Heat damage is a real problem that is affecting women every day. Once heat permanently damages a strand, that section can't return to its original curl pattern.
But you still have good options. In this article, we'll show you how to tell if your hair is heat damaged, what to do with the damaged hair you have now, and how to keep it from happening again.
Can You Use Heat Without Damaging Your Hair?
You can lower your risk a lot, but no heat setting is guaranteed safe for every head of hair.
Some women are so afraid of heat damage that even the thought of using heat-styling tools causes them to tremble. Other naturals are so carefree that experiencing heat-damaged hair is only a matter of time.
Are you concerned about possibly experiencing heat damage?
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Here is the part that many people don't want to hear: The safest way to style your hair is to avoid heat altogether. Since that's not a reasonable scenario or desirable styling option for many women, let's dive into the best ways to counterattack the possibility of heat damage.
Before you get started using heat, it would be nice if there was a way to determine your heat tolerance or hair's heat capacity. Unfortunately, there isn't a way to determine exactly when you will experience heat damage.
Plus, it's worth mentioning that heat tolerance can vary from person to person.
So it's critical that you take the proper precautions relative to mitigating the possibility of heat damage. Even if your hair is in really good condition, it can be absolutely destroyed by heat damage.
Will Heat-Damaged Hair Revert Back to Its Natural State?
No. Heat damage is not reversible.
Once your curls are truly damaged, they have reached a point of no return.
Here's why. Hair is made mostly of a protein called keratin. A flat iron temporarily rearranges some of the weak bonds that help hold your curl pattern. Water lets those bonds reset as your hair dries, which is why healthy hair usually returns to its curl pattern after a silk press.
Too much heat can permanently damage the keratin and structure inside the strand. When that happens, the damaged section may stay straight or limp, even when it's soaking wet.
Before you decide your hair is damaged, give it a fair test. Wash and condition your hair, skip your styling products, and look at it while it's soaking wet. If one section stays straighter or limper than the curls around it after several washes, it may be heat damage.
If it curls back up, your hair just needed a wash to revert. Our free one-page curl check walks you through it.
What Are the Possibilities of Repairing Heat Damage?
The Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Chemists wrote a research paper called "Hair Damage and Attempts to its Repair."
The research paper focuses on how changes to the physical properties of hair fibers incurred as a result of weather, handling, and cosmetic treatments such as bleaching, waving, dyeing, or relaxing can be significant.
In many instances, these cosmetic treatments may lead to premature fracture of the hair, longitudinal fibrillation or separation of the hair cortex, and other potential problems like an increased absorption of moisture.
So, to lower your chances of heat damage, start with clean, well-conditioned hair that is completely dry before straightening natural hair.
Even with your best efforts, there are no guaranteed protections against heat-damaged hair.
The scientific studies that I've read, including Hair Damage and Attempts to its Repair, discuss how efforts to restore the hair to its original state have been numerous but largely unsuccessful initiatives.
That was true even when the damage was mild.
So, it's important that you understand the risk. By using heat on your hair, there is a risk that you may cause irreparable damage to your hair strands. Now - to be clear - hair damage isn't only caused by heat.
Hair damage occurs in various ways - including by washing, combing, relaxing, dying, and straightening the hair.
If you're more gentle as you deal with your hair, you will generally cause less damage.
This is why the concept of protective styling shouldn't be limited to hairstyles. It's much broader than that when you actually read through the research studies.
Protective styling should refer to the overall "protection" that you incorporate into your hair care regimen.
It's also worth noting that weathering is an important factor to consider.
As each strand of your hair gets older, it has fewer cuticle layers (i.e., the scales that protect the outside of the strand) and generally incurs damage more easily. That's why your ends, the oldest part of your hair, usually show damage first. So, how can you mitigate (not repair) hair damage?
Build more protection into your hair care regimen by understanding the purpose of your hair conditioner and by utilizing the proper conditioner for your situation.
Conditioners typically contain various agents that mitigate hair damage. For example, conditioners that contain silicone are commonly used to temporarily repair split ends.
There are other ingredients - like surfactants - in many hair products that are avoided that have a real purpose in the right situation.
A full-blown discussion on ingredients is outside the scope of this article, but it's important to note that you shouldn't avoid ingredients solely because "you read" about them being bad on a hair forum.
It's important to understand why certain ingredients are included, and that starts with doing a little research on your own.
Heat Damage Case Study: A Real-Life Story From the Curl Centric Community
The story below is a real-life case study (told in first-person) from one of our Curl Centric readers that has experienced heat damage.
It was January 16th when I decided to go natural. After receiving relaxers since the age of 6, I was inspired by women transitioning from relaxed hair to natural hair.
These women seemed so confident in their decision, and they loved their natural hair.
Married at the time, my husband and I were working with a limited budget, and visits to the hair stylist were not cheap.
My hair stylist charged $75 for a relaxer. I thought that was crazy when I see the "same thing" at Walgreens for $7 a box!
There was no way I was going to continue paying $75 for a relaxer. The chemicals in the relaxer had destroyed my curl pattern and stripped my hair, making my hair strands dry, thin, and brittle.
Furthermore, I could never grow my hair past my shoulders. Going natural just made sense.
So I decided to big chop.
My hair grew so fast! It was almost scary.
I was able to do a wide range of hairstyles that were low maintenance.
My favorite styles were: cute teeny weeny afros, protective styles, and two-strand twists.
Other people started to embrace my new look.
Frankly, I did too.
People paid attention to my face and my intelligence.
Later during the year, in October, I decided to change up my look a bit. I thought about trying a press and curl.
Why did I do that?
A stylist that I knew stated that she "does" natural hair!
I was ecstatic about the opportunity to show others the versatility of natural hair. She pressed my hair, and it was beautiful.
My hair was longer than I expected, and everyone loved it!
I decided to go back a 2nd, 3rd, and even a 4th time for the same press and curl.
The styles were beautiful, and I felt great!
One year later, I was so excited about my hair growth, but my curl pattern had changed.
My ends were straight as a stick, and my hair started to shed drastically.
I started to cover up the straight ends by doing two-strand twists and adding rollers to the end. Sometimes, I decided to wear a wig.
My hair continued to shed more and more.
During the 4th visit for the press and curl, I noticed something strange.
When my hair stylist was blow drying my hair, she put a tiny bit of hair grease or a hair grease-like product in my hair.
Then she proceeded to press my hair and curl it.
"That's a lot of heat," I thought to myself. She's not even using a heat protectant.
On January 25th of the next year, I saw my hair coming out in sections.
I literally had sections of my hair gone!
On February 1st, I made the gut-wrenching decision to big chop again.
I was so heartbroken, but I knew that my hair was damaged beyond repair.
But I now understand what I can and can't do to keep my hair from being damaged. Heat styling tools can destroy your curl pattern and leave your hair strands damaged.
I have pledged not to put heat on my hair at all, but if I ever do, I will use a good heat protectant as part of my hair care regimen.
Be careful if you use heat styling tools (flat irons, curling irons, blow dryers, and other hot tools). I've learned the hard way.
A note from us: Bald or thinning patches can have causes other than heat damage, including alopecia areata, which often causes round or oval patches of hair loss. If you notice hair loss in patches, see a board-certified dermatologist for a diagnosis.
What to Do If Your Hair Is Heat Damaged
If your hair is heat damaged, you have two main choices: cut all of the damaged hair off at once or trim it off a little at a time while your new growth comes in. Both options get you back to your natural curls. The difference is how quickly you get there and how much length you keep along the way.
Option 1: Cut It All Off at Once
A big chop removes every damaged inch in one appointment, so you have one texture right away. It's the fastest way back to your curls.
It also means wearing shorter hair for a while, and that's a big decision for a lot of women. If you're leaning this way, our big chop guide walks you through it.
Option 2: Trim It Off Over Time
If you'd rather keep your length, get regular trims and take off a little of the straight hair each time. Your curls keep growing in from the root, so after every trim you have more curly hair and less damaged hair.
So how long does that take? Scalp hair often grows about a third to half an inch a month, but your rate may be faster or slower. If the bottom 3 inches are damaged and you trim your ends as new growth comes in, removing all of the damaged hair may take roughly 6 to 10 months.
Caring for the Damaged Hair in the Meantime
Until the damaged hair is gone, each strand has two textures: curly at the root and straight at the ends. The straight part is weaker, so treat it gently.
- Detangle with plenty of conditioner, and start at your ends.
- Use a leave-in conditioner to keep the damaged ends soft.
- Wear styles that blend the two textures without heat, like two-strand twists, twist-outs, braid-outs, or roller sets.
- Skip the flat iron. Straightening your hair to hide the damage puts more heat on hair that's already hurt.
Products can make damaged hair feel smoother and easier to style, and a protein treatment may make it feel stronger temporarily. But no product can rebuild permanently damaged hair or restore its original curl pattern. Use products that reduce tangles and breakage while you gradually trim away the damaged ends.
The Secrets to Preventing Heat Damaged Hair
The best way to deal with heat damage is to keep it from happening in the first place.
If you have heat damage, it's not going to permanently revert back.
That's why three habits matter most: use the lowest temperature that straightens your hair, only straighten hair that's completely dry, and apply a heat protectant every time you use heat.
How Hot Is Too Hot?
In one lab study that slowly heated hair samples, untreated hair started showing thermal breakdown at about 392°F. Chemically straightened hair started showing changes sooner, at about 347°F, and keratin damage became more severe between about 428°F and 482°F. Many flat irons reach 450°F.
A quick pass with a flat iron isn't the same as slowly heating hair in a lab, so those numbers can't tell you exactly when your hair will be damaged. They do show why the highest settings leave little room for error. Our silk press heat table sets a ceiling of 300°F to 330°F for fine, colored, bleached, or relaxed hair and doesn't go above 375°F for coarse, coily hair. The American Academy of Dermatology also recommends using a low or medium setting.
Only Straighten Hair That's Clean, Conditioned, and Dry
Make sure that your hair has been conditioned recently with a good moisturizing deep conditioner prior to your heat usage.
It's also important to note that you shouldn't forget that it's not only about moisturizing your hair; maintaining proper moisture and protein balance (e.g., incorporate protein treatments) is critical.
This deep conditioning article will describe exactly how to use protein treatments.
Just as important, your hair needs to be completely dry before a flat iron touches it. Applying intense heat to damp hair can create gas-filled bubbles inside the strand.
These bubbles weaken the hair and make it easier to break, resulting in a condition doctors call bubble hair. The American Academy of Dermatology recommends using flat irons on dry hair only.
So deep condition on wash day, then let your hair dry completely before reaching for the flat iron. If you use a blow-dryer, keep it on a low setting and keep it moving.
Heat Protection is a Critical Component
Now let's talk about heat protectants. Some heat protectants coat your strands with polymers (i.e., ingredients that form a thin film over your hair) that can reduce heat damage during flat ironing.
These coatings can slow or spread out heat transfer and reduce friction. How much protection you get depends on the formula and how you use it.
A heat protectant helps, but it can't make a high temperature safe. Use the lowest setting that straightens your hair, and keep the iron moving.
You have a much lower chance of damaging your hair if you heat it slowly and keep the heating appliance moving.
Just in case you missed that last tip, I will say it again. Do not allow your heating appliance to remain still for any period of time when straightening your hair.
Concentrating the heat in one spot will ultimately increase the probability of experiencing heat damage.
Remove Product Buildup
Make sure your hair is clean before you use heat. If you have a lot of buildup, a clarifying shampoo can help remove it.
If you fail to clean your hair prior to utilizing heat, you increase the possibility of experiencing heat damage. It's also important to make sure that your heating appliances are clean.
