QuoteReplyTopic: Truth About Thermal Protection Hair Products? Posted: August 05 2012 at 8:41am
I spent most of yesterday online reading reviews about various thermal protection hair products currently available on the marketplace.
One thing seems to be true across the board that all users agree upon which is:
No one thermal protection product works best for all types, texture, lengths and conditions of hair. Doesn't happen.
Some people swear by the top of the line thermal protection products while others swear by the cheap drugstore brands.
Can we please discuss this here in more detail? It would help so much & frankly I'm tired to buying tons of products on the hope that they will be a miracle product for me only to find that they make my hair sticky, tacky, oily, dry, damaged, smell bad or just don't work.
What heat protection - thermal protection hair products have you used and which ones do you love/hate and why?
Yes, this whole topic is extremely confusing. It used to be that hairstylists would tell consumers with heat damage to just stop using their blow dryers and hot irons, hot rollers, etc.,
I know because it happened to me many years ago when I was getting serious about growing my hair to my waist. At the time my hairstylist told me that if I didn't stop using a blow dryer he would not work with me because I had so much damage.
Then the idea of using leave-in conditioners and heat protection styling products emerged.
From there the entire thermal protection sprays, creams, mists and even gels took root and now there are literally hundreds of products on shelves in hair salons, retail outlets and online which claim to provide heat protection.
I think the only way to really get a handle on what works and what doesn't is to share experiences. That is the very best way. Of course keeping in mind that someone with fine/thin hair may not do well with products which work on thick or coarse hair.
I rarely blow dry or heat style my hair which is classic length (I can sit on it). In all fairness, I'm sure careful with my hair since I spent so many years growing it and pampering it. I have a lot invested so I'm not really willing to risk it all for regular blow drying. 99.99% of the time I air dry and only blow dry my hair for special events. I don't even own a flat iron anymore but will let my stylist use it the 4x a year I see her.
And yes, the HairBoutique.com warehouse has hot tools if I really wanted to buy them/use them.
Ultimately I think it has to be a personal choice whether you heat style or not. There are a lot of factors involved including hair length, condition, lifestyle, image considerations, type of work and whether or not you have a family that might take precedence over a daily 30 minutes with hot styling.
When/if I do hot style I do layer my hair with rinse out conditioners leave-in conditioners from either Phyto or Rene Furterer which are my lifelong go-to products (they have never let me down).
I might use a thermal protection spray from Alterna (their bamboo is very good) or a product from Ouidad (I have textured hair) and she created great products for curly/wurly hair like mine.
I would love it if we could drill down and discuss several products to get feedback. I know that the Alterna I use often get 4-5 stars but some users claim the nozzle doesn't work and it does contain cones.
I also see the Ouidad getting great reviews but she doesn't market it as a thermal product only whereas Alterna does market theirs as thermal protection specific.
Thanks for the topic. I hope everyone is willing to share their experiences.
That which doesn't kill you makes you stronger or drives you totally insane. :-)
This summer I stopped using heat styling tools on my hair, I have naturally curly hair, (I’m talking ringlet curls) and I have always hated caring for it so I flat ironed all the time. I finally decided that the heat was just to damaging and that I had to embrace my curls which everyone but me seemed to love. I have been anti- heat during the hot summer months. The thing about naturally curly hair is that when it’s hot and humid and you sweat or your hair gets wet in any way shape or form (BAM) it’s curly again and all the time you spent with a flat iron goes down the drain.
I have always had long hair but since I stopped using the heat styling tools this summer I have noticed a dramatic difference with how fast my hair is growing. That’s the good part, the bad part is that the only way I can get straight hair is by using heat and curly hair takes so much more work to care for. The conditioners, the deep conditioners, the sulphate free and organic shampoos, the co washing, leave in conditioner, non damaging non crunchy gels and creams and treatments....it can be a real hassle sometimes...but my hair looks wonderfully long and healthy.
To flat iron my hair I use to always use the Tresemme heat tamer spray along with the Chi Silk Infusion and Chi Keratin Mist. I use to use my flat iron on 450 which is the highest heat setting on my appliance, hair burns at 451 degrees...so maybe that wasn’t a good idea but since then I have learned. I gradually reduced the heat setting to see what the lowest setting that could straighten my hair was and ended up reducing it to 350. The thermal protection products vary by heat settings, some only protect your hair up to a certain point and then anything over that doesn’t give much protection if any at all. So when buying a thermal protector you really have to know how much protection you are getting correlated to how much heat you use on your hair. Some of the drug store products only offer protection up to 250-300 degrees. And I would suggest that people know how hot they really need their tools to be to achieve their desired look because you may not always need the highest setting. You also have to set your tools based on the texture of your hair thinner hair may not be able to handle the highest settings as well as thicker hair.
If I had naturally straight hair that dried sleek and looked great right out of the shower then I would not use heat on my hair at all, but when I get tired of dealing with my curls I will need to use the flat iron. I like to use the heat protectant with a serum and then make sure I’m not holding the iron on my hair for too long and going over every piece too many times. I also make sure that my hair is not hot to the touch and scorching my hand if I try to touch it after flat ironing; if touching your hair burns your hand then obviously it is burning your hair. I also make sure that my hair is in good condition, strong and healthy before I put heat on it. Putting heat on already damaged hair will just make it worse and cause further problems for you.
It would be interested to know of some thermal sprays that work well because I haven’t even had the chance to look into it myself.
That's nice bot you might do well with a serum as well. I use Proclaim Glossing Polish that you get at Sally Beauty Supply. It's inexpensive and works well.
The best thing you could use to make the hair look better after a long use of straighteners is a very thick nourishing mask to leave on for few minutes at the end of your wash then rince
The thermal creams and serum have never been effectif on my hair, for the hair to straightens you need to heat it, and heating it damage it, it is that simple
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