Hair heating tools: Can hair styling tools damage your hair?

Neg
Haircare and hair growth
4 min readMay 12, 2024

To attain different hair types, from straight to waves and beautiful curls, we turn to different heating hair tools; these include hair straighteners, blow-dryers, and curling irons that are almost found in every girl’s drawer. In your journey to manifest beautiful, shiny hair, many products featuring cutting-edge technology tech solutions will be of the best benefit to keep your hair looking healthy when styling.

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First, let’s consider the main hair types. There are generally four hair types: straight, wavy, curly, and coils. Each is divided into different subcategories and types, but we will consider the main types to discuss our ideas about the effects of heating hair tools.

Hair stylers are usually blamed for damaging hair. Experts suggest that excessive use of stylers can damage hair, leaving it dry, stressed, and prone to split ends. In this post, we delve into how hair styling tools damage hair, the right way of using them, and some general ideas about hair styling.

Blow-dryers

The general formula is to use everything in moderation, including hair styling tools. Overusing a hair dryer leads to hair damage and dryness as it takes moisture off the scalp. It can destroy the hair structure and break the cuticles exposed to it, eventually causing hair loss. Reducing the heat of a blow dryer to medium can lessen the damaging effects of dryers. Moreover, using the diffuser only for drying and not styling the hair is less harmful.

Flat irons

Flat irons or hair straighteners fall into the mainly used hair styler among women. However, using too much can leave your hair burnt, damaged and dry over time. It’s advised to put the temperature at its lowest to reduce the damage to hair follicles. The heat changes hair’s internal structure and breaks down the hydrogen bonds in the cortex that let us style our hair as we wish.

Curling irons

Curling irons, like flat irons, use heat to break the protein in the hair, leading to hair damage and loss. As noted by flat irons, use a lower temperature and be careful not to use it too much. Less time spent styling the hair will cause less damage.

Now that we have collected some knowledge about hair stylers, we’ll explore the ways to reduce the damage and keep healthy-looking hair. The first thing is our hair products, such as shampoo; using a protein/keratin shampoo and a conditioner that reinforces the hair strands and guards against brittleness and split ends is necessary. The second treatment option is using heat protectants that protect against damage, prevent moisture loss, and smooth the cuticles. The third solution is using lukewarm water to wash your hair to prevent moisture loss and further damage; cold water keeps the moisture from the conditioner and doesn’t rub it off the hair.

Further, knowing the appropriate temperature setting for your hair type is essential. Depending on your hair type, from having thick hair to a coarse texture, wavy, fine or fragile, you should set the temperature between 230 °C and 150 °C.

The next tip is to use a hair mask to nourish and smooth the hair and let it replenish its moisture. Most importantly, getting a regular trim every month is advised to remove split ends and prevent further damage, such as hair loss.

To wrap up, it’s recommended to reduce the usage of hair stylers, use keratin shampoo, conditioner, and keratin shampoo to restore hair oils, consider time for recovery and hair growth, apply hair heating protectant, trim the split ends monthly, and in general make sure you don’t overuse the heating tools. Applying hair oils, such as coconut oil, can also benefit your hair by messaging a teaspoon of it through the hair but avoiding the roots for greasiness. There are further products, such as detangling sprays, that make the combing easier.

Heat exposure can cause much damage to the hair, such as hair breakage, damage to hair cuticles, loss of moisture, and alteration to the proteins, making hair look dry and dull. Overdoing hair styling can increase the breakage of the hair shaft; it destroys the outer layers of hair and makes it brittle and dry. As mentioned, they weaken the hair, and split ends will likely appear due to overusing these tools. Using stylers too much promotes hair loss, hair dehydration, and a dried-frizzy look. So, use them wisely. Many hair products, such as hair conditioners and oils, can soften hair and reduce hair shafts and cuticle damage. Ultimately, from straight to curly and voluminous hair types, we use hair stylers to get a professional look and create a range of styles; follow the tips in this post to enjoy a stunning hairstyle without worrying about possible damage. You can always keep the damages at bay using hair heating tools wisely.

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Neg
Haircare and hair growth
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A passionate explorer, looking into a world full of mystery. Together, we bring colour to life and make stories! :) // Content writer intern @ FOREO