You hear it all the time, from stylists and professionals alike: USE A THERMAL PROTECTANT WHEN HEAT STYLING YOUR HAIR.
Many people skip this step because they think they don’t need it. But what they don’t realize is that yes, they DO. Whenever you bleach, highlight, color, or heat style your hair, you are damaging it. Yep- damaging. It’s dehydrating the hair, making it lose moisture and nutrients faster; which leads to breakage and split ends. And since we know that not everyone is blessed with hair that stays put and perfect, a lil heat styling is necessary. So, for that, you need a thermal protectant spray.
What Is Heat Protectant?
A heat protectant is something that adds moisture to your hair while forming a protective barrier that reduces moisture loss when heat is applied to your hair shafts. Store bought heat protectants are generally made with a formula that includes the combination of two silicones – cyclomethicone and dimethicone. While cyclomethicone moisturizes your hair, dimethicone coats it, making it smooth and preventing moisture loss. Most conditioners, leave-in products, and detanglers contain dimethicone, which leaves your hair feeling smooth and looking shiny.
Benefits of heat protectants:
- Thermal protectants smooth the cuticles of your hair shaft, which makes it less porous and way less prone to frizz in high humidity. When it’s porous, it means the hair is open and dehydrated.
- They restore hair moisture. Since our hair is constantly thirsty and looking for moisture, a good protection spray will keep it conditioned despite the heat.
- Prevents moisture loss. So even if you feel that your is healthy, keep it that way by preventing any damage from occurring. The heat protectant adds a protective layer the top of your airshaft, and makes it less likely for your hair to loose moisture throughout the day.
- Lubricates the hair so that it’s far more manageable and less tangled when styling it.
Extra tips for natural protection
- No matter what you do or use, always make sure your products are of high and good quality. This will make all the difference in the health and look of your hair. Think of it this way: you can certainly get something cheaper now, but you will have to pay for the effects of it later down the road. a $20 curling iron is only gonna do so much good before the damage peeks through. Investing in a salon-grade tool is not only highly noticeable, but your hair feels great from the inside out, all due to the ingredients used when making a good quality tool.
- Even though your tools are great, and you’re using thermal protectant sprays, try to keep the temperature of your hot tools between 300-350 farnheit. The reason for that is, the hotter it is, the more moisture you tend to lose. The heat spray will do its job of protecting your hair from dehydration, but a little help goes a long way.
- Weekly masks really help with retaining moisture and keeping your hair bouncy and healthy throughout the months. By doing these every week, biweekly, or monthly, you’re ensuring that your tresses stay in tip top condition.
No matter what you do, make sure you’re protecting your hair from all the bad juju. And not just your hair, but your skin, soul, and body, too (those are just as important).
Keep glowing’ & growin’
XOXO,
PIAM.
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