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Sister and I were having a discussion about hair recently. I told her part of my routine was blowdrying on low heat. She said this is bad for my hair and is damaging it. My sister tells me that my hair is damaged and needs more initial moisture if I need to blowdry to get it to "lay down. She has fine straight black hair.
Personally, I like blowdrying on low heat because it cuts down drying time and helps my hair to "lay down" more and not so poofed out. I've only recently started doing this and like it the results but how damaging is this? I have thick, wavy, black hair.
P.S - Man it's windy outside!
Carry on as you are - I do so daily with no problems
The girl that trims my hair uses Chi Keratin Mist spray on it before using the blow dryer, to prevent damage. I think she uses the dryer on high.
I use a heavy conditioner with blowdrying. It seems to help with extra moisture so I don't overdo it. If I use a light conditioner or no conditioner for that matter, then blowdry, I'll look like a psycho mad scientist lol :P
I suggest you air dry your hair, blow drying really damages hair. James/ TampaFl
How so? Problem with my hair is if I air dry with a heavy conditioner, then it looks lanky and weighed down despite I use a small amount.
Because the heat will literally suck the moisture out of the air. That's why the nickname is 'blow-frying'. If you gotta blow-fry, er blow-dry, use low heat or a diffuser. I did see you mentioned using low heat. You have to replace the moisture in the hair, that blow-drying removed,or hair becomes dry and brittle. To reduce moisture loss, you need to use a humectant to retain moisture. The cheapest I know is a bottle of ordinary aloe vera gel. It's in the skin care aisle of your department or grocery story, cost a few bucks for a big bottle. Work it into damp hair, follow with leave-in conditioner or oil, if you oil.
If you blow-dry daily or frequently, you should do a monthly deep-conditioning treatment. You don't need fancy-shmancy stuff, you probably have the perfect stuff right in your refrigerator`. One is mayonnaise. Yup, plain old mayo. Warm up a couple spoonfuls in the microwave, work through hair. Put a shower cap or large plastic bag or even plastic wrap over it. Wait 15 minutes and shampoo out. Another is yogurt with a bit of olive, peanut, almond or jojoba, or coconut oil. Do like you did with the mayo. You'll know you need the deep conditioning, because your hair will look parched, will flyaway easily, easily fill with static. The ends will split and break. The aloe vera can help to prevent that, because as a humectant, it helps to retain moisture.
People with short hair don't need to be as concerned, as the damaged hair is frequently cut off. If you want to grow and keep long hair, you need to take better care of it than the average person with shorter hair.
JustCarol,
Thanks for the wealth of info. much appreciated. I have tried various oils in the past, didn't notice any difference. Although, the occasional light olive oil minorily helps?
Same story with mayo, heard of it never had the guts to try it lol!
I'll have to keep my eyes peeled next time I'm at the store for the aloe vera gel. I recall you mentioning in one thread, that the dye does not harm hair. Thanks again :)
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No way would I blow dry my hair, it will kill your hair over time. I look at it like this, I make sure I have the time to air dry may hair after I wash it and don't even finger comb it unless it is dry, part of the journey of having hair.
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I blow dry on low heat, from a good distance. (see photo) Hair can take a moderate amount of heat. People with black hair living in desert regions testifies to this. With an air temperature of 50 degrees C in full sun, black hair would heat up to at least 70 degrees C, and probably more. With my long distance low heat blow drying setup, my hair probably never sees over 60 degrees C.
Scott