Direct Heat Usage: "All Things In Moderation"

Before I knew what a healthy hair journey was I used to get my hair washed and styled faithfully at the salon every two weeks. Each styling session contained the use of a blow dryer and a flat iron, and she would only deep condition my hair when she felt it was needed. Under her care my hair flourished and after about a year of regular visits I was sitting pretty at BSL. Fast forward a few months and I went off to college. I took care of my hair in much the same way as my stylist had, blow drying and flat ironing after every wash, only I don't remember using a conditioner and only deep conditioned when I received a sample of Motions from our local Delta's. I relaxed only on holidays when I could go home and don't remember my stylist ever needing to do more than a maintenance trim of 1/2" or less. Needless to say my hair continued to flourish and by the end of my freshman year my hair was MBL.

Thinking about the shape of my hair BHJ (before hair journey) left me curious about the things I have read and heard from other women on hair journeys and wondering if these rules really do apply? The first thing I read when starting my hair journey was how damaging direct heat is for hair and how if I wanted my hair to grow to longer lengths I would have to limit (or rather end) my use of direct heat via blow-dryers and flat irons. Knowing how my hair responds to heat and how it flourished during my college years I continued to use direct heat for a time when I began my journey, but stopped about two months ago just to test out the whole length retention theory.

From April to the end of June I traded in my blow-dryer and flat iron for a set of Curlformers and a hooded dryer. I also decided to tweak my regimen a bit and add a second shampoo and deep condition session to each week (washing and dc'ing twice per week now as opposed to weekly). After about two wash and styling sessions I noticed a change in my hair: it felt soft (after moisturizing) but shed like crazy and left me with a sink full of broken hairs if I even looked at it wrong.

After two months of this routine I got the itch to straighten and was pleasantly surprised by the results. Prior to this experiment I felt my hair growth had stalled and I was stuck at BSB (below shoulder blade); having read so much about heat usage causing breakage I wondered if my use of heat was causing me to stop retaining length? Once straightened I found that I was finally BSL once again! But could I attribute this length to the fact that I had cut out heat usage or were there other factors that helped me reach my goal? Not only did I cut out heat usage during this time, I also shampooed and deep conditioned more frequently, massaged my scalp daily and practiced the inversion method.

The evidence of my little experiment is inconclusive since I cannot pinpoint exactly what caused the boost in length retention, but having experienced healthy and long lengths both using direct heat and without using direct heat I can say that heat is not the enemy we accuse it to be.

I am not suggesting we break out our flat irons and go crazy but I do believe hair can still thrive with direct heat usage, so before packing away your hot tools permanently take a look at the following tips for using direct heat and still maintaining healthy and long lengths:

1. Protect hair prior to styling: Start on freshly washed and conditioned hair and apply a heat protectant.
2. Use quality styling tools: No need to spend and arm and a leg on hair tools, but be sure to invest in quality items such as those with ceramic plates for even heat distribution.
3. Lower your heat setting: Before you turn the dial to the highest temp available test out how straight your hair gets on a lower setting - most people don't need 450 degrees to get their hair straight.

When was the last time you used direct heat?