Oh So Beautiful: Who is the Enemy?

First and foremost, all prayers warriors please stand down. This post is addressing a completely different kind of enemy. The enemy to which I refer reveals itself in the form of Hair straighteners, blow-dryers, curling tongs and the like.

HEAT! Excessive direct heat is one of the biggest causes of damage to black hair. Heat breaks down the cuticle layer of your hair which is there to protect the hair fibres and shaft. A damaged cuticle layer leaves hair dry, brittle, and riddled with split ends.

If you already have split ends, unfortunately there is not much to be done about them. The only real solution is to trim them off with a sharp pair of scissors, keep your hair moisturised and ideally avoid heat completely.

To try and avoid heat after a wash, a good tip is to let the hair air dry. This means after washing, detangle hair GENTLY with a large tooth comb, blot it dry GENTLY with a towel and leave it out to dry for as long as necessary. No heat involved.
To give hair a straight finish, wrap it round your head after moisturising and sealing and tie tightly with a head scarf overnight.

Now I bet all this is going in one ear and out the other for some of you who simply cannot imagine life without your hair straighteners and blow-dryers. If you absolutely must apply heat to your hair, here are a few tips to help protect your hair.

1. Invest in a good heat defence product and apply it from the root to tip of your hair before applying any heat. A good product is TRESemme's heat defence styling spray. It protects your hair from heat to up to 230 degrees.

2. Use your blow dryer on medium to low heat. You don't need your hair to be crispy for confirmation that it is dry.

3. If you get a roller set, apply your heat defence as described and then protect your hair from direct heat with a perforated head scarf before going under the dryer.

Heat is the enemy people. Protect yourselves

xx