in the sink sometimes and use cool water to wash and freezing to rinse.I dont know if it makes a difference though.It is summer here and up in the mid-90s-100s and ive noticed some dryness and breakage.I think the sun and heat is the culprit.

[pookatrina]

The only thing I've found is that my hair gets greasy faster if the water is very hot.

[bex487]

I do the same thing where I keep the water pretty hot but turn it down just for rinsing my hair. As long as you aren't absolutely scalding your scalp, I don't think you hair will get too damaged. Just make sure to use a good conditioner or oil!

[nappywomyn]

Interesting! I have some eye of the needle splits, and I've been wracking my brain trying to think of what might have caused them.... I rarely use SUPER hot water on my head though - my scalp doesn't like it....

[feralnature]

I shower in very hot water (not my head), turn it down to warm to shampoo. Then condition and rinse that out in cold water. Then I rinse body off in hot water again because it feels good after all that cold water running through my hair. I am very careful with the temps and my hair. I am growing out short hair so figure if i start treating it gently now, the whole length will be nice later.

[Iylivarae]

In my opinion, it isn't damaging, but maybe drying out. I think the body reacts to heat with pain, before the heat really is damaging. For I don't feel any pain while showering, I don't think my hair is damaged by the heat. The hair actually consists of keratin, which also is present in the skin. If it is damaging to the hair, you should also notice damage on the skin, which would lead to pain.

[winter_star]

I doubt the heat of a shower could damage your hair too badly. Although I would turn the shower down to luke warm while washing your hair just to be safe. I have heard that extreme hot or cold water can shock and dry out your skin. So maybe this could be the same case with hair?