Dealing with Heat Damage

As most of you know, I have quite a bit of heat damage in the front as a result of my years of blow drying and flat ironing (oh, and did I mention that I flat ironed with cheap oil in my hair and many times flat ironed my hair when it was dirty?? Yeah...I had it bad).

Well, while twisting my hair two nights ago, it finally hit me: why not braid the heat-damaged twists (in the front, pictured below) while they were still damp, right after I finished twisting? By allowing the twists to dry while braided, I figured I could achieve a similar texture to the rest of my very curly hair when I took the twists out. Check out my results below. ;)

After twisting

The twists in the front, after I braided them up.

Took out the braids this evening and TA-DA!! SO thrilled with
my discovery! And I'm still LOVIN the healthy sheen. Woo hoo!
Getting to know my hair feels so good :)

Do you suffer from heat damage? How do you blend the textures?

A Word on Heat Damage...

In my first post I shared how the texture in the front of my hair is straight in some areas. In fact, the hair in the front is curly then straight then curls at the ends. When I first started my hair growth journey, I thought, What the heck?? I don't remember my hair being straight like this before....

As you can see, even with a twist-out the
front doesn't curl as much as the rest of my hair.

And it probably wasn't. I've determined that the straight hair is probably the result of heat damage, which would make sense considering that's all I used on my hair after I transitioned since I didn't know how to care for or style it. The good news is that since I made the decision to grow my hair long, the straight part will eventually grow out and hopefully those strands will return to their curly state.

Although I'm obviously not happy with the straight areas, it's a good lesson for me in controlling how much heat I use on my hair. Now I know that the front, probably since it is a looser, more wavy curl, can't tolerate high temperatures, and the same probably goes for the back since the texture is similar there. I will keep this in mind when I straighten my hair tomorrow. I plan on using a low temperature in the front, back and sides and at the crown (my thickest, curliest area) I'll use a slightly higher temperature. And, of course, I'll deep condition and apply a heat protectant first. I expect to have no problem with getting my hair to revert.

9 Tips for Flat Ironing Your Hair

I am getting so excited to straighten my hair! I keep seeing women with long straight hair everywhere I go because I'm thinking about it so much! This will be my first time straightening it since early April 2011.

At first I was scared of causing heat damage, so I vowed not to use a flat iron. But as I did more research, I discovered that an important part of preventing or minimizing heat damage is to use a good heat protectant. After scouring through what felt like dozens of heat protectants, I finally found one whose ingredients I am happy with. So I will be using a flat iron, but here are some tips I've found on safely flat ironing your hair:

• Always detangle your hair first! I know this goes without saying, but I still had to say it! lol
• Moisture, moisture, moisture I've been learning that it's vitally important to make sure your hair is properly moisturized prior to applying heat. Deep condition beforehand.
• Use a heat protectant Prior to putting any heat tool to your hair, you want to first apply a heat protectant. There are many options to choose from, so find the one that's right for you. 
• Choose a flat iron with temperature control If you use a flat iron that has no temperature control, chances are it will get too hot, probably 400+ degrees. At those temperatures you are literally singing your hair.
• Use as little heat as possible to get your desired effect Figure out the lowest temperature setting that will yield your desired results.
• Once, twice, but not thrice The fewer passes you make on each section of hair, the better.
• Small sections When grabbing sections to flat iron, make sure they're not too big. If you flat iron too much hair at once, it'll take more passes to get your hair straight.
• Use a fine-toothed comb If you've ever had your hair flat-ironed in a salon, you probably noticed that the stylist used a fine-toothed comb in front of the flat iron on each pass. I haven't found much info that says this is absolutely necessary, but it is recommended if you'd like to take extra precautions against taking fewer passes with the flat iron.
• Different texture, different temp For the thicker, curlier, or kinkier parts of your hair, use a slightly higher temperature. For the areas of your head that have a looser, softer or wavier texture, use a lower temperature. I would probably avoid using high heat along your hairline in the front and back. 

I will be posting the results of my straightening and length check soon. I'm so excited! Stay tuned :)