YES, I HAVE CURLY HAIR AND I STILL WANT TO STRAIGHTEN IT - HERE'S HOW TO PROTECT IT FROM HEAT DAMAGE...
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One of the many things there is to love about being a ‘curly’ girl is the endless hairstyles you can achieve with your curls. With a simple spritz of water and wallah you can still reactivate your curls to achieve a fab wash-and-go style. That said, we’ve all been stuck in the mindset that putting heat to curly hair can, and will, lead to an utter disaster and long-term hair damage.
Yes, it’s true … constant straightening and heat styling can have damaging and negative effects in the long run. However, we’re here to tell you how you can play both worlds safely. Yes - we’re saying applying heat in moderation can be fun, with no regrets after.
Sure, there can be damaging consequences like breakage and dryness. However, with proper preparation before and maintenance after heat styling your hair, you’ll be able to maintain curls or a glossy slick look. All we say is, invest in our bhave routine – guaranteed it will leave your hair healthy—even after applying heat. Are you ready for our protective heat-styling tricks? Let’s go!
1 Deep Condition Like Your Hair Depends on It (because it does)
Whenever you’re gearing up to change hairstyles (if you’re bored in lockdown, it could turn out to be every other week) treat thy curly locks with some extra TLC and plan a hair maintenance day (TIP: opt for Friday, if you’re looking to mixing things up for the weekend or Sunday to go in with a wham on the Monday stand-up meeting). Depending on how hydrated or dry your current hair is, we say start off with a Deep Intense Conditioning Masque to lock moisture and keep your curls intact before styling. Macadamia oil works to prevent hair breakage, whilst Argan oil works to moisturise, ensuring your hair is healthy and ready to take on the additional changes.
2 Detangle, Detangle, Detangle
Before drying or heat styling, we always detangle hair and part curls into sections using a wide tooth comb. On wash day, try using a detangling product like our Super Nova multi-purpose elixir, which will help detangle your natural hair after it’s been cleaned and towel-dried. Trust us when we say this detangler feels great on the scalp and helps smooth knots and snags in your hair before styling. It’s also exploding with additional benefits (hence the Super nova name), such as slowing down the process of split ends – who doesn’t need that during lockdown? Rehydrate dry strands – because us ‘curly’ girls are constantly a desert storm. It promotes hair growth and strengthens brittle hairs – do we hear a hallelujah in the house?
3 Use a Heat Protectant
This step shall not be skipped! For those with curly or natural hair looking to apply heat in any capacity, prepare your natural hair by using Riot Control oil. This thermal protective oil can shield your stands from the hot irons and hot air, whilst increasing manageability and shine. We also love it because it helps smooth any frizz or flyways.
4 Dry Your Hair in a Wrap
If you’re going to be applying heat from a straightening iron or a blow dry, the best thing is to ensure you’re not going to expose your strands to prolonged heat. That’s why, bringing your hair safely to a dry-ish state for styling is recommended with our it's a Wrap - hair turban. Instead of rubbing or wringing it out with a cotton towel – which also adds to … you guessed it … breakages, wrap it in an ultra-absorbent microfiber towel. The super-soft microfibre fabric is known for its moisture-wicking properties, so it draws water away from your hair without having to squeeze or tousle it. In other words, it dries hair quickly while helping you avoid unnecessary frizz, split ends, and breakage.
5 Invest in Professional Heat Stylers
Depending on your budget, investing in a professional heat-styler will save you money in the long run and enhance the results of your new 'do’.
6 Choose a Low Heat Setting
Now, we said heat styling can be fun but only if the safety measures are place in place…which does include the actual styling process. When it comes to heat-styling your natural hair, use a low heat to obtain your desired look.
7 Routine Salon Visits
The best way to keep track of any lingering hair damage and getting proper advice is through a professional stylist. Make sure you’re keeping up with your routine salon visits (or virtual consultations) every three months. The flipside to overusing mane-taming appliances without proper preparation can be quite traumatic to your stands. That’s why qualified salon care and maintenance (cutting and trimming ends) may also include a treatment. Our bhave Rescue therapy is a reparative remedy that uses our signature bioactive keratin.
BEFORE/AFTER bhave Rescue Therapy - credit: Tina Sarrou @theglossboxsalon UK
Our unique bioactive keratin penetrates the hair fibre and binds to the internal structure, rebuilding the damaged proteins from the inside out, to help repair, restore strength and condition. If your hair is in good condition, then a protein shield will be deposited on the surface, protecting the hair from potential damage.
Now, don’t freak out if you had basically zero knowledge about heat damage before reading this (we’ve all fried and sizzled our hair). Now you can confidently say you've mastered the art of straightening hair without, you know, destroying it — and all it took was a little preparation, a few products and good after care. So, if you're still learning how to straighten your hair to sleek, shiny perfection, message us and will equip you with the right treatments and products for you to get a perfect finish every time xx
